D810 Build quality - Warning

[Erik Lund]

Chris had some bad luck and posted some images of his D810 with the mount ripped off by a drop to the street with the 300PF attached.

To my big surprise the mount and mirror-box area of the D810 is made from plastic!

And It has an impact on how to handle the camera especially with larger/heavier lenses.

Don't put any stress on this mount!

The difference is huge IMHO, you can see it clearly in the linked images on DPR that Bjørnthun posted.

Here is a thread from dpreview with another damaged D810.

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/55639396

It seems there is some "plastic" in the construction, and that the D810 may have changed from the D800.

On the D800 the magnesium body shell goes all the way under the mount and stabilises and stiffen that area completely and most of all, the screws that hold the mount has something to bite into a solid metal casting, on the D810 the four screws barely stays put in the plastic, when I unscrewed them they where as loose as expected from self tapping screws seated into plastic, no wonder the camera is so cheap,,,

Nikon statement about the D810:

The Nikon D810 is surprisingly lightweight, yet highly rugged and durable. A body made of magnesium alloy and a stringently tested weather and dust sealing helps to protect your investment against the elements when shooting on location. It’s tough in construction, yet subtle in nuance. In every way, the D810 is designed to surprise — and delight.

[Frank Fremerey]

A camera at this price point should certainly be more solid. Thank you for sharing your insights

[Bjørn Rørslett]

Treat these new cameras as eggs in a basket - with utmost attention to avoid knocks and bumps. That probably extends to the D500 as well.

No wonder they have been equipped with "AF Fine-Tune" ....

[Erik Lund]

I'm not sure how the D500 is build but it's easy to check; Unscrew one screw from the mount and take a look, if it's the coarse threads it's self tapping type for plastic - a close up image of it 1:1 should do it,,,

This is the first time I have bought a Nikon camera and become disappointed with the build quality!

I'm quite happy I didn't let go of the 5.2 Kg of 6mm 2.8 while handling it on the D810,,, not too often that is,,,, Sends shivers down my spine to think of it,,,

[Frank Fremerey]

That probably extends to the D500 as well.

The D500 feels much harder than the D600, but haptic response can be misleading ... Did someone evaluate the D500 already???

[Bjørn Rørslett]

I learned about the internal plastics of the Df the "hard way" when I crashed my first body. Just awaiting for a D500 user to do the same ...

[Ilkka Nissilä]

Manuals for Nikon lenses heavier than about 2kg do have warnings that the lens must always be supported (from the lens) and not lifted from the body, e.g. the 200-500/5.6 and 200/2 manuals have such warnings.

[Jan Anne]

Seems like Nikon and Sony made similar mistakes with their last gen cameras from 2013 / 2014, the original a7 was plagued by plastic mounts as well, not sure if its just cost cutting or an ill attempt to make lighter cameras (probably both).

Sony corrected their mistakes with the a7S (strengthened mount for cinema lenses) and properly redesigned the second generation of the a7 series, perhaps Nikon did the same with their current gen offerings like the D500? Everything else on the D500 bodies screams pro use with big lenses, I would be amazed if Nikon cut corners on materials.

Attached the metal construction of a7RII btw, seems OK to me but maybe the engineering experts can tell me whats wrong

[Erik Lund]

Yes that is correct Illka! And should be followed at all times!

However there is a huge difference in strength and overall durability over time between the to types of Body shell designs and that makes handling of the camera an issue even for instance a 70-200mm 2.8 AFS on the D810 - I would really take care!

[Bjørn Rørslett]

Breaking news: D500 is also plastic mount. Just checked per Erik's suggestion.

Surprised: no, not really.

Disappointed: yes, definitively.

[Ilkka Nissilä]

In the case of the D810, the changes may be in order to attenuate vibrations since this has been one of the areas of focus in the update.

[Erik Lund]

Thanks for checking Bjørn.

Ilkka - This has nothing to do with vibrations IMHO - just cost down and weight.

[Jan Anne]

Lets give Nikon the benefit of the doubt, in general they do tend to know what they are doing. The D500 heavy price point doesn't sound like cost cutting to me but making the best DX camera out there.

What other positive attributes would a plastic construction have besides weight and maybe better vibration characteristics?

Is it perhaps less prone to temperature changes delivering better alignment of the internal parts?

[Frank Fremerey]

I continue to carry the 200-500 on the collar. Tail waiving the dog. Thank you again

[Erik Lund]

Jan Anne the is no vibration aspect in this except to the advantage of the magnesium casting.

Plastic have their force in the outer shell of the camera and outer lens barrels where it can absorb impacts, not as an internal chassis