D750 and MC-DC2 remote

[jjnic]

Is anyone using this combination? Everything i have read said it is compatible but i cant get it to work. The menu settings has a "remote control mode (ML-M3)" but that is a wireless remote. The MC-DC2 is wired.
The remote works ok on my D90
It's a non-genuine part - not sure if that will make a difference on the D750

Anyone have any idea what i am missing?

jj

[arthurking83]

The genuineness of the MC-DC2 shouldn't be a factor here. There is no electronic communication at all, so the brand of wired remote shouldn't have a bearing on the outcome.

As an alternative eg of how this may affect the operation of non genuine bits .. the battery has embedded info(some sort of code) that doesn't allow the use of non genuine batteries, unless the non genuine batteries have been coded to suit!

The MC-DC2 is not like this, it's just a simple switch(contact) to fuse two wires together. There's nothing else in the wired remote other than the copper contacts some wire.

Why it doesn't work is a mystery tho.

Have you changed any camera settings?

Just as with your D90, you shouldn't need to set any specific setting on the camera. Just plug it in and it's an extension of the shutter release on the camera.

The remote setting in the menu is only for the IR wireless ML-L3 type which needs to be set so that the IR system in the camera is turned on so that it sees the ir beam from the ML-L3.
There is also a setting for how long the ML-L3 is recognised too.

This has (or should have) no impact on how the wired MC-DC2 operates.
Considering the fact that you already have the D90 and experience with it and the MC-DC2, the only things I can think of are:

* do you have it connected the right way around. whilst it's hard to insert the accessory plug the wrong way(apparently) it can be done. My son has done so with the D70s. No problem, as it still works. There are two arrows that align it the right way, one on the camera one on the remote(even the third party remotes).

* do you have any other accessories that connect to this multi port connection(for the D90) that also work on the D90? If so, they should also work on the D750's accessory port.
eg. if you had the Nikon GPS, and it also didn't work .. it could be a faulty accessory port on the camera. Unlikely but possible.

* whilst the remote is not operating the camera, can you still make an exposure using the camera's shutter release.
Even with a remote connected, the shutter's will both still operate. I can't say that I've ever tried it, but never at exactly the same moment .. but with the remote connected, you should be able to use either the camera shutter release, or the remote's shutter release. If you can't use either maybe you have some sort of lock on.

*Alternatively, it could be a focus problem. If you have the camera to release with focus priority and using the remote you haven't yet got focus .. the camera will not fire!
To check for this(most likely explanation) set camera to manual focus mode and try to shoot a frame. Maybe the half press isn't working or something too.

*finally is the plug in the remote very dirty to the point where it may be affecting the connection to the D750, but for some odd reason not the D90.
A totally way out possibility, and totally unlikely one but one that should be checked too.
To check for this(if this is your last resort, blow into the remote's connector in short sharp bursts. A blower type bulb is best due to the concentrated air output, but even just wirth your bare lips it may provide enough to dislodge some errant dust speck that could cause a connection issue.

I've tried to offer as many possibilities as I could think of to help out as best as possible .. some are a bit hair brained .. but you have to check all possibilities.

Hope it works out for ya.

[jjnic]

Hi Arthur,
Thanks for the reply.
I have played with the settings but then did a reset back to default.
Remote is connected correctly with all the right bits lining up. there is really only one way it will go in.
Shutter still works manually so that is not the problem and focus is not an issue as camera is in manual mode.
Unfortunately i don't have anything else to try in the port so maybe a trip back to the camera shop is in order.

On the bright side wi-fi works just fine :-)
jj

[arthurking83]

So if you have a smart phone of some description(Android or iPhone) you can use the remote Wifi app to access a remote facility.

If the cable is connected and the cameras shutter release still works, but the remote's release doesn't, then the most likely answer is that the accessory port on the camera is dead.
Camera shop it is then!

[jjnic]

Yep, thats my thinking too. Thanks Arthur.

[jjnic]

ok, so i took the camera back to the camera shop with my remote and tried my remote with another D750 which worked so looks like a dead accessory port. went off to Nikon for 6 weeks. Got it back yesterday and was told it was reset back to factory and tested with MC-DC2 and all ok. Bought the camera home and still it does not work! Any ideas other than Nikon haven't done what they said they did which is my thinking as i don't think it has even been reset back to factory settings. - all my own settings are still the same including my name as artist on pictures!

jj

[arthurking83]

So to summarise:

Your MC-DC2 works with another D750
Your MC-Dc2 doesn't work with your D750
Nikon says that their MC-DC2 works with your D750

IMO .. I'd say Nikon's nose just grew by a few inches!

if it's a PITA to go back to the store to test another MC-DC2 on your D750 then use the wifi remote thingy.
if you can be bothered to go back to the store again .. and I would! .. test another MC-DC2(or any other alternative cheapy non branded type too).
Note I think I already said it, but just be sure .. the remote is nothing more complex than a simple contact switch. basically to pieces of copper come together to make a contact between two wires in the camera .. which then activate the shutter.
It's really that simple .. the way to imagine this is to simply touch your two index fingers together. This is a simple metaphor to describe what this remote does. No internal magic of any kind, say like the MC-36 intervalometer has .. timer and electronics and all that gizmo stuff.

