D200 focussing brackets in viewfinder flicker and jump around

Can you check that you haven't moved the little toggle switch on the side of the 4-way controller/wheel to the L (or Lock) position? If it's locked then you won't be able to move the focus field in the viewfinder.

Which exact lenses are you trying to use? The N2000 (aka F301) is a manual focus camera so if you're trying to use autofocus lenses you have to focus them manually. Sorry if this seems an insulting suggestion, but you did state "my camera will not focus" and I've learned that on FixYa it's best not to assume any prior level of knowledge with regard to those who post questions.

The next thing to check is whether the viewfinder has an eyecup attached, if so slide it upwards to remove it as sometimes they have a corrective lens fitted if the previous user needed corrective optics. If your vision is fine (with glasses/contact lenses if necessary) then a corrective lens on the viewfinder may make things look blurry.

Other than that, the only other possible cause (other than a pair of broken lenses) is if the focussing screen has become dislodged downwards (or somehow fitted upside-down) then the viewfinder image will be unsharp. Officially the F301/N2000 had a fixed focussing screen but it could be replaced with one of three designed for the higher specified F501 (which does have autofocus), and if not seated correctly you'd get the focussing issue you describe.

You can test if the focussing screen is the problem in one of two ways:-
1. A visual inspection (you may need to get a more experienced photographer to take a look at it);

2. Set the lens to focus at infinity and at the widest possible aperture and take a photograph of a distant object (ignoring the blurred viewfinder). process the film and inspect the photo. If it's sharp then you have a focussing screen problem. If not, then it's a lens problem.

If the problem is a poorly fitted focussing screen then it may just need reseating or to be removed and refitted. It's vital to do this in a dust free environment and to avoid getting fingerprints on the screen. Some screens sit in a hinged frame which then clips into place when pushed up, others push into a pair of clips towards the top rear and then the front is held in place by a spring clip: it's been a long while since I worked on the F501 or F301 so I don't recall which system is used.

Courtesy of Norman Butkus' website, click here for a free Nikon N2000 user manual.

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There is a little wheel nest to the viewfinder on the camera. It is called something like dioptric focus (forgive me I am going off of what I heard pronounced) and it allows you to manually set the focus to your eyesight. Just adjust the wheel while looking through the viewfinder and you should be set.

Hi. I had the same issue when I first got my D200 years ago and just happen to come across your post. It is a simple adjustment in your Bracket/Flash mode in your menu under e. Go to (Manual Mode Bracketing) and set it to (Flash Only) and then the F-Stop wont jump around on its own Hope this helps you out.

Viewfinder has focus lever at bottom, please adjust viewfinder internal focus as per your eye sight looking on-screen display. Every thing will be fine after that.

No, the problem is not with the lens. Your Canon camera requires unpolarized light to focus. Even on manual focus, you may have trouble seeing focus through the viewfinder. That's why they invented circular polarizer.

What you are looking at in the middle is called a split prism whilst it is good to determine focus you have found the one short fall.

You will notice that it gets worse with the longer focal length lenses, when you have the half black image, just try moving your eye around the viewinder up, down, left right, you will find that the half that is black may change, the black is caused by poor alignment of the eye in relation to the optical axis center of the viewfinder system.

Not a fault or problem as such just something to be aware of and try to work around it.

I doubt if there is anything you can do yourself. The manual focus may have debris under the ring or is in need of parts. I would leave this one to a tech.

It might be because u r working in macro/supermacro mode (u can see a little flower on top of the viewfinder/lcd display) and focusing on a distant object or u try focussing a subject placed very near the cam while working with non macro mode. If changing these doesnt solve ur prblm, plz provide full details of what mode u use, what u r focussing on, what is the lighting conditions u used, etc..

Hello, Don't mix magnifier mode and expanded focus mode. Magnifier mode is simply a short AF range operating mode, like a kinda super-macro. Whether you selected mag/macro/normal, the camera operates always same except that the focussing range limits are changed accordingly by the S/W. The lens itself is capable of focussing from 1cm to infinity anyway. Expanded focus is used on some still and video cameras to assit manual focus because the LCD's resolution is lower than the CCD's. It can be seen as a workaround for the lack of optical reflex viewfinder (Sony cams ar not dSLRs, including HDR-FX1!). So the center area of the pic is "digitally zoomed" to make sure you can adjust a sharp focus of the point of interest in your frame. However it has nothing to do with macro shooting, and works at any distance within the lenses focussing range. Hope having helped