Nikon lens problem? If you can?

My Nikon 18-55 lens is broken, kind of. When you take it off and put it on, pictures come out great. But the second you take that first picture after putting it on, it fades to black and takes dark pictures. The only way to fix it is by taking it off and putting it on but that only works for 1 picture. Anybody know the problem or how to fix it?

I have to admit, I have never heard that one before. The only thing I can possibly think of is dirty electrical contacts on the lens or camera.

You can try cleaning them, but don't use just anything. I only use 99% pure isopropyl alcohol to clean electrical contacts. You can sometimes find it at a drug store, but usually they have 60% alcohol or even worse - rubbing alcohol - which you should never use under any circumstances.

Here is what I use:

http://www.amazon.com/...0047YB3OW/

Why you don't want to use standard alcohol:

First, the 60% alcohol contains 40% water, which means after the alcohol evaporates, then a water residue remains, which is not good.

And wh you never, never, never want to use rubbing alcohol:

Rubbing alcohol does have isopropyl alcohol to be sure, but it also has a lot of other stuff you don't want to put on your camera; it usually contains menthol, mystery ingredients, and the worst - lanolin - which is a wax. You surely don't want to put wax on your contacts.

So, with some good 99% pure isopropyl alcohol, use a cleaning swab and a very small amount of alcohol (you don't want to give your camera an alcohol bath), rub the swab around on the contacts.

Also, I don't use standard q-tips as they tend to shred cotton, I use swabs specifically designed for the task:

http://www.amazon.com/...000EBA24Y/

Whatever swabs you use, especially if they are foam - make sure they are not prone to melting from isopropyl alcohol - or you will just make a mess.

Cleaning contacts may not fix the problem, and you may wish to have it checked out by a repair shop.

This is such a unique problem you need to contact Nikon with it.
http://www.nikonusa.com/...epair.page

Have you called Nikon? In the USA

Nikon 1-800-645-6689 www.nikonusa.com

Never heard of this problem. If they ask you to send in the camera, DO NOT take it back to the dealer you bought from. All camera companies give priority treatment to customers who send in their equipment. Dealers are handled last. Plus when you send in the camera there's NO mark up on the charges if any!
Dumpster dive for a shipping box and packing or ask small store owners if they have any they are throwing away. Ship UPS if possible. In my area there's a UPS shipping depot and several places that will ship for your. Pack it up yourself and ship UPS yourself and save!

I would guess that the aperture is stopping down to its smallest setting. It could be that it stops down to the correct setting on the first photo and than drops to the smallest aperture straight afterwards. Try carefully cleaning the contacts on both lens and camera using a lint free cloth.

If that does not work, see if you can borrow another lens or go into a camera shop to see if you can try a lens there. It would help to know if it is the lens or the body which is causing the problem.

If the camera and lens are still in warranty then the faulty part will have to go back to Nikon. If it is not in warranty and the lens is broken it might be cheaper to replace the lens than pay the Nikon costs to fix it. You should be able to replace it reasonably cheaply with a second hand one from ebay. People quite often ebay their 18-55 lenses when they upgrade them.

What's happening is your aperture is closing down to f/16 after the first shot.

Its being caused by the lever on the camera body that actuates the aperture in the lens. Either the camera is faulty or the lens contacts or micro chip in the lens is faulty causing the camera to close down the aperture. Or its a sticky aperture. More then likely its an electronic issue.

Hopefully its still under warranty.

Failing iris? Aperture size is not accurate. Must be a loose spring or something else. Have the camera and lens checked at the store you bought it from. Most probably, they'll take the lens (only) in for repair. If the camera and lens are new and under a week old, bring receipt too so that you can demand for an outright replacement.

The aperture mechanism on the lens may be faulty. If the lens is still under warranty take it back.