Fuji XT3 Hot shoe missing screws?

on my prior X-T2, I had lost two (I believe of the original three) tiny screws in the baseplate holding the female tripod screw (correct word if wrong here).

I called Fuji/Edison NJ and they immediately sent the replacement screws plus a spare for what I remember was short money. The phone conversation was easily under 5 minutes and the screws arrived in a timely fashion.

Trying to source these yourself is, IMNSHO, a fool's errand...

Good luck.

the metal piece that was floating on the hot shoe was riveted to the inside top cover, from the interior of the camera body, the hot shoe will have to be replaced now.

Oh damn it hasn’t occurred to me that the screws fell inside of the camera. There haven’t been any issues with the function of the camera so that’s why I probably didn’t think about that.

I’ll have a look at which spare screws I could get and hopefully screwing them in from the outside in is possible. As a last resort I’ll send it back to Fuji but repairs seem quite pricey.

I purchased a refurbished XT-3 in October 2020 and I'd been using a top handle to help stabilize footage if I needed to film handheld. Around Late November of 2020, I noticed the handle was moving even when tightened down all the way. I thought it was a fault in the handle, but on further inspection I realized all but one of the screws in the hotshoe were loose and the handle was pulling up on the one that was left.

My local camera repair shop has an all-star repair guy-- he's been fixing film cameras since the early 60's-- and he said there was no way to open up the top optical element to get to the screws. In his opinion, he said he thinks that fuji probably uses robotic building or something to put it together since there were no screws to get to the upper end of the EVF and the hot shoe. I haven't sent my xt3 off for repair yet, but the shop said it's not uncommon for fuji to outright give you another body when they send your camera back.

I'll probably send my body off for repair soon, I've taken a photo of my serial number and I'll keep y'all updated on the timeline and the cost of repair. Good to know it's not just me who's having this problem!

REPAIR UPDATE:

Ok! I just got my camera back from Fujifilm's repair location in New Jersey. I sent it off on Monday March 1, and I got it back today (march 22nd).

Total cost was $522.85, they ended up replacing the top, under the repair notes it says

"Replaced Const top.

Inspected- Cleaned, Firmware Updated."

Here's the breakdown for pricing, may be cheaper if you live closer to the repair center.

Flat Rate: 463.00

Freight: 20.00

Tax: 39.85

All in all, I'm thankful that the issue has been resolved and I've got a steady hotshoe now. Before I realized that they needed to replace the whole top half of the camera, I didn't understand why the bill was so high, but that part includes the EVF, shutter button and other dials so maybe that price is justified. Given that I bought the camera lightly used, there were visible marks on the old upper half that aren't there anymore, so if I decided to sell it now I may be able to ask for more.

There's a three month warranty on what they repair so if it happens again before July I'm covered.

Also, if you ship your camera off (or anything to fuji) you can check repair status and provide your card info to pay for it on this site. They didn't tell me this, I had to google it to find out how to check the status. You just need your reference number (I got this by calling the repair center) and your shipping zip code.

I'm open to answering any other questions!

I know this is an old thread, but wanted to add my two cents.

First, I appreciate Jacob's disclosure of how much this hotshoe repair set him back along with the itemized costs. Knowing that emboldened me to just go ahead and attempt the fix myself, as my X-T3s (both of them have/had this same issue) are well-loved since I use them professionally, and are probably only worth around $800 USD a piece based on their cosmetic condition (though they are perfectly functional otherwise).

Second, having now successfully done the repair myself, I can safely say that Fuji is ripping off customers here. While it is undoubtedly easier to simply replace the entire top plate along with all the command dials and EVF, it is by no means necessary, and obviously costs a lot more than doing proper disassembly and simply tightening the screws. Indeed, I suspect that with the proper service manual and some experience working on Fuji camera bodies, this could be completed in about 1.5 hours, labor only (so no parts/materials cost). All told, I think it took me about 3 hours the first time, less the second. In any case, I used this teardown overview from Kolarivision as my starting point, but be forewarned: it is by no means a complete guide to this repair or disassembly in general, as it lacks comprehensive notes/images showing all the screws that need to come out to remove various panels/plates, and it has no discussion of disassembling the top plate.

As far as the actual repair cost from Fuji goes, I suspect the reason the Fuji repair tech replaced the entire top plate is because of the paper thin PCBs/daughterboards that control the shutter speed dial (circled in blue in my image); they're glued in place to the top plate assembly, and they block the EVF from just coming out (which in turn blocks access to the hotshoe screws, circled in red). Working around those fragile PCBs without damaging anything is a pain for sure, and risk of damage certainly exists if you're not working slowly/carefully. Still, it obviously can be done, and should probably cost around $100-200 max, not $500.

Hotshoe screws circled in red, fragile/thin PCB for shutter speed dial and metering mode collar in blue

If anyone wants more detailed info on how I did the disassembly/repair, respond here and I'll link my notes (I was fairly diligent so that I could be sure to reassemble correctly).

All four screws are installed from inside. If one or two fall out, they would fall into the guts of the camera and it's anybody's guess what will happen next, electrically speaking.

If you got more screws you would have to take the top plate off the camera to install them. This, to me, is major surgery.

So now that I've opened it up, the good news is that the screws can't really fall into the interior of the camera, as the EVF assembly beneath the hotshoe seems to prevent that from happening. Otherwise, you're absolutely right that short circuits could be a problem (there are actually a surprising number of hand-soldered connections in there to boot, and those could easily short with a screw in the right place).

As for "major surgery," yes indeed... Possible and decidedly not fun, but requires considerable disassembly to get the top plate off, and even more annoyance to remove the EVF assembly.

I would 100% like to see a breakdown of this repair, as I can't afford to get mine fixed, but I use it for work and really need to be able to use my external lights. I would appreciate it greatly!

So just keep in mind, I was prepared to buy at least one replacement camera if this didn't go as planned, and I already had an old X-T2 in the wings, so I could easily have kept working if this didn't pan out -- which is just to say, if you absolutely need the camera for work and can't afford to replace it in one way or another, this probably isn't a good idea!

With that disclaimer, below is the link to my notes for assembly/disassembly in the form of a Google Sheet. Also linked is the Kolari Vision teardown (they do IR conversions), but know that's in now way complete (but does have useful photos/pointers). The grid in the spreadsheet matches the grid on the parts tray I used for keeping track of screws, but you could easily match that with tape on a flat surface (just keep track!). Follow the order/color coding and it should all work out, and take pictures along the way as you disassemble to help you later. The trickiest bits are getting the EVF assembly out -- it's pretty wedged in between the command dial PCBs, but it can be extracted with patience, gentle force, and maneuvering. That, and finding the "submerged" screws down deep below the level of and along the top of the mainboard that connect the body to the top plate; a magnetic screwdriver is needed, and one with a relatively thin shaft at that to access those screws (I used a combination of various iFixit ones, but just use something reliable).

Also, be mindful of the various ribbon cables; damage one of those and it's game over. Likewise, make sure they're seated completely before reassembly. It's no fun to power on the camera and have the EVF or rear screen not turn on (ask me how I know...).

Just work slowly on a nice clean surface with plenty of light (a headlamp can be useful).

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/14jukD0ph_dWItUo8V2g1P4nAJpjEqLk7mu98WCrELy0/edit?usp=sharing

Greetings . I have reached this point. The problem now is how to remove the eyepiece LCD visor. I can't find any screws to do this. Help ....