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

[Deleted User]

Of course You are right Mike, I fully agree. At the moment I should wait till the price from the D610 drops, if I needed a new camera.

Fredericko

Hi NR,

Any news with regards to nikon compensating the D600 owners for an exchange or maybe a discount for an exchange to D610?

PB_PM

There isn't one, and I doubt the ever will be.

donaldejose

Yes, if you know your camera will be having a recurrent problem putting out dust or oil spots so big they have to be removed in post processing no one want to use that camera because no one wants to do that extra work. But is is really "all or nothing?" Sure some have been intolerable but it seems some have not had any issue and others have cleaned up after so many shots. We will see. If there is a generic issue with a badly designed shutter then Nikon should at the very least offer to replace all D600 shutters for free.

spraynpray

I actually feel very sorry for Nikon, because they already have enough pressure on them - what with the weather problems in Thailand and the shifting P&S market - but I doubt that changing out the shutters in the D600 would bring about their complete collapse, only a reduction in profit for a year so they should step up to the plate and turn this drama into an opportunity before it is waaay too late - if it isn't already.

When I ran after-sales service for a company, I was often shipping a team of my best men around the world doing on-site repairs or upgrades to fix problems, and with the service centre system already in place for Nikon (something I strategised and implemented personally in my company), it is as easy as it gets to ship kits to the SC's and have the work done. OK, 'stuff' happens, but it is how you deal with that 'stuff' that is remembered much longer than the actual 'stuff'.

Msmoto

It would be interesting to purchase a new D600....run about 10,000 clicks, clean the sensor and see how it does in the next 10,000 clicks, clean again and go for it. But, I would not pay over $1,000 for it...maybe when the refurbished ones are down to this price I will try it.

Of all the negative parts of the D600 saga, I find the fact Nikon has not offered some type of recall or at least a trade in, however, I can see how this might result in all being returned, regardless of whether they were defective or not.

On a positive side, Nikon may have learned something from this fiasco, and this will be applied to future models in terms of testing and quality control.

Fredericko

@spraynpray and Msmoto
I hope you guys are the one working in Nikon or at least the guys wokring in Nikon thinks like you that way those who bought the D600 will be at least compensated for a discount maybe for a trade in or a free exchange. I think pride kept them from admitting their mistake, as what their culture is known.

Photobug

It's about time...bet Nikon won't make the announcement for several months to give dealers time to drop the price and sell them out:
Nikon D600 marked as discontinued at B&H Photo.
By [NR] admin | Published: October 25, 2013

[Deleted User]

In Holland the price of the D800, is 2135.- euro and from the D610, 1969.- euro at the moment, unbelievable.

Msmoto

New member milominderbinder2 states:

eBay is doing a refurbished d600 DSLR Camera Body only for $1,325 as an eBay Deal of the Day. I missed out back in September and have been talking with Robert in Indianapolis ever since. Here is the link: Nikon D600 24.3MP Digital SLR Camera Body USA WARRANTY FREE SHIPPING ROBERTS!.

As you may know, eBay heavily subsidizes the Deals of the Day to draw traffic. Robert is 99.5% positive in 27,309 sales on eBay and often gets one to four Deals of the Day a month. Yesterday Robert sent me a note that eBay might do the d600 as a Deal of the Day. I called them back and found that if it was accepted, they would have 43 d600's. They would be selling for $1,599 as regular eBay items if they were not subsidized as a Deal of the Day or a Frenzy Deal. eBay late last night took these d600's as a Deal of the Day. 8 9 11 are gone so far. One is going to me.

I spoke with a lead tech at Roberts and another at Adorama about the d600 dust/oil spots problems. Both say that once the story broke here some months ago, they got a bunch of d600 in for sensor cleaning. Some legitimately needed to be cleaned but others did not. All were cleaned in house at both shops. Both say that the refurbs they sell almost never get the spots but both sell the sensor cleaning kits.

I have been a lurker on this site forever but wanted to post this. If the link is not allowed, just search eBay for 200979606851 or "nikon d600 roberts". I have no affiliation with Roberts or eBay except to be a customer of both for some time.

-Milo

milominderbinder2

Note: I posted this as a new thread for this Deal of the Day on eBay but was asked to post it here instead. So here it is corrected to not mention oil or dust. Sorry.

eBay has a refurbished d600 DSLR Camera Body only for $1,325 as an eBay Deal of the Day. I missed out back in September and have been talking with Robert in Indianapolis ever since. Here is the link: Nikon D600 24.3MP Digital SLR Camera Body USA WARRANTY FREE SHIPPING ROBERTS!.

