D80 bounced

[znelbok]

Hi all

Just got back from a trip to Hawaii and part way through the cruise back my son tipped my D80 off the top bunk (where he was not supposed to be) and it bonced its way to the floor where it snapped the lens off the front.

So now I am faced with a delima.

The bayonet fitting appears to be the only damage and looks to be an easy fix. I was luck enough to have the photographers on board the ship snap one of their lenses on and take a picture to confirm that the camera is still opeating correctly.

Is there a chance that the optics in the lens or the camera need attention or are they fairly robust. The picture seems to be OK

The lens is a Nikkor 18-135 /3.5-5.6 DX lens (no VR) - not a particulry top notch lens, but good versatile lens. Nikkor dont show this lens anymore so what is a decent replacement (should I replace it at all or just get a wide angle like I planned but in an FX format - see below)

Here is the dilema

The D600 came out which I want. I was looking at a D7000 (hopeing for its replecement to come out soon) prior to the holiday, but with the subsequent release of the D600 I think I want it now. Do I get a replacement FX lens and use it on the D80 until I get the D600 (waiting for prices to settle a little). The broken lens was my only lens (was getting a tokina before the trip but ran out of funds - may have been a blessing in disguise)

or

Do I get a good all rounder DX lens (similar to what I have) and just leave it on the D80 and get a whole new set for the D600 and use them on the D80 when required (if at all). What is recomended as an all rounder from Nikon?

Thanks for all the help and sorry if this is in the wrong place.

Mick

[Film Street]

Sounds like you're in a budget, undecided about a future camera and lensless all at the same time.

Here's an idea - but a new or used cheap 50mm f1.8.

It will cost you next to nothing, works on an FX body, gets you a lens now, is different to what you were using so you get to try something new.

[Rattus79]

^^^

That is a brilliant Idea!

BUT!!

Be warned that once you see life with a large aperture, your wallet will be empty for eternity.
You see, get the 1.8 and then you will want the 50 1.4 (for the extra stop and the metal bayonette) and then the 85 1.4 (because you want more reach for your portrait work) Then you will want the 30 1.4 (for your srteet stuff and general no-goodery)

Don't say I didn't warn you of the perils of primes!

Edit to say, yes, I know there isn't a stop between 1.4 and 1.8

[old dog]

maybe get the 18-105VR for the D80...cheap on ebay. Spend a tad more on DX 17-55 f2.8 s/hand on ebay. I have one and it`s rarely off my D7000 and the same when I was using the D80.

[arthurking83]

The plastic mount on the kit lens should be easily replaceable if you are handy with a screw driver and able to handle small fine screws.
From memory you can get a plastic mount off ebay for about $10-20 or so.

Depending on how badly the lens was knocked, it may have been knocked out of alignment too, and may need a service/repair to centre the affected lens elements again .. testing will reveal that.

I'd be looking at this event as a means to convince da Furhrer of Daz Accountz! .. that a new camera and lens is now required and that it'll cost a pretty penny and a few halves to boot.

D600 and a 24-120/4 VR would make a nice all round kit to play with... but you're looking at well over the $3K mark for that privilege.

Other all round super zoomish lenses for Fx ... dunno

.. there is the 28-300VR lens which is Fx too. That's more of a Fx equivalent of the Dx 18-200VR lens.
There is no direct 18-135 Dx lens equivalent lens for Fx.

If making do is all you need for now .. get onto ebay and search for Nikon F mount bayonet and you should get a few hits.

Note, while removing and replacing a mount isn't a trivial matter, it's actually quite easy to do, if you're alerted to a few caveats.

You need a good set of jewelers screw drivers, and having 000 - 0 sized screw drivers is almost essential.
On kit type lenses, they use high tensile screws, not stainless, so they're easily held to the screw driver head by magnetism(stainless screws don't and are much easier to lose!)
There should be three main bayonet screws to remove and they're easy to remove with a 00 driver.
There are about 5 or 6 smaller screws along the side of the mount, that hold the electronics/contact block and also the aperture tab and baffle. These screws will almost certainly be of different thread lengths and they must go back into their respective mounting locations(the shorter ones are almost certainly reserved for the contact block).
The hardest part(only because it's fiddly) is the wire screwed on the underside of the mount(if one is fitted). What this wire does is known only by Nikon and the geniuses that pull lenses apart for fun!
(that doesn't include myself, even tho I have pulled lenses apart for fun).

