D7000/Nikon Quality Control Issues

I recently purchased a D7000 to replace my aging D50. So far I am extremely happy with the performance of the camera but Nikon's quality control is embarrassing.

The first camera I purchased had a lot of dust on the sensor straight out of the box. I took it back and exchanged it for a new one.

The second camera seemed perfect at first. The sensor was clean, there were no bright pixels on the sensor or rear LCD, and there were no focus issues. Of course now that I am outside the return window I noticed an annoying defect. There is what seems to be a bright pixel on the LCD display inside the viewfinder.

At first I thought it was might just be how they all are but after comparing mine to several other D7000s I now know it is not normal. I do not know if it was bright from day one because it is only noticeable in bright light when the viewfinder display automatically brightens but I suspect that it has always been there.

I called Nikon support and they informed me that they could fix the problem but I think it is ridiculous that I have to send a brand new camera in to service less than a month after I bought it.

Nikon has always been renowned for their quality but two defective cameras in a row does not seem to fit with their reputation.

I feel that when I spend more than 1000 dollars on an item I expect a bit more than good enough.

Has anybody else noticed anything like this or do I just have terrible luck.

In case anybody wonders the bright pixel is located below and slightly to the right of the plus sign in the exposure meter.

maybe you got unlucky or even an ex display shop model first time round?

my experience is somewhat different. in past 3 years i have bought a d90, 70-300vr, 50 1.8 and recently a d7k and 16-85mm lens. i have no issues with any of the gear but maybe thats cos i got them from a respected local shop? the shop guy opens and carefully inspects the contents of the box before passes onto a buyer. this is only done with dslr gear though.

i have also purchased tamron, sigma and a tokina lens from online and all those had qc issues. strange huh?
--
Tony

I wish there was a place like that near me. All I have is a bunch of "big box" chains.

I can confirm that I'm on my third D5100 and all 3 of them produce a Hot Red Pixel on the picture image when using auto mode and the flash.

Nikon quality is not what it use to be.

I guess if I want to keep the D5100 I'll have to live with the Hot Red Pixel on the image.

Give it up, please. This forum is here to HELP folks, not slam Nikon. ALL dslr cameras have at least a few hot pixels sooner or later. It is the nature of the beast. 1 out of 18,000,000 pixels will make no difference. Zero.

Nikon also has a software upgrade that gets rid of these. Most raw converters will also mask these out - automatically. The in-camera jpg will also mask them out which you can see when you download your photos.

Dust on the sensor is a shipping problem. It can easily be blown off with a Rocket blower.

Newbies need to do a little research before bitching on-line. It is posts like this one that have done a great deal of harm to this forum. Sorry.
--
Steve Bingham
http://www.dustylens.com
http://www.ghost-town-photography.com

First don't get me wrong the D7000 is an amazing product and I would never consider buying a camera from any other company. It is just disappointing that I was unable to get a perfect one.

Secondly I have a rocket blower and I know how to use it but it is still unacceptable for there to be such a large amount of dust straight out of the box. There was more dust on the new D7000 sensor than my D50 picked up in 5 years.

Also if you actually read my post you would see that I am not complaining about the hot/dead pixel issues everybody else is complaining about I do not have any of those problems. My problem involves the LCD display inside the viewfinder and is purely a minor cosmetic issue.

Finally I am not angry at Nikon in particular and I don't mean to bash them. I'm angry at the consumer electronics industry as a whole. It's not just Nikon whose quality control has declined in recent years. It seems that almost every consumer electronics company has gotten worse recently. I don't think I have bought a single electronic device in over 2 years that has not had one problem or another. For instance I had to buy and return 3 tv's last year before I got one that didn't have any problems and before that I had to have my laptop repaired twice in the the same year. And both of those were also well respected name brands.

The decline in quality control is obviously a direct result of the poor economy but It still seems wrong to me that in order to cut costs they just let more duds though and then hope people don't care enough to complain. Worst of all they still charge what they would have charged anyway.

Steve -- As far as I know, the firmware upgrade from Nikon fixes hot pixels in video recording, not stills or playback on viewscreen. Basically it is for recording video.

Stuck, blank and hot pixels are common on all video display, and increase with age. But the D7000 seems to have been more susceptible than other models, and it has left a lingering concern. Certainly not as broad as problems with AF errors, but enough that people are concerned.

Dust on the sensor is not the end of the world. But I can see why he'd be terribly disappointed on a brand new camera being worse than his war horse, right out of the box.

