USB connector failures

I spend my life pretty much shooting villas and hotels. I almost always use a tethered connection to the camera so I can get instant large screen results on my laptop - this enables me to scrutinize lighting and composition etc. I am very disappointed by the USB connectors on Nikon cameras - I have had three failures over the last 3 years - first my D2x, then D300, and now my D700. They are obviously not designed for constant professional tethered use. Anyone else had similar experiences???

The worst thing is the connector is a 10c part, but requires an entirely new motherboard as the connector is not available separately! The D700 has just cost over $500 to repair excluding shipping!! I'm not impressed!

you must be yanking on the cord...a lot

If you have had failures on 3 bodies...it's user error/abuse

I newer use the built-in plug, but rely on a USB card-reader for that very reason.

You can tape the USB cord to your tripod to make yourself a kind of stress-relief that takes the load of your plug.

You could also have a two cable solution that will open in the middle in case someone accidently trips the cable. That might save your tripod from coming down with your body and lens attached. Or your laptop ;-)

I my mind the only stress a USB-cable can stand up to is stationary use on your desktop. Just look at what Apple did with the MacBook power-cables. They were tired of replacing motherboards as well.

The reason I suspect this is happening is because 1) you use your gear alot in a tethered mode (...nothing wrong with that) and 2) the weight of the USB cable has affected the secureness of the USB socket. Being a tethered shooter myself way back from my D70 days, I simply took the weight of the cable off the USB socket by adding a nylon string (...a black shoe string will work just fine) to the USB cable. I taped the string to the USB cable using gaffers tape. I then added a small alligator clamp/clip to the other end of the string and compressed the alligator clamp. You will want to tape the string so that it is some 2 to 3 inches SHORTER from the end of the USB cable connector. Now, whenever I shoot tethered, I attach the alligator clamp to the area of the camera strap where it runs through the strap loop of the camera's body. This setup allows for a better fastening of the USB cable and also allows for near zero load of the USB cable on the USB socket.

Note, if you decide to do this, I recommend that you DO NOT use a clamp that will not allow for "break-away" in the event someone trips over the USB cable, etc. The grip of the alligator clamp is quite sufficient that should someone gets tangled up in the USB cable,...they will know this before they snatch your camera to the floor and if they don't notice, the clamp will break-away from the camera strap (...thus disconnecting the USB cable from the camera and not causing your camera to get damaged from a fall. I normally have about 2 incidents a year where someone dislodges my USB cable from the camera,...but zero damage to my camera..

In addition to the above, I added a USB extension cable (6' to 10' extension will work just fine) to the camera's standard USB cable. It's my opinion that this allows for better control of the USB cable when working an event,...as it allows for the USB cable to 1)hang straight down from the camera as well as to actually rest on the floor vs always being suspended in mid-air between the camera and PC. This way, when folks approach you,...they won't likely walk into your USB cable, etc.

Hth...
--
JMD
...D3/WT-4
......ITP Pro 2.0
.........Nikon forever~

I don't believe I'm abusing the connectors with excessive force, it just seems like the number of actuation's are causing the failures. I live in a hot and quite humid environment, but the contacts are gold which shouldn't result in any corrosion issues. I have considered having a shorter cable which I keep attached to the camera most of the time, and then just plug a USB extension in when moving the camera from one setup to another.

...understood! I was just noting what I've come up with as a preventive measure to prevent USB cable/socket problems when shooting tethered.

...hope things work out for you.

Cheers...
--
JMD
...D3/WT-4
......ITP Pro 2.0
.........Nikon forever~

My D750 USB port has had a terrible connection since I bought it. The slightest touch to the cable causes disconnection. Shooting hand held tethered is simply not an option. It's nearly as bad with my D3 but not quite.

To remedy the situation I:

1. bought the D750 = situation is worse than with D3
2. bought a new top of the line editing laptop = no improvement
3. bought new cables for both cameras = no improvement
4. bought tether tools premium cables for both cameras = no improvement
5. bought a new desktop editing computer = no improvement
6. sent the D3 to Nikon = they say there is absolutely nothing wrong with camera, it's my cable and/or computer at fault. Therefore due to above can only assume Nikon is full of crap and doesn't want to cover the warranty.
7. tried shooting with my computers and cables and my assistants Canon cameras = no tether problems
8. tried shooting with my D3 and D750 tethered to my assistants macbook with his cables and my cables = tether sucks
9. 2 other Nikon D750 uses I know cannot shoot tethered due to the terrible usb port issue

CONCLUSION

the usb ports on Nikon bodies suck and Nikon won't take responsibility for their shoddy manufacturing.

