No image in view finder

I would think that you are not focusing your camera before fully depressing the shutter button Start by depressing your shutter button very lightly until you see the outline of a small square in the middle of the view finder . At that point you are in focus . Now fully depress the shutter button and take your picture . You must do this prior to taking each photo . Remember to just depress the shutter button about half way to focus your picture image , before pressing it fully . I hope this is of some help to you.

A stuck shutter is another common failure mode for digital cameras, but especially so for the S2 IS. The symptoms of a stuck or "sticky" shutter are very similar to CCD image sensor failure. The camera may take black pictures (for shutter stuck closed), or the pictures may be very bright and overexposed, sometimes with lines, especially when taken outdoors (for shutter stuck open). To confirm a stuck shutter, put the camera in any mode other than "Auto", and turn the flash OFF (you don't want to blind yourself for the next step). Next look down the lens and take a picture. You should see a tiny flicker in the center of the lens as the shutter opens and closes. If no movement is seen, then you likely have a stuck shutter. If so, please see this link for further info and a simple fix that may help.

I just had this problem! And the answer is simple - just hit the DISP. button and the image should return.

The Nikon D40 camera does not have "live view".

The view finder "going black" on an SLR is caused by the mirror being up, which is also when the camera is actually taking the picture! The mirror sends the light from the lens to either the viewfinder or the sensor. When it's down, the light goes to the viewfinder and you can compose the picture. When you press the shutter release, the mirror comes up, and light goes to the sensor. In a film SLR, there was a shutter just in front of the film that controlled the amount of light that hit the film. In your D80, it's a combination of the mirror and the electronics that set "shutter speed".

What is happening when you get these white pictures is that somehow your settings are holding the mirror open far longer than it should be open. When you turn off the camera, it drops the mirror automatically. If you are in S or M, it's because you've set your shutter speed improperly. If it's doing this in Auto mode, then there may be a problem with the exposure meter or the lens.

If you describe more about when it happens (shutter speed settings, Auto or manual mode) I can probably tell you if it's your settings or the camera/lens.

Had the same problem with my S3 is and couldnt find any help other than to junk it and buy another camera. WAY too expensive to repair (out of warranty)
I found a post and this worked for me...just fixed it about an hour ago. Mine would show a blank screen on the LCD nothing thru the view finder other than the menu screen. Found out the shutter was stuck and that seems to be a common issue with these cameras. This is how I fixed mine.
1. set the shutter speed to the longest setting you can. I put mine on the TV setting.

2. close the flash and set turn off all of the functions you can to conserve the batteries.

3. take a picture and within 5 seconds open the battery door. Then close it back and repeat. Your trying to interrupt the shutter reset process thereby "unsticking" the stuck shutter.

4. If this fails then try LIGHTLY tapping the camera against a piece of wood, again to unstick the shutter.

Sounds like a bad idea but considering I had tossed my camera in a drawer and already replaced it, I didnt really have much to lose. I was pleasantly suprised to see that after about 15 resets (steps 1-3) and a couple of light taps, the camera is working good as new again.

Good luck, hope it works out for you!

A stuck shutter is another common failure mode for digital cameras. The symptoms of a stuck or "sticky" shutter are very similar to CCD image sensor failure. The camera may take black pictures (for shutter stuck closed), or the pictures may be very bright and overexposed, especially when taken outdoors (for shutter stuck open).

To confirm a stuck shutter, put the camera in any mode other than "Auto", and turn the flash OFF (you don't want to blind yourself for the next step). Next look down the lens and take a picture. You should see a tiny flicker in the center of the lens as the shutter opens and closes. If no movement is seen, then you likely have a stuck shutter. If so, please see the following for further info and a simple fix that may help:

http://camerarepair.blogspot.com/2009/05/simple-fix-for-stuck-shutter.html

I believe the CCD ( Charger Couple Device ) was defective it like image sensor it take the picture from the CAM lens and processing, It delicated to replace it you need specials instrument to align and software to setup colour and white balance
I sugges bring it to Sony or Sony service center to repair it
Cheers

The view finder and focusing screen are separate from the CCD sensor. The mirror reflects the image to the view finder until you take a picture. Then the mirror goes up, the shutter opens to expose the CCD to capture the image.

If you have a lot of dust, you should look into a cleaning kit, or have it professionally cleaned. This will show up on your images as white and/or black specks.

anyone else had this? or know what to do. whatever best you can do is to take the camera to a good repairer as you can't fix the problem by yourself. there may be two possible reasons for the problem. 1) bad image sensor i.e. damaged CCD or 2)shutter blade are not working. the shutter blades may be jammed due to friction are no signal.