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Problematic D200
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Hi
Has anyone owning a Nikon D200 had a problem of images not recording to the compactflash? I have and its very annoying. After doing a firmware upgrade I found that some images were not recording, (no probelms before the upgrade) I first put it down to a 1 gb card that is a couple of years old so I stopped using it and it happened again with a brand new card of a different make.
I assumed I had done something wrong with the firmware upgrade so I redid it a couple of weeks ago and so far so good no missing images.I know this is a common problem but wondered if anyone else had any experience of this?
I use the D200 with battery grip, various lenses, nikon and sigma, it has happened with the SB800 flash attached and without, also happened when photographing a family group of 40 people with studio flash and remote slave trigger, 3 consecutive shots did not write at all, but I did notice before moving on to the next group!!
I have never been in the habit of looking at the view screen after every shot taken, BUT I AM KNOW!!I can already hear all the Canon users laughing thier heads off! Ha Ha Bonk.
I can also hear Nikon users frantically scrambling for thier cameras to do some tests!Cheers for any feedback
Phil
Hi Phil,
I use 2 D200’s extensively, both with the battery grip and have yet to have any problems.
When on a job though I always check the histograms etc. after each shot, also when taking group shots to check for
blinks / facial expressions etc. Not once have I have an issue with not writing to the card.With the wedding season coming in fast you’ve just given me something else to worry about :!: :!: :shock:
Time to go back to MF Film as my backup :D
Rgds
Kevin
No problems in 20,000 actuations-
Though I never applied the firmware upgrade-
Didn’t seem applicable to me-
(if it ain’t broke…)Phil wrote:
I can already hear all the Canon users laughing thier heads off! Ha Ha Bonk.
The thought did cross my mind :wink: However, in reality, I have no doubt that we would all acknowledge that neither brand is infallible and Canon have their fair share of problems too. Must admit though, I’d rather have a completely dead camera (Canon’s Err-99) than one which randomly missed writing images to the card! I tend to only check my LCD every so often (old habits die hard!), so a problem like this could well go un-noticed if I was shooting! :(
I can’t really offer any suggestion as to why this might be happening. I presume you re-format the cards in the camera each time you want to reuse them (as opposed to just deleting the images). Can you shoot RAW+JPEG and see what happens then? Does the write status light flicker after every shot, even those that are missing? Did you save a copy of the previous firmware version so that you can reload that? That might be your best option, unless of course you need the newest firmware to rectify a critical problem with the camera.
One other thing – I remember that there used to be a problem with the Canon EOS 20D and battery grip, whereby the battery grip didn’t fit very well with the result that if the camera was held in vertical mode, the force of gravity tended to pull the camera away from the battery grip just enough for the power contacts to break, causing the camera to switch off. Could something like this be happening with the D200 (unlikely, seeing as it only seemed to start after a F/W upgrade, but worth a check all the same)?
The was major problems reported on several Nikon forums about 18+ months ago, around the time that the compact flash manufacturers started to use accelerated write techniques to produce the newer high speed cards. Neither Nikon, nor Canon cameras use this feature as it does not comply with the published specification for ?Compact Flash?
I do know of one professional who complained to Nikon UK on several occasions about missing images and was absolutely furious when Nikon checked his D2Xs? and said that they were within spec. He was so angry that Nikon ?refused to admit that there was a problem with their cameras? that he jumped ship and bought a Canon MKII because it takes dual memory cards. Several of his close friends picked up some nice pro kit at discount prices including some very fine high-speed glass, which still works a treat by the way.
Anyhow, as it happened he kept his Compact Flash cards to use in the new camera alongside the new format cards that the MKII uses. Guess what? Yes, the MKII also lost random images when writing to the Compact Flash cards. As it turned out it was the cards which were at fault, not the camera, so in all he spent over 12K on a new body, a couple of pro lenses and a dedicated flash. Needless to say he was mighty p?.d
I use several of the ?Kingston? 1 GB standard speed compact flash cards in a variety of Nikon cameras, including the D200, and have never had a lost image in probably 40,000+ activations. I always reformat the card in the camera after I have transferred the images. There really is no need to use the very high speed cards, especially with the D200. If you really need to shoot at 5fps for sustained periods then switch to JPG Large Fine.
Hope you get you problem sorted, but I would suspect the card rather than the camera.Les
Never had this problem with my D200 and i have installed the new firmware upgrade a good few months ago.
For what its worth i use Sandisk Cards. The 2GB Extreme III and 4GB Ultra II. Never had a problem with them so far touch wood
Best of luck to you
Martin
Les,
Thanks for jogging my memory. I had totally forgotten about that issue. You’re absolutely correct. This was a widely reported issue with Lexar back in 2005. It was a hot topic in the worlds various discussion forums. I don’t recall it being mentioned in relation to Nikon – it seemed to be only Canon cameras that were affected. At the time I was just buying some more CF cards and this was one of the main reasons I bought Sandisk rather than LExar (and I’ve stuck with Sandisk ever since).
There is more on this on Lexar’s site at http://www.lexar.com/support/cust_advisory.html and also Canon’s site at http://consumer.usa.canon.com/ir/controller?act=PgComSmModDisplayAct&keycode=2112&fcategoryid=215&modelid=10598
Thanks Guys
I do not think this is a card issue, I have used sandisk and lexar 133x and 80x and it has happened on both types of cards in various sizes 1gb, 2gb and 4gb. I am convinced this was a firmware problem, I never missed an image until doing an upgrade. After redoing the upgrade after a month or so and since then over 1000 images later I have not, so far, missed any more images.
I had not thought of the battery grip Thorsten but as this has happened when holding the camera horizontally and vertically and some times at very odd angles I do not think it is this.
And yes I am firmly in the habit of reformatting cards after every job.
Firmware – its got to be.
If it ain’t broke….
I won’t be looking to change to canon for this little glitch but am looking forward to the new nikon rumoured to be near full frame, sounds nice, will have to dig the tin up out of the garden to pay for that though, I would expect it to cost at least 3 k sterling!
cheers lads
Phil
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