Nikon to offer D600 replacements if &#39;spots&#39; continue

some Sony mirrorless cameras have good image qualities while some Pana ones got fast readout AF (same for Oly).

part of D600 have issues sometimes but most mirrorless cameras won't meet standards most of time.

Mar 30, 2014*permalink

gdfthr73

"misguided FF fanatics" please your ignorance is laughable. Full Frame is not just IQ. It's a look and feel that smaller sensors cannot recreate no matter how great the sensor. Yes size does matter

Mar 30, 2014permalink

I have an E-M5 and while the image quality is quite good it is not really great in my opinion. The ergonomics are poor and certainly not comparable to a dslr. Battery life is abysmal, and I need to carry a couple spares just to make it through a light day. The same can be said of every evil camera on the market. The build quality is not what I would call very good.

It's a very capable little camera, and good at what it does, but you are deluding yourself if you think everyone will accept the tradeoffs and replace their dslrs.

I haven't had a chance to try out the Fuji, though it does look attractive. There are just far too few lenses at this point to make it a viable option. There isn't even one true macro lens or a tele option. Remember there are a lot of evolutionary dead ends (for example Olympus' abandoned 4/3 mount) and the dinosaurs most likely have a lot of life in them.

Thanks for stopping by on your afternoon troll.

Mar 30, 2014permalink

I think APS-C mirrorless with lenses of the same aperture as full-frame ones (1.3 stops smaller f-numbers) and dual-pixel AF that performs better than SLRs should be great in the future but no such system is seen on the horizon yet.

Mar 30, 2014permalink

The D600, if it had worked right, would have been a masterstroke for Nikon. A cheap Nikon FF coupled with the second-rate D7100, and the pro APS sector was killed. Forcing people to spend the kind of money needed for lenses for a FF. But...turns out the FF was too much of a cost-cutting exercise and its bad design came back to haunt Nikon. I just hope their profits selling former D300 owners FF lenses at least matches what the fixes cost for the D600.

Mar 30, 2014permalink

technotic

Pentax are creating a Medium Format version of the Q yab and promise F 0.75 lenses. Are you interested now?

Mar 31, 2014permalink

hectorsm

Nikon should have issued a recall from the beginning so none of this mess would have happened.

Mar 30, 2014permalink

iAPX

At least!

What a mess it was to obtain this. D600 was a fail, a big huge fail for Nikon, that eroded my confidence on this company.
D600 should have been a huge incredible success with it's qualities and tag price on the full frame market, and instead of that, it was a mess for a lot or loyal Nikon consumers!

Mar 30, 2014permalink

Eleson

Every time a product gets these kind of issues, it is really an opportunity to create loyal and forever happy customers.

And yet, so seldom is the opportunity taken ...

Mar 30, 2014permalink

actually a reason why I like Nikon was that once they replaced my shutter for free while it wasn't broken yet (I was told that it was almost torn and better replaced).

Mar 30, 2014permalink

technotic

I'm not sure how that happened yab since you never take any actual photos. The shutter must have fused shut and you hit the shutter release accidentally?

Mar 31, 2014permalink

garyknrd

Kinda par for the course. At least they finally got pressed into doing something. I bought a Pentax K-5 that had a faulty AF module and never got it fixed. Pentax just ripped off thousands of customers.

Mar 30, 2014permalink

beavertown

Is it only available in China after US?

Mar 30, 2014permalink

Gesture

Bausch & Lomb, IBM, 3M, Rolls-Royce, Kodak, Nikon, etc., names that meant something. The DSLR is still Nikon's mainstay for a good percentage of working photojournalists, wedding photographers, commercial photographers, etc. They expect and deserve the best.

I always say, this is where Pentax-Ricoh, Sigma, Samsung must compete in-CUSTOMER SERVICE AND WARRANTY SUPPORT. I hope Sony and Fuji are taking notes.

Mar 30, 2014permalink

Tripeiro

I think at least Fuji is.

