What happens when you send a camera to Nikon for Repair

Photobug

This is pretty typical and not unusual. I remember my D750 went back as soon as I got the notice and it took 2 weeks.

cashreedhar

Photobug said:

This is pretty typical and not unusual. I remember my D750 went back as soon as I got the notice and it took 2 weeks.

Indeed. I thought of just posting my experience here, so that others sending their D750 would know how it is being processed after 2 years of service recall. I am eagerly waiting to check the camera which reaching me today

MegapixelSchnitzel

I was thinking about sending my old, wonderful, 80-200 slip-N-slide zoom in for an overhaul and clean. I wonder what that would entail from Nikon, and how much it would cost?

Ironheart

The only one who can answer that question is Nikon. If you send it in they will give you an estimate. Given the age, there are third-party repair places that will probably do it cheaper.

[Deleted User]

So i sent my D800 to Melville, NY center on Jan 23rd after slipping on mud while trail running with the camera and 2 lenses in a padded canvas bag on my back.

I estimate i was 16 inches elevated face up from the momentum, landing on the d800 and a large protruding root.

3 broken ribs, lots of pain relief, and a week later, i determined that the camera was not focusing correctly. I could not obtain infinity focus in the viewfinder and shooting wide angle lenses wide open produced crazy colors and inaccurate focus in the image.

17 days later, and after having a parts hold for about 11 days, i received it back ups in one day from
ship date. The estimate was 314. which did not change.

After testing with all of my lenses i realized that one of my wide angles will need adjustment. Focusing is off from before the incident. All other lenses work correctly. Not sure what parts were replaced but the AF wheel is functioning much better than before the incident, and the sensor is clean (at my request).

spraynpray

Sensor clean is always done IME.

cashreedhar

cashreedhar said:

I sent my Nikon D750 after 2 years of purchase, in reponse to their service advisory recall. I did not notice any such flare issue, however, i wnated to be in the safer place as there could be some other untold fixes and even I like a free service for my camera. Following are the updates of this service.

01/25/2017 10:53 A.M. - The camera sent to Nikon Melville service center from NYC.
01/26/2017 8:56 A.M.- The camera has been delivered to Melville service center
01/27/2017 - Nikon sent me acknowledgement email with estimate (estimate repair cost 0), with service order number. Reason for repair "TO GWO FLARE No Charge/Good Will Repair". Also, the email mentions when the online status is "Shop", it means the camera is serviced and when status indicates "Shpd" the order has been shipped.
01/29/2017 - Status changed to "Hold" and I understand the camera was waiting for some parts
02/01/2017 - Status changed to "Shop".
02/03/2017 - Status still shows "Shop". Contacted Nikon Melville and they said the camera is still being serviced and they can not say how long it will take. Also, they mentioned the number of days for servicing is 7 to 10 business days, but in few cases it will take more than that.
02/06/2017 - Status changed to "Billing". The camera has not been shipped (as my UPS shows no scheduled delivery as of today)
02/06/2017 - I received email from UPS that the camera is shipped with UPS ground. I live few miles away and hence it is scheduled for delivery tomorrow. Status is still "Billing".
02/07/2017 - Status changed to "Shipped" with UPS tracking number. UPS shows the camera is out for delivery. It will be delivered btn 3PM-6PM (residential delivery time)
02/07/217 - Received camera in the evening. The camera came like brand new with an invoice, which shows total due=0.

Following are the details of repair in invoice:
RPL FRONT BODY
REPLACE RUBBER GRIP
RPL REWIND SIDE RUBBER
RPL CF CARDHOLDER RUBBER
ADJ AF SYSTEM
CKD METER ACCURACY
CKD POP-UP FLASH
GENERAL CHECK & CLEAN
CLN IMAGE SENSOR

Update: 2/16/2017
For Nikon D750 owners - If you don't notice any issue with flare, it is a bad idea to send for service recall. I really had no problem, but I thought there could be some problem which I might discover in future and sent the camera, as I mentioned in the previous post. Received the camera back from Nikon and it looks cosmetically very good. However, I lost the real D750 camera experience with this servicing. Refer to my email below to Nikon on these issues:

" Dear Nikon team,

I had sent my Nikon D750 to Melville, New York for service recall - flare issue and hadn't had enough time to check the camera as soon as I received. using it over the weekends, I learnt that my camera returned with problems. While sending the camera, it had no issues to mention and the autofocus was accurate and fast. But after receiving the camera from servicing I am facing the following issues with the autofocus:
1. The autofocus is not accurate. I tried with multiple AF-S lenses and the focus is bit off (back or front)
2. The camera does not autofocus the way it used to focus before. It struggles to focus most of the time and creates bad noise while focusing. I never had any problems with autofocus as I mentioned earlier.
3. The shutter does not work many times when in need. For eg. when I am using AF micro 60mm lens, most of the time, focus locks and the red focus dot disappears. And then the camera wouldn't capture the photo. Lame that, even if I try to change the focus point the shutter does not work. This has been very annoying and the issue is repeated on my all lenses.

