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Archive 2013 · MB-12 Failure (Caution Rant)

  
 
Kitehog
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · MB-12 Failure (Caution Rant)


So I was getting ready for a shoot I have tonight and went to pull the MB-12 off my 800E to change the inside battery.
As I began to turn the thumb wheel it started to bind and get very tight. I tried to ease it back and forth to loosen it up a little but it got so tight I could not move it with my thumb.

I then carefully tried to use two hands to loosen it, as I gave it a little more force the thing I was most afraid of happened. The thumb wheel broke free and just spun without loosening the bolt that holds it to the camera.

At this point I had a couple of options
1. Use it as is and contact Nikon on Monday, I would have went with this option but the camera was acting funny. When I turned it on the battery indicator was switching back and forth between the battery pack and the internal rather quickly.

2. Use my D7k for the shoot. I could have done that but this was a night time outside shoot and I wanted the extra ISO of the 800E

3. Try to take the MB-12 apart while it was on the camera. (Right or wrong this is what I chose)

To make a long story longer there is no way to dissemble the MB-D12 while it is on the camera. I pulled all the grips off and took out the 6 screws I found but all that did was make the camera more unusable!

Now I'm really irritated and mad wondering what Nikon is gonna charge me to remove this thing from my camera (All out of warranty) So I decided to do it myself and broke out my trusty dremel tool.

I carefully cut along the edges until I exposed the inside plate and then removed that until I got to the gear set up that tightens the grip to the camera.

There are three gears that mesh together to tighten the grip to the camera and the center one failed as several teeth were missing.

Anyway the 800E is I fine I used it to snap the pictures below but I'm wondering if I should contact Nikon. I know they will do absolutely nothing for me especially since I cut the grip to pieces but I'm pissed that this $350 grip failed that way. Looks like the Flashpoint D12 Professional Magnesium Battery Grip is in my future.

Thanks for listening

Greg





Pic showing the failed gear







My MB-D12...or whats left of it




Nov 29, 2013 at 12:47 PM
the solitaire
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · MB-12 Failure (Caution Rant)


Lots of cheap materials in such an expensive grip

Let us know how the Meike grip is. With my D300 and MB-D10 equivalent I had the problem that switching from camera battery to the battery in the grip never worked. The camera switched off when one of the two was empty, and when switched on again used up the other of the two batteries.



Nov 29, 2013 at 01:16 PM
tcp2525
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · MB-12 Failure (Caution Rant)


I had this happen on my D200.


Nov 29, 2013 at 03:05 PM
Kerry Pierce
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · MB-12 Failure (Caution Rant)


Wow, that bites! Sorry that you had to go through that. FWIW, I opted for a 3rd party grip for my d800, a DSTE. I've had mine for almost a year now, with no issues so far. I just bought one of their grips for the d7100. They have a storefront on Amazon, selling the mb-d12 clone for about $50, IIRC.

I figured that, if necessary, I could trash several of them, before hitting the cost of an OEM version....

good luck
Kerry



Nov 29, 2013 at 03:22 PM
runamuck
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · MB-12 Failure (Caution Rant)


It's good to know that if my Vello fails, I am out only $69.95 + shipping and not 350.

Just think of the 200 bucks Nikon would have charged you to remove the grip.



Nov 29, 2013 at 03:38 PM
Micky Bill
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · MB-12 Failure (Caution Rant)



I don;t know how many times I have wanted to that to cameras, or laptops, printers...



Nov 29, 2013 at 03:41 PM
Kitehog
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · MB-12 Failure (Caution Rant)


Micky Bill wrote:

I don;t know how many times I have wanted to that to cameras, or laptops, printers...


I've always wanted to do it but it sure did not feel as good as I thought it would!! Too much money waited!



Nov 30, 2013 at 09:29 AM
VinnieJ
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · MB-12 Failure (Caution Rant)


runamuck wrote:
It's good to know that if my Vello fails, I am out only $69.95 + shipping and not 350.

Just think of the 200 bucks Nikon would have charged you to remove the grip.


I use Vello with my D7100 as well. Haven't had an issue with a Vello grip yet. *knock on wood*



Nov 30, 2013 at 09:41 AM
EB-1
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · MB-12 Failure (Caution Rant)


Nikon will say it is impact damage.

I never use a battery grip. They are always a potential weak point.

EBH



Nov 30, 2013 at 09:49 AM
evan47
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · MB-12 Failure (Caution Rant)


looks like possible over tightening to me. i have seen a few cases of the pixel vertax grip doing this but not a nikon unit.