Mar 30, 2014permalink

Boky

Truly unbelievable.... one of well-known Japanese companies that should pride on implementing Lean Manufacturing Principles, where quality is built into the product; NOT inspected and checked for at the end of manufacturing when the product is produced.(Actually, was there any quality control of any kind in case of D600 manufacturing???)

Furthermore, denials for more than a year about the issue, and the latest announcement that the shutter will be replaced if NECESSARY (*determined by whom? Nikon? they already stated for more than a year the problem did not exist!!!) are all just adding to total hypocrisy, and all that coming from a Japanese company?

The future is bleak indeed... how can a consumer possibly expect to buy a quality product these days?

Nick

Mar 29, 2014permalink

Quality control has become complacent and they would rather replace their products if faulty rather than check it. It is cheaper and done at the costs of the consumer's inconvenience. Why not?

Mar 29, 2014permalink

(unknown member)

Why not? Because that kind of thinking ruins a brand's reputation permanently.

Mar 30, 2014permalink

lacikuss

Remember most of Nikon manufacturing is gone to China. I'm not sure but that means many camera pieces too, not just lenses which by the way have very bad quality manufacturing.

Mar 31, 2014permalink

caspianm

Nikon was quiet but never denied the issue. Most who sent their units in were given free service. It takes time for most companies to admit publically. Now the owners can get their units straightened out. Only safety related issues get a recall.

Mar 31, 2014permalink

nunatak

... just to think, if the DPreview editors had probed Nikon on these matters at CP+ — rather than the list of softball questions they tossed Nikon execs — DPreview could have taken some credit for this change of heart.

dear editors, please don't waffle on these matters just to repeat the same mistakes next time. :)

Mar 29, 2014permalink

RStyga

This is getting worse for Nikon and unlucky D600 owners alike. Nikon is a small company compared to, say, Canon. Heads will roll there: engineers, managers the lot.

Mar 29, 2014permalink

Mike FL

FWIW:

Nikon is smaller than Canon, Fuji, Oly... in terms of market cap.

Mar 29, 2014*permalink

RStyga

Nikon is smaller than Canon not just in terms of market cap. Of course, Nikon belongs to the Mitsubishi Group but I won't count that since it is independent.

Mar 30, 2014*permalink

ovlov

Nikon's quality control isn't even good enough for the Chinese.

Mar 29, 2014permalink

Don't bash Chinese consumers. People in China who buys high end cameras are very high end consumers, probably richer than the combined wealth of all of us in this thread!

AND mostly important, one should respect the customer for if not one would look like NIKON!

Mar 29, 2014*permalink

garyknrd

I live in Thailand and the Chinese are the beat photographers I have ever seen. These high end buyers not only know the product like the back of there hand they have the money to buy the best. Something I do not see from American tourists here. It has definitely switched to the Chinese. Europeans, Americans, and the rest take a back seet to these guys and gals now.
And I am an American. Very strange to see the power change. But, believe me it already has...

Mar 30, 2014permalink

caver3d

What are you talking about? Most American tourists will not buy cameras when visiting Thailand. That is a fact. Those Americans that have bought cameras in Thailand have been, and always will be, a minority. The last time I looked, China was right in the neighborhood of Thailand. Any surprise that, as the Chinese prosper, more of them travel and more of them buy cameras in Thailand? And, BTW, those Chinese that travel to the U.S. do go on a buying binge. And, yes, many of them buy cameras. What a revelation.

Mar 30, 2014permalink

pictureAngst

I don't know what all the fuss is about - I've never had a problem with spots.

p.s. check out my latest flickr galleries at

Flickr.com/AdorableDalmatians
Flickr.com/TeenagePortraits

and

Flickr.com/BacteriaMacroFun

Mar 29, 2014permalink

justmeMN

Spots are a feature, not a defect. They make your photos unique. :-)

Mar 29, 2014permalink

If Nikon is serious, they should go down this road and advertise this as a new and unique feature that no other manufacturer has delivered so effortlessly! What class action? This is a feature!

