Over a year ago I bought a refurbished Nikon D 3400 from a reputable place that’s often spoken about on uhh.
Took very good pictures I even bought a better lens than the stock lens.

But then I began noticing when I was looking at viewfinder the code R 11. And I could not get rid of it. I looked online and I even called Nikon and they told me it wasn’t anything to be concerned about that it was basically saying that the buffer was full. Something doesn’t make sense to me. I have several digital cameras that I use so it’s not like I was using this one excessively.
Can the buffer be emptied because I cannot get rid of that R11 code. It does hinder you from taking several photos in a row because the buffer is already full. She also suggested I could send it in but why would I pay something like that if there really wasn’t anything that they could do. She never said it could be reset. And if it could be reset why didn’t she tell me how. Is anyone familiar with this? Thank you

Some camera errors are due to internal computer glitches. A few things to check:

> Are the body contacts and lens contacts clean? Wipe with a microfiber cloth very slightly moistened in 90% isopropyl alcohol.

> Is there a button cell battery used in the camera? If so, remove it, clean it, test it with a button cell battery tester. Or, if it has been more than a year since it was changed, just swap in a new one. But before you do, be sure the camera battery terminals are clean. Residues can be removed with Deoxit, or with WD-40 Specialist Elecrical Contact Cleaner Spray, either of which should be applied LIGHTLY to a lint-free cotton cloth swab. A mild vinegar solution, followed by distilled water, works too, but in ANY CASE, don't use anything wet enough to get drops of liquid in the camera, and don't spray cleaner into the camera.

> Are the camera's main battery terminals clean? See procedure above.

> Is the main battery over three years old? Consider replacing it, especially if it won't hold a charge for very long.

> Is the camera firmware up to date? This will require some reading of your manual, and perhaps a visit to Nikon's website to compare firmware version numbers. It is probably worth updating if it's an older version, because sometimes firmware updates solve weird problems by refreshing the code.

If you choose to update firmware, follow the instructions VERY carefully, to the letter. Battery must be charged to 100% before you start. You will need your computer and a good Internet connection to download and unzip or unpack the firmware binary. You will need a memory card, freshly-formatted *by the camera* (not formatted in a computer!). Do not interrupt the process... It will probably take longer than you think it should.

Let's first explain 'buffer'. When one image is captured, a file of data is transferred from the camera sensor through the computer processing of the camera and the resulting image file is written to the camera card. These files have a size, measured in bytes. Both the camera and the card have a processing 'speed' as measured in how many bytes they can write per second of time. Any camera can handle 1 image at a time. Most cameras can handle 3- to 5- images per second. Cameras begin to differ on how many seconds they can capture consecutive images until their buffer is full.

The 'buffer' limitation becomes more noticeable when 'slow' cards are used or 'larger' files are created, RAW files being larger than JPEG. Only the newest and highest of the high-end cameras are not buffer limited. And even for these highest high-end cameras, they need the fastest card types to match to the write-speed the camera can achieve.

Your D3400 likely doesn't have a technical problem that can be 'fixed' via a repair. That is assuming the R11 occurs only when you shoot and not when you simply turn the camera on. With this assumption, instead look at page 323 of your D3400 Reference Manual. The manual indicates you might get 100 large JPEGs in memory if you carefully configure the camera options. At best, you can get 17 RAW / NEF images. And, these best performance statistics assume the use of a 16GB SanDisk Extreme Pro SDHC UHS-1 card.

How is your camera configured? How many consecutive seconds are you trying to shoot? What model / brand SD card are using? What situations cause the R11 code?