On Fri, 12 Aug 2005 13:16:43 -0700, Sunil Abhyankar wrote:
> My friend owns a Nikon 995 and has the following complaint:
>
> After she takes a picture, for a short period of time an icon shows up on
> the screen. The icon looks like the 'Out of Memory' icon.
>
> This is not how the camera used to work when it was new.
And your friend probably doesn't use the camera the same way that
she did when it was new, so one of the things to do is try to rule
out any effect she may have contributed. I'm not blaming her for
anything, but it's possible that some custom setting or mode is
slightly buggy.
> She has formatted the card in the camera, used different cards including the
> one shipped with the camera and has already gotten the camera serviced by
> Nikon.
Why was the camera serviced? Was it for the "out of memory"
display problem or something else?
> I think the memory in the camera (not the compact flash card)
> might be failing.
Possible, but if you're familiar with computer error messages
you'll have seen that in many cases error messages can be totally
inappropriate because low level error routines that detect error
conditions don't always bother to check which of dozens of possible
causes may have produced the error. For example, a computer program
may fail to start, displaying a "Missing File" error message if a
folder it had been configured to use as temporary workspace is moved
or deleted, or if the drive it uses for this folder runs out of free
disk space.
I'd suggest trying to reset the camera. But even if it has a
reset function (either with a button or a menu option), it may not
be thorough enough. Better would be to remove the battery until the
camera is totally dead, which may take a day or two. If the Nikon
995 is one that uses a small button cell to maintain settings and
power a clock/calendar chip, it would also have to be removed.
Then, when putting the battery(ies) back in the camera, set only the
time and date. Obviously if the time/date retain the current
time/date, the batteries weren't removed for a long enough period of
time. Then, without customizing any of the camera's settings, use
its most AUTO operating mode to take a couple of pictures using
either a formatted or relatively empty CF card to see if the "out of
memory" message briefly displays or if it doesn't appear anymore.
If it doesn't appear, then the camera can be setup the way it used
to be, and operated in whatever mode your friend prefers, to see if
the warning returns. If it doesn't, problem solved.
If the warning returns, then you still don't know if the camera
might always have had this (relatively harmless) bug, even if its
first appearance came about only recently, or if it represents a
slowly deteriorating camera. Then your friend might want to
consider whether to keep using the camera as long as it works. The
advantage is that she already is familiar with how to operate the
995. But the disadvantage is that if it eventually breaks at an
inopportune time, such as when on a vacation, she'll either be
without a camera, or might be forced to not only get a less than
desirable camera at a moment's notice, but won't have time to learn
how to operate the new camera quickly and accurately.
So the alternative to continuing to use the 995 would be to
relegate it to backup status and get a new camera now, when there's
plenty of time to choose it and learn how to operate it. From my
own experience, each new camera has had many more features and
complexity than previous ones, and took a little more time and
effort to learn how to use it without having to carry the manual
around while taking pictures.
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