In addition to the above, there is some problem with capturing in live view mode too. There is some sharp noise (like spring vibration) when the photo is clicked.

I request you to solve these issues with my camera and return me in the condition it was sent. Also, it is hard to live without camera for weeks and the last time I sent the camera it took 2-3 weeks. Request you to process this quick, as I am sending the camera for the second time.

Following are the details about the service repair:
1. Service Order number: XXXXXXX
2. Customer Number: XXXXXXXXXX
3. Serial Number: XXXXXXXXXXX

Thank you "

spraynpray

The service certainly seems patchy at Melville.

JJPhotos

I sent my D810 into Nikon UK to get it CLA'd and to have the grip rubber replaced. Strictly speaking it should be a warranty repair (two years in UK) but I didn't register within the time period set by Nikon to get the 'extra' year and couldn't be bothered arguing about it so paid the £135 they quoted. Got the camera back today after two weeks with Nikon...rubber grip is exactly the same. Untouched.

I mean I know everyone makes mistakes but come on, two weeks and £135 to fail to fix something on the exterior of the camera. How can anyone be confident about internal repairs?

paulr

If you had bothered registered your Nikon D810 with Nikon Uk, you would have also been offered optional 3 year warranty with Domestic and General for repairs and accidental damage for not a lot of money, and unlike the Nikon Uk warranty the insurance was transferable to an other owner.Sadly Nikon UK now only offer a 12 month warranty, and need proof of purchase from an official Nikon source.

JJPhotos

I got it from Jessops in mid 2015 at which point Nikon were doing the 'extra' year which you arguably get as a matter of consumer law in any event. Like I say I couldn't be bothered arguing the toss. What is really infuriating is that they didn't fix what they were supposed to. I called them today and was told they would look into it. A couple of hours later I got an email saying that my case had been closed in their system. No one has told me what the resolution is or if they are going to bother with one at all. When I called for clarification (at 16.55) the automated response said the office was closed for the day and that the opening hours are from 8am to 5pm...

I mean come on guys, this is just Mickey Mouse s**t. You mess up twice and then swan off before you're meant to.

paulr

Sale of goods Act in the Uk lasts for 7 years on a sliding scale The service you describe is totally unacceptable, Ask to speak to a senior supervisor at Nikon Uk and follow up with a letter of complaint .My experience of Nikon Uk has been excellent so they can do it.

cashreedhar

cashreedhar said:

" Dear Nikon team,

I had sent my Nikon D750 to Melville, New York for service recall - flare issue and hadn't had enough time to check the camera as soon as I received. using it over the weekends, I learnt that my camera returned with problems. While sending the camera, it had no issues to mention and the autofocus was accurate and fast. But after receiving the camera from servicing I am facing the following issues with the autofocus:
1. The autofocus is not accurate. I tried with multiple AF-S lenses and the focus is bit off (back or front)
2. The camera does not autofocus the way it used to focus before. It struggles to focus most of the time and creates bad noise while focusing. I never had any problems with autofocus as I mentioned earlier.
3. The shutter does not work many times when in need. For eg. when I am using AF micro 60mm lens, most of the time, focus locks and the red focus dot disappears. And then the camera wouldn't capture the photo. Lame that, even if I try to change the focus point the shutter does not work. This has been very annoying and the issue is repeated on my all lenses.

In addition to the above, there is some problem with capturing in live view mode too. There is some sharp noise (like spring vibration) when the photo is clicked.

I request you to solve these issues with my camera and return me in the condition it was sent. Also, it is hard to live without camera for weeks and the last time I sent the camera it took 2-3 weeks. Request you to process this quick, as I am sending the camera for the second time.

Following are the details about the service repair:
1. Service Order number: XXXXXXX
2. Customer Number: XXXXXXXXXX
3. Serial Number: XXXXXXXXXXX

Thank you "

Further to the above email, Nikon sent me the shipping label to send the camera back for repair and I had sent the camera to Melvelle, NY again on 3/8/2016 and received the camera back from the service center yesterday (3/23/2016).

