Is my camera dead?

[Pestoman]

I've been using a D40 and 28 - 200 zoom forever (2008) and it recently stopped auto focussing! It does take an image in M focus, but I shoot my son's barnraisings and need to capture images quickly. The combo has been great! But now, in AF, it will not click the shutter! The lens does "hunt" and passes through the focus, but no picture. I have tried everything in the manual. Battery is charged fully. Since the lens does move, I think it is still working. I suspect the D40 camera. I'm looking for advice. I'm considering a D7200.

 

[Photon42]

In "focus priority", the camera will only fire if focus was acquired. Try different targets for focussing. In "shutter priority" and "manual focus", the camera fires regardless.

 

[Paul Spinnler]

Given a new in box one from Japan costs 79 bucks on ebay you might want to consider just replacing it if it's dead.

 

[Pestoman]

In "focus priority", the camera will only fire if focus was acquired. Try different targets for focussing. In "shutter priority" and "manual focus", the camera fires regardless.

I'm doing the same as I've done successfully for the last 17 years in AUTO mode. That's what's confusing.

 

[Pestoman]

Given a new in box one from Japan costs 79 bucks on ebay you might want to consider just replacing it if it's dead.

Thanks. I considered that - or upgrading. But what if it's not the camera? That's why I'm looking for advice.

 

[Swissblad]

Even if you get the camera working again .... why take the risk of using a camera that may die at a crucial moment when documenting an important event?
Thank your D40 for ≈ 20 years of good service - and step up to a D7200 - you won't regret it!

 

[pegelli]

But what if it's not the camera? That's why I'm looking for advice

Only way to find out if it's the camera or te lens is to test the camera with another lens or the lens on another camera. Do you have a shop in your neighbourhood or a friend who also has a Nikon system?

 

[Pestoman]

Even if you get the camera working again .... why take the risk of using a camera that may die at a crucial moment when documenting an important event?
Thank your D40 for ≈ 20 years of good service - and step up to a D7200 - you won't regret it!

That's my thinking. Thanks for confirmation.

 

[darr]

Electronics have a limited lifespan. When they start to fail, it’s time to retire the equipment, especially after many years of reliable service. I agree with you, @Swissblad.

 

[Pestoman]

Electronics have a limited lifespan. When they start to fail, it’s time to retire the equipment, especially after many years of reliable service. I agree with you, @Swissblad.

Thanks, Darr!

 

[Godfrey]

Electronics have a limited lifespan. When they start to fail, it’s time to retire the equipment, especially after many years of reliable service. I agree with you, @Swissblad.

Whenever I hear that, I think of the Voyager probes ... still working after 45-46 years in indubitably the nastiest environment ever encountered by a man-made machine. But then again: our cameras didn't cost millions of dollars apiece, nor have we each hired a team of scientists and engineers to manage and maintain them on a daily basis for all that time ...

G

 

[Pestoman]

Whenever I hear that, I think of the Voyager probes ... still working after 45-46 years in indubitably the nastiest environment ever encountered by a man-made machine. But then again: our cameras didn't cost millions of dollars apiece, nor have we each hired a team of scientists and engineers to manage and maintain them on a daily basis for all that time ...

G

Nor were cameras designed to survive space environments. We couldn't afford them if they were!

 

[darr]

Whenever I hear that, I think of the Voyager probes ... still working after 45-46 years in indubitably the nastiest environment ever encountered by a man-made machine. But then again: our cameras didn't cost millions of dollars apiece, nor have we each hired a team of scientists and engineers to manage and maintain them on a daily basis for all that time ...

G

Good point! But thank goodness I don’t have to pay millions and hire a team of engineers just to keep my camera working. Although, considering how much I’ve spent on gear over the years… maybe I have funded a small space program.

 

[haske]

 

[Pestoman]

Good point! But thank goodness I don’t have to pay millions and hire a team of engineers just to keep my camera working. Although, considering how much I’ve spent on gear over the years… maybe I have funded a small space program.

 

[Pestoman]

Indeed!

 

[Godfrey]

Good point! But thank goodness I don’t have to pay millions and hire a team of engineers just to keep my camera working. Although, considering how much I’ve spent on gear over the years… maybe I have funded a small space program.

heh. It often seems like that, doesn't it?

But ... I'm currently reading "Chasing New Horizons" by Alan Stern and David Grinspoon. This is a documentary about the New Horizons mission to explore Pluto. New Horizons was specifically scaled to fit an acceptable budget in order to get funding approval... It was the least expensive outer-Solar System exploratory mission ever at the time of its design and proposal. That bargain basement price on the proposal in today's US dollars amounted to $750,000,000.00 ...!!!

I started my career post-college at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Now past the end of my career, there are moment when I wonder if I did the right thing ... I chose to leave JPL after four years and went into the computer industry, ran my own business as a computer consultant and another business as a photographer. It was a wonderful, satisfying career ... but. As I reflect: I loved working on exploratory missions into space, on the development of space craft and instruments in imaging science, and the camaraderie of so many bright, crazy people working together, against the odds, in the hope of achieving something beyond the everyday ... It was thrilling, hard, and supremely satisfying—and I will never forget it.

We must all make our choices. I have no regrets, just wistful what-ifs...

G

 

[darr]

heh. It often seems like that, doesn't it?

But ... I'm currently reading "Chasing New Horizons" by Alan Stern and David Grinspoon. This is a documentary about the New Horizons mission to explore Pluto. New Horizons was specifically scaled to fit an acceptable budget in order to get funding approval... It was the least expensive outer-Solar System exploratory mission ever at the time of its design and proposal. That bargain basement price on the proposal in today's US dollars amounted to $750,000,000.00 ...!!!

I started my career post-college at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Now past the end of my career, there are moment when I wonder if I did the right thing ... I chose to leave JPL after four years and went into the computer industry, ran my own business as a computer consultant and another business as a photographer. It was a wonderful, satisfying career ... but. As I reflect: I loved working on exploratory missions into space, on the development of space craft and instruments in imaging science, and the camaraderie of so many bright, crazy people working together, against the odds, in the hope of achieving something beyond the everyday ... It was thrilling, hard, and supremely satisfying—and I will never forget it.

We must all make our choices. I have no regrets, just wistful what-ifs...

G

That’s an incredible journey, Godfrey! I can only imagine how thrilling it must have been to be part of something so ambitious. Meanwhile, I get excited when I successfully update my computer without breaking something.

I really admire the choices you’ve made. You’ve built a life filled with intelligence, creativity, and independence—basically the trifecta of cool. It’s natural to have those “what-if” moments (I have my fair share, like, what if I hadn’t spent so much on camera gear?), but you took paths that led to a career and experiences most people can only dream of.