Confess: Your "repairs history" ie. what have you broken

[Vilhelm]

Well this might require some background, otherwise I may appear as a total idiot who should not touch cameras 

Full-time photographer since 2006 (part-time prior to that). Body history D2x D70 D200 D3 D700 D7000 D5000 D800 D800E D4 Df D4S and very shortly I look forward to breaking (in!!!) my D5. I also run a studio of 4 Nikon photographers as well as a camera rental service so the amount of lens copies that have ran through my fingers (and is available atm) is likely in the hundreds, though not (yet) exceeding 1,000. Which means that statistically speaking, the local Nikon service likes me a lot.

D2x
After four days in the rainforest, with lots of lens swapping the electronics started acting randomly, soon making it impossible to achieve anything with the camera. 32 hours later a courier from El Defe brought in a replacement unit, this being my first experience with NPS global service network. Covered by warranty.

D70
My dislike for CF cards springs from two swapped card bays, user error ie. small dust/sand particle in the card bending one of the pins resulting in somewhat costly replacement. Canon to Nikon swappers may experience this more, as the cards are inserted differently. Not covered by warranty.

Any body
Rubbers. I really appreciate that Japanese legislation requires recyclability, but the biologically degradable glues used to fix the rubbers to the bodies is so bad that every single digital SLR Nikon body that I have used has at some point seen the body rubbers replaced. Likely this is due to mileage, as confessions over beers have brought to my attention that this is a pest shared also by Canon users  (Sometimes, but mostly not covered by warranty as the glue degrades after about 18-24 months of active use)

D800/D800E/D810
Mirror box misalignment. One resulted from Norwegian Airlines luggage crew's handling techniques, the other from a camera renter who had used a light stand spigot as tripod for the body. DON'T USE SPIGOTS for that tripod attachment! They are longer than the screws on the quick release plates and once they enter the body they will push things inside upwards until they put pressure on the mirror box, resulting in misalignment. 36mpix is very demanding and even slight box misalignments will show in your photos. Not covered by warranty.

Df shutter
My 11 month old Df shutter decided to give up during a series of long exposures, verdict was "covered by warranty" which made me sigh and smile loudly. Only Nikon shutter that has breaken down on me, and the back-up body (D4) is past 450,000

200/2G Nikkor AF-S breakdown
To any of you using your AF-S lenses in saltwater environments, I'd like to point out that the idea of covering your lens from saltwater spray is a very good idea. While it is covered from dust and spray, salt evidently can enter through any protection and while slow, the process will reach its goal after a few years (in my case five), resulting in a 500 EUR replacement of the AF-S motor and electronics.

17-35/2.8D AF-S breakdown
Started squeaking at age 5, squeaked more at age 7, broke down at age 9. Replacement cost I think was 380 EUR. Lens saw almost daily use for 9 years so that's understandable IMO.

58/1.4G AF-S repairs
Don't put the lens in your back pocket, kneel and listen to the sound of it dropping to the floor. It hurt me about 250 EUR

24-70/2.8G (earlier, non VR version)
While I really really really liked this lens because of its image quality, it was clear that the mechanical construction had a lifespan, which in very active use meant about 3-4 years before the mechanical tolerances started loosening, resulting in erratical and not up to factory standard performance. More importantly, given the very complex construction of the lens repairs always meant an 800-900 EUR trip which saw the whole lens assembly removed, a new inserted and the serial number updated. Now, repeat this process 6 times and you really understand better why the old one cost 1600 EUR (plus 800 EUR replacement repair) and the new one costs 2600 EUR. I would really really investigate in the history of any used 24-70/2.8G that I was buying (if I were, which I'm not since the 24-70/2.8E VR seems to have rid those issues given the all new mechanical construction). This is not just my experience, ask any press photographer house and they'll verify. The Canon version suffered from the same issues (first 24-70/2., so no joy for the other side in this case either :-D

D810 USB 3.0 port
FFS this must be the crappiest engineer solution ever for data transfer. Why can't all Nikon DSLR bodies use ethernet/RC45???
In one week, I broke two D810 USB ports (420 EUR repair cost each) and why? Because that damn male connector is VERY prone to developing ONE single VERY SMALL pin misaligned, resulting in breaking the camera connecting port. The damn thing won't hold when you shoot tethered free-hand either, and the factory provided plastic strengthener is designed for MICRO USB3 connectors, when EVERY SINGLE ONE of the tethering cables use a connector housing too large for it. USB3 must be the shittiest connector ever, and while the design is not Nikon to blame I really really really don't understand why they chose it as the connector for their DSLRs, when a very reliable RJ45 (ethernet) connector is faster, sturdier and more reliable.

