I dropped my camera

Ariston · Mar 4, 2019

I dropped my beloved N90S. The camera is fine, but the lens is not. The lens cushioned the blow. In this upside-down world we live in, the camera would have actually been cheaper to replace than my 50mm 1.8AF Nikon lens.

The barrel of the lens has evidently been thrown off aligment, or possibly bent, and the focus movement is now stiff. I'm not sure thay it could be bent, since it seems to be plastic. I can occasionally get the focus to loosen up some by wiggling the barrel. Does anyone know of a way to easily correct this, or am I out $100?

Eric Rose · Mar 4, 2019

Well you are going to have to pay the "oops" tax and buy a new lens. If you keep messing with it you will burn out the screw drive motor in the N90s.

shutterfinger · Mar 4, 2019

There is a factory service manual for lens available for download at http://arcticwolfs.net/
Take good pictures of the lens as you remove parts as they will aid in reassembly. Familiarize yourself with the procedure for disassembly, alignment, reassembly before doing anything.
Whether something is bent, broken, or just knocked out of alignment depends on how hard it hit and where on the lens it hit.

mshchem · Mar 4, 2019

Eric Rose said:
Well you are going to have to pay the "oops" tax and buy a new lens. If you keep messing with it you will burn out the screw drive motor in the N90s.

+1 Take care of your "beloved" I would try to find the same great lens. Maybe tinker with the "wounded" in your spare time. Buy a nice Nikon old school rubber lens hood, even collapsed they make a great bumper. I keep a old Mamiya RB 77mm rubber hood on a couple wide large format lenses, always collapsed, just to protect the lens. We've all done it. I know I have.
Best Regards Mike

slackercrurster · Mar 5, 2019

First thing I do when pickup up a cam is put the wrist strap on.

I would have dropped my cams a number of times over the years without the strap.

Ces1um · Mar 5, 2019

slackercrurster said:
First thing I do when pickup up a cam is put the wrist strap on.

I would have dropped my cams a number of times over the years without the strap.

That's definitely best practice.

guangong · Mar 5, 2019

This is why God made (N)everready cases. In 1973 I dropped my wife’s brand new M5 on the marble floor of JFK airport. Even in the soft case the only damage was that the film counter disengaged. On return, a simple fix. I also dropped my everready cased Rolleiflex and Hasselblad camera’s from shoulder height. No damage, except Rollei suffered a sheared screw.
Of course there are times when cases are impractical. That’s why neck and wrist straps are handy.

Ko.Fe. · Mar 5, 2019

If lens was dropped and hard to focus it means focus helicoid was deformated. Nothing you could do.

slackercrurster said:
First thing I do when pickup up a cam is put the wrist strap on.

View attachment 218713

I would have dropped my cams a number of times over the years without the strap.

My M4-2 went on the concrete because using wrist strap without stopping right is next to same as no strap.
Plus holding camera in hands for hours of walk or during hike is bad. Nothing could replace normal, neck stripe.
Especially for changing film in Leica.

jim10219 · Mar 5, 2019

A lens like that isn't worth repairing. Not for damage that severe. If it were a more expensive lens, it might be worth the time, cost, and frustration. But in this case, you could buy another used lens exactly like that one for a fraction of what it would cost to repair it, even if you repaired it yourself (after you factor in the cost of buying a donor lens for parts and your time spent at minimum wage, let alone the cost of any tools or lubricants you need to do the job right).

Down Under · Mar 5, 2019

Common sense and finances must be considered. As an 'OAP' living on a reasonable but carefully managed budget, I would go with the cost factor. For me, whatever is most cost-effective makes the most sense.

The KISS Principle has served me best in all things photographic. May I suggest, based on budget and the availability of good (= not ridiculously expensive) expert camera repair/service in your area, the following -

1. Have the camera repaired - falls can jar or even dislocate the sensor in D cameras or to a somewhat lesser extent the film plane in F cameras, causing in out-of-focus images (F, D) or scratches (F), often just enough so you won't notice until later when you want to make prints, at which time the consequences of the drop/fall will reveal themselves - or buy another, whichever is most cost-effective.

2. Have the lens repaired, again if cost-effective. For cheaper/older cameras, this probably won't be. Expensive cameras, yes. One of my D700s is currently in for servicing for (among other minor problems) a slightly dislodged sensor. Not cheap, but as this Nikon is no longer made, finding a good D700 on the used market at the present time is just too difficult for me. Mine has 35,000 exposures and is good for many more years of use, so worth the cost. My backup D700 has 135,000 and while it's still a good shooter, won't get serviced if it karks (Aussie slang for "passes away") as it isn't worth investing any more in. Ditto our still-reliable D90 which has about 22,000 clicks on it and seems destined for a long life as the family P&S. So the gearheads gawk when we use our cameras, but I reckon our results are far better than theirs...

3. Buy another lens,new or secondhand, again whichever is cheaper. From a reliable seller. These days, Ebay with its oversupply of expensive crap everything, is last on my list of such.

Home-repairing cameras can be dangerous as they are (usually) highly-engineered and complex machines. I will never buy a camera secondhand if it shows even the slightest evidence of tinkering by previous owner/s. Lens repair is easier but only for simple fixes. Misaligned cameras and lenses mean big trouble!
.

Born2Late · Mar 5, 2019

Ariston said:
I dropped my beloved N90S. The camera is fine, but the lens is not. The lens cushioned the blow. In this upside-down world we live in, the camera would have actually been cheaper to replace than my 50mm 1.8AF Nikon lens.

The barrel of the lens has evidently been thrown off aligment, or possibly bent, and the focus movement is now stiff. I'm not sure thay it could be bent, since it seems to be plastic. I can occasionally get the focus to loosen up some by wiggling the barrel. Does anyone know of a way to easily correct this, or am I out $100?

