p.1 #1 · Nikon D800 view finder randomly going darker
I just got back from a family shoot and at the end of the shoot the view finder went darker. It was a gradient of darkness (darker agh the top and got lighter as you looked down). The camera would not focus either. Snapped a couple pics off and it fixed itself. This happened several times. The only thing I can think of is the shutter is going. I turned it off pulled the batteries and still priduced the same thing. Switched lens and still the same thing. Changed battery and still the same. Any thoughts?
p.1 #3 · Nikon D800 view finder randomly going darker
I looked through my new D800E without the battery, and it was way dark and focusing could not be seen, but the battery was charging so no power in the unit. Once I put the battery in I had a nice bright viewfinder and I saw focus changes. So maybe yours is a power thing?
p.1 #5 · Nikon D800 view finder randomly going darker
Yes you could see through it and it wouldn't focus. Looked as if the the viewfinder was slightly shifted up (very slightly) and it was in normal shooting conditions. In the car for a hour, shot outside (53 degrees F) and started acting up 1:45 into the shoot. I never experienced this before. What could cause the mirror from not going back down.
p.1 #8 · Nikon D800 view finder randomly going darker
From the User Guide, Page 9...
"When the battery is totally exhausted or no battery is inserted, the
display in the viewfinder will dim. This is normal and does not indicate a
malfunction. The viewfinder display will return to normal when a fully charged
battery is inserted."
So, I'd suggest ensuring you are using a fully charged battey before jumping through needless hoops.
p.1 #9 · Nikon D800 view finder randomly going darker
ckcarr wrote:
From the User Guide, Page 9...
"When the battery is totally exhausted or no battery is inserted, the
display in the viewfinder will dim. This is normal and does not indicate a
malfunction. The viewfinder display will return to normal when a fully charged
battery is inserted."
So, I'd suggest ensuring you are using a fully charged battey before jumping through needless hoops.
Inserted a fresh battery before the shoot so that's not the issue. Battery level is still very high after the shoot.
p.1 #11 · Nikon D800 view finder randomly going darker
The exact same thing happens to my D800 quite often. It happens in all condition, so it's not weather related. It happens with fully charged batteries too (and also when using a Nikon grip). The viewfinder goes dim and the camera won't autofocus until I take another shot, then it brightens back up. The other day it happened 5 or 6 times throughout a shoot. The next shoot it didn't happen at all.
At first I also thought it was the shutter. I guess it's not that but maybe it's the mirror. I'm glad I have a back up just in case.
p.1 #12 · Nikon D800 view finder randomly going darker
Any chance you guys are accidentally hitting the DOF preview button -- I accidentally did that the other day on my D600 and it was quite startling until I realized what I had done.
p.1 #14 · Nikon D800 view finder randomly going darker
same thing happened to me but it was because once when i took a lens off the mount something got bent inside the camera (not sure what to call it. silver level that moves aperture on the left side of opening). I would move lever up and down with my finger and it would reset to where it would open blades all the way so it wouldn't be dim. was good for two weeks then happened again. brought it in to be fixed and all is good.
p.1 #15 · Nikon D800 view finder randomly going darker
It's an optical viewfinder so the image going dim(as opposed to the display) is most likely because your lens is stopping down. That would also explain the failure to focus. Does it happen with only one lens?
p.1 #16 · Nikon D800 view finder randomly going darker
On mine it happens with a variety of lenses. I've had my D800 since June. This has only been occurring for the past month or so.
It happens immediately after taking a photo. When you're looking through the viewfinder, it goes black when you take a pic, then it should brighten back up immediately when everything opens up again. But the viewfinder only brightens back up about half way. It stays the way until I take another shot (at this point the camera will not focus). Then everything "opens" back up again the way it should.
p.1 #18 · Nikon D800 view finder randomly going darker
Grantland wrote:
same thing happened to me but it was because once when i took a lens off the mount something got bent inside the camera (not sure what to call it. silver level that moves aperture on the left side of opening). I would move lever up and down with my finger and it would reset to where it would open blades all the way so it wouldn't be dim. was good for two weeks then happened again. brought it in to be fixed and all is good.
does this make sense?
I was going to propose this as I was reading the thread: I think it's exactly what you experienced.
There's a physical lever moving the aperture lever on the lens (as opposed to sending an electrical signal to move it). The "resting" state of the lens is stopped down, so if the lever isn't catching, the lens is going to be stopped all the way down.
Taking another picture causes that lever to cycle and it's probably just bent enough to miss sometimes, but not all the time - so it catches, opens the aperture, and boom.
Very easy to see this: next time it happens, flip your camera around and look through the lens. If the aperture blades are anything other than wide open, then this is your problem.
