Back in my early film shooting days I used to over pack my (soft top) camera bag (actually sometimes even sat on it, I know, pretty stupid, but you're young and reckless
)
As a consequence I at a certain moment discovered the metal prism housing/topplate of my FE was bent to such a degree, that when mounting a (back then) Ai lens, the ring with the aperture-tab (on the body) got stuck and as a result the aperture ring/setting on the lens didn't work/transfer to the camera
I was a (poor) NPS photography student member, so feared my trip to and the expected repair bill from my NPS repair point
After we discussed the problem and damage, the NPS technician told me the estimate for an official repair (replacement of the top plate) which obviously didn't make me happy
He however also told me, off the record, he could do an unofficial 'repair', which of course would never be recognized as officially performed by a NPS service point afterwards, to which I, being a cash strapped student, happily agreed
He told me to look the other way (probably just joking
) and simply stuck a screwdriver between the metal ring with the aperture-tab on the body, and the bent down metal prism housin. And did some careful, but pretty forceful prying/wiggling with the srewdriver
As a consequence the metal housing was 'lifted up' a few millimeters, and the metal aperture tag ring would move freely again
Didn't cost me a thing, and the camera has kept working for more then 35 years without any issues since
More recently (well actually a few, though much less then 35 years, ago) the VR motor on my 4/200-400 zoom started to falter (not a biggie as I didn't really use/need it anyway)
Which was what was to be expected after using it shooting surf (beach to shore) while being sprayed with salt water, shooting in the rain (and sometime sleet, no sunny Californian skies over here) and standing in the wind being blasted by sand flying around for years without using any kind of (rain/sand) cover for lens nor cameras (I know, still stupid and reckless
)
As I at one moment contemplated selling the lens (eventually didn't) I decided to send it to NPS for a possible repair.
After disassembing the lens to inspect the insides, the estimate came back at a whopping Eur 700 (replacement of the VR motor and electronics), which was way over what I was willing to spent
So I told them to reassemble the lens, assuming I would get it back with the VR still malfunctioning
Cost for the dis- and reassembly and estimate was a mere EUR 60
However after I got it back, I found the VR worked without any hiccups anymore
What had probably happened was that the during the reassembly of the lens, the NPS technician had nevertheless/still cleaned the contacts/insides from the salt (residue) that slipped in/had formed over the years, and as a consequence solved the problem, rather then the far more expensive just replacement of the VR motor and electronics
Really can't blame him for the latter, a bit similar to going to a garage to get a modern car fixed:
they always replace the (always expensive) 'broken' part, rather then find out the problem and trying to solve it by actually repairing it
So I ended up with a fixed lens for a fraction of the costs for an 'official' repair
So yes, my experience with NPS and Nikon Repair service has been positive for many years now too, despite all the horror stories on the internet (but the latter may be the cause of the overheated hysteria in that regards)
