D3 err message with 1.7 & 500mm combo! Help! *update post 59*

Richard Peters said:
the first thing I did when i got it home, I took some test shots to make sure it was all ok. I assume she did the same, you wouldn't buy a second hand camera then not even take a test shot for two weeks and only use it for the first time when you fly off on the trip of a lifetime. I don't buy that.
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Neither do I!

+ Nikon says it's not a compatible combination
+ it's out of warranty
+ you're not a dealer
+ it's been subjected to 'who knows what' carriage out of the UK ...

Quick text to say above and "these things happen - it worked perfectly according to Nikon spec when you received it".
 
I sympathise with her, but taken on face value, she'll just have to suck it up, i think.
it works prefectly well in all other situations, I take it - just the problem with the TC-17E...?

If it's an older TC-17 (3 years or more) I can believe she's having problems as the ones in the Stores at Land Command all had to be replaced for the newest models when we went over to D2x as they weren't compatible with those cameras either, let alone the D3.
 
srichards said:
I'd just tell her it worked perfectly when you sent it. If she wants to take it up with the courier and accuse them of dropping it then she's entitled to do that.
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Thats just it, we met in person. She wanted to do so to avoid possible courier damage, and I was very happy to do that. When we met I encouraged her to take it out the box and check it out and make sure she was happy with it, which she did and was.
 
Well, like I said earlier in this thread it could well be the aperture lever getting broken off... you can do that quite easily if you aren't careful, particularly with big heavy lenses... If her 500 f4 is one with an aperture ring then this will be more than likely the error.

Alternatively, picking up a huge heavy 500 f4 by the camera body definitely will stress the mount and she quite easily could have bent and broken stuff by doing so. Its an easy mistake to make if you don't think carefully about what you are doing (being aware that you can't pick it up by the camera body/strap) and if you aren't used to big glass you won't be thinking about it. Never seen it break the aperture lever like this but it could well do I guess.

Personally I think there's too much stuff you need to be careful with there to assume that a newbie wouldn't make some real expensive mistakes...
 
Thanks guys.

John, all I have been told is that when the 1.7 TC is attached with the 500mm the camera locks up with the ERR message, but on another D3 they worked perfectly.

It seems from the link you sent that they experienced a camera/lens combo that for whatever reason didn't seem to gel and neither lens nor camera was technically faulty according to Nikon.

I am still yet to hear back, but if I do I'll tell her again she needs to speak with Nikon because all the guessing in the world won't really get her to the bottom of the problem unfortunately.
 
I'd like to know where she just happened to "find" another D3 while on holiday?

Do you have a record of the serial number by any chance? I wonder if she's trying a swap-out?
 
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OutLore said:
I'd like to know where she just happened to "find" another D3 while on holiday?

Do you have a record of the serial number by any chance? I wonder if she's trying a swap-out?
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The D3 puts it's serial number in the metadata.
 
andephotographic said:
The D3 puts it's serial number in the metadata.
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I wish all cameras did that. Such a useful thing to do in my opinion.

Richard Peters said:
She was on a photographic trip with other photographers. Not a 'regular' holiday.
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Still seems a bit fishy to me. So I'm guessing that she's pretty into photography, (as she's just bought a D3) yet doesn't try out her new buy with all her kit before she goes on a major trip?

I'm with everyone else - time to walk away. You sold in good faith, and while it's unlucky and I feel for her (if she's genuine) you're responsibility is over.
 
I'm sorry, but if I were spending a few thousand pounds on a camera and going on a holiday of a lifetime, I'd damn well check all the equipment worked before setting off!! It all sounds extremely dodgy to me. Plus, how would one get all that kit through the airport as hand luggage anyway? Surely that must be pretty large and heavy...
 
Nikon says it doesn't work. It doesn't work. How is that a fault?

The only mystery is how the other one is working. But from a strict reading of Nikon's spec that's the one that's faulty not yours.

My bet is that she was using the other one in brighter conditions - some TC and lens combos are marked as non compatible because they don't allow enough light through to allow the AF to guarantee function. So, sometimes they can work and sometimes they don't.

But there's nearly no point guessing - the camera you sold is functioning according to spec. Plus it's weeks later.
 
Like I said, Nikon's table isn't specific about later models... they will tell you anything that results in smaller than f5.6 won't work, which is nonsense on the latest generation which AF up to f8.

A 1.7x TC is 1.5 stops decrease.

And any how, even if you stacked a pile of TC's the problem you see isn't "ERR" its just hunting of the focus...
 
desantnik said:
And any how, even if you stacked a pile of TC's the problem you see isn't "ERR" its just hunting of the focus...
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Yes exactly, you just wouldn't get focus. Not a locked up camera with the ERR message. So obviously something is up somewhere, but it could be anyone of numerous things caused by any one of numerous things. But after owning the camera for so many weeks and flying with it, that's for the new owner to figure out unfortunately. And as has been said, she must have tested the camera before going away, and clearly I would have been contacted far sooner if a problem occurred before flying with it so my money is on something happening whilst away.

Anyhow, still not heard back yet from my reply on Saturday. I'll keep you all posted if I do...
 
desantnik said:
And any how, even if you stacked a pile of TC's the problem you see isn't "ERR" its just hunting of the focus...
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That's true. But one of the many causes of an ERR can be an issue with the aperture unit. I can easily imagine the TC not allowing the aperture to stop down before or after exposure and this giving an ERR.

If I'd bought the camera, I'd override the Err error and see what happened next. If it occurred more than a couple of times then I'd drop it into Nikon for a full service. If it showed some underlying nasty error that the seller could have known about (ERR errors are logged to the chip so Nikon could tell me when it started happening) I might pursue it. But more likely I'd get it fixed or live with it.

But I wouldn't keep a 2nd hand camera for 3 weeks and then complain to the private seller that something Nikon says doesn't work doesn't work ;)
 
Flash In The Pan said:
The cynic in me would say that she's angling for a refund once she's finished using it for her holiday......
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Doncha just love the way e-bay can be used for free kit hire?
 
UPDATE: Well, after not hearing back for over a week, I just now had a very short email to the reply I sent on the 27th Nov.

Basically said, for the record the camera was kept in the box until she flew to Bosque, where it was stored safely with her other gear and was neither dropped or knocked.

Then said she is sending to Fixation and she will pay for repair, and there is no need to reply to the email.

That was it. So I'm going to do just that, leave well alone now.
 
Richard Peters said:
UPDATE: Well, after not hearing back for over a week, I just now had a very short email to the reply I sent on the 27th Nov.

Basically said, for the record the camera was kept in the box until she flew to Bosque, where it was stored safely with her other gear and was neither dropped or knocked.

Then said she is sending to Fixation and she will pay for repair, and there is no need to reply to the email.

That was it. So I'm going to do just that, leave well alone now.
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Probably teaching you to suck eggs, but I'd keep hold of that email, just in case she tries it on again when she gets a huge bill for whatever repair is needed.... :thumbs:
 
OutLore said:
Probably teaching you to suck eggs, but I'd keep hold of that email, just in case she tries it on again when she gets a huge bill for whatever repair is needed.... :thumbs:
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Way ahead of you there :thumbs:

Still convinced they'll say it's in part an issue with the TC, not that I expect her to ever get back to me again now to let me know.
 
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