Nikon issues service advisory on D600's dust issue

I gave up on the D600 after the 3rd try in November. The second and third never left the house - inside shooting only, in a clean environment, but it made no difference. Same areas as the above photo, in all three cases, although significantly worse for two of them. I have been waiting for a response from Nikon, but one more along the line of "we've found the problem, replaced the faulty whatever", so that I could try it again - it was a magnificent camera for the price. This response from them is a disappointment.

I have had my D600 since Oct'12 and it is ready for 4th sensor clean with only 300 shots and 60 sensor marks- over one month since last 3rd clean. Nikon service [Sydney] did it under warranty for the first time after a major tirade from me. I have started providing a sensor map with spots marked. Using only one 28-300 lens throughout. The camera has the same use as D200, D300S and continuing use of a D7000 all of which need/needed sensor cleaning max.twice a year on average. I love the use and results of this camera but this is such a critical issue,esp. with enlarging for printing. Nikon's failure to address the issue and then put out their insulting service advisory dents their image tremendously. Nikon have bungled big time on this one. Sent email complaint Mon.March 29 to service centre and still have no reply. They must be buried in D600 sensors I reckon :)

I just bought a D600 yesterday and after shooting about 50 images the sensor was riddled with dustspots. i returned it to the retailer. He offered to replace but after opening another two D600 boxes, on inspection all cameras had dust spots on them, after attempting to blow them and BRUSH them off they were still there. The D600 is at Nikon's service center now with the following service descrtiption "SENSOR CLEANING - SPOT ON SENSOR" What an understatement!!

It is shocking that nothing has been done even now! Nikon's CEO should step down in my opinion.

Nikon service centre in Mississauga finally gave me refund after fighting with them for 4 months.

Bought two new D600's for an assignment in north two weeks ago....tested both cameras....in the first hour of the first day, I noticed dust spots in the sky on LCD, got worse over the 4 day assignment....two days of cloning....see spots in landscapes in the sky....took both cameras back, picked up my D700's that I traded in...40 years with Nikon, never an issue.....sorry this camera needs to be recalled....I think they have made enough money over the years to recall and fix the problem on the line and give everyone a camera worthy of their great reputation...I will stay with Nikon but they need to deal with this....

My experience with D600 dust issue.
I found sensor dust problem with my new Nikon D600, and sent the camera to Nikon service center in New York, thinking of a quick turnaround. The online status of repair turned to B1 repair category, "Parts Hold", the same status for a week now. I keep calling them asking for an expected time (ETA), and nobody seems to know.
I spoke to the dealer where I purchased, and they said to get the camera back from Nikon, and return it to them for a replacement or money back, since their 30 day return date is closing.
Requested Nikon to return without repair, and they won't return it without repair, nor give me an ETA. Apparently, it is against their policy to return cameras without getting them back to Nikon standards. A catch 22 situation.
Many of my planned events are in Jeopardy now.The pictures of D600 are great though, but for this problem.
It would have made Nikon in good standing, if they were little more responsive and proactive to this problem.

According to Bryan Cady's poll there are still many with high serial numbers who suffer from this defect:
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3339415?page=2#forum-post-50329883

As long as Nikon thinks a whitewash and coverup is cheaper
they will not fix it.
Only we can make them pay for their arrogance.

I have never had any issues with dust on my D50 or D90 sensors. It really bothers me that Nikon does not clear up this issue. I want to buy the D600 to get the FF sensor, but I will not spend that amount of money on a camera that may or may not have issues from day one or after a certain amount of shutter releases. This is sad Nikon.

Some facts are still unclear to me.

1. In what % (or %%) of d600 camera’s was &/ is this issue actually occurring? i.e., what is the chance if I buy such an expensive (for me) camera of being “hit” with the problem too?

2. Has the “root cause” of the issue been fully / partially resolved? i.e., is a late build (= high S/N) d600 model now less prone to (or immune from-) this problem compared to an early build (= low S/N) d600?

3. Finally, I see nothing in the official NIKON statement about an offer of replacement camera while my “dirty” d600 is in (and thus “unavailable” to the user) for service? Anyone got experience on this?