50/1.2 Ai-S
I have (had) a total of five, and they all were very different (some bought new, most used). With lenses focusing by moving the whole lens assembly, it really is recommended that you have their infinity adjusted. After a 90 EUR CLA they all performed identically: very well.

Any body and the diopter rubber
FFS why doesn't Nikon sell that spare part ie only the rubber ring? I have lost count on how many bodies I've handled with strap on my shoulder and that diopter ring rubber tearing off.

Interestingly, the plastic focusing switch ring AF/M on many pro-series D lenses seems to be very prone to breaking. I have never experienced that (knockknock), though I have many of the lenses equipped with that unpractical AF/M switch.

Anything else... hmmm. Oh yeah: If you happen to be a member of the about 2,000 persons globally that own an 800mm f/5.6E FL VR lens, DON'T MISPLACE THE DEDICATED TELECONVERTER. I haven't, but a colleague of mine did. You have to send the lens back to Japan, wait about 2 months for them to assemble and adjust a TC dedicated for your lens copy, and see your lens returned with a new teleconverter. Total cost? While pressed when I asked him he did not admit it but I got the perceptions that it was in the range of 2000-3000 Euros 

[Bjørn Rørslett]

Should I commence this kind of report, I'd be writing until the morning breaks ....

Suffice it to say that I've been through all of these - and more.

It is not an issue of the digital era either. I had plenty of mishaps of my younger (film) days too. The difference was if you dropped say your Nikon F into a river, you could repair it on the spot if some basic tools were present. I still vividly remember a bad day in the early '70s when this happened to me twice in a single day. The camera is with me even today, and it works

[null]

The Wartime Carl Zeiss Jena 5cm F1.5 Sonnar "T"s have a Set Screw hidden under the aperture ring to hold the namering in place. UNLIKE the pre-war Sonnars up to ~the 268xxxx block and those AFTER the 286xxxx block: you must take the optics barrel out of the focus mount, remove the variable stand-off ring, remove the coupling between aperture ring and mechanism, take off the aperture ring, remove the set-screw, and THEN use a spanner to take off the namering.... Ask me how I know...

[Vilhelm]

Should I commence this kind of report, I'd be writing until the morning breaks ....

We're all ears here! 

[Bjørn Rørslett]

A tidbit of information: do not mount the 2.1 cm Nikkor-O f/4 lens on any other camera than an F, F2, or late Nikkormat. On all other Nikons, you will crash and break the mirror. How do I know? (hint: tried with my F4).

I recalled that incident earleir today when I came over an eBay listing from some ignorant seller trying to peddle this lens for USD 9999 (!) with a reference to Ken Rockwell (! sic !) for a list of compatible cameras? My thought went to the gullible buyer who first would pay 10 times at least what the lens is worth, then just to experience it damages his camera and there will be a costly repair bill as well to be paid.

[Akira]

Should I commence this kind of report, I'd be writing until the morning breaks ....

That would be a breaking news! 

Joke aside, I bought a brand new AF-S 17-55/2.8 zoom whose optics are not properly assembled.  It is misaligned and cannot AF properly.  I sent it to Nikon who "repaired" it, of course, under warranty, which took about two weeks.  And I found the problem was still there.  I returned it and never bothered to try another sample again.

I bought two samples of AF-S DX micro 40/2.8 in different times which was about one year apart.  Both samples are misaligned: about 1/5 of the right part of the frame tended to smear when shot even at f5.6.  The 1/5 of the left part of the frame was tack sharp.  I brought both (separately) to Nikon service and their answers were the same: both lenses were withing the tolerance.  I tested them on different samples of D7000.  The 40/2.8 is a nice all-rounder.  The moving part of the lens is well protected by its dedicated hood.  But after these incidents, I stopped looking at this lens.

[Vilhelm]

Akira that sounds more like a misaligned mirror/mirror box than faulty lens...

[Jakov Minić]

Akira, I have the 40/2.8 DX micro and it works just fine on my D300.
In fact it's a marvelous lens considering its cost. If I am to own a D500 in the future, it will be its kit lens

Back to topic

I must admit that my repair history is mostly not my fault. I repaired the AF of two lenses the 17-35/2.8 AF-S and the 85/1.4 AF-D.
The one that I did manage to break was the 24-70/2.8 AF-S. It was absolutely my wrong doing. It was mounted on a D4 and standing on a tripod. The tripod legs slid on a slippery surface and the lens landed nose down. The sunshade was on and did break off absorbing some of the impact but not enough unfortunately...

