Nikon CP5000 problems?

Hello,

Our CP5000 seems to have developed a problem, especially underwater.

We can take a few shots with it in its Ikelite housing, and then the screen goes blank immediately. Sometimes if you depress the shutter, it will come back on, sometimes not. Sometimes if you turn it off and then on it comes back on, sometimes not. I've tried a different battery, and several different CF cards, including Sandisk and Lexar with no apparent change. Sometimes, but not too often, it will also do this on land outside the housing. The camera has never gotten wet. It has firmware version 1.6. I know there's a 1.7 out, but it doesn't say anything about fixing a problem like this. It almost seems like its having trouble writing to the CF card.

Has anybody seen a problem like this. Its still under warranty, so we're sending it to Nikon for repair. But this is invconvient since Teresa uses it to sell CDs to her students. The water is fairly warm here in Kauai, so it isn't being exposed to cold temps either.

Thanks,

David

If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say that there is either a loose connection in the power system, or a software problem w/ the "auto-off" function.

That sounds like it's worth a trip to Nikon service. If it's under a year old, it's a free trip.

I would just hate having gremlins in my camera like that.

HTH

James Wiseman

One thing to check. If you rotate the screen out and look at the recess you will see a small button sticking out. This button turns the LCD off when the screen is closed and the LCD is facing in but does not press it when the screen is closed and the LCD is facing out. CHeck this button to make sure that it is functioning as it is supposed to be.

If it is not that I would suggest doing a "Reset All" If that does not work, take the battery out for as long as it take to get the flashing clock in the LCD. This might take a day or two. Pop the battery in every 8-10 hours to see if the blinking clock appears. If not take the battery out. This will clear the memory and I believe is more thorough than the Reset All.

Have you tried measuring the voltage on the rechargable batteries or using a new 2CR5 lithium battery? It might be a problem with the charger if the lithium battery works ok but the rechargables die quickly. Fully charged batteries should read over 8v. Mine ususally read 8.1 or 8.2 when they're done charging.

Marty

I had a very similar problem. I called Nikon and they seemed to recognize the problem and immediately told me to send it in for (free, in warranty) repair. They turned it around in about a week.

Good Luck,

Mark