Yesterday, I posted a blog entry about the problems I was having with an unresponsive vertical battery grip (the Nikon MB-D12). It was clear that the grip was properly connected because the camera indicated that full power was coming from the grip. Yet, the rest of the controls (i.e., shutter button, auto-focus button and switch) weren't working.

So, I drove to APS (Authorized Photo Service) in Morton Grove, Illinois. After explaining the issue, the first APS employee I met said that I would need to leave both the camera (Nikon D800) and the grip so that a technician could determine which item was causing the problem. I suggested that we take the grip and attach it to a working D800 to help isolate whether the problem related to the grip. I didn't like the idea of leaving my camera again after just getting it back from Nikon's service center in Melville a couple of days ago.

Next, a technician was called to the counter so that I could explain the problem to a more experienced person. I handed the camera with grip to the technician. He briefly touched the grip, handed the camera back to me and said that the problem was fixed!

Sensing my confusion, he told me that there is a small lock switch right next to the shutter button on the grip. He simply moved it out of the locked position. Apparently, when it's locked the shutter and other controls cannot be activated. My Google searches relating to how to fix a grip that isn't responding didn't yield such a solution.

I've been using the grip for more than three years and never knew that the grip had a lock switch! I must have accidentally knocked it into the locked position at some point during my last day of shooting on my road trip through the Capital Cities of the Northeast. I doubt that this lock feature is something that I'll ever willingly use.

My camera and grip are now working perfectly. Learning that the solution was so simple was somewhat embarrassing. On the other hand, the good news is that the grip didn't require a repair!