Repairing a D2X body

[Dprime]

Hey guys,

So after a very frustrating weekend, resulting in my D2Xs having a bent pin because some idiot decided he wanted to look at the photos of himself on my camera, but realised they weren't on the card in the camera, so he tried to cram the second card into the slot not knowing how to do it. I've now just found out its going to cost $469.66 to repair it.

Apart from the fact that I shouldnt be paying this money because this never should of happened (I wont be leaving my camera on the table un-attended ever again) does anyone think this price is a bit ridiciouls?

CF Card unit $74
Grib Rubber $48
Apron Bottom Rubber $22
Rewind Side Rubber $31
Consumables, Adhesives and Lube $8
LABOUR $275??????????

$469 to replace a $74 part?

Has anyone had any previous experience with fixing a D2X body? does it require every rubber to be replaced? I guess I'm just anoying that I have to pay this money in the first place let alone how much its going to cost.

Thanks,
Brett

[Alpha_7]

YIkes about twice as expensive as the same repair on the D70. I feel for you mate, you can't make the dh pay for it himself ?

[Dprime]

The guy is an absolute moron, which is why it doesnt suprise me that out of everyone he was the idiot to do it. Hes only 17, and when he heard he had "broken the camera" from someone, he didnt even approach me to apoligise or ask what happened, he walked off and picked up the video camera to view the video footage of himself... so I have no doubt I will be getting any money off him for it.

[Yi-P]

I will say that is about there, the D2X is far more sophisticated on the inside and it has heaps of delicate electronics to dismantle before getting down to the CF unit, unsolder it and solder it back, put everything back in one piece and test/readjust (hope they do that).

If he is only 17, I will go directly to his parents for this very reason.

[Kyle]

Can your insurance cover this mishap?

If so, i'd try to get him to pay the excess, or at least make installments to pay it?

[wendellt]

that is really crap i can feel the anguish

just so you dont get more frustrated make sure when you bring the camera in for repair nothing else looks broken

nikon sometimes are pro-active and charge you for things they find wrong with the camera even superficial things like a lose rubber grip

I turned my camera in for service outrside the warrantly period because my hotshoe was loose they said it would cost $600 to fix it

when i got it back it cost me $900 simply because they had to remove the glue i used to semi fix the hotshoe on a previous ocassion
and they re-gripped my camera because my rubber grip was falling off too me not such a big deal but they fixed it without asking me

so moral of the story is dont do any self repair

and when you turn your camera in ust make sure they inform you of any additional costs or make sure your camera is in good condition so they don't have an excuse to charge you more

[PiroStitch]

Sorry to hear about your camera - I'd approach the parents and explain to them what has happened.

[daniel_r]

Thats not good news. I'm always hesitant about leaving my D2h unattended - it's just too much camera for your average idiot. After reading this, I'll keep an even more alert eye for village idiots.

LABOUR $275??????????

I don't think you'd take well to BMW servicing

Silly buggers aside...

Has anyone had any previous experience with fixing a D2X body? does it require every rubber to be replaced?

There's a reason the other stuff needs to be replaced. if it's a good reason or design, I'll leave that up to others to decide

The grip rubbers on the D2 series are seen as consumable parts (highly tactile rubber so you dont drop it, but wears easily). The grip rubbers also hide a number of case screws under it to minimise exposed screws for weather sealing - from my understanding, the screws under the grip hold the front and rear case together and in turn the top and bottom case.

The rubber is attached using some sort of glue that's a one-off use, but comes off reasonably easily for servicing/replacement - and occasionally with heavy/frequent use.

I've fished out the last service receipt for the D2h when it went in for the 'metering issue' that affects this model, but given it's the same body design, the same service techniques apply. It has had its grip rubber (cryptic part VBA10301-1d998-448 !!) replaced on both service occasions.

As soon as an internal part in the central part of the body (like the Main PCB and sub boards) needs to be fixed, the rubber grip needs to come off to access the screws. The standard service procedure is to replace it with a new grip rubber on reassembly as the previously installed one doesn't go back on so well and looks pretty crappy.

CF Card unit $74
-- modular component that attaches via a socket to the main PCB.