Nikon did not charge any money for this repair and they told me, after their service repair there is a warranty for 6 months, before that anything happens, the camera will be serviced for free. Only if there are water damages or camera found to be dropped, the warranty won't be covered.

From the time I sent the camera until it was shipped back to me yesterday, the status of the repair was "Shop" and the status changed to billing when they were shipping out. Now I can confirm that the focus is around 97% accurate, there is no shutter issue or any of the issues mentioned above. The invoice that came along with the camera suggested, focus adjustment, AF tuning, cleaning, exposure checking, etc, but nothing related to shutter. Nikon hasn't consumed more than 200-300 shutters and the service this time was really professional. Happy with my reborn D750 now!

Photobug

It's a great camera, happy you got it back and it works to your satisfaction. Interesting what they did.

satmar

5 weeks and still no camera. D500 , the shutter button is apparently coming from Tokyo.

natyatco

I haven't tried sending one for repair but thanks for the insights.

trolley

My experience of Nikon UK is they don't seem to appreciate they represent the company, at least to their customers.
I sent a lens last year for repair & it came back after 7 weeks worse than when I sent it. They'd repaired it, but reassembled it badly. I got the name of the manager & told him. Sent it back & got it returned working properly in 3 days.
Handed my D800 into an approved repair centre - who sent it to Nikon!
7 weeks later (Xmas got in the way) I got it back. 2 weekends of use & one of the rubber grips was coming away & the FX logo fell out!
Returned it to Nikon who received it Monday, fixed it (hopefully) & I'm getting it back today. Again I let the manager know.
I'm not a professional user (although I am a NPU member). If I was I'd be livid & jumping ship. They refuse compensation & don't offer a replacement camera.
Even worse no-one tells you anything unless you ask them.
They do give you an estimate for the repair but it doesn't list labour charges - just a fixed price.
Overall I'd say very unprofessional. But they can do a job when they pull their finger out

Tradewind35

Recently commented on the satisfaction survey that Nikon UK sent after a repair and return. I rated the service as very good but added a brief mention that I would have liked a little more detail on what they actually did to make camera work again. Their survey people picked that comment up and passed it back to the engineers who duly provided a more detailed description (water ingress in plugs and behind rubber grips). So, pleased with that, someone there cares!

paulr

Having had poor service and more recently very good service from Nikon Uk, I had reason to contact Phaseone in Denmark with my IQ3 camera. Within the hour they got back to me and told me a Loan camera would be made available if I needed to send the camera back to Denmark. The small problem turned out to be pilot error .

Sometimes Small companies are best.

Symphotic

I had to send my Z7 in (!) The automatic switching option from monitor to viewfinder wasn't working consistently. The problem started after a few hours in really cold weather. I didn't really use the automatic switching that much, but hey, I paid for it, so it should work. The camera was 7 days on site in LA. It came back working fine but without much of an explanation of what was wrong.
It's back just in time for my trip to another really cold place. I do my work in sub-zero weather at sea, so we'll see if the problem recurs.

HipShot

Really? I have to send in a Nikkor 50mm 1:1.4 lens just to obtain a missing flange screw?

HipShot

When the mail store said it would cost $34 (shipping and insurance) to mail the lens, I balked. That and whatever I was going to have to pay Nikon to address the lens would be too much for a tiny, missing screw.

HipShot

Follow up:

I pointed out to Nikon the costs above. They were kind enough to send me a replacement for the missing screw.

I'm a satisfied customer.

spraynpray

Good news Glad common sense prevailed.

daveznspace

1. Cleaning the sensor yourself is almost too easy and much, much cheaper than sending in.

I've had several camera's sent in and here is the best and the worst.

1. Best: D7000 needed new shutter after about 180k, they quoted me around $230-250 and would take at least 3 weeks. I sent it in with a note telling them to notify me when the repair was to start so I could transfer money to the card I gave them. # days after sending I got an email saying they'd received it (NY), the 4th day they called me saying my card had been declined. The lady was very polite and I told her I'd put a note in there about the payment which she in fact found and apologized for and I told her no worries but give me 2 minutes to transfer money (online card, I don't keep money in it until I need it), she said just hold on a second.... I transferred the money while on hold. She came back on and I told her I'd transferred the money and she said: "no need, we're going to go ahead and take care of this for you you no charge as a little thanks for being a great Nikon customer". The next day it showed up at my house, they'd overnighted it n/c.

2. worst: my D750 has some sensor issues and they told me several times they'd fix it but the wait was extremely long at the moment and if I could to hold off a bit before sending it in. By the time I was ready and they were ready they decided that they'd no longer honor their offer to fix it for free... which kinda pissed me off.