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My Nikon D3300 was working perfectly then today I started using it and it will only produce black photos on any mode. Yes, the lens cap is off. I've tried restoring the settings, restarting, removing and reinserting SD, doing a power interrupt start up and nothing works. The photos come up as black on my display, on the live view setting and on my laptop once downloaded. From what I can see the shutter is functioning normally and the mirror is not broken so I really have no idea what could suddenly be causing this. I'm in Marrakech and losing out on some great moments so any suggestions would be much appreciated. enter image description here

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  • \$\begingroup\$ What exposure mode are you in? (Program, Aperture, Shutter, Manual)? Are you using Auto ISO? Has it been dropped, exposed to water, or any sort of extreme situation? What lens is on your camera? \$\endgroup\$
    – scottbb ♦
    Oct 28, 2017 at 16:48
  • \$\begingroup\$ @scotbb thanks for the help. I've tried it in all modes, Manual, Auto, Shutter etc. Both auto ISO and manually setting the ISO. It hasn't moved since the last time I used it, when it was working perfectly. I'm using a Sigma DC 18 -200 mm Lens \$\endgroup\$
    – Michelle Kempis
    Oct 28, 2017 at 16:50
  • \$\begingroup\$ @scottbb Any ideas on how fix it or test if it's a sensor issue? \$\endgroup\$
    – Michelle Kempis
    Oct 28, 2017 at 17:00
  • \$\begingroup\$ Now I'm just grasping at straws, but have you tried turning on the camera, removing the battery, let it sit for a minute or two, turn off the camera, and reinsert the battery? What about removing and reattaching the lens? At this point, either you have a critical dead failure, or the camera is exhibiting buggy behavior. \$\endgroup\$
    – scottbb ♦
    Oct 28, 2017 at 17:05
  • \$\begingroup\$ No idea. It sounds like a sensor issue, but there's a chance it is just acting really buggy. Probably will need to be checked/serviced by a Nikon service center, unfortunately. =( \$\endgroup\$
    – scottbb ♦
    Oct 28, 2017 at 17:06

2 Answers 2

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The same thing happened to me today during a meeting at a short circuit raceway (as you could imagine, there's a lot of dust being flung about). I switched over to my backup, a rather elderly D40, and carried on but when I got home, I ran through a number of things that could have been at fault. First of all I checked to see that the shutter was working normally, which it was. I then went into the menu and selected the "Clean Image Sensor" option. On the first attempt, I noticed that I was getting something, so I ran it again and all now appears to be working again.

I still intend to keep the D40 around as it's a nice camera but this appears to have sorted my D3100 for now.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ I doubt that the sensor was so dusty that it only recorded blackness. \$\endgroup\$
    – U. Windl
    Apr 28 at 21:09
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I just stumbled on this thread as I was just having the same issue. The only thing that changed from when the last time I took ay pictures was I had added a quick shoe to the camera base so I could attach it to my Vanguard tripod. On a hunch I removed it and now my camera is working fine again. WEIRD!

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Actually not: Some screws may have excessive length and when screwed in, they may bend the camera body's internals a bit. Maybe enough to cause malfunction. My German manual for the DMC-GH3 says the device can be damaged if the screw exceeds 5.5mm. \$\endgroup\$
    – U. Windl
    Apr 28 at 21:08

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