Hi all,

A sad day.

Yesterday, while playing in the house with the dogs, I managed to drop my camera from a chair to the tile floor (approx 2~3 feet) with 24-70/2f4 attached.

landed (watched the camera fall in slow motion!), on the back left edge, broke the protective screen cover, but that was all. The lens hood protected the lens from slamming on the tile. Glass looks fine. Camera looks fine.

Now.....it looks like my focus from the view finder has shifted. The right sensors now are not focusing correctly. I did many tests this morning, comparing the shot from the view finder and screen. All shots from live view are 100% tact sharp...the same shots from the viewfinder are out of focus....booo!

Time to call Nikon and schedule a service I guess...

Also, the same shot from the view finder and live view meters slightly differently...lets say f2.8@1/5 vs f2.8@1/8 etc...


~Kam

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Viewfinder versus Live View metering can be a bit different — the actual metering in the camera is different.

The focus issue is unfortunate. Back to Nikon it goes…

Jon Kandel
A New York City Nikonian and Team Member
Please visit my website and critique the images!

They are going to charge approximately $300...

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WHich you will happily pay…

Jon Kandel
A New York City Nikonian and Team Member
Please visit my website and critique the images!

Yup. I just rolled over the photo counter, so hopefully they'll do some cleanup too...can't believe I've shot over 10k photos in less then 12 weeks!

~Kam

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Kam - sorry to hear the bad news.

You probably should send your lens in for a check as well. It should be fine, but a very slight shift in a lens element could cause a problem.

Eric Bowles
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I dropped my D700 from a similar distance, but with a 28-80 2.8. Lens bought for $1,800 originally, but repair to it cost $800 thru Nikon.

I dropped about 2-3 feet, and hit carpet! I do not recommend it.

"Today is the tomorrow that yesterday you spent money like there was no"

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Hi

Yes I have been there I dragged a D300 from table to grass field 2.5feet (forgot wireless was still connected and in my pocket). Had to have new lens mount and repairs to my 24-70mm. And yes your comment watched in slow motion brings back that horrible image. I hope repair goes well.

Paul H Lunnon (uk)

I suspect most of us who have been at it for a while have at least one dropped camera story. Here's mine: I few years ago I was photographing in Victor, Colorado, walking slowly down a street and looking at an interesting building off to my right. I walked off the top of a two-step descent in the sidewalk. My D2x with a 24-120 on it hit the sidewalk below along with my arm and my head. The lens was broken and bent at about a 20 degree angle, and the D2x was scraped and scarred. But after the local fire department swabbed the gravel out of my forehead I was able to put another lens on the camera and go on shooting. I spent most of the next two days testing the camera, looking for some sign of warping in the lens mount or dislocation of the sensor, but everything was copacetic. My oldest son is still shooting fine photographs with that camera and it's never had to go back to Nikon.

Russ Lewis
www.FineArtSnaps.com

Kam:

Ouch!

A year or so ago, in a careless moment during a nude photo shoot, my D3 with the 24-70 mm F/2.8 dropped off the tripod and hit a concrete floor. Seems I was distracted, and released the lever clamp on the ball head without having the other hand wrapped around the camera. How embarrassing!

Long story short, I finished the shoot and took the camera and lens to my local dealer who suggested sending both to Nikon for testing and repair. Turns out that they both required service, as the lens mount suffered as well as the body. The bill was something over $400 US as I recall. Camera and lens are now back to 100 percent.

Lesson learned: Pay attention to what I am doing!

Regards,

HBB in Phoenix, Arizona
Nikonian Team Member

Photography is a journey with no conceivable destination.

Sorry to hear about your experience. Hope it works out well.

Just before the end of 2012, I dropped my D4 and 200-400VR to the ground from a distance of about 5.5 feet. The parking lot was rock hard and frozen. The lens broke off the camera and bent the mounts on both parts. Nikon has had it since January 2nd. With NPS on my side, I was hoping for a quick return, but the service tags on both say "Parts Hold". I won't know if that means two extra days, two extra weeks, or two extra months until after the parts arrive and they complete the repairs.

The price to fix the lens was $600 and $532 for the body. Both were coded as service "C" which indicates major repairs. My equipment is insured with State Farm with a $100 deductible. The $100 isn't a problem, but the wait is terrible!

I wondered into this forum tonight because I went ahead and ordered a new D800. Should be here tomorrow afternoon. I wanted one anyway, but the Parts Hold spurred me to make the purchase.

Since the drop, I have now added tethers to both tripods and will take the extra few seconds to snap it to the foot of the lenses.

M. Jackson

M. Jackson
Jackson Hole, WY

Lens cost is $500, camera cost $300

Let's see what my homeowners insurance will cover...

Now the waiting begins...hopefully the turnaround is fast...

Kam

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Hope you don't shoot for a living -- homeowners insurance won't cover if you do. Sorry...

Alan
Waterloo, IL, USA
www.proimagingmidamerica.com

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Just dropped off my D800 this afternoon, Nikon has moved to Los Angeles, 6420 Wiltshire Blvd., LA, 90045. NO inbound direct phone number, all calls to PA as the service call center is no longer offshore.

The sensor clean has gone up from $30 to $40, and takes 24 hours (D3S).

Larger issue, when I took the D800 out on the beach yesterday for shooting remnants of the old cabins, an ongoing project, the left rear casing was cracked.

The gal at Nikon said it seems as if the camera was dropped, or pressure, weight applied which means no warranty claim.