I welcome solutions to this and comments by anyone else experiencing this issue.

Brett Gilmour said:

My D750 USB port has had a terrible connection since I bought it. The slightest touch to the cable causes disconnection. Shooting hand held tethered is simply not an option. It's nearly as bad with my D3 but not quite.

To remedy the situation I:

1. bought the D750 = situation is worse than with D3
2. bought a new top of the line editing laptop = no improvement
3. bought new cables for both cameras = no improvement
4. bought tether tools premium cables for both cameras = no improvement
5. bought a new desktop editing computer = no improvement
6. sent the D3 to Nikon = they say there is absolutely nothing wrong with camera, it's my cable and/or computer at fault. Therefore due to above can only assume Nikon is full of crap and doesn't want to cover the warranty.
7. tried shooting with my computers and cables and my assistants Canon cameras = no tether problems
8. tried shooting with my D3 and D750 tethered to my assistants macbook with his cables and my cables = tether sucks
9. 2 other Nikon D750 uses I know cannot shoot tethered due to the terrible usb port issue

CONCLUSION

the usb ports on Nikon bodies suck and Nikon won't take responsibility for their shoddy manufacturing.

I welcome solutions to this and comments by anyone else experiencing this issue.

Click to expand...

I stopped using USB tethered shooting because I had two USB ports ripped off the motherboard on my D300's, despite using a cord to relieve the strain. If you shoot daily handheld at some point you make a mistake. That said, when in working order the USB ports never give me problems on Nikon bodies, including D750 and D7200.

I now use D750 tethered to my laptop with WiFi using the free AirNef program, sending over jpegs for full screen inspection by clients. It's a bit slower than USB but the good thing is you can still use the LCD of the camera if the clients are standing in front of the laptop.

Brett Gilmour said:

My D750 USB port has had a terrible connection since I bought it. The slightest touch to the cable causes disconnection. Shooting hand held tethered is simply not an option. It's nearly as bad with my D3 but not quite.

To remedy the situation I:

1. bought the D750 = situation is worse than with D3
2. bought a new top of the line editing laptop = no improvement
3. bought new cables for both cameras = no improvement
4. bought tether tools premium cables for both cameras = no improvement
5. bought a new desktop editing computer = no improvement
6. sent the D3 to Nikon = they say there is absolutely nothing wrong with camera, it's my cable and/or computer at fault. Therefore due to above can only assume Nikon is full of crap and doesn't want to cover the warranty.
7. tried shooting with my computers and cables and my assistants Canon cameras = no tether problems
8. tried shooting with my D3 and D750 tethered to my assistants macbook with his cables and my cables = tether sucks
9. 2 other Nikon D750 uses I know cannot shoot tethered due to the terrible usb port issue

CONCLUSION

the usb ports on Nikon bodies suck and Nikon won't take responsibility for their shoddy manufacturing.

I welcome solutions to this and comments by anyone else experiencing this issue.

Click to expand...

I recommend moving to the Canon system.

Can anyone tell me if there is a tethering capacity for the D750? Thanks

Dee300 said:

I spend my life pretty much shooting villas and hotels. I almost always use a tethered connection to the camera so I can get instant large screen results on my laptop - this enables me to scrutinize lighting and composition etc. I am very disappointed by the USB connectors on Nikon cameras - I have had three failures over the last 3 years - first my D2x, then D300, and now my D700. They are obviously not designed for constant professional tethered use. Anyone else had similar experiences???

The worst thing is the connector is a 10c part, but requires an entirely new motherboard as the connector is not available separately! The D700 has just cost over $500 to repair excluding shipping!! I'm not impressed!

Click to expand...

Its user abuse, not Nikon's fault.

