D600 Dust/Oil/Lubricant Issue discussion/Discontinuation and price reductions

roombarobot

2 things from the dpreview forums (as I am still loosely following the D600 issues)

1) There have been many reports of people beyond 5,000 clicks who still experience spotting. There are even well-documented cases of people with 10,000+ clicks who are still getting spotting. There is nothing magical about 3,000 clicks.

2) One or two people have reported that Nikon service replaced the shutter in their D600. This is the first I have heard of anything beyond a simple cleaning. No word if this fixes the issue, or if it is something Nikon will be doing more regularly, but perhaps it is another approach to the issue.

Good luck!

Msmoto

@ roombarobot

Thank you....

donaldejose

Reading about this dirt/oil spots on the D600 sensor makes one think 100% of the D600s have this issue. KR reports no dust or oil spots on his D600 sensor. LensRentals experience with the 60 D600s they have is as follows. Normally, 5 out of every 20 sensors need cleaning at the end of a rental. With the D600 that was 20 out of 20 so 100% of that sample had the problem at first. The second time LensRentals ran a survey only 11 of 20 D600's needed cleaning for a reduction of about 50%. LensRentals has not yet reported on a third survey but if the trend continues the D600s might be normal at the next survey. LensRentals suggest " So it looks like the problem is going to be something you see early in ownership that clears up over time." I also note that LensRentals has stated “We tend not to get too excited about sensor dust problems here; we clean sensors on every camera after every rental, so it’s just routine.” Now if LensRentals is cleaning sensors after every rental it should be a routine self-service item we all need to learn and do ourselves as needed. The final answer isn't in yet but to me it doesn't look like any defect in D600 weather sealing. It looks like the dust comes from internal parts which were insufficiently cleaned before assembly of the body rather than from external sources and from excessive lubricant on the mirror mechanism which is causing some splattering. Two or three or four cleanings will likely solve the problem. I have ordered cleaning kits and have been doing these myself rather than make the effort to send the body in and wait for Nikon to clean it. It is probably a skill we all should have and use.

spraynpray

"It is probably a skill we all should have and use."

I suppose you are right there, but I can't forget the guy I know who cleaned hundreds of sensors then scratched one and has not done anybody else's since that. His regime was good - good blow out with the lens opening down followed by a wet clean using 100% new good quality swabs - but inexplicably he scratched one.

That said, I would rather do it myself than repeatedly send my camera to the service centre for cleaning. The chance of damage/loss plus cost of shipping and cleaning is unsustainable for me.

I suppose I had better start researching best practice and products again...Hang on..Didn't we do a thread on that on the old forum?

donaldejose

A review for anyone's interest:













http://www.moosepeterson.com/blog/2012/06/11/sensor-cleaning-with-copperhill/

roombarobot

Many people recommend the Copperhill solution, particularly for the D600, as you are going to be cleaning it A LOT! It is more economical than pre-wrapped options.

I am sure that we all will need to clean our sensors, but not every 200 clicks like my D600. I hope for many thousands at least.

Ironheart

@sprayandpray, I wonder if the sensor was already scratched before your buddy touched it? It is virtually impossible to scratch the low-pass filter (or glass) in front of the sensor using a swab. Even if the swab was contaminated with some sort of grit, it would be extremely difficult. The low-pass filter is made of a material that is as hard as plate glass. You need a sharp tool if you really want to scratch it. Just sayin...

spraynpray

@Ironheart: Sure, I agree it is hard to put a scratch on the AA, but his images went from clear to having a horizontal line right across them. Fortunately he got a replacement sensor cheap from a guy who does IR conversions so it 'only' cost £250 not £500..... I guess we don't know what is blowing around when we have the lens off so it is best to have a regime that only has the camera open a second or so.

PB_PM

It's also possible that the cleaning process left streaks on the filter.

spraynpray

Er, if they were streaks, the subsequent feverish attempts to remove it would have done so plus the guy that repaired it would have noticed...

donaldejose

I had what looked like a couple of scratches across my D600 sensor. Almost gave me a heart attack when I saw them. Repeated wet cleanings with the Copperhill system removed them. But I could not have told those streaks from scratches. I too wonder what caused them. There were plenty of dust spots and oil spots. I think using Peter Gregg's breath fog/dry cleaning method most likely spread a few oil spots into streaks which then looked like scratches until a wet cleaning removed them. Actually, it took three cleanings with a wet sensor cleaner before the sensor was completely clean.

spraynpray

The camera in question was a D40 - I don't think they had oil spot problems back then did they?

catfish252

@Fredericko, it is difficult to say as they are not very transparent. I would send it in and ask that question so you have documnetation of your issue. I would also send a letter to Nikkon USA, their President and let them know of your issue. I have found that going anywhere else within the company gets little response other than the "scripted points".

