A friend recently lost their D7100 battery compartment door somewhere in the Falkland Islands (don’t ask) and wondered whether she could get Nikon to repair it. Heck with Nikon, some things are usable repairable, it’s just a question of whether you can get the parts.
The good news? For battery compartment doors, yes, you can. Even NikonUSA sells a few such parts. Moreover, while doing a quick Web search for my friend, I found that if I just type “Nikon parts” into the Amazon search box, I found quite a few of the following (not for every camera model, though):
- Battery compartment doors
- Replacement rubber grips for front, back, and camera bottoms
- Replacement rubber caps for MB-D## connections on camera bottoms
- LCD displays
- Replacement rubber eyecaps
- Replacement lens bayonet mount rings (they tend to sheer off with drops)
- Replacement connector cover doors
- Replacement zoom and focus rings for many Nikkors
If you browse deeper, or better yet do the same search on eBay, you’ll also find:
- Replacement card holder mechanisms
- Assorted motor replacements (e.g. mirror movement motor)
- Flash hot shoe covers (including D4’s weatherproof one)
- Replacement digital electronics boards
- Replacement DC power boards
- Replacement shutters
- Lens motor replacements
- Body screws
- Replacement flash boards (for cameras with internal flash)
- Replacement plastic backs, tops, fronts
- Replacement VR units for some lenses
- Replacement mirror boxes
Yeah, just about everything except image sensors and internal frames, and perhaps if I spent more time searching, I’d find those, too. If you’re trying to find something for a specific model, use the search term “Nikon <model> parts” where <model> is replaced with the camera or lens you need the part for.
Over the years I’ve ordered a few replacement parts for things that I felt that I could easily fix (cracked cases, missing screws or doors, etc.). Some things like the rubber grip material that’s glued to the body almost anyone can do with a little patience and time. Other things, like replacing any motor or electronics or anything that requires alignment, would require you to know how to disassemble your camera correctly, and some knowledge of the repair process itself. But if you live close to a major city, there’s probably a repair shop in that town that knows (or can research) the process, their only problem has been getting parts since NikonUSA shut off the official ordering process a couple of years ago. Savvy repair shops already know the Amazon/eBay solutions, but they’ll probably charge you a markup.
Of course for older cameras there’s another method that’s often cheaper than repair: buy the same camera used. The good news is that you now have a donor camera for parts (your old one) should you ever need them ;~).
Special note: if you've got a grip that's come lose and needs re-adhesion, don't use glue. Glues tend to outgas and cause issues, and Nikon has been known to decline repairs on "glued cameras." Instead, use 3M 465 adhesive transfer tape. Nikon actually uses a different tape, Silontec 5846, but it's not available in the US. The other solution for things like card doors is just buy a new one on eBay (see above).
