The scratch right below the reflecting mirror on D600.

[Snapternity]

Hey guys, I'm not sure if any of you have discovered this problem or not, so I'm gonna ask it .

I read this thread in another forum in Taiwan, it's about the spot to the 1/3 left, right below the reflecting mirror has a small scratch. This is not just one case, but several, it matches the fact that the dust/oil tend to be found on the upper left corner. Do any of you have the same problem?, and I'm just say "maybe" this is the cause of this entire disaster?





This one is the worst, as you can see there are dozen of dust on the mirror, sooner or later those will come off, and, land on the sensor.


This one too, but the scratch is smaller, also has dust on the mirror


These scratches are all tilted left, note the sensor and the image is up-side-down and left-right-reversal. So if the dusts are been found on the upper left corner of the image means their actual position is on the lower left on the sensor if you're facing it directly.

Do any of you have the same problem?

 

[Peter Aczel]

This is a really important finding. Nikon should know about it. It would be very useful if somebody sent these pictures to Nikon.

 

[Bob Kuo]

I hope Nikon knows about this

 

[Snapternity]

I just sent this to Nikon. Hopefully they'll figure something out soon.

 

[Nikonfan99]

Snapternity wrote:

I just sent this to Nikon. Hopefully they'll figure something out soon.

Do you own a d600? do you have this issue?

 

[Snapternity]

Yes, I do own a D600, however, mine doesn't have that big of a scratch. Though I can still see the scratch under flashlight, and I too got dust on my reflecting mirror. Maybe this is why mine doesn't have as many dust as those people have.

This is what my D600 looks like.




Once again, I don't know the consequences of this scratch leads to, but as a high-end product, such thing shouldn't be allowed.

 

[benbammens]

I even found a small shard of metal in my camera... Should have taken a picture of it...

 

[Catalana]

Interesting information. I took a closer look at my D600, and found a very small surface defect, a little bit closer to the center under the mirror of the area described. Upon closer examination, the area is on a mechanical part, that rapidly folds down when the mirror raises. With the mirror down, that part is raised about 45 degrees, i.e., about parallel to the plane of the mirror in the down position. I raised the mirror via the sensor cleaning mechanism in order to clearly follow the action of that part. (Make sure you have a fully charged battery, otherwise the mirror will not come up)



If the surface defect is an abrasion of sorts, with particles loose in the mirror box, it is well possible, that this mechanism and the mirror movement during an actuation can buffet particles onto the sensor. If any oil/lubrication is present on this part (pure speculation), then it could well release tiny drops towards the sensor. Anyway, this may possibly be the vector of the dust/oil spot issue. Nikon should definitely look into this.

 

[Snapternity]

One more thing I need to know, this is the first time I ever look into the camera closely, so I wonder is the amount of those particles on the mirror normal?

 

[JasonED]

Interesting.

I am 4000 clicks along with my D600 and can't see any sort of similar abrasion with my camera. I have not noticed any unexpected amount of dust on my sensor either.

s/n 8014xxx (in New Zealand)

 

[Catalana]

Not really. The mirror box should be clean, provided the assembly facility has some clean room standard. On the other hand, when they test the camera after assembly, the techs may not have the training to be looking for that issue. Many things could go wrong, even in the parts supply chain. I don't have the light at the moment to clearly look at the part, but I have an inkling. The part is metal as far as I can tell, and may be powder coated to a dull black finish. If the powder coating/(paint) doesn't adhere correctly and flakes off, or cracks easily during assembly, Nikon has a problem.

The area in question appears to me to be rounded into a groove through which a long pin anchors the part to the left and right at the bottom of the mirror box (basically the pivot point of the part). Such rounded areas can be difficult for powder coating or paint to adhere to. But then it raises the question as to why the surface defect appears in same general area. Maybe some technician is leveraging a tool in the gap to adjust it? This is all speculation, and my mind is just mulling various scenarios. Nothing has been established, so take my opinion with a grain of salt and a dash of pepper.

 

[lancespring]

JasonED wrote:

Interesting.

I am 4000 clicks along with my D600 and can't see any sort of similar abrasion with my camera. I have not noticed any unexpected amount of dust on my sensor either.

s/n 8014xxx (in New Zealand)

My serial number 3009xxx here in the USA has no issues too.

 

[Catalana]

My serial number is 3003xxx.

 

[Snapternity]

Very thorough analysis , thanks.

 

[Snapternity]

Mine is 8017XXX. I live in Taiwan, most of the D600 users in Taiwan got 8XXXXXX, tragic.

 

[Catalana]

I'm not sure if the serial number is going to provide a clear picture of which cameras are affected. We'll need more of them. But if more forums hear about this news, we can get a better idea of how wide spread this is. Maybe you can cross-link this thread in Taiwan.

 

[Snapternity]

Actually all the evidences and information here are from a fairly big forum in Taiwan. And this site is the only one that I know of and registered out side my country.

Perhaps someone can help me spread the article in other forums? That'd be very helpful.

 

[Catalana]

Thanks. Maybe you could give us the link to that forum, even if we don't speak or write in the native language. I'm sure that this will get plenty of attention here and other English speaking forums.

 

[ADeighty]

An interesting article over on LensRentals.com, click on Nikon and then Recent articles. Same problem with a different idea as to the problem.

 

[Stewart McKInlay]

Haven't bought the D600......yet, but plan to. Is there any possibility that the abrasion is caused during operation when the mirror etc moves. And might it be possible that the debris on the mirror is actually small pieces of paint or metal from the abrasion.

Just thinking out loud.