LCD and live view

knightrae

I'm new to photography and I love taking pictures. It took me forever to get my first, and sadly I didn't get to have fun with it. My problem is the LCD on the D3300 doesn't show the live view. I get a black screen and when I take pictures it does the same, however, if I go to the setting screen it is normal. Please help.

bruto

@knightrae, does your camera take any picture at all in viewfinder view?

Put it in any mode, turn it on, and aim it at something. Now look at the display. Does it show any error messages?

Take a picture. Did anything show? If you got a picture, the camera is working. If you did not, there may be something wrong.

A quick test of basic function: Put the camera in Manual mode (top dial M), and with the power off, remove the lens. Now look into the front of the camera. You should see the mirror tilted down at a 45 degree angle. Now, turn the power on and push the Live View button. The mirror should flip up, revealing the sensor behind it. The sensor is bluish and very shiny.

It probably goes without saying but I'll say it anyway: do not touch anything inside the camera while this is happening, and don't sneeze or anything into it!

Now, with lens still off and camera still on and in Live View, push the shutter button. Depending on shutter speed, you may see the shutter do various things, but it will at least be seen to close, then open again. The shutter is dull black in color, and covers the sensor. When done, it should be open again for Live View.

In manual mode, with the camera in Live View and the lens still off, you should see a light gray blur in the display. If you move your hand in front of the camera, you should see a blurry change in color.

If all those things happen as predicted, then it's possible your lens is not working right, but let's look at these things first.