Stuff builds up.

I understand your frustration with user complaints (and lack of experience leading to mistakes), but where do you feel it would be appropriate to discuss these complaints or concerns if not on the forum related to the specific models in question?

For whatever reasons, the D7000 has generated more anguished forum postings, customer complaints and product exchanges than similar models such as the 60D. It's a great camera with terrific possibilities, but it seems Nikon dropped the ball on this one after raising buyers expectations unreasonably high with marketing hype.

The problems I initially went through still leave a bad taste in my mouth (which were fixed by Nikon El Segundo) -- until I pick up the camera and start using it again. Then I see how much is right with the camera. Yet, the initial impression remains after I put it back down. Now it's a matter of trust -- when will I trust it enough for assignments? I'm certainly getting there, but it takes time.

So I can relate to people wanting to talk about their frustrations or relay their disappointment, whether venting or searching for fixes. That seems to be an important part of the forum experience. I try not to take it too seriously, since I'm not the guy who designed, built, and deployed the products.

Anyway, this last six months or so, I've learned a tremendous amount from working through my hardware problems and reading about the insights and understandings of others on the DPR and FM forums, plus all the other review forums I've been exposed to. I'd say this has been my biggest year of equipment testing ever, and has really revitalized me, harking back to when I was first exposed to (yeah, couldn't resist) 35mm and 4x5 imaging in the 80s.

I do see the other side of the upheaval and complaints, and I sympathize with you. It's not pleasant to clikc on threads and see bitching about your favorite stuff. I'm not immune either when I find something I like being roasted. Then I move to a different thread, of skim for something more promising.

I know you are working to try to keep this an infomative and entertaining forum, and I thank you for that. You are a bright light and a valuable resource. But I think we have to put up with the annoying along with the good sometimes.

Anyway, thanks for all your contribution to Nikon experience.

Steve Bingham said:

Give it up, please. This forum is here to HELP folks, not slam Nikon. ALL dslr cameras have at least a few hot pixels sooner or later. It is the nature of the beast. 1 out of 18,000,000 pixels will make no difference. Zero.

Nikon also has a software upgrade that gets rid of these. Most raw converters will also mask these out - automatically. The in-camera jpg will also mask them out which you can see when you download your photos.

Dust on the sensor is a shipping problem. It can easily be blown off with a Rocket blower.

Newbies need to do a little research before bitching on-line. It is posts like this one that have done a great deal of harm to this forum. Sorry.
--
Steve Bingham
http://www.dustylens.com
http://www.ghost-town-photography.com

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I have a D90 with the kit lens, 18-105 and that lens ruined wedding photos because it was so blurry. I sent it in and a few weeks later got a perfect lens that I've used for the past 2 years. But it's expected when Nikon goes out to find the cheapest labor they can find, not that made in japan quality of yesteryear, but overall I'm happy with Nikon cameras and their service.

I can totally relate to it. For the 3rd time, I am seeing the same exact issue, after cleaning the sensor.
There seem to be oil drops on the sensor when i first got the camera.
My store cleaned it for me. Then it happened again after a couple of months.
Nikon then cleaned it for me (without replacement as requested)

And now, i am seeing the same issue again, after a couple more months, and perhaps 3-4 lens changes. Even if it were dust, it shouldnt be so high and frequent, not to mention oil drops!

I wonder what Nikon will say now when i send it.

I too relate to it. I have owned a D7000 for 6 weeks but have only used it for 2 weeks as the rest of the time it has spent back at Nikon fixing 2 issues.

My previous camera a D90 I had for 3 years and I didn't experience one problem with it, so thought I would upgrade to the D7000. I was so eager to get this camera as the D90 was so reliable and it does take wonderful photos, when working.

But after 7 days of buying this camera my first fault occurred, a faulty Multi Selector I wasn't able to access the menu items, 2 weeks later the camera returns from Nikon and I discovered oily marks on my sensor after shooting scenery photos. Now the camera is back at Nikon to get this fix under warranty another 2 weeks before I get my camera back.

So I'm very disappointed in Nikon and their quality control, especially after paying $A1350 and why not whinge on here at least it's informing other people before they buy and also maybe Nikon might lift their game a bit.

For all you that say it's Nikon bashing my reply to this is you are probably one of the lucky ones who haven't had a fault with their camera but I bet if the shoe was on the other foot it would be a different story.

My D50 is fine.

