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I recently noticed that the mirror bracket, reflector, and spring on my Nikon D3200 camera have been damaged and are no longer functioning properly. I'm not sure how this happened, but now my camera is unable to take clear photos and the autofocus and exposure functions are affected.

The mirror bracket is loose and wobbly, the reflector is cracked and doesn't reflect light properly, and the spring is completely detached. I'm concerned that this could be a serious issue and affect the camera's overall performance. I'm looking for advice on how to fix or replace these parts. Is this something that I can do myself or if I need to take it to a professional for repair? Any suggestions or recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

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2 Answers 2

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If you successfully disassemble 10 or more cameras and successfully repair and assemble at least half of them you are fine to try to repair by yourself.

If not will be better to find photo repair shop and give your camera in the hands of professionals.

P.S. As this is more than 10 years old model if you are OK to buy new camera you can try to repair it by yourself. Be warned this may include need of almost full disassemble of the camera, use specific instruments and buy spare part.

And as it is mentioned in the comment below you can check on the market for second-hand cameras. This option may be compared by the price with cost of repair.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ I cant find any photo repair shop in my area and now i dont know what to do i do not have the budget for a new camera. \$\endgroup\$ Commented Feb 26, 2023 at 10:27
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    \$\begingroup\$ Something of this age & original price-point would probably be cheaper to find another second-hand on eBay than get it repaired. UK listings start at around £100. A repair shop is likely to charge £70 just to open it up & have a look. \$\endgroup\$
    – Tetsujin
    Commented Feb 26, 2023 at 12:01
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    \$\begingroup\$ And it's worth avoiding an X-Y problem. Sounds like impact or intrusion damage. Replacing the obviously damaged parts might not get anywhere useful. \$\endgroup\$ Commented Apr 6, 2023 at 10:13
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    \$\begingroup\$ My understanding is that Nikon stopped supplying parts to 3rd party repair shops a while ago. So Nikon itself maybe the only option for a repair. I faced a similar issue this month with my D7500. Repair cost would have been similar to second hand cost. I opted for repair because at least I can trust the remainder of the body. \$\endgroup\$
    – Peter M
    Commented Apr 7, 2023 at 18:12
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Cost-wise, repairing it doesn't make sense unless you somehow find a nearly free nonfunctional camera to cannibalize for parts, in which case you have nothing to lose.

But realistically, using U.S. prices:

  • The mirror box assembly costs about $80, not including any labor to install it. I would get the whole assembly, because you never know what other damage might be present.

  • You will probably spend another $10–$20 on a new focus sensor, unless that's included. (I don't think it is.)

The problem is, if you're unlucky, you may replace all of those pieces only to discover that the body itself has some subtle damage that causes these parts to not remain properly oriented with respect to one another. At that point, you've wasted most of the cost of a replacement camera ($160 for that model used) and you have nothing to show for it.

So it seems silly to spend well over half the replacement cost just to repair something. Your odds of success would have to be almost 100% for that to make sense, and that's really not the case for something like this.

In theory, a repair shop could tell you if it makes sense to repair it, but in practice, they'll charge about as much just to look at it as it would cost to replace the camera.

So my advice would be to just shoot in view mode mode until the mirror completely stops working, and then find yourself a used replacement. Live view mode photos should be unaffected, because that mode isn't dependent on the standalone focus sensor inside the viewfinder or the mirror (so long as it stays up and out of the way).

If live view mode is affected, then the problem is probably a decentered lens rather than a focus sensor or mirror problem, and that's a whole different problem.

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