D300 Sticky mirror?

cab.in.boston · January 15, 2011

Lately I've been getting what I think is a sticky mirror. It's been cold here, and my camera spends its day in my car, so on my way home if I stop to shoot, it's like it has been in a refrigerator all day. Anyway, what happens is I'll take a shot or two, and then after a shot the VF will remain black. It seems that the mirror doesn't/can't return back down after the shot. I'll trip the shutter again, and b/c the mirror was up and VF was blacked out, the meter thinks it's very dark and calculates (I typically use Aperture priority) a very long exposure. So then I'm stuck in the middle of a 20-30 s exposure and subsequent Long Exposure NR and can't shoot again for a minute or so. I could fix the long exposure/NR problem by working on and shooting M, but that wouldn't fix the stuck mirror issue.

This happened yesterday and when I got home I was able to get it to happen again, but after the camera warmed up I couldn't get it to happen. I looked down the throat of the mount and didn't see anything obvious. Is this common in cold weather? Do I just need to clean the hinges or something? If so, how does one go about that?

Thanks for any advice.

ziggy53 · January 15, 2011

Ideally, you should take it to a Nikon dealer/service for a "CLA" (Clean Lubricate Adjust). An authorized dealer will have the right lubricant and know exactly where to apply the lubricant.

Depending upon whether you have a binding problem or a dry hinge the correction could be different. Regardless, the thing you "don't" want is the wrong lubricant or too much lubricant applied to the wrong areas. The wrong lubricants will just lead to potential problems down the road and too much lubricant can create problems if it flings.

I recommend a CLA done by Nikon service. I believe that if you are a member of NPS it may even be free every so often. (Check the agreement.) Be sure to detail what you experienced with the people doing the CLA.

cab.in.boston · January 15, 2011

Thanks, Ziggy. I sent it in for cleaning and checkout just a few months back, when I bought the camera (it was used: currently has 58455 actuations). I have a local authorized Nikon service center, so I guess I'll give them a call. So far this has only happened a couple of times, when the camera body was quite cold. I really don't want to be without the camera for any extended time, especially if this problem remains so intermittent (although I certainly don't want to have this happen at any kind of crucial moment, either). I am not a member of NPS.

Matthew Saville · January 16, 2011

Boy, have I got a video that will give you goosebumps!

SEND THE CAMERA IN!!!!! ...before it ends up like mine. (Video to come eventually)

Matthew Saville · January 17, 2011

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=488366864012&comments

Enjoy. The video is definitely not for anyone who is weak-stomached as far as cameras are concerned. If you have no idea what I mean, you'll find out soon enough. ;-)

=Matt=

cab.in.boston · January 17, 2011

Matthew Saville wrote: »

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=488366864012&comments

Enjoy. The video is definitely not for anyone who is weak-stomached as far as cameras are concerned. If you have no idea what I mean, you'll find out soon enough. ;-)

=Matt=

"This video either has been removed from Facebook or is not visible due to privacy settings."

Y_Knot · January 17, 2011

I couldn't see it either.

Matthew Saville · January 18, 2011

cab.in.boston wrote: »

"This video either has been removed from Facebook or is not visible due to privacy settings."

Add me as a friend, maybe?

Or if not, I just uploaded it to SmugMug as well:

http://photos.matthewsaville.com/For-photographers/Cameras-Lenses/got-a-backup/15467813_tzEZ9

D300 Sticky mirror?

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