needless to say this underside wire is the fiddliest bit, everything else is easy but minute in size.
Putting it all back together is an exercise in patience. there is a metal spacer thingy that the bayonet mounts onto, and this moves as you move all the parts around. You'd basically place everything together in a sort of alignment, make sure that the contact block is on the right side of the bayonet, and then use a small screwdriver (or pin) to align the holes of the bayonet with the holes of this spacer AND the screw mounts on the lens .. whilst the contact block is still sitting loose. The final part is to drop in the aperture tab/baffle into place whilst locating the contact block into the correct position, and bingo!
place all screws in lightly at this point and flick the aperture control lever to make sure that nothing is binding and that the aperture fully opens when the lever is flicked in the direction of the spring loaded resistance.
Never force the aperture level if it's tight, just undo stuff again and see what's binding(but this shouldn't be a problem).
Also note: once the bayonet is removed the outer casing of the lens is free to come apart too, so be weary of this when picking up the lens by the casing.

So considering all this, I'd still say that replacing a bayonet/mount, is still quite easy for someone with a small amount of handiwork interest.

[znelbok]

thanks guys

I ordered a bayonet ring on e-bay for under $20 delivered. Nikon Aus wanted $70 to do the job for me and from researching it looks like a simple fix.

I took the camera to HN yesterday to try out a new lens there and the results are not promising. The auto focus on the camera may be out of whack as the images were not very good at all. i need to get hold of a lens for a bit longer and do a little more testing.

The D600 is looking more promising.

[arthurking83]

If it fell a long way down, there may be a misaligned mirror problem now(resulting in AF problems).

Cameras can take a bit of a knock'n .. but there are limits.
It doesn't take much to move the mirror to completely discombobulate the AF system. .. and again if it is a mirror misalignment problem, the fix again could be an hour or so worth of tinkering to set it straight.

You'd need a very fine allen key(or hex tool).
I can't remember the exact size, but it's something like a 1 or 1.5mm size allen key, and the adjustment stop is within easy reach just inside the mirror box.

I've adjusted the MF stopper, when I setup my MF lenses to suit my style, so while there was technically nothing wrong with my camera in terms of focusing this gave me a starting reference point to work with.
In your case, because the camera has taken a knock, the now out of whack focusing is at an unknown point.
That is, has it been whacked into back focus or front focus.
I'll bet you may also find that manually focusing may also be out of whack to.
So set yourself up on a tripod and use manual focus to achieve a clear sharp image in the vf. take a shot and compare how well or badly the resultant image looks.
This is hard to do spot on through a dinky vf such as that on a D80 .. live view is great to assist in this sort of testing/sorting/adjusting .. so to right it all, is simply going to be a matter of trial and error and lots of patience.

As you've decided to attempt the repair of the lens mount(good show 'ol chap! ) you will find that (with the right tool) the adjustment of the mirror stop to correct any focusing issues is easier to do(less fiddly) .. just more time consuming because of the testing process.

adjust(camera), shoot, assess image, if no good then go back and re adjust, shoot, inspect image again, if no good, readjust, shoot, review .. etc.

[znelbok]

Thanks for that - the adjustment process sounds fairly easy - just time consuming.

Found out my travel insurance will cover repairs or replacement (hoping for replacement), so I can get a pro to look at it initially (I will still do the lens so I can work out how bad the focus is). If it does get replaced and I get to keep it I will have a good go at it.

Mick

[znelbok]

My bayonet fitting arrived today and it was a simple 10 minute fix.

The camera appears to be working fine, but I am not sure about the images. Close inspection at 100% still has me concerned. I'll post some images for the groups opinions soon.

I did order a Sigma 50mm f1.4 DG lens today as well (for the impending D600 as well).

Mick

[aussie girl]

any chance you can claim it off your insurance??? some home contents insurance policies will cover items that you take out of the home. Just a thought

[znelbok]

Yes, the travel insurance will cover it, but the repair so far has cost me $16. It's just not worth the time and effort to send it away unless I can prove that the AF is out of whack.