Introduction
Go to step 1It seems as though all the hot new electronics these days are tablet-this, phone-that. Frankly, our engineers had enough. Their spudgers were getting soft; we needed to do something that would present a *challenge* and get them sharp again -- none of the take-off-a-display-to-find-a-motherboard baloney.
We knew exactly where to turn. We've done a set of Nikon D70 repair guides in the past, and we saw how difficult it was to take apart an SLR. What better way to infuse a bit of fun in our teardowns than taking apart another SLR?
So, in the name of science and all that is right in this world, let's see what's inside the brand-new Nikon D5100!
What you need
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The first thing we noticed about the D5100 was that the body was nowhere near the same heft as our standard workhorse camera, the D90. It just felt... punier.
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And then we took some photos with it.
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The photos came out amazing. The colors were crisp, and we could even get away with usable (albeit super-grainy) ISO 6400 shots, which is certainly not the case with the D90's ISO 3200.
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The flippy rotating screen is very useful -- especially if you're trying to record yourself for YouTube.
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Unlike the D90, the top of the camera does not include an informational LCD. Instead, we get the rotating mode selector on the right.
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The specs:
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16.2 MP DX-format CMOS sensor
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4 FPS continuous shooting
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3.0 inch, 921,000-dot display
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1920x1080 recording at up to 30 FPS
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11-point AF (auto-focus) system
How do you remove the rotating screen? I recently came across a camera from a flood and trying to get the condensation out of the screen. I removed the side screws but it doe not come off.
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First thing's first: take out the battery. We don't want any electric juice running through the D5100's veins while we're taking it apart.
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The 7.4 V 1030 mAh EN-EL14 Li-ion battery is used by the D5100, D3100, and the COOLPIX P700. Sadly, it's not compatible with other cameras in the Nikon lineup, such as the D90 and D7000.
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The camera has roughly 4 billion screws holding it together. We'll be skipping a lot of the "unscrewing this screw" pictures (like the ones shown in this step) in order to keep the teardown interesting.
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Trust us, after the 50th screw, it gets boring.
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As if exposed screws weren't enough, Nikon also chose to hide screws underneath covers and the rubberized thumb grip.
I’m not able to find all the screws; have searched for hours… Could you provide a more detailed (pictured) description of all the hidden screws?
Thank you!!!
Hi Andrea, this is a teardown meant for entertainment purposes, not repair, check out our D5100 service manual and check out the relevant guides to get step-by-step instructions!
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After a good twenty #00 Phillips screws were removed from the perimeter of the device, we managed to separate the rear cover.
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A ribbon cable for the rear control buttons and a hefty 40 pin cable responsible for transmitting information to the rear display still attached the rear cover to the rest of the camera.
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Front view of the motherboard. (High-res version of the motherboard, click here):
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Nikon EXPEED 2 EI-154 1051 Z05 image processor
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Samsung K4T1G164QF-BCE7 1Gb DDR2-800 SDRAM (total of 3 Gb = 384 MB)
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MXIC MX29GL128EHXFI-90G 128 Mb parallel flash memory
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Rear view of the motherboard. (High-res version, click here):
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Toshiba TMP19A44FEXBG low-power microcontroller
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Nikon EI-155 M4L1BA00 00151044
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Nikon NHHS-2 049M8
The battery MS518SE+ shown on the board is responsible to maintain time when the main EL14 battery is removed.
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After much time spent hunting around to figure out how the front cover was attached, we decided to peel off the rubber grip beneath the shutter button.
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And we found the answer. To remove the front cover, a bunch more creatively-placed screws had to be removed.
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And just like that, the front cover can be pulled off the camera body.
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With it gone, you can get a good look at most of the components that make the D5100 roar.
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An electric motor (presumably linked to the shutter) can be seen next to the battery door, and the gigantic flash capacitor is housed right behind the lens release button.
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The top cover is a feat of engineering by itself. Within its walls are contained:
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Main control wheel, shutter/aperture control wheel, live view lever, On/Off switch, "info" button, record button, shutter button, exposure compensation button, IR sensor, AF lamp, flash, flash control circuitry, flash actuator, and the microphone.
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The D5100 utilizes a 16.2 megapixel DX format CMOS sensor to capture images.
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Chipworks reports that each pixel is 4.8 µm wide. That's about half the diameter of a red blood cell!
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The sensor has a special glass cover that turns red when viewed at an angle. Neat! (This is the "hot mirror," which filters out the infrared spectrum.)
The glass in front of the sensor is probably an infra-red rensor preventing infrared photos with the Nikon D5100. Can anyone confirm ? Thanks
The red tinted glass is a light filter known as a "hot mirror". The image sensor in digital still cameras is sensitive to the near-infrared spectrum (720nm or so). The hot mirror filters out this near infrared light so that it doesn't cause odd tints in your pictures. Incidentally, cameras which have been converted for IR photography have this filter replaced with one that does the opposite, so that only infrared light will reach the sensor.
Despite this “hot mirror” in front of the sensor, the D5100 is still capable of shooting IR images with a Hoya R72. It just requires a long exposure of anything between 10 -30 seconds or so. Its not as strong in keeping out IR wavelengths as you think it is.
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Nikon D5100 Repairability Score: 2 out of 10 (10 is easiest to repair)
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The battery can be easily replaced by opening the compartment with your thumbnail.
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The rear cover comes off with minimal unscrewing/desoldering (for this kind of device), allowing you to access the motherboard.