I had a mint Minolta SRT 202 that fell out of my truck when I opened the back door. It landed upside down on the pentaprism, totaled the top cover and knocked the CDS cells loose from the prism. I was able to reattach the CDS cells and found a new top cover, but it never looked as good as it did. I paid what I call the stupid tax. I always keep my cameras in a case when traveling now.

Ariston · Mar 5, 2019

Thanks for the input, everyone. It was actually a strap that caused me to drop the camera. I did not realize it was on the camera, and it caught on something and snatched the camera out of my hand. I guess I'll have to buy another one. I can make do (due?) with my manual lenses for now, though.

I will definitely not use the autofocus with any autofocus bodies. Thanks for keeping me from tearing up the body focus drive - I was actually worried about that.

RalphLambrecht · Mar 5, 2019

Ariston said:
I dropped my beloved N90S. The camera is fine, but the lens is not. The lens cushioned the blow. In this upside-down world we live in, the camera would have actually been cheaper to replace than my 50mm 1.8AF Nikon lens.

The barrel of the lens has evidently been thrown off aligment, or possibly bent, and the focus movement is now stiff. I'm not sure thay it could be bent, since it seems to be plastic. I can occasionally get the focus to loosen up some by wiggling the barrel. Does anyone know of a way to easily correct this, or am I out $100?

the Nikon 50mm f/1.8 lens is excellent but fortunately inexpensive to replace. sorry for your trouble.

shutterfinger · Mar 6, 2019

Despite all the nay saying in this thread I would use the road map referenced in post #3, remove the trim ring and possibly the front element and see just how bad it is.
But if you cannot turn a screwdriver then its best to follow the others advise.

Ariston · Mar 8, 2019

Thank you to everyone for the advice. I envy those for whom a $100 lens is a cheap lens. Since I had nothing to lose, I took the lens apart the best I could. I saw nothing behind the front element. After removing the rear element, nothing looked bent, but I saw two metal tabs running down the length of the focus threads. I started prying those back and forth and checking the focus. After a bit of trial and error doing this, I got it fixed!

It actually didn’t take too long to fix, but it took nearly an hour to get the lens back together because I couldn’t remember how the weird metal ring on the inside was supposed to be positioned. But that is my fault - I should have marked it or something when I took it apart.

Anyway, thank you to everyone - especially those who said to give disassembly a shot. I’m surprised I was able to save this lens.

KN4SMF · Mar 9, 2019

If the camera was dropped and hit front down on the lens, I'd highly suspect the whole camera's lens flange distance was knocked caddywhompus. I wouldn't spend a penny on a new lens or anything else until getting a good drpendable dial caliper and measuring the flange distance from film plane. Then I'd still be suspicious, not only about that, but lord knows what-all else has been messed up.I'm afraid its one of those situations where there comes a point you have to be honest with yourself and admit you aren't going to have the same trust in it ever again.

Ariston · Mar 9, 2019

Thanks, KN, but I fixed it. I've checked all focusing distances and it is dead on.

KN4SMF · Mar 9, 2019

Good show. Got out lucky on that one.

removed account4 · Mar 9, 2019

slackercrurster said:
First thing I do when pickup up a cam is put the wrist strap on.

View attachment 218713

I would have dropped my cams a number of times over the years without the strap.

words of wisdom !!!!

NB23 · Mar 10, 2019

I killed TWO Xpan cameras which, by the way, were my workhorses.

Down Under · Mar 10, 2019

NB23 said:
I killed TWO Xpan cameras which, by the way, were my workhorses.

KILLED two Xpans? Gawd, you must have money to burn. Do tell us more. There must be a good story here.

If you can afford a pair of those high-price babes (Down Under where I hail, those twins even used would set you back a little less than ten thousand South Pacific Pesos aka Ozbucks), surely you could cough up a bit to get them repaired, unless of course you did something really harsh like incinerate them with isopropyl alcohol or soak them in the bathtub to clean them...

Consider having them fixed. They are, after all, one of the best cameras Hasselblad made.

bernard_L · Mar 10, 2019

ozmoose said:
They are, after all, one of the best cameras ~~Hasselblad~~ made.

Fuji

Down Under · Mar 11, 2019

bernard_L said:
Fuji

I stand corrected.

Let's call the Xpan the Second Best Hasselblad (in name) ever made, and award the FIrst Best to the SWC - a camera I've never been able to afford, let alone allow myself the luxury of dropping.

With my usual apologies for having (temporarily) taken this thread off-topic with my (typical Sagittarian) attempt at humor...

Arbitrarium · Mar 11, 2019

I had my Pentax ME Super and early 50mm 1.4 (favourite lens) in my jacket pocket. A friend moved my coat and apparently used it as a flail and smashed it into a door frame or something. Filter ring was so bent that it warped the inner barrel and made focusing too stiff to use. Also knocked focus off infinity.

Half an hour or so with some pliers, files and a spanner wrench and it's smooth as always and focuses correctly. Crammed a filter ring onto the end to keep it together. Ugly as a dog's arse but at least it works!

Also dropped my beloved Ricoh Auto Half SL getting out of a car because I forgot it was in my lap. Luckily all that happened was the meter needle got jammed out of position so I just nudged it back in and all's well.

Fin · Mar 12, 2019

I feel I got off very lightly when I dropped one of my F2S'ssis and my 200mm F4 the other week. The lens was very cheap as it's an old pre AI, and needs a re-grease and it and the camera plummeted lens first very luckily onto wooden decking after it slipped off my shoulder. At lease 5 swears all came out at once, my wife gasped and also swore a bit, I picked it up and... Nothing! Not a mark! Well, a slight dent in the decking, but otherwise everything was OK.

I dropped my camera

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