X-T1 damage

[wojconner]

I was shooting long exposures last night and a gust of wind tipped over my tripod with the XT1. Damage is minimal but it will need to be sent in. I was using an appropriately sized tripod but between the wind and me hurrying, it tipped. Any ideas about turn around time and cost?

 

I had an external shutter cord plugged in, which caused most of the damage as it fell on that side. The lid is also damaged and won't close properly.

 

Thanks!

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[Trenton Talbot]

Ouch, I won't call this damage "minimal". Please use a weight hook on that tripod next time you shoot in the wind.

Keep us posted on how the repair goes!

[Aswald]

Nasty...

[wojconner]

Thankfully, everything still works except for plugging in an external shutter timer. No more exposures longer than 30 seconds. I'll be sending it in for repair soon to find out the cost.

[thesaltyfog]

Ah geeeeeez.  That makes me tear up a little.  Poor little X-T1.

 

My dealing with Fuji last year for the rubber coming off of the body all over (which they refused to cover under warranty and is now coming off again 8 months later, but I won't open that up  ) taught me that they have a base charge for "pro" models of $120 for service, plus parts on top of that.  I don't know how much labour that covers you for, but it's essentially the "floor" you'll be dealing with.  Edited just to say that I'm in Canada, so the price point may vary depending on where you are.

[Antony]

If you are using it professionally contact them first an chat with the service staff. I had the f/0 problem which required replacement of the main PCB - camera was turned around same day and I had it back 3 days after sending it (despite living in a regional area).

[wojconner]

Got the estimate, it's US $500.00 and I'm not sure if it's worth it. The camera works fine but if I decide to sell it I'll probably only get $500 for it and it's no longer weather sealed. Really torn. Any thoughts?

[milandro]

I suppose that , by now, it has been a few months, you have cleaned the camera and If the camera works why are you selling it? I

 

I’d keep it if I were you.

[darknj]

Got the estimate, it's US $500.00 and I'm not sure if it's worth it. The camera works fine but if I decide to sell it I'll probably only get $500 for it and it's no longer weather sealed. Really torn. Any thoughts?

 

Keep it and put a tag on like with "I survived hell" or something akin to that

[wojconner]

Yeah, agreed with darknj and milandro, the camera works fine so I'll end up keeping it. They have to replace the side plate, top plate and a bolt that holds both together. Top plate is fine but it's connected to the bolt. Since it works it looks like I'll be keeping it and weatherproof it myself.

[wojconner]

Now the sd card slot doesn't work, yikes.

 

It looks like my sd card was cracked and I damaged the wires when I pulled out the card. Outragous experiences with this camera. If it was $500 US to fix the side damage it will be another $300 to fix the sd card slot. I might as well sell it 'as is' on ebay with a full description. The sad part is, the camera still works well but now I'm getting card errors with all cards.

 

bummer

[milandro]

R.I.P.

[wojconner]

I'm thinking of a camera mod to put the guts inside a leica but it just doesn't make sense given that fuji glass is really good. makes much more sense for an older sony nex.

 

looking at some online options on fixing the sd slot, we'll see.

[milandro]

If you have the technical capabilities to make a transplantation of the entrails of a Fujifilm X-t1 into a Leica and as a result have a working camera, repairing the SD would  be a joke in comparison!

[wojconner]

If you have the technical capabilities to make a transplantation of the entrails of a Fujifilm X-t1 into a Leica and as a result have a working camera, repairing the SD would  be a joke in comparison!

technical capabilities - yes

time - maybe

 

I refurbish antique cameras as a hobby but to work with the electronics requires more time, patience, a micro soldering tool and access to a 3-D printer. Fixing the sd slot is simple but in my experience, opening the camera can be a point of no return; I'll give it a shot though. If it works then I'll have a working fuji again and one that I can sell without concern about selling a lemon. If it doesn't work then I haven't lost anything new. Unfortunately, I do have to say that as much as I like mirrorless, they're not as sturdy as dslrs, but part of that is because of the weak materials used in production after 2008.

 

I'll post results when available.

[milandro]

what happened in 2008? Some technical debacle which made impossible for mirrorless Fuji ( born after that) to have access to good quality materials?

 

I have no idea because I have two left hands when it comes to repairing things like this but disemboweling a Fuji and transplanting the various organs into another working camera seems to be way more complex than replace a part.

 

However, where to find the part would be a some serious concern. Would Fuji sell the part? I doubt! You would probably need a donor camera, but there must be not to many broken X-T1 around.

 

Good luck!

[wojconner]

what happened in 2008? Some technical debacle which made impossible for mirrorless Fuji ( born after that) to have access to good quality materials?

 

I have no idea because I have two left hands when it comes to repairing things like this but disemboweling a Fuji and transplanting the various organs into another working camera seems to be way more complex than replace a part.

 

However, where to find the part would be a some serious concern. Would Fuji sell the part? I doubt! You would probably need a donor camera, but there must be not to many broken X-T1 around.

 

Good luck!

 

After the 2008 crash most manufacturers, across products, began using much cheaper and inferior materials. This isn't a metal vs plastic issue but a quality metal/plastic vs weaker/cheaper materials issue. You can see it in cars especially with engine, transmission and trim. Lower heat tolerances and easier to break. 2008 was the start of budget cuts and spike in mineral prices. In a nutshell, the stuff we use to make metals and plastics got more expensive to find, extract and manufacture. So it's not Nikon d700 vs Fuji issue, had the X-T1 been built in 2007 (with current tech) it would be a much sturdier camera than what we have now. The d750 I have now is not as robust as the d750 from 8 years ago.

 

Fuji does not sell parts but I've been able to find spare parts for a fuji x30 and that means it probably got outsourced to a manufacturer in China - since it's the company in China selling the parts and only for that model. I see a stock market crunch coming so I wouldn't be surprised to see a lack of inventory on new camera models. I'm looking forward to the xpro2, nikon d500 and sony a6300 but we'll see how it goes. Just in time inventory is a real pain when 'events' happen.

 

Anyways, fixing the sd slot shouldn't require a fuji specific part since that's a 3rd party item made to fit sd cards inside many cameras. I'll just have to make sure I get one with the same wiring and data speed capabilities. Or just replace the ripped wire inside the slot. We'll see, it's more of a personal challenge now than anything cost effective.