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The D5100 has several wires that need to be desoldered in order to take it apart.
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Approximately 4 billion screws hold the device together.
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Components are very tightly packed, making it more difficult to disconnect and remove them.
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For absolute safety, you need to discharge the flash capacitor, otherwise you risk accidentally killing your camera.
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26 Comments
Thanks a lot! This camera has already made history for me. Because on April 10th I bought a Nikon D3100, not knowing about the new D5100. The day the camera arrived I went to the Nikon web site, where I could now look at the "New Nikon D5100". I was very uncomfortable about that and couldn't sleep all night. In the morning I packed up the D3100 and send it back. The advantages of the D5100 over the D3100 make the couple a hundred bucks extra look ridiculously cheap. Alone the LCD Panel!
While it is with great pleasure to see You doing what I always loved to do, but my new 5100-Baby shall not be tampered with by Yours truly.
This is GREAT !! This has already helped me (by letting me know it was safe to wriggle-off the rubber side-plate over the a/v area). Just to confirm though: Am I correct in thinking that the front can be removed independently from needing to (previously) disassemble the back ? For most consumers - their audacity ends with ribbon-cables and certainly before desoldering... but "screws, i can do". Also - how exactly does one "non-destructively" remove the rubber hand-grip?
These questions are likely to become increasingly relevant because this camera is bound to be a runaway hit. But since N_kon doesn't want to undermine their more-expensive "pro-ish" offerings, they seem (IMHO) to be "de-faciliting" certain features and accessories (like a vertical grip). This means than D5100 owners will be searching for hacks that don't discernably void their warranty (i.e. "future un-doable hacks"). THANKS !!
Super, used this to repair a D3100, the only extra trick was removing the diopter adjuster label to access hidden screw, otherwise as per your guide!
How did you remove the diopter label?!
Randy11 -
i got the flash stuck in the camera and i don't know how to fix it. When i push the flash button the lamp does not came out. can someone give me a helping hand with out without making the process shown above??
Thanks!!
Sames With Me. Do You Come With A Solution.
Thank you very much for this guide which helped me to solve a problem I was very concerned over...
DIOPTER FAULT: The moral of the story is leave your valued D5100 in your backpack when on your bicycle and carry an old cheap 35mm outside for those unexpected cannot miss shots... I was stupid as I attempted too turn left after it was too late to turn left and ended up in a heap... My D5100 in a shoulder bag took a hit as did my chest. I found out later that my view finder was now almost useless to me due to impact..
SYMPTOMS : Diopter wheel has no effect : Viewfinder has varying clarity, the worst area being the bottom right corner.
CAUSE: Impact led to the plastic spring loaded pin which the diopter wheel pushes had shot forward and trapped itself in that position...
SOLUTION: Follow this tear down to remove back and then just tickle the pin which shoots back out to its normal position and hence viewfinder now back in action..
I wonder has any one else ever had or will have this same situation ?
I have the same problem with my D3200 I bought second hand. I may be trying your solution because it's very frustrating. Did you have any problem with re-assembly?
Hello, I appreciate the repair guide. I am trying to install a replacement top cover on the Nikon D5100. However, the gray wire is missing. There there is a blue, white, gray and red wire that solder onto the upper right portion of the main board. I would like to ask if this gray wire is necessary and if so how can the missing gray wire be corrected or if I need to order a new top cover. Thanks
Ciao ieri nealla mia d3100 nikon mi si e rotto il cursore che regola le funzoni autoscatto...... vorrei spere se qualcuno a gia sostituito e dove trovare i ricambi grazie mille
Where is the power board?
Where is the power board? My d5100 won't power up even with a full battery! The green light in the back will blink once when the battery is inserted. I think it's the power board but don't know how to access it. Any help?
lots of these devices (generic enough?) are using adhesive to attach rubber grips, conceal strips and even control buttons. when you need to lift them away to get at other parts, break out the hair dryer, use it at as high a temp that will not melt the things. adhesives will soften about body temperature 100 degrees farenheit enough to allow parts to separate with ease. go slow, be gentle and the parts can usually be simply re-attached with the same adhesive. double faced office/artist grade adhesive tape is good to use, once all original adhesive is removed.
Hi friends, I do interviews of art scholars for non profit and now have a broken Audio In on my D5100. I may have pulled the audio in cable or tripped over. I can not record good audio now. Can anyone suggest how to repair it? I see a PCB behind audio in. I am hoping replacing the pin/jack should do it … worst may be the PCB. I do not have the budget to buy a new body. Nikon service centres not close by and cant pay them as much for the body. Really appreciate your help.
Ragu
I have a D5300 and have found all of the screws, but cannot get the view finder adjustment out to complete the back cover disassembly. What’s the key to that removal.
Screw under viewfinder sticker
Cad Axe -
I thank you for the kind information
Hey, I have some kind of red-ish stain in my d5100’s viewfinder (likely caused by a moisture 7+years ago, haven’t used the camera a lot after that), I’m pretty sure the stain is located in the pentaprism.
Do I have to take the whole d5100 apart to clean it? Is it even possible to clean it?
The stain makes the viewfinder pretty dark, and it messes the exposure metering (way overexposes the images).
I’ve tried cleaning everything I can without a major disassembly (mirror, the filter top of the mirror, and the surface behind it), so I’m fairly certain it’s in the pentamirror.
Thanks!
the notch that holds the spring was broken and I fixed that but now the flash does not unlock anymore any ideas how to fix?
