Just a thought, I wonder if any of the people on this thread have ever had their sensors cleaned......? that is about the only opportunity for the kind of damage described to occur.

Hi all,

While it sounds mysterious to me...

The only questions I would have for Jinxedjill and RGB is what they may have in common in their picture taking that other D7K users might not do so much, e.g., using their cameras upside down, or using their cameras in motion - such as on a motor cycle or horseback riding, anything that _might_ put changes caused by inertia into play just a bit more than usual.

IMHO, Nikon would still be on the dime to fix it, but figuring it out might generate a service bulletin.

My best,

Mike

This was the only thread I could find! My d7000 has been diagnosed with a bent shutter, and I have never dropped it, or poked my finger where it never belonged.... Close to $400 to fix! Did you ever get a 2nd opinion? I am beside myself because I treat my camera soooo well....can it just be a hardware error and not a user error?

I read about a lady who had exactly the same thing with a D200 in France. She did nothing to it and had the same problem for no apparent reason. The camera wasn't under warranty any more but since the counter was way below the advertised "100,000 shots" in Nikon literature, she sent the camera to Nikon for an estimate and had a nice long discussion with them. In the end, Nikon changed the shutter for half of the normal price (About $ 200.00 if I remember right).

This is obviously a mechanical failure which is unpredictable and can happen with any mechanical part. Lack of lubrication, bad manufacture, who knows ?…

Good luck RGB

This is exactly the kind of thing the warranty should cover. Sorry to hear about it!

If you are sure you have done nothing to cause it, if it was me I'd first do as TTJ says, and then if you don't get any satisfaction in having it replaced under warranty, I'd pay for an independent report on the cause and claim the cost from Nikon. Obviously ONLY do this if you are ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN that you (or your children?) had nothing to do with the failure.

Seems really odd and have never heard of that in a DSLR. Something would have to be in the way of the shutter. As Casperwb said, there is a Mirror in the way of the shutter.

I'm not sure what "laboratory" means (assuming a local shop). You should send it in to Nikon and not take it to a local shop the way it sounds. I sounds like the shop just wants to make money off of you.

this is interesting

the mirror protects the curtains, and there are two curtains

once the mirror is raised, the curtains will moves out of the way

is it possible to raise the mirror and have the curtains operate so you can see them?

or maybe lock the mirror up for cleaning and the battery runs out of power and the shutter closes while cleaning and the mirror falls.

I know with film cameras you can see the shutter and see it operating when the camera is empty, but never saw one on a DSLR as you cannot see through the back of the camera.

could someone please correct the above if it is wrong, or give additional insight into the subject.

I was shooting a show when the D7000 suddenly started to make strange noises when clicked. The pictures seemed darker in some spots and then the camera stopped shooting. An error message appeared (Err) on the top screen. This camera had never dropped or sabotaged by anyone, I have no clew of how it happened.
When I took it to the laboratory, they said that the shutter is bent entirely and the warranty cant support this kind of damage (that as the laboratory, had been caused by me... I haven't done anything to it).
Did anyone had that problem? Or can help me understand what caused it?
It's a 300$ damage and it can rise way above because the bent shutter could have damaged the sensor :(
If anyone knows, I will be pleased to know.
Thanks!

fisherman10 said:
is this a good time for me to send it for warranty asap?

Indy beat me to it but, yes, I'd send it in.

fisher, to me unless you really need the camera right now i would send it in to be looked at if this is happening as often as it sounds in your message.

oh noooo

looks like i'm having a problem somewhat similar. at fast shutter speeds, i'm getting a lock up. it's like the mirror flips up but it doesnt complete the cycle. it happens randomly but quite frequently especially above 1/800. when this happens, i get an Err at the top LCD and I have to press the shutter button again to bring it back to it's original position so that i can snap again.

is this a good time for me to send it for warranty asap?

Can you post a picture?

Given the reversal of the image through a lens, what constitutes the "top of the image" is really the bottom edge of the sensor. Because the mirror clears the bottom of the sensor first, and the top of the sensor last, I am positive that it is not a mirror issue if your image has a shadow on top.
At speeds up to 1/250ths of a second, the whole sensor window is open simultaneously. Anything faster, and the shutter opening is only a fraction of the image. At 1/500 of a second, a slot, covering 50% of the height of the sensor, is moving from the top of the sensor to the bottom. Confusing as this may be, the slot starts at the top of the sensor, which is the bottom of the image. It ends at the bottom of the sensor, which is the top of the image. At 1/1000 s, the slot covers 25% of the height. At 1/8000s, this is reduced to a slot of just 3% that races through the sensor field in 1/250 of a second.
Now: if you have a shadow at the top of the image, something strange is happening in the last microseconds of the shutter actuation, when the slot arrives at the bottom of the sensor (= the top of the image). A shadow would indicate underexposure. This would suggest that the slot narrows on the last few millimeters of its travel. We can therefore be reasonably sure in saying that the leading curtain is slowing down prematurely, while the trailing curtain keeps its speed to the end.

I think this is a warranty issue. I know that the issue is complex, and I can't describe it in simpler terms. But Nikon's service department should not have trouble with this reasoning and should give you a free fix or a replacement. Good luck!

It's more likely that one of the shutter planes isn't moving fast enough, rather than a problem with the mirror.

Ive been using and loving my D7000 for just over a month now, and have noticed an odd shadow at the top of the image when I use some of the higher shutter speeds, mainly at 1/8000th.

what it seems to me is that the mirror is not moving fast enough, and the sensor is catching the edge of the mirror as it flips up

also, i have had the mirror freeze on me in the up position, and I get an ERR warning in the viewfinder

anyone else had these issues?

Cheers!

Daniel