So you got yourself a brand new DSLR and after using it for a little while got the dreaded “Err” error on your camera LCD? Fear not, your camera might not damaged and there might be no need to return it back to Nikon, as they suggest in most camera manuals.
The reason why this error comes up, is because your camera is not properly communicating with your lens due to some dirt and grease both on camera and lens contacts. The solution is pretty simple – all you have to do is dismount your lens and clean the lens contacts, then clean camera contacts and mount the lens back on the camera and see what happens. Sounds too complicated? Are you afraid to damage your camera and/or lens? Then keep reading, because I will show you exactly what needs to be done.
So here is the step-by-step process:
- Dismount camera lens – before you remove the lens, make sure that you are doing this in a clean environment indoors. I prefer to do it at night (when kids are sleeping) in the bathroom :) If you have not dismounted a lens from your camera yet, now is the time to learn. Turn off your camera. Press the lens release button located to the left of the lens when the camera is viewed from the top, then rotate the lens clock-wise to dismount the lens as shown here. Right after the lens is dismounted, put the black plastic camera cap back on the camera lens mount to prevent dust from getting into the camera.
- Clean lens contacts – there are many different cleaning solutions out there, but I would recommend the following approach: first, wash your hands with soap and dry them out. Next, put some denatured alcohol (ethanol) on dry, light-colored microfiber cloth, wrap it around your index finger and gently wipe each lens contact in circular motion without touching the glass on the back of the lens. Here is how the contacts look like on the Nikon 50mm f/1.4G lens:
If you can see dirt or grease on the microfiber cloth, repeat the above process again using the cleaner part of the cloth. Once you are done cleaning the contacts, use the Giottos Rocket Blower to blow away any particles your microfiber cloth could have left on the lens.
- Clean camera contacts – remove the black cap from the camera lens mount, then use the clean portion of the same microfiber cloth and gently wipe the camera contacts, just like you did with the lens contacts. Here is how the contacts on the camera look like:
Hold your index finger with your nails facing down and while holding the microfiber cloth, move from left to right and vice-versa several times. Repeat the process one more time with the cleaner part of the cloth to make sure that there is no dirt/grease left on the camera contacts. Make sure to do this rather quickly to prevent dust from entering the camera chamber.
- Mount lens back on the camera – once all contacts are clean, align the dot on the camera with the dot on the lens and fully mount the lens in counter-clockwise direction.
- Test and make sure that the “Err” message is gone – now turn the camera on and take a few pictures. The “Err” message on the camera should be gone!
What if you are still getting the “Err” message? Try another lens and see what happens. If nothing changes, your camera could be damaged, so call Nikon for support.
my nikon d 500 shows ERR when i use a greater f-stop. when im using my 50mm lens i can only use f 1.8 any thing different i get an err message
After I take a photo a screen comes on the LCD that reads camera, metering, shutter, aperture, exposure mode, and focal length. The last photo was not displayed. The scene stayed there until I turned off the camera. the tp LCD message was 2F 1.0.
Hi there I bought a Nikon D3500 last yr and I only have taken 27 pics with it.. it stopped working I have no idea why.. I charged the battery after letting it sit for months out of the camera and it looks like it may work now but I still have this flashing icon.. it looks like a pair of folded reading glasses… lol lol that’s the best way I can describe it.. I have no idea what it means nor does anyone else that I have asked.. I need to get this working my bird just had babies again and I need to capture these ones.. I got the camera for the 1st clutch she had but it… Read more »
I had the same blinking Err problem on my D750. The error (for me) had something to do with live view and the mirror. If you get the error, change the mode from single to mirror up and press the shutter, and/or turn on the live view after changing to mirror up and pressing the shutter.. This is what i did and the error went away
That was it! Thanks.
I had the same ERR code on my Nikon D810 and tried a lot of the solutions listed above without success. I finally remembered that I was last shooting video and had Live View (LV) activated. My first clue was when taking the lens off to clean the contacts, the mirror wasn’t visible. Typically when you turn the camera off, Live View deactivates, but in this case it hadn’t happened. Here are the things I tried: I pressed the Qual button and the Exposure Compensation (+/-) button simultaneously (to reset the cam) without success. I switched the camera back to photo mode (swiveled the ring from the video cam icon to the still cam icon). I pressed the LV button… Read more »
Many thanks for your experience. I tried many things before (clean lens etc), not success, but when I randomly press the button as you mentioned, finally when I press the shutter, it works and clear the err.
Thank you!!! This was my issue too. What happened was I had an HDMI cable connected and was using my D7750 as a webcam for Zoom meetings. I was messing with the camera angle on the tripod and nudged the HDMI cable while the camera was in movie live view…this kicked the camera live view off, but left the mirror up. Simply pressing the shutter release dropped it back down and then got rid of the Err message.
Many thanks Kevin!
Exactly the same for my D750, only missed a small step to throw it against a wall. Half button, at the end of so many things, like new now.
A quick note. Before cleaning, try these:
-Sometimes this is fixed just by turning it off and back on.
-If the message is still appearing, try to take a couple of quick, out of focus shots and it’ll probably go back to normal.
-This happens a lot with tethered capture, so unplug everything connecting the camera, shut down the program you’re using, and restart.
The one we have at work locks up every 50 or so pictures and requires this constantly. I’d still recommend cleaning once a month because after a while it will refuse to work.
Dear Nasim,
My camera has a blinking Err on top lcd when i shoot anything over than 1/3000 second, any ideas what this might be? I tried changing batteried, two lenses, two different sd cards. It is a D800
Thank you
Vlad
the err msg came to mine nikond600 with nikon lens50mm f1.4 i switch off and on released the button and start shoot the problem came again at f2.8 when i shoot potrait i changed to f3.5 and the camera works perfect but when i do some shoots again at f2.8 again err came i do same and camera works again
last year u was changed the shutter any idea why at most at f2.8 shoot came the err
Finally, I fixed my Nikon D50 err issue with great ease. Its been out of commission for a couple of years with this error. So as to the fix, first I removed the lens and held the mirror up. The shutter looked okay, but as a last chance prior to buying a new camera, I gently pushed sideways on one of the screws in an attempt to open/close it. The shutter easily moved immediately, just slightly. I didn’t force anything or actually try to open it. This slight movement suggests it was stuck in a ‘hard closed’ mode for some reason. I put the lens on and now it takes pictures just like new. My daughter is going to be… Read more »
I have nikon d90. The viewfinder and the pictures that I took looked darker than normal. Every time I removed and reinstalled the lens, its viewfinder and the first shot was fine as normal, bright and clear, but after that FIRST shot, the viewfinder turned to dim again and any shots after that turned to darker than normal again. I have to remove and reinstall the lens again for the viewfinder and FIRST shot look good. Please help.