Consolation needed - D850 repair experience

[Krümelkraft]

Hello.
I apologize in advance for bad english. I hope everything will be clear.
I also want to make clear that this is not meant to be a rant against anyone involved in the story.

A couple of months ago I bought a used D850. I was really happy because it was in mint condition with a shutter count of less than 6.000.
As I have been always very careful about sensor cleaning, I usually used a rubber stick for cleaning, since I was aware of the risk of having something nasty scratching the sensor glass, especially when using wet swabs.
However, I managed to scratch the glass with a fresh swab. I have no idea where the grain came from. There were only three microscopic dust particles on the sensor, and none of them was in the line where the scratch appeared.

It really made me sick to have damaged my sensor, so I brought the camera to my dealer and asked if and how the sensor could be repaired and how much it would cost me. Would they replace the glass or the whole sensor?

So, they sent it to Nikon and nothing happened. The problem was that the dealer person who was in charge with the process, was ill so nobody could tell me what Nikon estimated, and Nikon wouldn't give any information directly to me.
After three weeks, I finally got the answer: 1500€, which is half the price of a new D850 here.

From an economic point of view, it made no sense to have it repaired, but I needed to get rid of that scratch on my soul.

I was very happy when the camera was announced to be back from repair just a few days before christmas.
I drove 100km to my dealer to get my camera with a brand new sensor
- and a scratch on it!

So, the camera directly went back to Nikon and I was afraid if they would repair it once more under warranty, which caused me a lot of stress symptoms, including migraine and extrasystoles. It wasn't until last week that I finally knew for sure they would re-repair it free of charge. (Big thanks to my dealer who had pity on me and gave me a free rental D850 for the holidays )

Finally, after two months, I got my D850 back on friday with an all new sensor without any scratches.

But now there is some visible dust in the viewfinder. It's not located on the matte screen (I don't know the proper word, the screen on which the image is projected to see it in the VF).
It is somewhere behind it, even behind the overlay-LCD. It must be on the pentaprism. I have no idea how it could get there, but it was definitely not there before repair.

I know dust in the viewfinder is not a big deal, since it doesn't affect image quality neither function.
However, I am dissapointed, because I paid a lot of money and expected that my camera would be in the same condition as before.
I could return it one more time to have the pentaprism cleaned, as they obviously have caused it, but I really have no energy anymore for another repair.

 

[jeffnles1]

First, sorry to hear you've experienced these problems and I do hope the dust in the viewfinder will either easily blow out with a rocket blower or will move about to a point where it no longer bothers you. For the record, there is some dust in my D500 viewfinder and, believe it or not, after a while I just got used to it.

I hope you take what follows in the spirit in which it is meant. I'm not trying t be mean or belittle your problems. I will say that stressing over an object like your camera body to the point it causes physical harm (migraine, loss of sleep etc.) is not healthy.

Let me share a story that happened to me and some advice a good friend gave me. About 30 years ago, I was arguing with a mechanic who was lying to me about something on my car. The discussion got loud and I hung up the phone. The man in the office next to mine (who was also a friend) called me and asked me to come over to his office. I thought he was going to report me to HR or something. No, he shared something with me that was life changing. He said that he was a cancer survivor. One day when he was in the hospital receiving a chemo treatment, something happened in the hospital (big car wreck or something) and he was left on a gurney in the hallway for quite some time. He was cold (a side effect of chemo) and had to urinate. He was too weak to sit up or move and he couldn't get anyone in the hospital to pay attention to him. He said at that moment he would have gladly traded all the money he had or would ever make to not have cancer. The following advice he gave is what was a life changing moment for me. He said: "Jeff, what I'm saying is if money can fix your problem, then it is not that big of a problem. It is the things money cannot fix that are the big problems."

In your case, money can fix the problem. Even if you do not have the money to fix it now, money can fix it. Be thankful for health, loved ones, friends, a sunny morning, a beautiful snowfall and even rain that will bring about green fields. Be thankful for those things money cannot buy and thankful that you are not suffering from those things money cannot fix.

Again, please do not take this as belittling your issue with the camera. I understand how frustrating these things can be and how angry one can get about it. None of us are immune that. I am saying try to keep it in perspective and don't allow it to stress you to the point it impacts your physical health.

Jeff

 

[EricBowles]

Hello.
I apologize in advance for bad english. I hope everything will be clear.
I also want to make clear that this is not meant to be a rant against anyone involved in the story.

A couple of months ago I bought a used D850. I was really happy because it was in mint condition with a shutter count of less than 6.000.
As I have been always very careful about sensor cleaning, I usually used a rubber stick for cleaning, since I was aware of the risk of having something nasty scratching the sensor glass, especially when using wet swabs.
However, I managed to scratch the glass with a fresh swab. I have no idea where the grain came from. There were only three microscopic dust particles on the sensor, and none of them was in the line where the scratch appeared.

It really made me sick to have damaged my sensor, so I brought the camera to my dealer and asked if and how the sensor could be repaired and how much it would cost me. Would they replace the glass or the whole sensor?

So, they sent it to Nikon and nothing happened. The problem was that the dealer person who was in charge with the process, was ill so nobody could tell me what Nikon estimated, and Nikon wouldn't give any information directly to me.
After three weeks, I finally got the answer: 1500€, which is half the price of a new D850 here.

From an economic point of view, it made no sense to have it repaired, but I needed to get rid of that scratch on my soul.

I was very happy when the camera was announced to be back from repair just a few days before christmas.
I drove 100km to my dealer to get my camera with a brand new sensor
- and a scratch on it!