Grib Rubber $48
-- bit that wraps around the main right hand grip

Apron Bottom Rubber $22
-- bit that under the lens mount on the vertical grip adjacent to the front vertical command wheel

Rewind Side Rubber $31
-- the left side where the ports are

Consumables, Adhesives and Lube $8
-- always included in the repair, marked as "warranty/repair consumables 003088", the glue they use to put the grip back on

LABOUR $275??????????
-- calculated in qty x 1/4 units. The value stated for my repair of similar complexity is 6 x 1/4hr units. The service on a D2 series usually involves more calibration and testing than other models due to a higher expectations/tolerances associated with being a pro body.

$100/hr labour is about average for a repair of this nature, usual for repair of sensitive electronics.

So the quote seems to be about the normal price

Hope another experience to reference it off helps. Good luck with the service, and don't let it out of your sight when it comes back

[DaveB]

daniel_r's analysis seems fairly spot-on.

I turned my camera in for service outrside the warrantly period because my hotshoe was loose they said it would cost $600 to fix it

when i got it back it cost me $900 simply because they had to remove the glue i used to semi fix the hotshoe on a previous ocassion
and they re-gripped my camera because my rubber grip was falling off too me not such a big deal but they fixed it without asking me

so moral of the story is dont do any self repair

Can we quote you on that Wendell?

Certainly a hike of 50% above the quoted repair cost would seem unreasonable. When I get equipment repaired at Canon we usually agree on a repair-without-calling-me limit. Anything above that they phone me first!

[MattC]

Brett

I feel your pain. Hopefully insurance or the kid’s parents will come good.

………My camera gear was in the passenger side foot well and spent the whole twelve hours under water. I have salvaged a tripod (and accessories), batteries, CF cards, filters plus miscellaneous bits and pieces. My D2X, F6, 14/2.8, 20/2.8, 24/2.8, 50/1.4, 105/2, 180/2.8, 2x SB800s and meters are all hosed. The gear is uninsured.

I tend to be philosophical about this sort of thing these days. It has happened, there is no point in getting upset, so I just get on with it. I am not suggesting that you do the same... Get angry if you have to. At least I could only blame myself for the destruction of my gear... Not someone else's brat.

Cheers

[wendellt]

dave

you can quote me on anything

i've been stupid in the past and i've paid for it

i was in such a hurry i forgot to discuss a 'limit' on repair
I said just do whatever it takes to fix the camera i need it!

a week later i bought a d70 2nd body because i learned from the experience of relyin on just 1 body especially out of the warranty period

[Antsl]

My advice... if you are going to get a camera repaired make sure its a warranty repair. If not, make every effort you can to take it direct to the manufacturers own repair agency. DONT take it to your local camera shop... most of them put 100% handling charge on top of your repair (Fact).

Camera shops also have a bad habit of using unqualified staff (they don't actually realise they are unqualified though) to give opinions on equipment for repair but will often get it wrong. A recent case in point is a Nikon 80-200 f2.8 lens two touch lens; an Elizabeth St camera shop told the a friend it was a write off after the lens had been dropped along with a Fujifilm S1 (at least that was not a great loss). The interesting thing though was that aside from a broken A/M focus switch there was no obvious sign of damage. Twice this owner was told the lens was a write off and so they had it in a cupboard getting ready for a quiet burial in landfill. I offered to have a look at the lens and after stripping it down and discovering no internal damamge I opted to buy the part ($20 through my connections) and put it back together again with about three hours effort. The repair would have cost $280 through the agent.

There is money to be made in repairing cameras and lenses however there is just as much money to be made (with less effort) by telling a customer that their gear is U/S and selling them another item off the shelf.

Bottom line.... look after your gear or get good at fixing it yourself!

[Dprime]

Thanks for the feedback guys.

daniel_r, thanks for that, I guess they are on the mark then and I've got no choice in terms of how much its going to cost. I didnt even think about the rubbers when I put it in for repairs so that was kind of a "oh.. dam" reaction when I saw those on the repair list aswell.

Does Nikon have a service like canons CPS membership?

Mattc, After reading that I dont think I have a place to be anoyed , sorry to hear about your loss! Insurance for me is out of the question aswell, I do insure my gear, but the only thing that isnt currently on it is my D2xs because I havent got around to adding it to the list. Will be doing it next week.

I think what anoys the hell out of me more about this is the kid in general. I dont no where he gets off sending me a message like this just then on the interent.

"yeah brett whats crakin cant wait to see the pics it was fun as, do u have many skating shots.?"

So not only does he break my camera, he expects me to send him the shots of himself so he can brag to his little buddies.