Mar 29, 2014permalink

Richard3

Nikon you can kiss my Ass , i spent a lot of money on ur gear , and was slapped in the face many time with this camera . i was told that the D600 had no issues that you were aware of now that its a know fact you care about ur customers after so many have invested hard earned money .

I will never buy another nikon product again , not that you care .

Mar 29, 2014permalink

SeeRoy

"Ur gear"?
You've got a Nikon SP rangefinder?

Mar 29, 2014permalink

"I will never buy another nikon product again , not that you care ."

Nikon isn't alone in not caring.

Mar 29, 2014permalink

sunhorse

@Richard3

This is very serious business. Being slapped in the face with a D600 is assault with a deadly weapon (with oil spots). Hope you filed charges.

Mar 30, 2014permalink

Nikon or Canon, we don't have many choices.
both are the least worse at least.

Mar 30, 2014permalink

Mike99999

I too am fed up with Nikon. Nikon and Canon deliberately cripple their products in order to force their customers to climb their product line. It's bad business practice.

Mar 31, 2014permalink

They used to put less competent AF, narrower view finder and slower frame rate in the lower end products. Now they just sprinkle stuff onto your photo!

Mar 31, 2014permalink

Viramati

Sounds like a good time to buy a 2nd hand D600, free lifetime warranty on the shutter!!! and they are going cheaper because of this issue

Mar 29, 2014permalink

Ivan Azzopardi

Don't buy Nikon until they solve this issue. My D800 got oil spots now cleaned but still I got some again. After the Nikon D7000 there wasn't any camera that doesn't have oil spots. Even a friend of mine got the Nikon D4 same problem. It crossed my mind that they use cheap coating sensor. I have a D300 and a D700 no oil spots . The D300 and a D700 got spots but dust spots and removed by the camera itself. I am getting back to them. I even got the D600 a very good camera even better than D800 but too much oil spots and they asked me to replace with the D610 and I got a refund. Now I lost my trust in Nikon. What a pity for Nikon!!! The best way for Nikon is first they have to eliminate this issue if they want success. GOOD LUCK NIKON!!!!

Mar 29, 2014permalink

CameraLabTester

Way back in 2005 / 2006 Nikon did the right thing by replacing D70 defective batteries for free, including free shipping and handling.

That was a gesture every Nikon user loved and Nikon hater admired, respected, and became jealous off...

Fast forward 2014...

WAHAPEND?

Mar 29, 2014permalink

alpha90290

Battery is cheaper than shutter and the replacement cost is covered by the battery manufacturer and supplier (Not Nikon).

Mar 29, 2014permalink

Steven Allen Manchook

I got two new shutters and after the 2nd repair I had other issues. Nikon returned the camera/grip/lens and two batteries I had to send in for diagnosis and sent me two new batteries with no explanation. I wrote them and they said the batteries were defective. I am even more curious now since the batteries were bought at separate times. They denied any battery problems, too! Gee, why would they lie about that, too?

Mar 29, 2014permalink

Marty4650

Perhaps Nikon should offer to replace your defective D600 cameras with a Canon 6D or a Sony A99?

Mar 29, 2014permalink

Great, will the Sony come with a free rootkit?

Mar 29, 2014permalink

if with an adapter that allows all Nikkor lenses work just as on Nikon bodies.

Mar 30, 2014permalink

Tripeiro

Nikon behaviour regarding this issue has been shockingly bad. The way they treated their customers before the Class action and the Chinese government ban was disgusting. Igonring the issue and then launching a new model with the fixed issue (making the D600 value plummet). Truly disgusting. Nikon seems to be going downhill, uninteresting products at riculous high prices (V3, DF), treating their loyal customers like s*it, afraid to go into what is likely the future of cameras to not cannibalize its bread and butter DSLR business... They depend mostly of the camera divison, unlike most other competitors, so it wouldn`t surprise me if they go bust in some years.

