A trip inside the D810 to fix it.
- Thread starter D200freak
- Start date
Bob Blaylock
Senior Member
If i want to try this what size hammer will i need
Ime [sic] one of those that can take anything apart-------------end of story so you have my admiration
Taking a thing apart is easy.
Taking a thing apart without damaging any of the parts is a bit more difficult; and being able to put it back together properly is the real challenge.
It was pointed out to me today (really I hadn't noticed) that my Nikon 200-500mm lens has an electronic aperture, and because of that, even with the aperture issue this D810 is experiencing right now, that means that as long as I use this or other lenses that also have an electronic aperture, I can use the camera with those lenses and ignore the problem.
I WILL still fix it, but this just means that the D810 will be going with me to this weekend's airshow. It'll be dedicated for use with the 200-500.
I wonder what other lenses in the Nikon catalog have electronic apertures?
I WILL still fix it, but this just means that the D810 will be going with me to this weekend's airshow. It'll be dedicated for use with the 200-500.
I wonder what other lenses in the Nikon catalog have electronic apertures?
Not every project turns out quite as planned.
My replacement aperture control assemby arrived. I took the D810 apart and installed it, which requires partial disassembly of the mirror box assembly.
When I got it back together, the aperture control was working properly. Success! But the mirror mechanism was not working right, and I realized that I'd reassembled it the wrong way. It can only be assembled in two ways, one right and one wrong. Even though I had been through this before, I assembled it the wrong way.
So I went back inside it, rebuilt the mirror assembly the correct way, put the camera back together, and the mirror works fine. But the aperture control problem was back!
I've had the camera apart three or four times today since then, trying to find out if I'd reassembled something incorrectly or messed something up.
Mechanically it's fine, but either the motor or the position sensors have gone nuts.
I'm done with it for now. I MAY just buy yet another complete new aperture control assembly and try again. But for now, the heck with it. I'll just use it with the 200-500 all the time, which has an electronic aperture, and use my D800 for every other lens I have. Problem (kind of) solved.
It frustrates me to put extra work into it and KNOW that if I'd just reassembled the mirror box correctly the first time, the camera would be 100 percent almost without a doubt.
My replacement aperture control assemby arrived. I took the D810 apart and installed it, which requires partial disassembly of the mirror box assembly.
When I got it back together, the aperture control was working properly. Success! But the mirror mechanism was not working right, and I realized that I'd reassembled it the wrong way. It can only be assembled in two ways, one right and one wrong. Even though I had been through this before, I assembled it the wrong way.
So I went back inside it, rebuilt the mirror assembly the correct way, put the camera back together, and the mirror works fine. But the aperture control problem was back!
I've had the camera apart three or four times today since then, trying to find out if I'd reassembled something incorrectly or messed something up.
Mechanically it's fine, but either the motor or the position sensors have gone nuts.
I'm done with it for now. I MAY just buy yet another complete new aperture control assembly and try again. But for now, the heck with it. I'll just use it with the 200-500 all the time, which has an electronic aperture, and use my D800 for every other lens I have. Problem (kind of) solved.
It frustrates me to put extra work into it and KNOW that if I'd just reassembled the mirror box correctly the first time, the camera would be 100 percent almost without a doubt.
Danno
Senior Member
Things like that happen. You made the right choice to give it a rest. With time we gain perspective... quite an impressive adventure.
Sent from my SM-T530NU using Tapatalk
I'll revisit that issue...later. What's weird is that the aperture control mechanism is the simplest mechanism in the camera. It's basically a stepper motor connected to a short gear train, a lever, and an optical position sensor consisting of an LED and a detector. Very simple, not much to fail.
I will just get another assembly and try again later.
For now I'll just use only lenses with the E in their description and call it a day.
Airshow tomorrow! I hope to get some good shots.
I will just get another assembly and try again later.
For now I'll just use only lenses with the E in their description and call it a day.
Airshow tomorrow! I hope to get some good shots.
Airshow today. I put close to 3000 shots on the D810 and it never failed to do what it's supposed to do. I put an additional 500 shots on the D800, so I made my task of editing excess photos VERY tough on myself. 3500 in one day? Seriously?
I might be wise to move the mode dial off Ch and set it to S instead.
I might be wise to move the mode dial off Ch and set it to S instead.
Danno
Senior Member
Congratulations. I am glad it worked out so well for you. Look forward to seeing some photos.
Not sure where to put this but this little bit of information should be handy for any of you who find that you never completely trust your camera strap.