Not a comforting response from Nikon as it leaves so many questions unanswered, especially whether the splattering issue will be resolved after the camera is serviced by Nikon.

I suspect that very often the legal departments in these companies have a large say in how an issue is handled or resolved. They wouldn't want to take on a liability that may result in the model series being a loss maker, given that margins are probably already thin. In addition, there may be settlement arrangements behind curtains between a part manufacturer and Nikon that impacts on how the issue is handled or resolved, e.g. quietly replacing the shutter mechanism if a unit is sent in for servicing, without any admission that the part was faulty. The alternative of a recall of the entire line or series is a lot more costly for them, & gives rise to warranty or other liability issues.

It's clearly a QC issue that could have been detected and resolved if sufficient time and trouble was spent before launch.

This sort of problem is wide-spread in the industry. Canon has recently reported almost the same thing for a couple of its DSLRs so I doubt anyone will avoid the issue by brand hopping. Mt D800 has remained perfectly clean but my Panasonic LX5 has oil spots and - no way to get in there yourself. A colleague with an LX5 also has oil spots too. He didn't notice them in his pictures until I pointed them out. Now he is miserable.

This is the digital camera's Achilles heel. With film you get a new sensor surface with every advance. With digital stuff just accumulates.

Best wishes,
k.

My D600 does NOT have a problem. I am now at 4200 exposures and with all this writing about dust and what-else I checked again today.

Please let me make it clear that I have never seen any dust in my D600 pictures. This certainly has something to do with two things:

1) is the fact that I use f-stops between f/1,4 and f/8 (- I have occasionally during my lifetime used f/11 but have never seen the reason for using f/16 or smaller - anyway, that's just me and I am sure your habits may differ)

2) my D600 basically doesn't seem to collect dust. Bought on the day of release, S/N 6038904. No dust today either.

It surprises me to see so much negativity over what certainly is an issue for some but certainly not for everybody who actually owns the camera.

Very few seem to have understood the greatness of the D600. It brings out qualities in my images I had never dreamed were possible, from ANY camera. In fact, so much that I started writing a blog about it; nikonsystem.blogspot.se

Nikon's reliability is coming close to Chinese products......Nikon did the same thing with P7000 which was a defective coolpix and they upgraded it to P7100 which is much better...If Nikon continues to do so then its helping Canon to take up the market......they should have called all the D600 with the issue and serviced / replaced it with a new one.....its reputation that counts.....we all use our hard earned money to buy such expensive stuff......

Who PAYS for this "service" ?

It's all very well Nikon issuing a notice, but what they don't say is whether they pay for the service or the user does. ( And I won't even ask about delivery costs. )

I'm also baffled why the European notice has a different wording to the US one. Is "cut and paste" a difficult concept for Nikon ?

Its definitely not from the production. Many of user reported having this after some usage. Its a design issue. e.g. parts rubbing and releasing micro fragments. The fragments is something that may not be removable by the ultrasonic sensor cleaner.

Here is the link about the D600 with pictures showing that there's scratches between the shutter curtain and the mirror box:

http://www.petapixel.com/2012/11/22/theory-nikon-d600-sensor-spots-caused-by-scratched-shutter-curtain/

My D600 before had this marks but I didn't notice it after I bought it since there are no reports regarding this issue when I acquired it. By the way I bought my unit probably a week after it was release.

It's not s dust issue. It's a quality control issue.

Why does this continue to be called a "dust" issue? From what I have read here it seems to be some sort of lubricant (oil) or debris from parts rubbing (scraping) against one another. There were pictures in one post (sorry I don't have the link) showing what appeared to be contact marks inside the mirror box. If it were simply "dust" why does it seem to accumulate at the same spot on the sensor? While cleaning oil and debris from the sensor may be a pain, I would think the real issue is what impact will this debris have long term on the shutter and mirror mechanisms. Will we see a rash of repairs down the road similar to the infamous D70 BGLOD?

Nothing new here: "Function, Schedule, Quality. - Pick two".

