D80 shutter speed question/problem

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stormlady - 11 Jan 2007 15:52 GMT

So last night I was trying to adjust the shutter speed before taking a
picture, and for some reason it wouldn't seem to go past 1/200 of a
second. So I turned the camera off and brought to DBf to show him what
it was doing, and then when he turned it back on, it didn't have that
problem, it was going through all of the shutter speeds. So I took it
back to where I was attempting to take my picture, and it did it again,
stopped at 1/200 of a second. Turned it off and on again several times
and it continued to stop at 1/200 some of those times, but would go
through all the shutter speeds some of the times.

This was in M mode with 4 bars of battery power remaining.

Does anyone have any idea what could be causing this? I can't find
anything relevant in the owner's manual. I've only had the camera
since Christmas and would hate to find it's malfunctioning and needs
repairs so soon.

Thanks for any help
Heather

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Doug Payne - 11 Jan 2007 15:59 GMT

> So last night I was trying to adjust the shutter speed before taking a
> picture, and for some reason it wouldn't seem to go past 1/200 of a
[quoted text clipped - 12 lines]
> since Christmas and would hate to find it's malfunctioning and needs
> repairs so soon.

Flash?

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stormlady - 11 Jan 2007 16:37 GMT

> > So last night I was trying to adjust the shutter speed before taking a
> > picture, and for some reason it wouldn't seem to go past 1/200 of a
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
>
> Flash?

Sorry for not mentioning that.

Use of the flash didn't seem to make a whole lot of difference to the
problem. I was trying to use the flash when the problem first occurred
(on camera flash) but then when we realized what was happening, that
was our first thought, that the flash might be having some effect on
it, so we tried it both with the flash on, and not.

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Doug Payne - 11 Jan 2007 18:10 GMT

>>> So last night I was trying to adjust the shutter speed before taking a
>>> picture, and for some reason it wouldn't seem to go past 1/200 of a
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> Use of the flash didn't seem to make a whole lot of difference to the
> problem.

Is it possible that the camera thinks the flash is active when you think
it's not? Is the flash indicator on in the VF, even when you think it
should be off? I think flash sync on the D80 is 1/200 (I don't have one,
nor have I used one), which means that if the camera thinks a flash is
active, it won't exceed that speed. Maybe the micro-switch that tells
the camera when the built-in flash is raised is malfunctioning. Another
clue might be if you also can't select a speed slower than 1/30.

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Bill - 11 Jan 2007 18:23 GMT

>> > stopped at 1/200 of a second. Turned it off and on again several
>> > times
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
> was our first thought, that the flash might be having some effect on
> it, so we tried it both with the flash on, and not.

I would have said the same thing, since the flash syncs up to 1/200. Try
doing a two-button reset to make sure flash sync is reset to normal.

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stormlady - 11 Jan 2007 22:11 GMT

> >> > stopped at 1/200 of a second. Turned it off and on again several
> >> > times
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
> I would have said the same thing, since the flash syncs up to 1/200. Try
> doing a two-button reset to make sure flash sync is reset to normal.

Thanks everyone!!

Apparently it was the flash sync. Dbf figured it out while he was home
sick today from work. All systems are go again.

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gpaleo - 21 Jan 2007 16:41 GMT

>> > So last night I was trying to adjust the shutter speed before taking a
>> > picture, and for some reason it wouldn't seem to go past 1/200 of a
[quoted text clipped - 22 lines]
> was our first thought, that the flash might be having some effect on
> it, so we tried it both with the flash on, and not.

I would perform a hard reset and try again, you know, push the pin between
the USB and VIDEO outs.

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tomm42 - 11 Jan 2007 18:19 GMT

> So last night I was trying to adjust the shutter speed before taking a
> picture, and for some reason it wouldn't seem to go past 1/200 of a
[quoted text clipped - 15 lines]
> Thanks for any help
> Heather

Are you in P "program " mode. The camera makes the decisions there. A
"aperture priority" won't let you by the shutter speed for the widest
f-stop. In my office I set my D200 to f2.8 and I couldn't go higher
than 1/25. That is just the limit for your lens in the situation you
are in. Set it to manual you'll have free movement of all controls, but
have to keep track of the exposure. If you need more speed raise the
ISO.

Tom

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Neil Harrington - 12 Jan 2007 15:56 GMT

On the D200, the maximum flash sync speed (with the built-in flash) is 1/200
second. It sounds as though you're trying to set the shutter at a higher
speed than 1/200 while using flash, and the camera won't let you do that.
That is perfectly normal; it's the way the camera is supposed to work. When
it goes "through all the shutter speeds some of the times" I assume it's
under different lighting conditions in which the camera is not using the
flash.

Neil

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Neil Harrington - 12 Jan 2007 15:59 GMT

> On the D200, the maximum flash sync speed (with the built-in flash) is
> 1/200

On the D80, I meant.

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