Shutter jammed I was at the beach, taking photos, and for no apparent reason the shutter jammed open when I pushed the shutter button. The M90 and B settings still work, but not the other shutter speeds. It's NOT the battery - the lights still work fine, and new batteries didn't help at all. Could it be sand in the camera? (But then why does it still work on the manual settings?) Is it worth opening the camera myself and trying to clean it out? Any ideas?? Rebecca

When the shutter assembly fails all you can do is to set the camera to manual exposure, select the "B" shutter speed, and with the lens off and the back open, fire the shutter. In the B setting the shutter will remain open as long as you hold the shutter button, allowing you to see if there's an obvious obstruction.

If there's nothing obvious, then the shutter assembly must be replaced and as it's an uneconomical repair on that model your camera effectively becomes a spares donor.

You can get similar models very cheaply on auction websites or even for nothing at all on sites like FreeCycle and Freegle as they're effectively worthless, even in good working order.

M90 is a battery independent setting - it requires no battery power to function. If it won't advance until put on M90 from other settings, then either you're not allowing for proper exposure, have the settings incorrectly set (film speed, etc), or you have shutter issues. The shutter is electronically controlled on all settings except M90. In the auto setting, your lense MUST be set to the smallest aperture (biggest number). On any other setting, you can use it however you'd like. I'd suggest unloading any film, setting the shutter speed dial to 1/125 or so, opening the back and looking thru and firing the shutter. If it's not snapping open and immediately closed, theres an issue and you need to consult a repair technician either locally, through Nikon, or through KEH Camera online.

Try a new set of batteries. The shutter is electronically operated at all speeds except the B and M90 settings. If the exposure meter works with a new set of batteries but the shutter still does not, then you'll have to take it in for service.

photo's on the beach, camera obstructed? Could it be you got sand in your camera? Didyou change your lens while on (or near to) the beach? Sand in your shutter can obstruct the shutter in that case the camera has to be cleanded i don't know what the costs are for a cleaning of the body.

Without power/battery the mirror will stay up except in M90 mode or Bulb mode. Rotate the shutter speed dial to M90 and the mirror should return.

Check the batteries first. The electromagnetic shutter requires power to function. To free up the shutter and advance lever, rotate the command switch to "M90" (if I recall). That should re-set the shutter and allow you to advance the lever mechanically.

It sounds like your cameras need a CLA (clean, lube and adjustment). Occasionally when this has happened to me, i noticed that it was the foam on the mirror bumper that had gotten all deteriorated and gummy and as such the mirror would 'stick' to it when it flipped up. Changing the foam seals might do the trick.

Switching to M90 means that the camera is in Manual mode whereby it is not relying on the electronics at all in the camera. When your battery dies in mid shoot, you switch to M90 and you shoot manually at a fixed speed of 1/90 second. Of course your light meter won't have power, but if you meter manually or go by the 'Sunny 16' rule, you can adjust the aperture and get your shots.

Yes, moving the shutter dial to M90 should release the mirror back down, if it is stuck up.I'm assuming of course that you didn't manually set the mirror up anyway... Test it out with brand new batteries!

jeep111

be sure batteries are good. pull up on the rewind knob to open film door. load film ,push down rewind knob. pull enough film to connect to take-up spool. close film door. advance film to counter # 1. look through finder and set meter ( push shutter button to turn on meter ) focus subject and fire shutter repeat to end of film. push rewind button ( bottom of camera ) rewind film.
remove lens by pushing button and turn lens left to remove.