My D90 shows a few hot pixels when I shoot over ISO 400, not a big deal.

My (early release) D7000 is fine.

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O yes, when I decided to get d700, I had to return four of them back!!! they all had some quality control issues, not that you would not be able to take pictures, but things like hot pixels very clearly seen in dark areas of the image, annoying looking dead pixel on lcd... Luckily, I had business with B&H and their assistance was almost impeccable as always, and I finally got a copy that was good enough to keep. Being picky?? I don't know, when you pay 2600 $ for a body and find some defects that you know aren't supposed to be there... remember had problems with 35 1.8G lens - the whole assembly with a rear glass had too much looseness and rattled when you shook the lens, I thought it would not even take sharp images, but it did!, but still, other copies didn't have that much looseness... and if in the future you wan't to sell your lens as a used item, those rattlings will not be a good thing.

While some people might be experiencing new user issues, others are encountering serious problems for a new camera. I am encountering the oil droplets issue with my camera and it is not simply dust spots. I love Nikon and between my husband and I have had 5 different Nikon DSLR bodies. We have only encountered issues with this one. I think what frustrates me more is that Nikon doesn't take these issues seriously.

It's unacceptable to send a camera body in for the second time of oil spots, ask for what is the problem causing them and how it is fixed. Instead, get back an invoice stating that only a sensor cleaning and general check was done, just to have the spots reappear TWO days after getting the camera back from "repair". The camera is back in Nikon's hands for the THIRD time, supposedly with a new technician reviewing the problem. I demanded a replacement, but if the service center can actually fix the root of the problem and explain it to me, I will be happy. I love the D7000 otherwise, and I miss being a month without it due to this problem and lack of concern in fixing the problem.

Logan Nolag said:

The first camera I purchased had a lot of dust on the sensor straight out of the box. I took it back and exchanged it for a new one.

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Are you sure you didn't get a shelf model, or a demo? Nikon boxes are not sealed, and dealers may put the one you bought on display. I have bought several Nikon DSLRs and none of them had dust on the sensor.
--
JohnE
Some of my work is shown here:
http://www.biltmorephoto.com

buellwinkle2 said:

I have a D90 with the kit lens, 18-105 and that lens ruined wedding photos because it was so blurry.

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You took photos of a wedding with an unproven camera/lens combo? Hope it wasn't a paid gig. I never use untried equipment for wedding work.

--
JohnE
Some of my work is shown here:
http://www.biltmorephoto.com

It's interesting that this thread was bounced in the last few days because I just checked my D7000 for dust earlier today and I was astonished at what I saw. I have never wet cleaned the sensor I have only ever used a rocket blower and I am always very careful when I change lenses so I have no idea how the sensor got this messed up.

azguy said:

Logan Nolag said:

The first camera I purchased had a lot of dust on the sensor straight out of the box. I took it back and exchanged it for a new one.

Click to expand...

Are you sure you didn't get a shelf model, or a demo? Nikon boxes are not sealed, and dealers may put the one you bought on display. I have bought several Nikon DSLRs and none of them had dust on the sensor.

Click to expand...

My new D7000 had dust on the sensor also.The camera had just arrived at the store that morning, and AFAIK, had not been opened. My camera also had a defective lens release button, which Nikon later replaced. I believe the D7000 is the best APS-C camera available today and there is no other camera I would rather own, but I also feel Nikon needs to improve their quality control.

Best regards,
Jon

Steve Bingham said:

Give it up, please. This forum is here to HELP folks, not slam Nikon. ALL dslr cameras have at least a few hot pixels sooner or later. It is the nature of the beast. 1 out of 18,000,000 pixels will make no difference. Zero.

Nikon also has a software upgrade that gets rid of these. Most raw converters will also mask these out - automatically. The in-camera jpg will also mask them out which you can see when you download your photos.

Dust on the sensor is a shipping problem. It can easily be blown off with a Rocket blower.

Newbies need to do a little research before bitching on-line. It is posts like this one that have done a great deal of harm to this forum. Sorry.
--
Steve Bingham
http://www.dustylens.com
http://www.ghost-town-photography .

Click to expand...

When you recieve a brand new DSLR the sensor is protected by the camara lens mount cap. I should not have absolutely no dust what so ever .

Even though I concur with you , I understand we live in a democracy and everybody has the right as long as he doesn't restrain your rights to say it as he see's it . The same right you have to oppose his complaining he has to complain .