Look carefully at the strap eyelets in the body of your Nikon DSLR camera. If you look very closely, you will see that they actually have a steel insert in them which reduces the diameter of the holes, and is presumably there to make them last longer.
I'm always seeking a really secure way to attach a strap to a camera. I find that I pretty much don't trust any regular strap attachment system.
In the firearms accessories department of your local wal-mart, or on amazon, or maybe your local gun store, you can buy a set of Uncle Mike's QD 115 quick disconnect sling adapters for about 10 dollars. They're very, very, VERY secure.
They can be used as your camera end connectors for a new strap made by your local custom leather/canvas goods shop.
But the catch is, for you to use the Uncle Mike's QD sling adapters, those steel liners have to come out of the camera strap mounts.
That will require a certain amount of creativity and ingenuity on your part. I've removed them from my cameras and I've had to drill out some using a tapered pin reamer in a cordless drill, or had to go to a regular (carefully sized) drill bit for another one, and one I eventually just had to kind of break up with a pair of sharp nosed diagonal cutters once I got a grip on the end of the sleeve.
In all cases, no damage was done to the camera or to the strap mount, but if you wanted to restore it to original condition you'd have to find an exact match for the original spring steel expanding liners, and I'm not quite sure what the industry trade name is for them. They would then need to be slightly swaged on both ends to hold them in the eyelet, which is why they're a bit of a challenge to remove.
With these QD connectors attached to the camera, and a suitable camera strap made to fit the QD connectors, you now will have a strap system that will be stronger than the mounts on the camera itself, if the person who makes the strap knows how to sew properly.
For camera strap material, use seat belt webbing. It's incredibly strong AND comfortable. there's nothing better for a camera strap.
Look carefully at the strap eyelets in the body of your Nikon DSLR camera. If you look very closely, you will see that they actually have a steel insert in them which reduces the diameter of the holes, and is presumably there to make them last longer.
I'm always seeking a really secure way to attach a strap to a camera. I find that I pretty much don't trust any regular strap attachment system.
In the firearms accessories department of your local wal-mart, or on amazon, or maybe your local gun store, you can buy a set of Uncle Mike's QD 115 quick disconnect sling adapters for about 10 dollars. They're very, very, VERY secure.
They can be used as your camera end connectors for a new strap made by your local custom leather/canvas goods shop.
But the catch is, for you to use the Uncle Mike's QD sling adapters, those steel liners have to come out of the camera strap mounts.
That will require a certain amount of creativity and ingenuity on your part. I've removed them from my cameras and I've had to drill out some using a tapered pin reamer in a cordless drill, or had to go to a regular (carefully sized) drill bit for another one, and one I eventually just had to kind of break up with a pair of sharp nosed diagonal cutters once I got a grip on the end of the sleeve.
In all cases, no damage was done to the camera or to the strap mount, but if you wanted to restore it to original condition you'd have to find an exact match for the original spring steel expanding liners, and I'm not quite sure what the industry trade name is for them. They would then need to be slightly swaged on both ends to hold them in the eyelet, which is why they're a bit of a challenge to remove.
With these QD connectors attached to the camera, and a suitable camera strap made to fit the QD connectors, you now will have a strap system that will be stronger than the mounts on the camera itself, if the person who makes the strap knows how to sew properly.
For camera strap material, use seat belt webbing. It's incredibly strong AND comfortable. there's nothing better for a camera strap.
Danno
Senior Member
Hey, how did the air show go. Is the 810 working ok?
Sent from my SM-T530NU using Tapatalk
rocketman122
Senior Member
are you talking about replacing the holes int eh camera
or the triangles
or the straps themselves
I dont use QD straps so no worries there. do you think the holes in the camera arent strong enough?
Yes, the D810 has worked great for me for two airshows in a row now. I sometimes wonder if AF is properly calibrated but enough pictures come out razor sharp that I think it's fine. I think it's too much to expect autofocus to be absolutely perfect all the time.
I have tried MANY ways of making a totally secure strap system and my final answer is to leave the tension sleeves in the strap mounts right where they are. Use the Nikon provided triangle rings and run the connector end of the Uncle Mike's sling swivel adapters through the triangle rings. There's absolutely no chance of any hardware failing before the camera is badly broken with this setup.
I've been making up a list of product improvement suggestions to send to Nikon. I am sure that I could tell them how to improve their cameras and make them more durable and less likely to get DESTROYED in an accident.