The Shooting modes are as follows: PROGRAM (P)/AUTO Modes Used for general photography. The camera automatically makes the settings for natural color balance. In PROGRAM (P) the brightness (exposure compensation) can be adjusted. In AUTO mode you cannot use exposure compensation or panorama features. Portrait Suitable for taking a portrait-style shot of a person. The camera automatically sets the optimal shooting conditions. Sports Suitable for capturing fast moving action without blurring. Even a fast moving object will appear to be stationary. Landscape Suitable for taking photos of landscapes and other outdoor scenes. The camera automatically sets the optimal shooting conditions. Night scene Suitable for shooting pictures in the evening or at night. The camera sets a slower shutter speed than is used in normal shooting. If you take a picture of a street at night in any other mode, the lack of brightness will result in a dark picture with only dots of light showing. In this mode, the true appearance of the street is captured. The camera automatically sets the optimal shooting conditions. If you use the flash, you can take pictures of both the subject and the background. Nightscene + Portrait Suitable for taking photos of your subject in the evening or at night. This setting employs a slow shutter speed, the camera should be stabilized to avoid camera shake resulting in a blurred picture. Landscape + Portrait Suitable for taking photos of both your subject and the landscape. This setting allows for both the foreground subject and background landscape to be in focus. The camera automatically sets the optimal shooting conditions. Self Portrait Enables you to take a picture of yourself while holding the camera. Point the lens towards yourself and the focus will be locked on you. The camera automatically sets the optimal shooting conditions. The zoom is locked to wide-angle and cannot be changed. Indoor Optimum settings for taking pictures of family gatherings and groups of friends. This mode reproduces the background clearly capturing the atmosphere. Beach Suitable for taking photos at the beach under a bright blue sky. Colors of the sky, the beach and people are reproduced vividly. Snow Optimun settings for taking pictures where backgrounds are snow fields. Settings are similar to Beach settings and colors of the sky, the greenery and people are reproduced vividly. Fireworks Optimum settings for capturing fireworks in the night sky. Since this setting employs a slow shutter speed , the camera should be stabilized to avoid camera shake resulting in a blurred picture. Sunset Optimum settings for capturing pictures of the setting sun. This mode reproduces reds and yellows vibrantly. Again, this setting employs a slow shutter speed , the camera should be stabilized to avoid camera shake resulting in a blurred picture.

The Shooting modes are as follows: PROGRAM (P)/AUTO Modes Used for general photography. The camera automatically makes the settings for natural color balance. In PROGRAM (P) the brightness (exposure compensation) can be adjusted. In AUTO mode you cannot use exposure compensation or panorama features. Portrait Suitable for taking a portrait-style shot of a person. The camera automatically sets the optimal shooting conditions. Sports Suitable for capturing fast moving action without blurring. Even a fast moving object will appear to be stationary. Landscape Suitable for taking photos of landscapes and other outdoor scenes. The camera automatically sets the optimal shooting conditions. Night scene Suitable for shooting pictures in the evening or at night. The camera sets a slower shutter speed than is used in normal shooting. If you take a picture of a street at night in any other mode, the lack of brightness will result in a dark picture with only dots of light showing. In this mode, the true appearance of the street is captured. The camera automatically sets the optimal shooting conditions. If you use the flash, you can take pictures of both the subject and the background. Nightscene + Portrait Suitable for taking photos of your subject in the evening or at night. This setting employs a slow shutter speed, the camera should be stabilized to avoid camera shake resulting in a blurred picture. Landscape + Portrait Suitable for taking photos of both your subject and the landscape This setting allows for both the foreground subject and background landscape to be in focus. The camera automatically sets the optimal shooting conditions. Self Portrait Enables you to take a picture of yourself while holding the camera. Point the lens towards yourself and the focus will be locked on you. The camera automatically sets the optimal shooting conditions. The zoom is locked to wide-angle and cannot be changed. Indoor Optimum settings for taking pictures of family gatherings and groups of friends. This mode reproduces the background clearly capturing the atmosphere. Beach Suitable for taking photos at the beach under a bright blue sky. Colors of the sky, the beach and people are reproduced vividly. Snow Optimun settings for taking pictures where backgrounds are snow fields. Settings are similar to Beach settings and colors of the sky, the greenery and people are reproduced vividly. Fireworks Optimum settings for capturing fireworks in the night sky. Since this setting employs a slow shutter speed , the camera should be stabilized to avoid camera shake resulting in a blurred picture. Sunset Optimum settings for capturing pictures of the setting sun. This mode reproduces reds and yellows vibrantly. Again, this setting employs a slow shutter speed, the camera should be stabilized to avoid camera shake resulting in a blurred picture.