EJHJr

Happy owner of a D3100 since 2011 (and first-time poster). About a week after returning from vacation where I took hundreds of pictures with zero problems, I picked up the camera to shoot something random and saw that the image was entirely black except for about the topmost 10% of the frame. Nothing I did changed that ratio, no aperture or speed adjustments. Long exposures (15-30 secs) result in a brighter "10% image", but the rest is black. See attached results.

Is this a sensor or mirror problem? Any thoughts?

I'm planning to take it to the local Nikon repair shop but was wondering if anyone had experienced something like this before.

For what it's worth, I've been thinking about getting something newer anyway for better resolution, bluetooth and wifi, etc. I have a few Nikkor lenses that I use all the time and will carry those over to the next body, even if mirrorless (w/adapter). So maybe this malfunction will prove to be "terminal".

Thanks!