Nikon did not pick Quality. Same with D800/E.

now I understand well, why there was high demand to my D700 when I put it on sale from internet.. :) due to high demand but not high price offerings I decided to keep it yet... I just need this great Sigma lens 35mm f1.4 :)

by the way, I remember sensor stain issue with Pentax K-5 which I replaced it with Nikon D700 and decided not to go any adventure other brand again (my fist one was Nikon D40 the good oldy or old goody)..
However I see sh.t happens.. even for such big brands, tomorrow to Canon maybe.. so still there is no alternative to Nikon or Canon yet!

Anybody interested with my D700? :)) haha lol

Just a tought for Fuji...which never recognized the sticky aperture issue with its Fuji X100.
Mine is still blocked a full aperture...and I think will remain as such for my FIRST and very LAST Fuji product that I've had and will ever buy in my all Life.

I got sucked the same with an ACER computer in the past. I will never buy an ACER product again.

I know you can face problems with any brand...but at least there are brands which recognize their mistakes and take responsibility for it. Those are the brands I prefer to invest in, despite it cost me more sometimes.

Further more, I never heard that they use oil in cameras. They use a special grease which is quite a different thing, and even IF they did grease a little too much, they´d do it with a few and not hundreds of cameras.
NO! I think the main problem with this camera is a bunch of extremely envious Canon users who are constantly trying to degrade Nikon. (There are several postings who ad 6D for example). And that´s why I´ll stick to Nikon.
The probs with D600 will soon be solved. Whatever the REAL prob is.
Period!

I had a bad issue with spots on my new D600. After a lot of cleaning attempts and frustration I now have what appears to be a clean sensor! I took several hundred jpegs of a blue sky and used in camera sensor clean 5 or 6 times until I could no longer see any dust (oil) spots. I used continuous shooting to rapidly take the pics thinking that this would encourage any splatter or residue to be flung onto the sensor until there was no more left! I'm hoping this has resolved the issue for me permanently. Thought this may help others to try the same "fix".

When you need to produce a new camera in short time to be competitive, something has to break and I guess its quality that broke. It’s the expectation of users that drives the makers. There is just too much of lab compare and micro comparison plus users who just read into this results, criticise and drive makers to accelerate their product release. I think the blame is wider than just the makers.
Every time a camera comes out, you can see one of the fan clubs (Canon/Nikon, now maybe Sony) criticising the other makers to catch up. Not to forgot the pro-reviewers. Oh, this camera has fall short of one megapixel…
Imaging tech R&D is high tech business and it involves precision engineering. Then you have the users who want the mechanical precision of the Film days with new IT tech with lower price.

I suspect the oil is coming from the shutter assembly. It might be a new design and nobody had the mind to do a longer test to see if there is an oil spray problem in it, or the units are assembled with too much oil or with oil not sticky enough. Careless design project control in any case. Problem might go away with time after excess oil has splattered away or dried a bit, but taking the camera for cleaning for a few times is annoying, especially if you have to pay for it.

During the film era this would not have mattered at all, as oil did not accumulate on anything.

That was the same problem with the first launch of the D7000 almost 2 years ago, my D7000 sensor picked up many black points on the left, I told this problem to my camera seller, he did not admitting this issue by accusing that the dust coming from changing lenses... Later, I got known that the black points were OIL and not dust.

Just want to pass to FX camera to purchasing a D600 body but hesitate by many complains from D600 users.

"We covered this issue in our in-depth review of the D600, last year."
From the review final page "We're working with Nikon to understand (and further test) this issue and we'll update this review accordingly as we use the camera over time."

First off the problem seems to be OIL and NOT dust. Big difference. The other point is that I see you did consider this issue in your D600 review and yet you awarded it your GOLD AWARD. I cannot see how one can recommend this camera with this problem - it was prevalent in the model you tested, yet you gave it one of your highest ratings for a DSLR. Now you will understand why I never look at DP review for buying choices, I just come for news. How can anyone trust your reviews, when you have highly recommended a camera that probably has a serious design flaw, even when you picked it in your test model. Your high rating is that with oil or without? (a la Mc Donalds combo)

At least Nikon finally acknowledged this D600 issue. I'm not sure the Company ever admitted anything about so many of those D80 cameras that "developed" mysterious sensor spots after a few thousand clicks of the shutter.

