Accident with my D800

[cliffmccartney]

This past Saturday I did a photo hike to the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont, just outside Townsend Tennessee. It is a beautiful place, and the fall colors here in east Tennessee are just stunning. I hope someday to be good enough to portray and share what my eyes are seeing.

Anyway, I was about a half mile from the trail head, and I pulled off the trail because I saw an interesting place near the river to shoot. I had my Nikon D800 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 on a tripod, and I was carrying my Nikon D7000 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8, and I had a small bag for other gear. I got down just beside the stream and I put the tripod on a rock. I made sure it was secure, then leaned over to get my polarizing filter out of my bag.

Then the day changed.

I heard a loud BANG. I looked over to see my D800 laying on the ground, just beside the rock it hit on the way down. I felt like someone had punched me in the gut. I just sat there and stared at it. I guess it wasn't as secure as I thought.

I picked it up, and, unbelievably, it still worked! I couldn't believe it! (I posted a thread in the Nature & Architecture forum, and a few of those were taken after the accident.) There was, however, a bit of damage. The top LCD is cracked, and all the buttons on the top right, except for the shutter, do not work.

Miraculously, there was not even a scratch on the lens.



I contacted Nikon repairs, and they estimated that it would cost $304. I'm guessing it will be much more than that, and if it isn't I'll be pleasantly surprised.

Does anyone have any experience with Nikon repairs? I'm particularly interested in the quality of the repair and the time to complete. I sent my camera to the New York shop.

Thanks!

Cliff

[Manfred M]

Cliff - I had a similar incident with my D90. I was walking down into a dormant volcanic crater on the first day of a trip to Iceland, I slipped on a loose rock and the camera went down. It landed on the top, so the pop-up flash was screwed up, as were some buttons and part of the case cracked. The camera continued to function on the trip and it went back to Nikon for repairs when I got home (about the same cost as what they told you).

The camera is still in use 4-1/2 years later...

[cliffmccartney]

Thanks Manfred!

[Shadowman]

I had a recent repair, it took two weeks to get the quote and another two weeks for the repair. Quality was good, cost was about forty dollars higher than the quote.

[cliffmccartney]

Thanks John!

[HenkB]

I recently had a lens repair done at the Melville facility. It, too, took a tumble and stopped focusing. The eventual cost was right on the estimate and the lens was back in my hands in just under two weeks. I have had a couple of body repairs done and they were about the same, though a bit longer to return. Lightroom tells me the D90 (warranty service for a manufacturing defect) was gone for about three weeks (in 2010). It has never needed anything else. Their explanations of work done can be cryptic, but the repairs seem to be meaningful, nonetheless.

[cliffmccartney]

Thanks Hendrik - great information.

[cliffmccartney]

Well, the good news is that Nikon turned my repair around quickly. I got the camera back today (11/6). The bad news? The letter inside the box said, "Your product was received and you were initially informed that we would be able to service your product. Unfortunately, after a technician started the repair the product was found to be damaged beyond economical repair. As a result, the product is being returned to you unrepaired..."

The other good news: it is insured, so it should be covered.

Stay tuned.