Good luck.....

Going to a Division President/CEO is always an excellent idea, provided you went through the normal channels to begin with. I worked in sales at IBM and when a customer sent a letter to division/corporate the sh** started rolling downhill very fast to the local office. I have used the letter to corporate in the past with Adobe and Office Depot and received immediate results. Office Depot even gave me a $100 gift card after correcting the problem. Be sure to state the steps you have taken to resolve it through normal channels, include how long you have been a customer and how the problem is impacting you. I would recommend against direct threats except to mention that unless my problem is corrected it would certainly affect my buying decisions in the future. Give it a try, it'll only cost you a few minutes to write the letter and the price of a stamp.

roombarobot

I wrote a physical letter about my D600 and sent it to corporate via certified mail. They just scanned it and put it into the same support ticket. I am not sure it made any difference as support treated me poorly. On the third trip back they said they would not send the same one back. I was hoping for an upgrade to a D800 or at least a new (not refurbished) D600. However, Nikon service just sent my same D600 back after a sensor clean. Very poor service.

rschnaible

I wrote a physical letter about my D600 and sent it to corporate via certified mail. They just scanned it and put it into the same support ticket. I am not sure it made any difference as support treated me poorly. On the third trip back they said they would not send the same one back. I was hoping for an upgrade to a D800 or at least a new (not refurbished) D600. However, Nikon service just sent my same D600 back after a sensor clean. Very poor service.

Did you send it to "To Whom it May Concern" or to a known leader within the oragnaization with a name? You will get better action from a "named leader"... again, best wishes getting a resolution.

roombarobot

That's a good idea, @rschnaible. I didn't know who to address it to.

Thankfully the vendor took it back, so I am good now. I hope others with oil/dust spot issues have a good resolution.

[Deleted User]

I keep you up-to-date about my D600 story.
Today I got the message from the service center that the D600 was ready. The repair details were:

Sensor and mirror housing cleaned and for certitude the shutter replaced.

The "repair" is done by the service centre - under good will -, so NOT under warranty. So it seems that Nikon thinks (or knows) that the shutter is the problem (???).

I will start with a testshot (f/22, white wall) today and check the sensor on regular basis.

roombarobot

Others are reporting shutters being replaced:
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/post/50983638
Perhaps this is an actual effort by Nikon to fix the cause of the problem, rather than just the symptoms (cleaning the sensor). I hope for D600 users that this is the fix!

[Deleted User]

After the - repair - and my first clean test shot, I made 110 shots. The new test shot with ISO 100 and f/22(nbr 2408) told me there were NO spots on the sensor, in other words, there is hope for me and I'am going to enjoy my D600.

So that is it for me for now, when I run into major issues I will let you know.

spraynpray

We all hope we don't hear from you again Ton - on this topic anyway!

[Deleted User]

Yes me too. I'am reading the manual now from cover to cover (no I don't), but that is another topic.

Sato

I'll send NSP an email then, As Nikon NL hasn't responded to my last one but they did say in there last email that they passed on my details and serial number to NSP. Time to find out if that's true or not.

Anyway, Thank you for your update Ton.

spencerjb22

I have recently sent mine in for repair, it came back with the following on the nikon repair sheet

1 0.00
DOUBLE STICK TAPE G 0.00 1 0.00
DOUBLE STICK TAPE F 0.00 1 0.00
DOUBLE STICK TAPE C 0.00 2 0.00
DOUBLE STICK TAPE B 0.00 2 0.00
SHUTTER PLATE UNIT 0.00 1 0.00
Parts Fitted
Labour Warranty 0.00 1.5 0.00

I have taken the unit back in the field and 4 little circular friends have popped up.

What really irritates me is that the nikon keep saying they've no issues with 'lubricant' and a few with dust issues. They simply brush it off as no issue at all!!!

Sato

Did some reading on other forums.
Lots of people have had there shutter plate replaced, And most of them have already reported that this hasn't resolved there dust/oil/lubricant issues.

donaldejose

According to a poll on Nikon Cafe 60% of D600 owners report no issues. 40% report dust or oil issues.

http://www.nikoncafe.com/vforums/showthread.php?t=348455

Wish I had one of those 60%! So is looks like your odds of having a problem with a D600 are about 50-50. Hopefully, a few cleanings and 10,000 exposures will have removed all of the dust and excess lubricant.