I can not detect any wobble.... but something has to be along those lines... aftre 4 days of playing with it I have found the reseating the lens always restores full functionality. So I really don't see where full reset will do anything. Wobble would be consistent with the probem occuring after transporting camera

No nothing has been dropped I have given what information I have. The situations so far has been unique to the 17-55 so I am leaning toward lens issue

I am going to try cleaning the contact and find some way I can get a magnified view to look for damage

On other quetions
housing is an Aquatica
Yes the power is off when I mount or unmount
and I do not hve another functioning body

Does the lens wobble (move) when it is mounted? It could be the camera's mount as well. Or just some crud on the contacts. Use rubbing alcohol on a Q-tip and clean the contacts off.

Have you dropped the lens and/or camera. Something tells me you aren't telling us something.

Can you try the lens on a different body? This will help narrow down whether its the lens or the body. In addition to the reset msmoto describes, try pulling the battery for a few minutes. Also check the electrical contacts on both the lens and the body for damage, crud, dirt, dog hair, whatever. Also try to manually move the aperture lever on the lens mounting flange. This should normally be all the way open and held by a spring. Make sure there is no binding in the mechanism when you stop it all the way down.

One more thing, are you turning the camera off before mounting/unmounting lenses?

Housing, what housing? Try the camera with the lens when it is not in the housing. And, did you reset the camera as described on p 151 of the instruction manual?

Sometimes these things get caught up with static electricity just like any other computer. So, a reset is necessary to find our way back home. Then very methodically one can try various options to see where the problem begins to show itself.

Per yout suggestion I have gone back to basics.. and narrowed the probem down to the lens interfacing with the camera body.. I am using the camera in a housing... I mount lens test out .. some times i have to remount to get the lens to work properly

any sort of vibration forces me to reset the lens.. a simple remount doesn't always handle the situation

I am 95% certain the issue is unique to this lens

I bet the camera is working as it should but you may have changed settings to a point that it is not doing what you want. Reset your camera - then try everything. If that doesn't work then on to the next things.

OK from manual it appears that if I try the AF_ON it should only do AF not AE but it seems to be doing both... what am I missing??

ok First i am a bad typist ... it was 17-55mm

The issue was with only this lens BUT

I did various shot runs.... with results all over the curve

what I did start to do was walk back through camera button assignment

another user has suggested and in fact assigned AFL to the AEL/AFL button on back of camera (to help with use in housing

It was set AF-ON .. apparently this setting also left the AE functioning so i was also getting a exposure lock

I turn it off or to AF Only and exposure seems correct and the meter seems to be displaying correctly

See how tomorrow goes

There is not a Nikkor 15-55mm 1:2.8 G in Nikon's line-up - what lens are you using?

More details, including settings. Specifically, ISO Auto or fixed? What do you mean when you say the meter is "happy"? With Auto ISO and the setting at 400, minimum shutter speed 1/60, and the camera on P what happens? What does the Exif data show, Does this correspond to the camera settings?

Do tests at M, setting the shutter at 1/500th, the aperture at f11 and the ISO auto up to 6400, but set at 400. Shoot outside scenic of trees, an average range of tones.

Then with Shutter priority, at 1/500th sec. otherwise the same....

Aperture priority f/11, other settings the same....

Program mode, ISO auto, max ISO 6400, min shutter 1/60....

See what happens. make certain the lens is fully in its mount.

Then, whatever happens with the 15-55mm, does this happen with any other lens?

Make certain to write all the exposure data on a card, place it into the photo. Then you can compare Exif data and see if there is a problem.

OK this is driving me crazy......

in manual mode i use the meter and have the meter happy and the camera horribly overexposes...

in prioirty mode or auto the camera can do fine

the problem so far appears unique to this lens...

any thoughts