I was able to repair my D3 after reading a post on this forum or some other forum about heating the glass up with a hair dryer just enough to get the glass seperated from the D3 body. I was nervious at first because I did not know what to expect, but the process was rather easy and i did end up chipping the old glass in the lower left corner some because i did not have the thinnest of micro screw drivers. I also used an X-acto knife blade to help with the removal. Getting the glass off of the D3 body was the hardest part. I had the new glass and gasket installed within 15 minutes. I ordered the glass LCD cover and double sided tape from here: shipping was just a few dollars and total cost was about $27.00 http://www.procamerarepair.com/NIKON-D3-LCD-WINDOW-DISPLAY-AND-ADHESIVE-TAPE_p_207.html
It arrived in 4 days (CA to TX). Now the display is clear and clean and I saved $400 doing it myself. Yes Nikon was going to charge me nearly $400 to repair it. It's an easy task but you need to go slow and be careful, also work in a clean work space. For those on the fence about doing this yourself, I encourage you to do so. It's really not that bad. Just work a a calm easy pace. The Nikon rear LCD glass actually had adhesive on it already. But the kit comes with an extra piece.
Replacing the LCD cover is quite common place and easy as you have indicated. If Nikon was going to charge you $400 it was their intent to replace the actual rear LCD unit itself, not just the cover. D3's have a common problem in which the rear LCD panel itself gets fogged and need replacement. Nikon should have replaced these under warranty at no charge but unfortunately they have taken a stance that the users have somehow abused their camera's. Both of my prior D3's had the issue and only got free repairs after a nasty fight with Nikon. They don't seem to stand up well to high heat/humidity areas in some cases. Glad you had the smaller and cheaper issue of just having a fogged cover.
davenfl wrote:
Replacing the LCD cover is quite common place and easy as you have indicated. If Nikon was going to charge you $400 it was their intent to replace the actual rear LCD unit itself, not just the cover. D3's have a common problem in which the rear LCD panel itself gets fogged and need replacement. Nikon should have replaced these under warranty at no charge but unfortunately they have taken a stance that the users have somehow abused their camera's. Both of my prior D3's had the issue and only got free repairs after a nasty fight with Nikon. They don't seem to stand up well to high heat/humidity areas in some cases. Glad you had the smaller and cheaper issue of just having a fogged cover.
Yes it was only the glass that had a haze on it. The actual LCD display was fine, no haze on that part. I guess Nikon was going to replace that whole part but I just did not want to spend that much money at the time. Thanks for your input.
davenfl wrote:
Nikon should have replaced these under warranty at no charge but unfortunately they have taken a stance that the users have somehow abused their camera's.
First, warranty claims denied (primarily on lenses) due to "impact damage" and now this. This is not how a reputable company retains its customers.
Todd wrote:
I was able to repair my D3 after reading a post on this forum or some other forum about heating the glass up with a hair dryer just enough to get the glass seperated from the D3 body. I was nervious at first because I did not know what to expect, but the process was rather easy and i did end up chipping the old glass in the lower left corner some because i did not have the thinnest of micro screw drivers. I also used an X-acto knife blade to help with the removal. Getting the glass off of the D3 body was the hardest part. I had the new glass and gasket installed within 15 minutes. I ordered the glass LCD cover and double sided tape from here: shipping was just a few dollars and total cost was about $27.00 http://www.procamerarepair.com/NIKON-D3-LCD-WINDOW-DISPLAY-AND-ADHESIVE-TAPE_p_207.html
It arrived in 4 days (CA to TX). Now the display is clear and clean and I saved $400 doing it myself. Yes Nikon was going to charge me nearly $400 to repair it. It's an easy task but you need to go slow and be careful, also work in a clean work space. For those on the fence about doing this yourself, I encourage you to do so. It's really not that bad. Just work a a calm easy pace. The Nikon rear LCD glass actually had adhesive on it already. But the kit comes with an extra piece.
That's a great link to the glass. I do however, find it hard to believe that Nikon was going to charge $400 to replace just the glass. I suspect that they were going to replace the LCD itself. I can say this because I just got my D3 back from Nikon for a major service consisting of:
1) Replace shutter. Even though the camera was functioning fine, with 375000 clicks, I wanted to start my 2012 shooting season with a new shutter.
2) Replace CF door/grip
3) Replace missing zoom button assembly
4) Clean LCD glass screen
5) Clean sensor
6) Check and adjust AF and all other functions.
They charged me $471 for the above repairs, which I thought was very reasonable. My camera looks and feels just like new.
Ho1972 wrote:
First, warranty claims denied (primarily on lenses) due to "impact damage" and now this. This is not how a reputable company retains its customers.
It's called "churn". So you get PO'd at Nikon and jump to Canon. They know there will likely be somebody PO'd at Canon and jumping ship to Nikon. Cell phone companies pretty much live on it.
runamuck wrote:
It's called "churn". So you get PO'd at Nikon and jump to Canon. They know there will likely be somebody PO'd at Canon and jumping ship to Nikon. Cell phone companies pretty much live on it.
Hell just watching the forums here [Canon and Nikon, also Buy/Sell] you'll see folks doing that all the time. Grass is always greener...
Meh, I'm not going back to Canon unless Nikon screws me personally in a way that has me envisioning violence on a grand scale. Sort of like how I feel about politicians...