So, the camera directly went back to Nikon and I was afraid if they would repair it once more under warranty, which caused me a lot of stress symptoms, including migraine and extrasystoles. It wasn't until last week that I finally knew for sure they would re-repair it free of charge. (Big thanks to my dealer who had pity on me and gave me a free rental D850 for the holidays )

Finally, after two months, I got my D850 back on friday with an all new sensor without any scratches.

But now there is some visible dust in the viewfinder. It's not located on the matte screen (I don't know the proper word, the screen on which the image is projected to see it in the VF).
It is somewhere behind it, even behind the overlay-LCD. It must be on the pentaprism. I have no idea how it could get there, but it was definitely not there before repair.

I know dust in the viewfinder is not a big deal, since it doesn't affect image quality neither function.
However, I am dissapointed, because I paid a lot of money and expected that my camera would be in the same condition as before.
I could return it one more time to have the pentaprism cleaned, as they obviously have caused it, but I really have no energy anymore for another repair.

It's unfortunate that you have dust on the pentaprism. There is a very good chance you can remove it with a blower and resolve the issue, but if it is really behind some part it may need to be disassembled to fix.

I find dust is simply a fact of life with all cameras. I've always got dust on the outside of my viewfinder. The mirror box or lens mount area is filled with dust - not just on the sensor. It's on the body cap, the mount, the sides of the lens box, etc. If you move it off the sensor, dust from some other surface will return. Sooner or later it's on the viewfinder.

I'd just live with it if a blower did not take care of it, but if it bothers you your choice is either send it for service or learn to live with it. You could always wait until later and send it for service in the future. Or you cam fix it now - but in another few months you will certainly have the same problem again.
.

 

[aolander]

Usually dust visible in the viewfinder is from dust on the focusing screen. If it's on the bottom, it should blow off. If on top, the focusing screen would have to be removed and blown off. There are tutorials about removing the focusing screen.

 

[Krümelkraft]

It's unfortunate that you have dust on the pentaprism. There is a very good chance you can remove it with a blower and resolve the issue, but if it is really behind some part it may need to be disassembled to fix.

Usually dust visible in the viewfinder is from dust on the focusing screen. If it's on the bottom, I should blow off. If on top, the focusing screen would have to be removed and blown off. There are tutorials about removing the focusing screen.

It is definitely behind the focusing screen. I removed the focusing screen (easy) and blew off the screen and the LCD, which is behind the focusing screen.
It must be behind the LCD, so on the prism itself. No chance to blow it off. The LCD cannot be removed without dissassembling the camera.

 

[Krümelkraft]

First, sorry to hear you've experienced these problems [...]

Jeff

Thank you for your kind words. It absolutely makes sense what you say and what your friend said.

I think I will forget about the dust as soon as the weather will be better again and I can go out birding.

 

[Krümelkraft]

"Jeff, what I'm saying is if money can fix your problem, then it is not that big of a problem. It is the things money cannot fix that are the big problems."

Just to give you a short update:
I finally ended up in hospital with atrial fibrillation. Got rid of it without further intervention (other than medicaments).
Now, it really becomes clear how true those words are.

It really was like the last warning that I have to find a way to get around that kind of unnecessary stress, and find the right balance.

 

[JoeB]

First, sorry to hear you've experienced these problems and I do hope the dust in the viewfinder will either easily blow out with a rocket blower or will move about to a point where it no longer bothers you. For the record, there is some dust in my D500 viewfinder and, believe it or not, after a while I just got used to it.

I hope you take what follows in the spirit in which it is meant. I'm not trying t be mean or belittle your problems. I will say that stressing over an object like your camera body to the point it causes physical harm (migraine, loss of sleep etc.) is not healthy.

Let me share a story that happened to me and some advice a good friend gave me. About 30 years ago, I was arguing with a mechanic who was lying to me about something on my car. The discussion got loud and I hung up the phone. The man in the office next to mine (who was also a friend) called me and asked me to come over to his office. I thought he was going to report me to HR or something. No, he shared something with me that was life changing. He said that he was a cancer survivor. One day when he was in the hospital receiving a chemo treatment, something happened in the hospital (big car wreck or something) and he was left on a gurney in the hallway for quite some time. He was cold (a side effect of chemo) and had to urinate. He was too weak to sit up or move and he couldn't get anyone in the hospital to pay attention to him. He said at that moment he would have gladly traded all the money he had or would ever make to not have cancer. The following advice he gave is what was a life changing moment for me. He said: "Jeff, what I'm saying is if money can fix your problem, then it is not that big of a problem. It is the things money cannot fix that are the big problems."

In your case, money can fix the problem. Even if you do not have the money to fix it now, money can fix it. Be thankful for health, loved ones, friends, a sunny morning, a beautiful snowfall and even rain that will bring about green fields. Be thankful for those things money cannot buy and thankful that you are not suffering from those things money cannot fix.

Again, please do not take this as belittling your issue with the camera. I understand how frustrating these things can be and how angry one can get about it. None of us are immune that. I am saying try to keep it in perspective and don't allow it to stress you to the point it impacts your physical health.

Jeff

Well said Jeff.

Joe

 

[Warren D]

I generally don't worry about dust in the VF, it's going to happen sooner or later. Eventually, like the floaters in my eyes, you get used to the location(s) and your mind processes it out.....unless it becomes such an obsession you keep focusing on it. (See Jeff's comments about that above) As long as it doesn't impair the photo, it really doesn't matter.

 

[jeffnles1]

Just to give you a short update:
I finally ended up in hospital with atrial fibrillation. Got rid of it without further intervention (other than medicaments).
Now, it really becomes clear how true those words are.

It really was like the last warning that I have to find a way to get around that kind of unnecessary stress, and find the right balance.

My friend, thank goodness you got it caught early. I am sincerely hoping you can reduce the stress in your life. There should be a whole lot of sunrises to photograph in your future.