I wont be chasing him or his parents for money, Im not the kind of person to just tell someone they owe me 469 bucks for their sons actions. I know I have every right to, but I havent got it in me to do so.

[Alpha_7]

My camera gear was in the passenger side foot well and spent the whole twelve hours under water. I have salvaged a tripod (and accessories), batteries, CF cards, filters plus miscellaneous bits and pieces. My D2X, F6, 14/2.8, 20/2.8, 24/2.8, 50/1.4, 105/2, 180/2.8, 2x SB800s and meters are all hosed. The gear is uninsured.

Dude, I'm so sorry for your lost, I can't fathom loosing all my gear like that, and potentially not being able to replace it all. I hope the car was insured, it was right ? That was one expensive outing.

[phillipb]

Sounds to me like you have $469 worth of skating photos up your sleeve.

[shutterbug]

Does Nikon have a service like canons CPS membership?

Yep...NPS

[DaveB]

Has Nikon Australia resurrected NPS?

[gstark]

Has Nikon Australia resurrected NPS?

I don't think it ever died.

Well, except for Maxwell's wonderful marketing efforts.

But I can recall seeing a brochure for it when I was at Maxwells, about 14 months ago, and in December, Poroday had the same brochure.

So it seems to me that it's been around in its current guise through at least that period of time.

[DaveB]

There's no mention of it on the nikon.com.au website. Therefore it could be argued to not exist for all intents and purposes...

I hadn't heard good things about the Maxwells-run NPS, without knowing specifics. The usual "faster servicing", "loan of gear during repairs", etc didn't seem to count for much with Maxwells' stretched-thin resources. If Nikon Australia can make those things count for something, I suppose that would count as "resurrecting" the service.
Apparently there was an annual membership fee also. Interestingly CPS has no fee: you just need to prove you're a working pro (I guess they figure they're getting your business already ). I must say the CPS reps are very friendly and seem to go out of their way to help you, which helps make the whole experience quite positive.

I suppose the state of NPS isn't that important to me as I'm not likely to need it any time soon, but it'd be useful to know for when I'm being asked by Nikon users. At the moment I can only tell them about the joys of CPS vs (nothing)...

[Dprime]

We use Canon at my work and Ive had a fair bit of dealing with CPS aswell and my experience from them has been pritty positive aswell. Im lucky I guess that I'm going overseas this Saturday for 2 weeks so not having my D2Xs isnt going to be a problem interms of work for me, but knowing that Nikon has their own NPS I guess would be handy for the future if something like this happens again.

[Dprime]

Sounds to me like you have $469 worth of skating photos up your sleeve.

Problem is this kid wakeskates for a clothing company whom I do all their photography for at a very cheap rate because the owners of the company are good friends. So looks like this job is going to send me into the minus's. Should of stayed home.

[gstark]

There's no mention of it on the nikon.com.au website. Therefore it could be argued to not exist for all intents and purposes...

The Nikon AU website is about as good as the Maxwell site ever was in this regard. A bit like Sydney's trains really ... always late, and full of excuses.

I hadn't heard good things about the Maxwells-run NPS, without knowing specifics. The usual "faster servicing", "loan of gear during repairs", etc didn't seem to count for much with Maxwells' stretched-thin resources. If Nikon Australia can make those things count for something, I suppose that would count as "resurrecting" the service.

I'm certainly not going to argue this point with you. My views on Maxwell's standards of service are well known, and thus far I'm entirely underwhelmed with the changeove to Nikon Au, which seems to me to be little more than window dressing.

I must say the CPS reps are very friendly and seem to go out of their way to help you, which helps make the whole experience quite positive.

I suppose the state of NPS isn't that important to me as I'm not likely to need it any time soon, but it'd be useful to know for when I'm being asked by Nikon users. At the moment I can only tell them about the joys of CPS vs (nothing)...

Certainly, the reports one hears of CPS are very good, as compared with what one hears about NPS, which is .... er, um ....

But if nothing else, at least Nikon are consistant: they seem to be unable to effectively market their products, which sell despite Nikon Au's efforts, rather than because of them.

[Raskill]

My camera gear was in the passenger side foot well and spent the whole twelve hours under water. I have salvaged a tripod (and accessories), batteries, CF cards, filters plus miscellaneous bits and pieces. My D2X, F6, 14/2.8, 20/2.8, 24/2.8, 50/1.4, 105/2, 180/2.8, 2x SB800s and meters are all hosed. The gear is uninsured.

Cheers

Oh sweet jesus!