Lens mount ripped off of camera

dmatsui · Oct 5, 2010

As the pictures below indicate my lens mount has been ripped off of the body completly and is currently stuck to the back of my 70-200. I dont think any damage has been done to my lens but i'm guessing i'm going to have to spend quite a bit on repairs for my camera.
I suppose my question is does anyone know if any damage has been done to the lens itself and whether repairing my d80 would be worth it or if i should get a new camera. Also how much would the repairs cost me?

Dao · Oct 5, 2010

Ouch!!

Cole J.M. Photo · Oct 5, 2010

I would get a new camera at this point, the d7000 looks SWEET, but as far as repairs go it may be $300-$500

Neil S. · Oct 5, 2010

lol its a Nikon...

Scatterbrained · Oct 5, 2010

WOW, that makes two Nikons I've seen were this has happened (Kunalini had the lens mount break off of his lens). I would say time for a new camera. Just out of curiosity, what caused the failure?

Overread · Oct 5, 2010

How did it break off? If the lens hit the ground there is a chance that you might have knocked an element slightly out of alignement - but you can't tell that without testing the lens - chances are it could be perfectly fine.

As for getting the lens mount off the lens remember you have to push a button to release the lens from the camera - might be that the "lock" is still in place on the mount attached to the lens so look around for some sort of lever or push button to release the lock to get it off.

kundalini · Oct 5, 2010

Ouch!! Sorry for your loss.

Yeah, my problem was caused by me on the 24-70mm lens. My toe caught the tripod and it smacked the ground. It took 4 weeks to get an estimate from an authorized repair shop and I don't have a clue yet when it will return to my bag. I was expecting a $500 repair, but it turns out to be only $290.

The D80 is still a good camera, so you might want to check how much the repair will be instead of just going out and purchasing a new camera. Of course, you could always keep the D80 as a second body.

KmH · Oct 5, 2010

I had the same thing happen to a D90. A soccer ball removed a Sigma 150-500 zoom. The lens mount screws were stripped out of the bayonette. Another member here (Pure) had it happen with a 80-200 zoom.

It is usually impact damage.

My Nikon USA Service repair was about the same cost as kundalini's, and took 6 weeks because of a hold awaiting parts. The camera has to essentially be completely disassembled to put a new bayonette in it.

Since it's not a warranty repair any shop having Nikon parts can do it.

There is link to a list of Nikon authorized reapir shops listed here:

Nikon Service and Repair

Mbnmac · Oct 5, 2010

The D70-90 and below all have plastic bodies, which means that the screws on the mount are connected to plastic, not a metal body. This means that a heavy lens such as the 70-2/300 can cause the screws to strip the threads if it's not supported.

This is why metal bodies are better in general, and the D7000 is a nice step up

supraman215 · Oct 5, 2010

Mbnmac said:
This means that a heavy lens such as the 70-2/300 can cause the screws to strip the threads if it's not supported.

Shenanigans.

Neil S. · Oct 5, 2010

supraman215 said:
Mbnmac said:

This means that a heavy lens such as the 70-2/300 can cause the screws to strip the threads if it's not supported.

Click to expand...

Shenanigans.

Ya but you left out the first part, so this is out of context...

"The D70-90 and below all have plastic bodies, which means that the screws on the mount are connected to plastic, not a metal body."

He does make a good point, no?

supraman215 · Oct 5, 2010

His point that they are plastic is valid. His point that they could be ripped off under unsupported (implied normal) use is what I was disputing. All instances mentioned here were of catastrophic failure due to impact (user error) not unsupported use.

Neil S. · Oct 5, 2010

supraman215 said:
His point that they are plastic is valid. His point that they could be ripped off under unsupported (implied normal) use is what I was disputing. All instances mentioned here were of catastrophic failure due to impact (user error) not unsupported use.

Ahh ok.

Ya this does seem very uncommon.

So much so that I have never heard of it before for any camera...

Mbnmac · Oct 5, 2010

supraman215 said:
His point that they are plastic is valid. His point that they could be ripped off under unsupported (implied normal) use is what I was disputing. All instances mentioned here were of catastrophic failure due to impact (user error) not unsupported use.

There have been many posts made about a camera coming out of a bag just like this, I can't remember who it was off the top of my head though.

Yes, the impacting will tear it apart, but if you leave it lens down in a bag, without the lens being on a surface so 'pulling' on the mount, this can and will happen to a plastic body, when what, 3 screws are supporting around a kilo of weight?

I'm 2 days from owning a D90, I'm not knocking it, but this is a documented problem with the plastic body, and something I'm going to be very careful of when storing the thing.

When shooting, you're usually supporting the lens with your hand so it shouldn't just come off then.