Since I handle cameras, guitars and amps I said that in my opinion, the plastic casing was likely defective and succumbed to normal wear and tear, plus for good measure, it had been in and out of the bag in temperature extremes (Death Valley, up to the Sierras and back) and had no cracks last time I put it up.

Monday the tech will offer a report when I pick up the D3S, one can only hope.

I will resort to super glue if need be, depending on the verdict, or plan B, the R & R cost.

Yikes, I would have paid another $500 had the body been all metal like the D3S.

Rob

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$304, plus tax.

RM

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Last time I had my D300 in for repair, it costed me about $400 total after warranty expired. Lens would be even more expensive to fix. But I found them done a very good job usually.

>Yikes, I would have paid another $500 had the body been all
>metal like the D3S.

I thought the D800 does have a full, mag-alloy frame.

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Howard Carson, Managing Editor
Kickstartnews Inc. - http://www.kickstartnews.com

>I thought the D800 does have a full, mag-alloy frame.


It does - http://www.letsgodigital.org/images/artikelen/35/d800-body.jpg

Above pic from - http://www.letsgodigital.org/en/31868/d800-body/


Larger version here - http://birdsphotographer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/nikon-d800-d800e-magnesium-body.jpg (from http://birdsphotographer.com/?p=7233&lang=en)

The pop up flash is probably plastic.

I LOVE my F4 because I can use it as a club and have no broken cases...

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It feels plastic. I like It better on D300.

>It feels plastic. I like It better on D300.

The D800 flash pylon which physically pops up is made of polycarbonate. It's receiver base is polycarbonate over top of the area of the mag alloy frame formed to house the pentaprism. I don't know of any camera in production right now that has a mag alloy flash pylon. Might be a good idea though because it would resist a lot more lateral pressure than the polycarbonate pylon.

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Howard Carson, Managing Editor
Kickstartnews Inc. - http://www.kickstartnews.com

My error, the back cover is plastic, same on the D3S.

Let me restate, why is the back plate made of plastic which can/does crack, and not metal?

RM

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>Let me restate, why is the back plate made of plastic which
>can/does crack, and not metal?

The mag alloy frame of the D800 extends, as part of the unified body frame, across the back of the camera as well. However, the back has a large cutout to accommodate the large, rear LCD. Doesn't matter what end, side, front or back, top or bottom you look at on the D800 - it's mag alloy with cutouts for controls, monitors and the mount. The exterior shell sections made of polycarbonate, silicone inserts, and synthetic rubber appliques, are screwed and latched to the various receivers and studs on the mag alloy frame.

My D700 stood up to years of abuse - bumps, bangs, collisions with stanchions and railings and walls, temperature extremes, humidity extremes, accidental positioning at the bottom of a luggage heap, minor drops, and you name it. My D800 is undergoing the same abuse and taking it just as well as the D700. From my experience anyway, I think it takes some serious combination of temperature, lateral stress and/or pressure to warp the entire assembly sufficiently to crack the rear shell. A severe drop will also do it, and I've got my D700 repair bill from Nikon Canada to prove it (sigh).

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Woot Woot! I got the camera and lens back today!

They look freaking brand new!

This is what it cost and what they did.

AF-S Nikkor 24-70mm/2.8G ED

- RPL Helicoid
- RPL CAM Ring
- RPL Encoder
- RPL Boyonet mount
- RPL Lens barrel
- RPL Impact Damage
- ADJ Resolution test
- ADJ Auto focus operation
- CKD LCD Windows
- CKD Infinity Focus
- SUP CCD Data

- Cost --> $420


D800e

- RPR Impact Damage
- RPL Front body
- RPL Image Ctl PCB
- ADJ Mirror Angle
- ADJ AF Unit
- ADJ Auto focus operation
- CKD Body flange back
- CKD Sharpness
- CKD Image test
- CKD Image sensor
- CLN Image sensor
- General check & clean
- No problem found

- Cost --> $224

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The camera looks brand new along with the lens. The autofocus looks great; will do more tests using all 51 points; but right now, it looks great!

The camera was 100% reset. No original settings, as if I just got it...

The SAME dogs that did this (okay, I did it by playing with them) just cost me over $600 at the vets! One dog bad ear, the other ripped toe nail!

Phew! It's back.

~Kam

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Sounds like it better than new. Enjoy it - carefully

And the dogs send their apologies.


Eric Bowles
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It sure looks like worthy of $240 body repair. I felt the same when I had my D300 repaired for dropping into the water on the beach last year. I am much more careful now with my D800.

I am glad to hear your camera was fixed! I have been following this thread because I was year-end in my car with my D800 + 24-70 in the back. The filter was shattered and the lens damaged and camera damaged. $1000 later, I have just received it all back and it looks good as new. I'll be testing it this weekend, but I'm optimistic that it is all 100%.

On this occasion, and despite the cost, the people at Nikon were very understanding and helpful in a difficult situation. I never would have looked at that lens after the accident and thought that it could be fixed. Amazing.

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Good to know there is life for our beloved photo gears after their catastrophic destruction. It is different than buying a whole new set of gears. It is a better feeling than that.

Cheers,
Jim
MacroXscape.com
Where miracles of art happen.

Okay, I've been testing etc for a few days. I've come to the conclusion that my "old" (pre dropped) was somewhat out of focus a tad. This "new" camera, is freaking sharp in focus on all focus points. The live view and viewfinder shots on all 51 points are very very close to each other. Way better then before.

So nikon repair gets two thumbs up from me on my costly repair.

Kam

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Nikon repair in Los Angeles

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Great news to know. My jammed 17-55mm lens is there for repair.