If the store's remote can't make your D750 fire remotely, then I'd be pushing for a refund, of full exchange .. not another annoying trip to the Nikon service centre for 6 weeks.
You've already been inconvenienced by this process without success .. there's nothing to say the same experience won't transpire again with the same outcome!

ACCC threats can help here too!

[jjnic]

Thanks Arthur your summary is correct, but to confuse things even further I took my remote and camera back to the shop today with the intention of trying a genuine nikon remote with the camera. They didn't have one in stock so wasn't able to but I did try my remote again on a d750 straight out of the box - it didn't work!

I will try again on Tuesday when they get a genuine remote in stock for me but i can't see what difference it will make.

I've also emailed nikon and will see what they say.

So, wired remote works on d90, does not work on my d750, worked on d750 in store 6 weeks ago, did not work on d750 in store today.

If the genuine one works on tuesday then problem solved, if not i'll be looking at my options

Jj

[I @ M]

This makes for a strange read jjnic but my feelings are that your remote may either be faulty and that you were holding your tongue at the right angle when you plugged it into the D750 body that it worked on or alternatively Nikon have made the accessory port on the D750 ever so slightly differently to previous models and that the terminals in your remote miss contacting the mating pair in the body whereas the genuine Nikon remote manages to hit them every time. I think the real proof will come when you attach the genuswine Nikon unit.

I think I can foresee the answer from Nikon if you have told them that you are using a non OEM part and that will be pretty much along the line of bad luck, we don't warrant or service non genuine parts and we aren't interested in making your camera work with a non genuine part.
They are very good like that at propping up their accessory sales dept.

[jjnic]

Thanks i@m, hopefully the genuine part will work. Will update on tuesday ☺

[arthurking83]

OK, going on this info, check the actual cable!

I've had this happen on a wired remote too.

(just like oils)Cables aren't cables .. what happened with mine was that on some occasions the remote would work, and then not. It was the way I held the remote, or the way in which the cable was hung/slung/draped/coiled.

Probably a small intermittent connection issue and 99.9% more likely at one of the plug ends.

How do you store the cable when not in use?
Do you coil the cable up tightly and then use a twist tie to keep it all in a neat bundle?

What you can try(it's free to try) ... connect the cable to the D750 and use the bulb mode locking option on the release on the cable.
Assuming it doesn't work still, and with the camera set to shoot with the remote, gently prise the cable in a few directions(up/down/left/right) start at the camera plug end first.

If the remote has a hardwired cable, and if nothing happens then try the remote end of the cable where it goes into the remote head unit.

Not knowing how the MC-DC2 connects into each respective camera, but lets say if on the D90 it slots in horizontally, but for the D750 it slots in vertically(ie. 90° orientation compared to the D90) then of there's a dodgy cable wire inside the main sheath then of course it could do what you've described.

The only way to know for sure(with your remote) is to set it up to continuously remotely shoot, and nudge the cable about this way and that to see if it eventually fires(or not).

Aftermarket cables are made to a price .. usually low. I don't think the wires within the cable itself are the issue .. more likely the solder point where the wires are connected to the contacts.

[jjnic]

update:

Went to the camera shop and tried out the genuine MC-DC2 and it works! So I'm now $54 poorer but a lot happier! :-)

The reply i got from Nikon was that my camera went through 2 different agents and was also booked in for the D750 service advisory which is why it took 6 weeks! They also suggested it might be a problem with my remote.

jj

[Ross M]

I realise this post is from 2015, but The replies have omitted information. I have a Nikon D750 and two third party "MC-DC2" wired remotes. They are "no name" products from China. They both worked successfully with the D750. Wired shutter releases for this vintage of Nikon DSLR's are not simply two wires and a switch. The shutter releases have an internal battery. When this battery goes flat, they will not operate the shutter. I am confident that genuine Nikon shutter releases will also have a battery as this is necessary to operate. I have removed the cover from one of my shutter releases and confirmed the presence of a CR1220 Lithium button battery (3 Volt). It is frustrating that Nikon chose not to use the camera battery supply and a passive shutter switch, as you must monitor the charge state of the battery by testing the shutter release before going on a shoot, but there are probably good engineering reasons for this approach.

This is not to say other points of failure are not present in the experiences of this thread, but must be considered the most likely cause for any wired release not working.