Mar 29, 2014permalink

I suspect they want the bulk of the customers to go down the path of smaller, higher profit margin products. Over the decades the "film size" has been shrinking and may be they are ahead of themselves this time.

Mar 29, 2014permalink

Tripeiro

They are not going anywhere treating their customers like this. Premium customers want companies to go the extra mile for them, and nikon is certainly a far cry from that. They could had gained a lot of goodwill if they had done the right thing from the start. Look at fuji! Japanese corporate culture wont survive the globalized internet age. 20 years ago they could sink their head in the sand and let it go away. Today they will get a lot of negative publicity and loose customers.

Mar 30, 2014permalink

Richard Murdey

Nikon ignores the issue.
Used D600 values plummet.
Feb 2014: I buy my D600, used, at a large discount.
Nikon announces they will fix all affected cameras.
Used D600 values soar.

(My camera has no oil spot issue.)

Thank you, Internet.

Mar 31, 2014*permalink

fullofwit

I am an owner of the D600 with the spots appearing on the photos. But I am very curios with regards to this statement: "Nikon will replace it with a new D600 or an equivalent model".
If the Nikon D600 is defective, how come they are going to replace my camera with another defective one? Unless there is a particular model of D600 that doesn't have that problem, then what solution is it to replace a faulty one with another faulty one?
Why not say right away replace it with a D610!
Truly? I don't understand their logic...!

Mar 29, 2014permalink

Prairie Pal

To a degree I think Nikon is hoping people SWAP-UP, and pay the difference for a more expensive camera.

Mar 30, 2014permalink

Reminds me of a prominent German auto manufacturer

Mar 29, 2014permalink

solomonshv

yea... BMW has been making total crap recently.

Apr 15, 2014permalink

Mike FL

FWIW:

D610 has the same oil spot issue as D600 as seen in users' Review. It seems a QC issue plus bad design.

BTW: D610 has more other issue than D600.

I will wait for D620.

Mar 29, 2014*permalink

fotokeena

“I will wait for D620.”
D620 won't have any issues? keep on dreaming and waiting...

Mar 30, 2014permalink

what issues for D610?

Mar 30, 2014*permalink

Frank C.

what a complete utter fiasco on Nikon's part

Mar 29, 2014permalink

Jing Ko

My friend got a replacement of D610 for free.

Mar 29, 2014permalink

TypeMRT

I've sent my camera in 4 times (twice AFTER the shutter was replaced) and now I've requested a replacement under this advisory. Here's the response:
"This advisory has no end date, so please send it in when you have a break in your schedule. I do see that your camera was in before, and for that I apologize, however, the above Service Advisory procedure was created after the last service."
This is so frustrating. I just sent it in 3 weeks ago, now they want it back. I'm hoping that they just keep it this time.

Mar 29, 2014permalink

Anzere08

Let's see, how many times are they going to try to clean the sensor (which we know is only a temporary fix) before replacing the shutter? NIKON writes: "...we will continue to offer users of the D600 a special service with which cameras are inspected, cleaned, and IF NECESSARY, shutter and related components are replaced free of charge". I think they are betting on buyers not sending their cameras back for cleaning too many times, hoping they'll give up. I thought the shutter would be replaced if I sent my D600 back, but apparently they are going to try to only clean it an indefinite amount of times first. Apparently they haven't learned their lesson yet.

If they knew only some cameras had the issue, they should be able to give a serial number range before they fixed the issue in production. It sounds like they didn't even try to fix the issue (or they would be able to say, after serial ##### , the issue has been fixed).

Mar 29, 2014*permalink

Franka T.L.

Or possibly they can't have a definite answer, that which the problem more a design fault. Which bets the question : how did they these days actually test the equipment before making them retail. Quite clearly they have not do this part right this time or might be they have never been right , just being lucky or .... ???