Buy a TetherTools Jerk Stopper for the camera and laptop it will save you money

• JerkStopper Tethering Kit$ 21.95 – 23.95SELECT OPTIONS

I know two things to be true:

1) USB ports are poorly designed and implemented and a major source of connection failure while tethering

2) a ton of people still manage to tether with no persistent issues for years

The short of it is you should invest in a Tetherblock or Jerkstopper before the port gets warped and loose and you'll never have the issue again. I have two D700 bodies, a D810. My studio mate has a D800. We tether a ton - nothing wrong with the ports in around 9 cumulative years of work between us.

--
http://jimlafferty.com
General scoundrel. Advocate for good photography ahead of proper technique.

You should consider hiring a tech who knows what they're doing, running Capture one through a powered hub, using a tetherblock = no issues.

Brett Gilmour said:

My D750 USB port has had a terrible connection since I bought it. The slightest touch to the cable causes disconnection. Shooting hand held tethered is simply not an option. It's nearly as bad with my D3 but not quite.

To remedy the situation I:

1. bought the D750 = situation is worse than with D3
2. bought a new top of the line editing laptop = no improvement
3. bought new cables for both cameras = no improvement
4. bought tether tools premium cables for both cameras = no improvement
5. bought a new desktop editing computer = no improvement
6. sent the D3 to Nikon = they say there is absolutely nothing wrong with camera, it's my cable and/or computer at fault. Therefore due to above can only assume Nikon is full of crap and doesn't want to cover the warranty.
7. tried shooting with my computers and cables and my assistants Canon cameras = no tether problems
8. tried shooting with my D3 and D750 tethered to my assistants macbook with his cables and my cables = tether sucks
9. 2 other Nikon D750 uses I know cannot shoot tethered due to the terrible usb port issue

CONCLUSION

the usb ports on Nikon bodies suck and Nikon won't take responsibility for their shoddy manufacturing.

I welcome solutions to this and comments by anyone else experiencing this issue.

Click to expand...

Capture One supports it:

Carmine Picarello said:

Can anyone tell me if there is a tethering capacity for the D750? Thanks

Click to expand...

jlafferty said:

Capture One supports it:

https://www.phaseone.com/en/Products/Software/Capture-One-Pro/Supported-Cameras.aspx

Carmine Picarello said:

Can anyone tell me if there is a tethering capacity for the D750? Thanks

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

I have now owned at least 6-7 different Nikon Digital Cameras with download cables of various sorts, for more than 20 years. I have used virtually every macro Nikon, Sigma, Tamron lens for accurate photos.

All my photos are handheld with these macro lenses and flash. I have left the cable in, used tether tools, literally Gorilla taped the cable in place, and every conceivable way to protect the cable/camera junction. I have tried putting it in each time, and taking it out each time to prevent mount failure. The camera is used 60 shots a day, 5 days a week, year round. The cable is immediately connected to computer or iPad for immediate download to file.

NO NIKON CAMERA 300, 500 series, 700 series, 800 series has lasted more than 7-8 months.

EXTREME CAUTION has been exercised by myself and only one other employee during these times. NO ONE other than (usually me, but 20% of the time the dedicated employee) ever, ever is allowed to touch the camera. The camera is always picked up by me with care for the inevitable mount breakage.

I consider them "disposable" as none of them last and the repairs are too expensive. If I want the best digital photos for magnification and illustration, I use (at least/minimum 24 MP, and up to 42 MP. Pictures are spectacular. Camera body is just a cost of doing business. Get over it, or change brands. I have been using Nikons since age 14 (1961)

so, yes, I am a very, very loyal enthusiast and have owned innumerable other Nikon film cameras and lenses. Old habits die hard, but newer manufacturing has completely disregarded the needs of the everyday user with this issue.

SkinDoc said:

NO NIKON CAMERA 300, 500 series, 700 series, 800 series has lasted more than 7-8 months.

Click to expand...

Given the dearth of similar complaints since this thread was started nearly 10 years ago, I guess this isn't a widespread problem...

Have you used a clip for USB to camera connection provided with the camera?

The cable connection point on many Nikon bodies is close to where the body is held for hand-held shooting - so not ideal.

There has been "progress" in the decade since this thread started

Most recent bodies can send a modest sized jpeg file to a computer or mobile phone quickly to check lighting, framing etc by downloading Nikon's free Snapbridge ap.

--
Leonard Shepherd
In lots of ways good photography is much more about how equipment is used rather than anything else.