No Camera View Finder (Black Screen) iPhone 7

Howdy,

I periodically experience view finder failure within the camera app (iPhone 7 (MNAU2LL/A); version: 10.2.1 (14D27); Available 173.2GB).

When I open the camera, from the lock screen or the camera app, the view finder is black, like a finger is sitting on the lens (but it's not, I checked all 10 of mine). However, the camera functions, yellow boxes indicate focal points, HDR indicates lighting scenes, a click and hold will actuate AF-lock, camera switches between front and back, etc. The camera still functions. When I select the shutter button it takes a picture. However, there is no view finder.

I can usually correct the issue by restarting my phone, but as one may expect, avoiding the failure does not correct it. And, as is preferable and expected from the muy-expensivo pocket-computer, restarting the device is not the preferred protocol for photography.

While I've become adept at Jedi-photography, I'm concerned that if I hand the camera to someone else, their skills will not be honed enough to succeed & I'd like to save them the embarrassing revelation of their inadequacies.

Any suggestions as to why this may be occurring would be interesting.

A software update that would prevent this failure would be exciting.

Advice on avoidance is usually trite and unappreciated, but fire away anyway.

Thanks for your insight.

Attachments:

The viewfinder screen and the last image taken in the library preview, bottom-left corner.

Video Link of the failure in action.http://johnatjohn.com/magic/iphone7-blk-camera-view.mov