For one, they need to go back to the magnesium alloy front shell. It'd be better to make the BACK shell out of platic and leave the front in metal, because of the improved stiffness of the magnesium alloy.
Two, they should make the lens mount so that it can be knocked off in a fall, using screws that are designed to break BEFORE the whole lens box breaks, so repair would consist of extracting the specially designed "safety screw" remains, and screwing the lens mount back on with new safety screws.
Three, they could stand to apply some waterproofing coatings to at least the main PC board. Conformal coating is not expensive.
Four, let's see some more liberal use of gaskets to keep water out!
Five, I want to see more lenses with electronic apertures. With the option to "declick" the aperture via a simple menu setting change.
Six, time to start thinking about incorporating electronic zoom functionality into Nikon's DSLRs. Zoom with precisely calibrated focus, aperture, and shutter speed tracking, no less.
Seven, I want to see the 14-24mm F/2.8 lens updated with an electronic aperture and VR. SWEET.
Eight: If Nano Coat is so great, why isn't it being used in more lenses and on more elements in those lenses?
I have tried MANY ways of making a totally secure strap system and my final answer is to leave the tension sleeves in the strap mounts right where they are. Use the Nikon provided triangle rings and run the connector end of the Uncle Mike's sling swivel adapters through the triangle rings. There's absolutely no chance of any hardware failing before the camera is badly broken with this setup.
I've been making up a list of product improvement suggestions to send to Nikon. I am sure that I could tell them how to improve their cameras and make them more durable and less likely to get DESTROYED in an accident.
For one, they need to go back to the magnesium alloy front shell. It'd be better to make the BACK shell out of platic and leave the front in metal, because of the improved stiffness of the magnesium alloy.
Two, they should make the lens mount so that it can be knocked off in a fall, using screws that are designed to break BEFORE the whole lens box breaks, so repair would consist of extracting the specially designed "safety screw" remains, and screwing the lens mount back on with new safety screws.
Three, they could stand to apply some waterproofing coatings to at least the main PC board. Conformal coating is not expensive.
Four, let's see some more liberal use of gaskets to keep water out!
Five, I want to see more lenses with electronic apertures. With the option to "declick" the aperture via a simple menu setting change.
Six, time to start thinking about incorporating electronic zoom functionality into Nikon's DSLRs. Zoom with precisely calibrated focus, aperture, and shutter speed tracking, no less.
Seven, I want to see the 14-24mm F/2.8 lens updated with an electronic aperture and VR. SWEET.
Eight: If Nano Coat is so great, why isn't it being used in more lenses and on more elements in those lenses?
Photowyzard
Senior Member
D200freak......
You are MY HERO!
Well done!
You are MY HERO!
Well done!
Excellent thread and bravo on picking up such a challenging project.
I had question for you, since you seem to have tore down a few cameras by now, have you buy any chance opened up a D750? I'm kind of in a dilemma right now to return my D750 in exchange for a D810 for the better build quality and supposedly longer rating on the shutter mechanism.
After reading your post ofcourse, I'm a little surpised to see its got a plastic front frame, does the D810 really have any advantage over the D750 as far as build/longevity of the camera (body and shutter mechanism).
I had question for you, since you seem to have tore down a few cameras by now, have you buy any chance opened up a D750? I'm kind of in a dilemma right now to return my D750 in exchange for a D810 for the better build quality and supposedly longer rating on the shutter mechanism.
After reading your post ofcourse, I'm a little surpised to see its got a plastic front frame, does the D810 really have any advantage over the D750 as far as build/longevity of the camera (body and shutter mechanism).
DW the Old EW
New member
Thanks for writing up your 'adventure' into the D810. I was on a bicycling trip with my D810 recently and got a lot of perspiration on the back display. Eventually the display stopped working completely. I continued to take images assuming the perspiration did not affect the image capture functions. Once I got home I found I was right. All the images i captured after the display malfunction were just fine and recorded on the CF card.
I have now disassembled my D810 using your tips and found salt deposits on the connectors and other areas around the display. I intend to clean this in hopes of restoring the display function.
After Action Report – No Go. I cleaned and reassembled and tested twice. Display still does not show any signs of life for either menus or file playback. Wonder what Nikon will charge for this repair…?
DW the Old EW
I have now disassembled my D810 using your tips and found salt deposits on the connectors and other areas around the display. I intend to clean this in hopes of restoring the display function.
After Action Report – No Go. I cleaned and reassembled and tested twice. Display still does not show any signs of life for either menus or file playback. Wonder what Nikon will charge for this repair…?
DW the Old EW