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I have a Nikon D3300 DSLR with 18-55mm lens. It was working well, but yesterday fell from the tripod. Now, I am trying to take pictures, but it just says the subject is too dark and can't adjust the exposure even when shooting in bright daylight. It just shows a completely black image on the screen, but my previous pictures and videos from before the fall look okay.
What should I do? Is the problem with the camera body or lens? Should I buy a new lens?
Following is a list of some steps that may be helpful when attempting to determine whether your lens or your camera is broken. They are not guaranteed to find the cause of your problem. Rather, they are intended to direct your suspicions toward one or the other.
The list is long, but if you're familiar with your camera's operation, it should be quicker for you to do them than it is to write or read them. Skip any steps that do not apply to your particular lens or camera.
It is a good sign that you are able to turn on and view previously taken images. This reduces the likelihood that your camera is broken. Try using the lens with a different camera if you have access to one. Also, if you can, try using a different lens with your camera.
If the lens works fine with a different body, it is more likely that your camera body is broken. If the camera body works fine with a different lens, then it is more likely that the lens is broken. If both work fine connected to different equipment, but don't work when connected to each other, there is probably a problem with the communication between your camera and lens. Perhaps an issue with the contacts.
Go into the camera menu to enable the ability to shoot without lens.
Remove the lens from your camera. Observe mirror movement while firing the shutter. If movement appears abnormal, your camera may be broken.
If the mirror appears to move normally, enable mirror lockup mode. Observe shutter movement while firing the shutter. If movement appears abnormal, your camera may be broken.
As noted by Kat, the D3300 may not have a mirror lockup mode. However, if you switch to live view mode, the mirror should move out of the way for you to observe the shutter movements.
If while firing the shutter without the lens, the result is a black image, your camera is likely broken. If the result is an image of diffuse light, it is less likely that your camera is broken.
Turn the lens so that the front element is facing up (or down). Now turn it over so that the front element is facing the opposite direction. If you hear any rattling sounds, your lens may be broken.
Reattach the lens to the camera. Zoom in and out. If the zoom ring sticks or there is any grinding, your lens may be broken.
Half press the shutter and listen for the autofocus motor. If you do not hear it, the lens or your hearing may be broken. Look through the viewfinder. If you do not see any changes while attempting to focus on objects at various distances, your lens may be broken.
Activate manual focus and focus on objects at various distances. If you do not see any changes in the viewfinder, your lens may be broken.
Activate depth of field preview. Look for changes in the scene through the viewfinder. Listen for the aperture adjustment. Look through the front of the lens to see if the aperture is changing. If none of these changes are observed, your lens may be broken.
Apparently DOF preview is not available through the viewfinder on the D3300. For non-G lenses, Live View may be used instead. (Thank you, Michael Clark, for pointing this out.)
Repeat checking focus and aperture (all steps after reattaching the lens to the camera) with vibration reduction both turned on and off. If normal images are recorded with one setting but not the other, the lens is likely broken.
If any of the above leads you to believe your lens may be broken, it may not be broken. The camera or lens-camera communication may be faulty.