I'll bet dust is pretty easy to deal with on the new Google Glass...

Now lets see if they save face and issue a service advisory for the D800/e for auto focus issues.

I had a D600 before but sold it eventually because of this issue. At first I never mind the dust in the sensor because I can clean it right away but when the oil spot shows, I'm getting frustrations in cleaning the sensor. And Nikon service center here charge for cleaning eventhough I bought the units from them, though the price of their cleaning is haft the price against the grey units that wasn't bought from them. That was before they admit that the dust are coming from the inside and not because in changing lenses. Now they have free cleaning service for 2 years until the warranty expires. I hope I didn't sold it in the first place.

But before I acquired these D600. I never looked at the LCD for every image I took. When the dust starts to appear, I have this insecure feeling in every image I took and feel like I have to look at the LCD and IQ every time I press the shutter.

I don't understand all the negativity. Nikon has put out a tech advisory, and seems willing to repair. I think that's a good thing. Much like the mirror fix on the Canon 5D classic.

This is disappointing from two aspects. The first is that a newly designed (and expensive) camera would have this problem. I have a Canon 5d (an original) which has never been cleaned and which has no dust removal function and it has less dust than the DPR D600 photo shows. I expect that I change lens at about a typical photographe'rs rate.The other is how poorly Nikon has responded. Surely they could have been more responsive and responsible toward their customers.

People, buy a film camera and change the "sensor" with every frame :)

Well, what I have learned from this debacle is that I should wait at least six months before I buy a new camera or lens. And not just from Nikon; this sort of thing also happens to other companies.

One of the great things about the Internet is that it is easy to find actual user reviews about gear that has been used for a period of time under a variety of conditions. Most editorial reviewers do not have the luxury to shoot thousands of images over a period of weeks...

If you get sucked-in by the marketing hype these days you are sometimes doing beta testing for the manufacturer.

Disappointing comment.

Reminds me of Apple. When the "antennae gate" issue occurred with the iPhone 4 and Bill Gates emailed someone to "just don't hold it that way". Now there is this obvious problem with the camera and Nikon basically says, "Just blow it".

I'm not turning this into a Nikon vs Canon debate, but way back when I decided to up my gear to DSLRs, I knew three people who used Nikons, and while they loved their cameras, they *hated* Nikon customer/tech support - all three of them. I decided to try out Canon because I value good support almost as much as the gear itself, and when I had a problem I was amazed how incredibly professional and good Canon's support was, while I continued to hear horror stories from my friends about bad experiences having to deal with Nikon, even today.

No doubt the D600 takes great photos and Nikons are on par with Canon in terms of cameras, but dismissive statements about an obvious issue don't give customers confidence in the product.

OM-D EM-5 user looks smugly on - Olympus doesn't "do" dust ...... never has done

The D600 and D800/e should be recalled.

I'm surprised dust is still a problem with DSLR's. Even more so with cameras at that high price range.

I'd really suggest DPR to amend their reviews with a production quality rating that's updated regularly. Pretty sure that some glorious gold award material would be less shiny after a while.

It's a real pity with Nikon nowadays. We really want to update the D300 in our Nikon gear at home. But this (once highly praised) camera makes enough trouble, so we are not prepared to risk any more annoyance. D800? AF issues. D600? Smeared sensors. In fact, our D300 proved to be much more prone to dirt on the sensor than our Canon DSLRs.

Looks like the old times of superior quality cameras from Nikon such as the legendary FM series are definitely over (we still have 3 FM-2 bodies, one worked even in the Siberian at -40 °C without any trouble). Currently I really prefer my Canon DSLRs with their less fancy sensors (in terms of DXO) because they simply do what they have to do without any smearing or snorting around.

Is it typical 'Nikon Arrogance?"

I would have hoped by now, that all the camera manufacturers would have figured out how to make cameras that work all the time without leaving dust / oil / whatever, wherever.