[Bjørn Rørslett]

Over the years, I found out by depressing practice that cameras and lenses are tougher than my ribs and rib cage ... On last count, I have fractured at least 11 ribs over the years. Once I did 4 at a time. That incident occurred on the bird island of Runde, Western Norway on a shoot for puffins, when I fell down a sea-facing cliff and landed on top of my F5. The camera itself hit a sharp rock with the viewfinder and the impact made a deep indentation, however, the prism itself did not shatter. What did break was my rib cage as I crashed into the camera at speed. Four broken or fractured ribs - the climb back to base camp that day was not pleasant. Not pleasant at all.

I have broken ribs in fall incidents with F2 Titan (camera was hardly scratched, darned it, titanium is really robust), F5 (already narrated), and with 24-70/2.8 G, and 24/3.5 PC-Nikkor, in the latter cases also broke the lens mounts. And of course slipping on ice when you search for the perfect vantage position can cost you dearly as well.

[Hugh_3170]

Ouch Bjørn, ouch.  Cameras and lenses are replaceable, but not people. 

My personal best was stepping aside on a footpath to let two women pass by and I fell heavily due to the curb being rounded and the area not being well lit either.  I was carrying a D700 camera with a 28-300mm lens on it.  The cost to repair the lens was almost that of a new copy, so I simply replaced the lens.  The camera checked out OK with no misalignment or focussing issues post the fall.  I suspect the sacrifice of a plastic lens helped save the camera body.  As for the women - well they saw me fall and just kept walking and my shoulder still niggles at me.  Life......

[Erik Lund]

Fantastic thread Thanks!

I'm also holding my breath - It would take a long time to write all these 'issues' down,,,

Most resent was yesterday, adjusting a new 'used' Leica M lens that just needed a tiny bit of adjusting to get linear focus travel and optimize it for my Leica M9 that is adjusted for the rest of my lenses, and I made a mistake of measuring on a 'hill' at some point and continued to file off material without noticing the 'hill' - 4-5 hours later I was finished mending the mistake,,,

[Jakov Minić]

Hugh, you're a good guy!

[Bjørn Rørslett]

Another 'classic' .....

When you shoot with a Nikonos under water and feels it's becoming more and more difficult to advance the film: DO NOT continue shooting, but surface immediately.

In this case, the O-ring of a Nikonos V had a small leak making water able to trickle into the camera. The camera was loaded with  Kodachrome 25 and the film started slowly to swell from the moisture. Concomitantly, the emulsion commenced to dissolve into the the growing pool of liquid inside the camera. At the point where the camera advance lever locked up completely, the camera *and* lens, the expensive UW-Nikkor N 15 mm f/2.8,  were filled to the brim with a yellow-brown soup of dissolved gelatine and film base chemicals.

We dried out the camera as far as possible and emptied the lens of some of the gooey stuff inside. However, at that time the stuff had entered all air-spaces inside the lens so we couldn't get it emptied.

Nikon repair cleaned the camera and changed a few minor components, before declaring the camera fit for fight again. However, they would not take on any repair of the lens as this required a complete disassembly of the optics. So it was a complete write-off. While I was at the repair shop and filled out the insurance paperwork, I asked my tech what they would do with the lens after making their appraisal of the damage. "Why - it will end in the waste basket" was the answer. I then asked if they would mind if I lifted the discarded lens out of the basket and and there were no objections.

At home, I opened up the lens as much as possible then put it in an exsiccator to get more moisture out of it. After a few days, I put the lens into the oven at 70C, with the door ajar, and baked it for >14 days turning the lens over twice a day. The rationale was that the film emulsion basically was gelatine and if I could evaporate the most of it, or at the very least make it cover the internal surfaces with an evenly deposited thin film, this should have little impact on the final optical properties.

After a few weeks, I removed the lens from the oven, put everything back and mounted the lens on another Nikonos. Perfect. Just a trace of more lens flare that's all. I had basically got an expensive lens for free ... I still have it, by the way.

[Akira]

Akira that sounds more like a misaligned mirror/mirror box than faulty lens...

Vilhelm, I used other lenses as well, and I had no problem with them on the same bodies.  In the case of 17-55 zoom, Nikon service acknowledged the problem.

[PedroS]

Great Reading!

Either I don't shot a lot, or I'm too careful to shot what I should...

No big disasters or broken things over here. Just more than 4 hours looking for a tiny diaphragm blade (Nikkor 55m micro) that thing flying away and landing on a very hairy carpet was the deal... thanks to a magnet, I succeeded to find it!