Mar 29, 2014permalink

Ivan Lietaert

That could be their strategy, but if they do that, they'll lose many customers. I had the same experience with a household applience, and after sending it back and forth several times, my patience was gone and I never bought that brand again.
In camera world, so many brands are competing, Nikon simply can't afford treating customers like that.

Mar 29, 2014permalink

This would seem to say that some D600's don't have the problem, otherwise, like with a car recall, they'd be replacing all the shutters?

"Because Nikon takes this matter very seriously, we will continue to offer users of the D600 a special service with which cameras are inspected, cleaned, and if necessary, shutter and related components are replaced free of charge,"

Mar 29, 2014permalink

Richard Murdey

I imagine the costs of replacing the shutter vs. sending the user a D610 (possibly a refurb) are similar.

Mar 31, 2014permalink

I don't have the issue for I don't have a D600. but
I think D600 should be at least better than 5D2 and 6D,
in AF, frame rate, and image quality (excl. oil dust).

Mar 29, 2014*permalink

Then shouldn't the Canon offer as noise-free a sensor too?

Mar 29, 2014permalink

tinzi1

Nikon dare not to get on a trial, which will further degrade its brand image. We're talking stocks of piles of hard evidence here.

Mar 29, 2014permalink

nathondetroit

Angrily, the truck owner vents to his friend: “I’m so sick of these gas stations. Filthy equipment, rude employees, and I have to stop every 300 miles.”

To which the Nissan Leaf owner responds, “What gas stations?”

Mar 28, 2014permalink

Then the fateful day came when the Leaf owner had to replace his lithium battery. $15,000, currently. That's about 3 conventional 4-cyl engines; installed.

Mar 29, 2014permalink

nathondetroit

Very true. Most people going mirrorless need to grab an extra battery or two.

Mar 29, 2014permalink

but why should people go mirrorless in the first place?

Mar 30, 2014permalink

Mike99999

@yabokkie: for the same reason people switched to LCD displays instead of CRTs, and for the same reason people switch to solid state storage rather than magnetic discs. The same reason why bulky desktop PCs got replaced by laptops and tablets. The same reason we will all drive electric cars in the future. It's called progress. It's quite common in technology.

Mar 31, 2014permalink

PLShutterbug

Sorry, but I don't plan to switch to EVF anytime soon. There are situations where the older technologies are far superior to new.

Eventually the manufacturers will solve the slow refresh, lack of resolution, white banding and other issues that plague current EVF technology, but they have a long way to go yet.

Mar 31, 2014permalink

technotic

Yab still has valves in his cameras.

Mar 31, 2014permalink

ProfHankD

"if a number of multiple granular black spots are still noticeable in images captured with a D600 upon which the above service has been performed several times, Nikon will replace it with a new D600 or an equivalent model"

Wow. That's unimpressive. Normal policy is that most companies will replace after ONE failed repair attempt....

Mar 28, 2014permalink

alpha90290

Looks to me that Nikon is still not convince that their shutter have problem.

Mar 29, 2014permalink

Mikael Risedal

OIL SPOT, 1DX, 1DX
WHEN DOES IT END?

Mar 28, 2014permalink

Steve in GA

Nikon is doing the right thing here, and I congratulate them for it.

However, it should not have taken so long for Nikon to come up with this replacement policy. Nikon's delay on fixing the issue has cost them untold goodwill.

Nikon should have studied Tylenol's example. When poison was found in some Tylenol caplets, Tylenol did such a good job getting the problem taken care of that their handling of the problem is now taught in case studies in business schools.

Tylenol's strategy was really simple: Advertise the problem, don't try to hide it. Then fix it through recalls and replacement product.

Tylenol recovered completely from what could have been a brand killer. Let's now see if Nikon does as well.

Mar 28, 2014*permalink

Richard Franiec

“There's a lot to like in the Nikon D600. In fact, really, there are very few areas in which it can be legitimately criticized given its market position and price point.”

Maybe this endorsement on Gear Shop should be taken down since there is a lot to the contrary in what is going on?

Mar 28, 2014permalink