PLEASE HELP Nikon D50

[Dao]

Just in case it is the lens. Did you try to set the aperture (on the lens) to the highest number if any?

 

[KmH]

Just in case it is the lens. Did you try to set the aperture (on the lens) to the highest number if any?

Not locking the aperture ring gives the error code FEE, not ERR.

For all Nikon dSLR camera's, the ERR code only states "Camera Malfunction" "Release shutter. If error persists or appears frequently, consult Nikon-authorized service representative."

 

[Dao]

Just in case it is the lens. Did you try to set the aperture (on the lens) to the highest number if any?

Not locking the aperture ring gives the error code FEE, not ERR.

Got it, thanks for the correction!

I remember when I bought a used D50 for a friend of mine, I saw few errors and one of them was related to setting the lens to the highest aperture. And of course, the other one was dirty lens contacts. (The original owner did not use the camera for a long time)

So OP, you may want to remove the lens from the camera and check the metal contacts.

 

[sobolik]

Thanks everyone. I know I should have been smarter about all of this. I didnt know it needed the SD card to work and their wasnt any stores near by to purchase one or I would have. I was leary buying it without trying it but since she seemed like a nice lady I thought It was ok (and im usually the most skeptical person there is). She said she can meet up with me tomorrow to give me my money back so I hope she stays true to her word. I bought it off Kijiji. There are some ones on sale on there that are int he $400 range for D70 and D3000, one has about 6000 shutter actuations. Does that seem like a good deal?

My D90 starts over with 1 after 10,000 actuations. Check to see if the ones you are looking at do likewise

 

[photofrenzy]

Thanks everyone. I did try cleaning the contacts but didnt have another lens to try. I took the lens off and it looks like the mirror is getting stuck in the "up" position and once I hit the shutter release again it then goes down but no picture is being taken. The lady who sold it to me said she would meet me today to give me my money back so fingers crossed she shows up.
As far as actuations go... how do I find out if any other models other than the D90 roll over back to 1 after hitting the 10 000 actuation mark? I am looking at a D70 and D3000 right now. People could tell me theres only 5000 actuations but If those are models that roll over I guess there is no way of knowing how many times (if any) that it has rolled over right?
Maybe is someone can help me by telling me which years some of these models are from. I know the D50 is 2005 but are other models like the 60, 70 etc each a year later??
Thanks again to all of you who have been helping me with my first camera, i am looking forward to hopefully getting one that works soon so I can start taking some nice Autumn Pictures!

 

[rpm]

Nikon D50 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

bottom of the page has all nikon D cameras by year of release etc

ive personally never really heard about the actuations rolling back before but then im fairly new to all this (started 2009) - is the firmware up to date?

 

[KmH]

....I took the lens off and it looks like the mirror is getting stuck in the "up" position and once I hit the shutter release again it then goes down but no picture is being taken....
.... if any other models other than the D90 roll over back to 1 after hitting the 10 000 actuation mark?....

It sounds like the shutter is set to "BULB" or a timer mode. In bulb mode, you would see the image sensor when the mirror is up, otherwise you would see the shutter curtains.

None of Nikon's cameras roll the shutter actuation count back to one. That is the file numbering count, and it doesn't actually rollback to 1.

The only way to read the total shutter count is to make a JPEG image and then use an EXIF reader to find the line in the EXIF data that shows shutter count.

 

[photofrenzy]

So..surprise surprise Im stuck with the broken camera as I drove 30 minutes to meet the lady who sold it to me as she said she would meet me at 1:30 today to give me my money back. She never showed and I waited a half hour..now shes not answering her phone either. I've been had! oh well looks like I will have to buy another Nikon body so then at least the lens should be compatible right?

 

[rpm]

lens will def be compatible. what lens did you get?

 

[photofrenzy]

its a Nikon DX AF-S Nikkor 18-55mm, 1:3-5.6G ED

 

[photofrenzy]

....I took the lens off and it looks like the mirror is getting stuck in the "up" position and once I hit the shutter release again it then goes down but no picture is being taken....
.... if any other models other than the D90 roll over back to 1 after hitting the 10 000 actuation mark?....

It sounds like the shutter is set to "BULB" or a timer mode. In bulb mode, you would see the image sensor when the mirror is up, otherwise you would see the shutter curtains.

None of Nikon's cameras roll the shutter actuation count back to one. That is the file numbering count, and it doesn't actually rollback to 1.

The only way to read the total shutter count is to make a JPEG image and then use an EXIF reader to find the line in the EXIF data that shows shutter count.

what does the image sensor look like? and the shutter curtains? then I will have a better idea if its stuck in the bulb or timer mode

 

[tirediron]

Take the camera into your local bricks and mortar camera store or camera repair shop (NOT the local big-box store that sells cameras), explain what happened and ask them if they can give you a better idea of what the problem(s) may be.

I don't think this is in 'Bulb', however it's possible. The sensor will look like a small, flat green-ish glass rectangle. The shutter curtains will be flat black and mettalic.

 

[photofrenzy]

I see the shutter curtains when the mirror is stuck up.

 

[photofrenzy]

OK so is it possible that the shutter was just stuck from sitting for a long period of time? the woman who sold it to me said she never used it much, I took off the lens while the mirror was stuck up and i touched the shutter curtains..moved them a little then put the lense back on turned on the camera took a test shot and voila--no ERR message and now its taking pictures!!! WOOO HOOO Im so excited!

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

:shock: