Not underwater, but upgrade from a D70 to???

[Jax]

As I said, I'll check the contacts again, but it doesn't point to contacts when you can change settings and have it work once.

BUT thanks to you that responded here and in PMs, I'm going to the D300s.

 

[Jax]

Could you be more specific about the "f-stop issues"?

The connection between the camera and the lens that triggers the lens to
stop down is mechanical, not electrical, however, if the lens does not have
an aperture ring, the camera tells the lens WHAT stop to stop down to
electrically.

Can you try a different lens?

The current equivalent in the Nikon line-up is the D90, but you'll find that
even the lower-priced D3000/D5000 are better than your D70 EXCEPT that
to autofocus, they need a lens with a built-in motor, and they may not
have as many AF points.

Gosh, Chuck, I'm sorry I missed answering your question. :blush: The f-stop setting blinks in all lenses.

 

[slowhands]

The [f---] is blinking in the viewfinder and on the settings LCD.

I will try the cleaning, thank you, but I think it is in the cpu.

The reason is that I can go into the menu and adjust, say,the ISO or something, and the next shot is just fine. Then it begins blinking again. Manual adjustment through the LCD will allow me to set the stops, but as soon as I push the button, the [f---] begins blinking again...

Do you have your lens set for minimum aperture? As you know, Nikon requires that to properly determine the maximum aperture of the lens. If it is not set properly, the symptom is exactly blinking f---. Just a thought.

 

[Viz'art]

Jax, then case close, the D300s is an awesome choice, Ive had mines for a while now and they where a shocking step forward from my D200's, I can image what it will be from the D70

 

[Chuck Tribolet]

Do you have your lens set for minimum aperture? As you know, Nikon requires that to properly determine the maximum aperture of the lens. If it is not set properly, the symptom is exactly blinking f---. Just a thought.

The lens needs to be set to minimum aperture to prevent the lens
from mechanically preventing a stop-down to the smaller apertures.
But if it weren't set to minimum aperture, it would show f EE, not
f ---,

 

[Jax]

Thanks, everyone! Bought a very lovely used D300s from FredMiranda.com.

I also got another heads-up; one guy said that when his battery was dying (not just discharged, but failing), he had weird issues like this, too. He said to reset the menu and leave the battery out, and then replace it with another. I'll see!

In the meantime, I LOVE the D300s!!!!!!

 

[PatW]

Glad you like the D300s. I have a D300 and really like it. The D90 has similar performance to the D300 and D300s but it is not as well constructed and not as sophisticated. The D90 is their most advanced DSLR for more casual users. The D300s is the lowest level camera for the "serious" user. The D300s is also nikon's most advanced DX camera.

The D700 is an FX camera with the same megal pixels as the D300s but it costs significantly more and the FX lenses cost more also. However, given the tremendous high iso performance of the D700 and the D700's ability to perform well with wide angle lenses, I would think the D700 would make a superb camera for underwater photography.

 

[slowhands]

From their web site, it appears that they only work on Canons. No mention of Nikon that I could find anywhere on the site.

Is this true?

Steve repairs Nikons and Canons. He used to be a repair tech for the NorCal Nikon repair operation (before it moved to San Diego). He has repaired everything from a D40 to a D700 for me. He's an expert on Canon also, but lenses are his greatest strength. He has not updated his website in years, spends his days on the bench, so it shows more film cameras, which he still does. Canon refers their film camera repair customers to Steve, does that say anything?

He's one of the last true craftsmen in the business independently. Give him a call, you will know in 5 minutes what kind of guy he is. I sent him 10 cameras for repair yesterday, but I know he'll buzz through them fast. In a way I hate to recommend him, because I want him to be available to do my repairs, but I sure don't keep him busy full time.

 

[Warren_L]

Glad you like the D300s. I have a D300 and really like it. The D90 has similar performance to the D300 and D300s but it is not as well constructed and not as sophisticated. The D90 is their most advanced DSLR for more casual users. The D300s is the lowest level camera for the "serious" user. The D300s is also nikon's most advanced DX camera.

The D700 is an FX camera with the same megal pixels as the D300s but it costs significantly more and the FX lenses cost more also. However, given the tremendous high iso performance of the D700 and the D700's ability to perform well with wide angle lenses, I would think the D700 would make a superb camera for underwater photography.

I use the D3 for my underwater work, and it is quite amazing with higher ISO (the sensor is pretty well equivalent to that of the D700). I actually have a D3x as a backup to the D3 (the bodies are identical so they both work in the same housing). I still prefer shooting with the D3 over the D3x generally, though the D3x does have a slight edge in shooting macro with a bit more crop room if I need it.

 

[AKscubadiver]

Try cleaning the contact shown in the picture with a pencil eraser. I had a similar problem in the past and is was due to mild corrosion (I did some jungle shooting for a while and the humidity can cause all kind of weird symptoms)

Also I feel if you can wait a bit (a few months), there is persistant rumors of a replacement for the D90 with 1080p HD video, the D3100 just showed up this morning on DP review, impresive little Nikon, but strickly AF-S, hopefully the sucessor of the D90 will retain its internal motor as well.

I'm new to this and looking at the d3100 now actually. Is the AF-S thing bad? I'll past what the specs are for auto focus from the website's spec page...it looks to have a lot of options.

Single-servo AF (AF-S)
Continuous-servo (AF-C)
Auto AF-S/AF-C selection (AF-A)
Full-time Servo (AF-A) available in Live View only
Face-Priority AF
Wide area
Normal area