Nov 30, 2013 at 11:41 AM
DGC1
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · MB-12 Failure (Caution Rant)


Looks like impact damge to me !


Nov 30, 2013 at 02:08 PM
Kitehog
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · MB-12 Failure (Caution Rant)


evan47 wrote:
looks like possible over tightening to me. i have seen a few cases of the pixel vertax grip doing this but not a nikon unit.


Definitely. not an over tightening issue. I've had grips on every camera since my D50 and never had an issue. This grip just failed.



Dec 01, 2013 at 06:46 AM
trenchmonkey
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · MB-12 Failure (Caution Rant)


Sorry this happened, Greg...so much for buyin' O.E.M. and expecting "quality"
Enjoyed your surgical dismemberment and pics. I showed 'em to my Flashpoint and
it simply shrugged and agreed we wouldn't be going down this road together. GL



Dec 01, 2013 at 07:11 AM
DejanS
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · MB-12 Failure (Caution Rant)


Greg...ditto the same on a 3rd party grip I had on my D300. I use three MB-10's on my D700's & the D300, and a third party on my D7000. About 8 months ago, my third party grip on the D300 did the same, wheel spins w/o loosing. Enter the Dremel. I did save the parts in the event I need to cannibalise for future grip failures where parts are interchangeable. I've also had an MB-10 failure where the grip is no longer detected by the camera. Probable cause? Shorting while covering the Sept flooding in the rain here in CO. Now just used as a grip, and not extra power supply.

I feel the pain when these things happen at the most inconvenient time and you're left with no further options....and the $350 Nikon charges for a new grip. Craigslist is a wonderful place for slightly used grips sold by soccer parents at a fraction of the cost (hint, hint). ;-)

Dejan



Dec 01, 2013 at 07:56 AM
tcp2525
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · MB-12 Failure (Caution Rant)


Kitehog wrote:
Definitely. not an over tightening issue. I've had grips on every camera since my D50 and never had an issue. This grip just failed.


I agree. When it happened on my D200 I was in disbelief wondering how it happened since I barely tighten it, no need for more force as it is solid When I cut mine off I notice the gears were made of brass. Thin sheet metal brass gears might not have been my first choice for something that was designed for abuse. The worse part of the whole ordeal is figuring out how to get the grip off without damaging the camera or sending it back to Nikon and having them destroy both the camera and grip then send me a bill.



Dec 01, 2013 at 08:47 AM
Kitehog
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · MB-12 Failure (Caution Rant)


tcp2525 wrote:
The worse part of the whole ordeal is figuring out how to get the grip off without damaging the camera or sending it back to Nikon and having them destroy both the camera and grip then send me a bill.


Yea standing over my 3K camera with a dremel and a cut wheel was a little unnerving!





Dec 03, 2013 at 10:13 AM
Kitehog
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · MB-12 Failure (Caution Rant)


trenchmonkey wrote:
Sorry this happened, Greg...so much for buyin' O.E.M. and expecting "quality"
Enjoyed your surgical dismemberment and pics. I showed 'em to my Flashpoint and
it simply shrugged and agreed we wouldn't be going down this road together. GL


Trench Im ordering the Flashpoint Magnesium right after my Christmas shopping is done!
Its putting the new clutch for the Harley on the back burner but there is too much snow to ride right now anyway!



Dec 03, 2013 at 10:14 AM
mrgetalife
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · MB-12 Failure (Caution Rant)


I have a dumb question. The MB-D12 should be magnesium alloy. You were cutting magnesium alloy with a dremmel? Were sparks flying etc?

Just the photos look a bit more plastic to me that's why.



Dec 03, 2013 at 05:06 PM
runamuck
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p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · MB-12 Failure (Caution Rant)


Grinding on magnesium is NOT recommended. Magnesium burns, and burns really hot. It is hot enough to break down water to it's component molecules, hydrogen and oxygen. It can be a very bad situation.


Dec 03, 2013 at 10:02 PM
Kitehog
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p.1 #20 · p.1 #20 · MB-12 Failure (Caution Rant)


mrgetalife wrote:
I have a dumb question. The MB-D12 should be magnesium alloy. You were cutting magnesium alloy with a dremmel? Were sparks flying etc?

Just the photos look a bit more plastic to me that's why.


I was shocked by the amount of plastic in this grip. When I first got it I thought maybe it was a Nikon branded knockoff but several of the inner pieces were labeled as a MB-D12 and the serial number registered on the Nikon site.

Most of the lower section was plastic the upper part where it connected to the camera was metal



Dec 03, 2013 at 10:17 PM
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