Richard Haw's Classic Nikon Repair and Review

Hello, everybody! I remembered a time several weeks ago when the world was still unsure about the impact of the coronavirus, it was a time when we could still talk outside with friends and enjoy a cup of coffee or two and eat a few sandwiches by the side of the street. I don’t think we’ll be able to see it happen again anytime soon, once-busy sections of our cities now resemble ghost-towns or a post-apocalyptic scenario. It’s depressing but even at these times there are stories to be told and good-deeds to be made. Read on.

The Story:

This happened around February, I was meeting with a good friend of mine named Hayashi-san. We were talking about random stuff, office politics and generally just keeping up with each other since we haven’t seen each other for a few years. On our way out I decided to have a quick smoke nearby and I found something laying at the grounds of a parking lot, scroll down to see what I found.

It’s a Nikon Df! Somebody left his camera. He was probably sitting there for a quick smoke just like me and probably forgot his precious camera. It looks like it has been sitting there for a few hours. I would have missed it myself, it blended well with the urban environment, you could’ve mistaken it for an abandoned pile of rubbish.

Looking at it closely, it looks beaten-up. The owner definitely used it a lot, it has scratches everywhere and the camera is in terrible state. It’s none of my business but I had to intervene, I am a member of the Nikon Junk Society or NJS (since 2014). Attached to it is a Nikkor 35mm f/2.8 Ai, the lens is equally worn and it looks like it has been continuously used for decades. Turning it told me that it needs a proper overhaul as the grease has dried-out. I looked for any information about the owner, EXIF details or embedded emails but I found nothing. Even the serial number of the camera isn’t visible, it’s worn to a state where the stickers at the bottom meant nothing.

Being a good, honest Buddhist and Hayashi-san being a good Christian. We thought that it’s best to send it to the nearest police box for safe-keeping. It could’ve been my camera from then on but that’s not what a good citizen or a good Nikon photographer does.

We registered the camera and it took us some time to get the paperwork in order. We learned that this setup could be mine if nobody claimed it after a period of around 5 months. I was asked to fill a form stating that. I was also given the choice of getting a reward from the owner if he claimed, I did not do this for money so I declined and signed the waiver. The most important thing is to get this camera back to the owner.

As we’re almost done with business, a middle-aged man arrived looking for his lost gear. Apparently it’s the owner, he is a Nikon Professional Service or (NPS) member. He’s famous, a street photographer that had his photos and portfolio published and exhibited world-wide. He is a disciple of a Japanese legend in street photography. As soon as he came, we exchanged formalities and then we parted our ways at the police box.

All’s well ends well. After a few weeks I received a mail from the police, it’s a certificate stating that I found the camera, thanking for my cooperation. I felt really good being able to save a Nikon. If this were to be discovered by a person who didn’t cared about decency or worse, a Canon photographer, its safety would be in peril. The comment about the latter is a joke, by the way.

This is an amazing story, something that I can be proud of for the rest of my life. Hayashi-san was equally happy, too. He told the story to his son, giving it as an example of how we should behave and goodness should always be a driving force in society. This should leave a good impression with any child, it’s something that he or she will remember for the rest of their lives.

I decided to write this because I wanted to cheer all of you amidst all of the depressing news. We live in very strange times and our future in uncertain but that doesn’t mean that we could not have or see anything beautiful in it. Writing about this story certainly made me feel a lot better, in my daily life I have to deal with people at the office, whether I like them or not. That is a very stressful thing and this blog helps keep my screws tight. Thank you for supporting my work, you’re not only keeping me sane but you’re also doing a good deed by ensuring that quality articles are written and hosted. You’re helping me offset the cost of maintaining the blog for generations to come. I am glad that we can all share a part of something big. Ric.

Help Support this Blog:

Maintaining this blog requires money to operate. If you think that this site has helped you or you want to show your support by helping with the site’s upkeep, you can make a small donation to my paypal.com (richardHaw888@gmail.com). Money is not my prime motivation for this blog and I believe that I have enough to run this but you can help me make this site (and the companion facebook page) grow.

Helping support this site will ensure that this will be kept going as long as I have the time and energy for this. I would appreciate it if you just leave out your name or details like your country’s name or other information so that the donations will totally be anonymous. This is a labor of love and I intend to keep it that way for as long as I can. Ric.