As you may know, eBay heavily subsidizes the Deals of the Day to draw traffic. Robert is 99.5% positive in 27,309 sales on eBay and often gets one to four Deals of the Day a month. Yesterday Robert sent me a note that eBay might do the d600 as a Deal of the Day. I called them back and found that if it was accepted, they would have 43 d600's. They would be selling for $1,599 as regular eBay items if they were not subsidized as a Deal of the Day or a Frenzy Deal. eBay late last night took these d600's as a Deal of the Day. 8 9 11 are gone so far. One is going to me.

I have been a lurker on this site forever but wanted to post this. If the link is not allowed, just search eBay for 200979606851 or "nikon d600 roberts". I have no affiliation with Roberts or eBay except to be a customer of both for some time.

-Milo

Msmoto

I suspect the issue with any body with D600 on it is whether the problem has been corrected. Refurbished does not mean the shutter has been replaced, but simply the camera has been brought up to original specs....not where I want to be. In view of the problems, I see the price of a refurb D600 at about $1,000 and of one with a new shutter mechanism at $1,400-1,500. Otherwise, the D610 is the way to go.

The reason your post was moved, milominderbinder2, was that every D600 has the issue until proven otherwise.

Photobug

Regarding Roberts I have purchased two DSLR bodies from Roberts in Indianapolis and they are a terrific dealer. A lot of the time their prices match NYC. My D300 and battery grip came from them when the D300 was on allocation in the first few months.

I have also been in their downtown store and the one in Carmel, Indiana. For those of us that don't get to NYC, this is a terrific place to look, touch, and buy equipment.

Never bought from them on eBay but have done mail order and in their stores. So don't be concerned about buying from them...strongly recommended.

I really agree with Msmoto, the D600 refurb belongs at $1K and those with new shutters at $1.4K.

milominderbinder2

So there is only one discussion thread about the d600, no matter what the topic?

Sorry, this doesn't relate to oil but the price is now back up to $1649. Congrats to those who got them at $1325.

Msmoto

The reason for the discontinuation/price reductions on the d600 is directly a result of the oil/dust issue. This thread has had much discussion of prices in its pages, however, I would not encourage anyone to read all as the bottom line for this camera body is simply the desire or lack of, to purchase and at a substantial discount.

I edited the title to reflect this.

Photobug

I was thinking the same thing Msmoto...the title needs to be revised and forgot to mention it yesterday. Great minds think alike. )

ben_dmb

Ok, I am new to this forum, and I was trying to read through the posts about this issue. Now, I have just bought the D600 body only last week. I bought it on ebay from a rental service in Ontario. They had presented this as free of spots and had promised one year warranty through them. I got the camera and of course has spots, which are visible at f/22 but not so visible at f/16. Most of them are black - which I assume are just dust spots, but there are o couple grey spots barely visible and initially I had though that they had been only on may white wall, but then they came up again after I recomposed with a different lens and different location on the wall.Is this bothering me? NO, not at all. Let me explain. I am not professional photographer, I do this as a hobby, because I am fascinated by the colors and effects a DSLR can put on an image. I shoot just for my pleasure, at parties, photos with friends, nature etc. I can clean the sensor every now and than, and I love like the IQ this camera puts on my pics. But the main reason I bought this camera (I had known about the oil spots issue for months) was the price CAD 1,260 (US 1,195) brought at my door. And the camera has no marks of usage at all and 2940 clicks count.

Bottom line is that for this price this camera is a really good deal for myself, and if down the road there is going to be a service to replace the shutter mechanism I will consider it as a bonus.

Thank you and if you want to weight in, please do.

donaldejose

I am glad you see the value and are not all worked up over a minor issue. Get some sensor cleaning equipment and learn to clean the sensor yourself. There are plenty of links posted on NR as to how to clean the sensor.

HipShot

Take this for what it's worth: Someone says that Nikon's best DSLR is the D600/610.

http://kenrockwell.com/tech/worlds-best.htm

Photobug

Oh know, KR strikes again. LOL

spraynpray

Funny, but as I was reading ben_dmb's post, I was thinking "I bet the next post is from Donald" and guess what....

The D610 is sounding great, real pity it went sour first time round as the D600.

PB_PM

Funny, but as I was reading ben_dmb's post, I was thinking "I bet the next post is from Donald" and guess what....

I was thinking the same thing. I was tempted to think that someone might be creating extra user accounts just to make the D600 sound better than it is, but then the better half of me dismissed that. )

donaldejose

Someone has to stand up for the much maligned D600, LOL. Even criminals deserve a defense counsel!

Photobug

Today I spent time talking to the store manager of the largest camera store in town on many topics. I am located in the second largest city in Wisconsin. Here is a short summary of our discussions:
1) They have only had oil and dust on a couple of D600 sensors. They only have one left in stock at his store and a few at their west side store. It's a non issue for his inventory.
2) They have limited supply of D610's at three stores.
3) He took two D600's on trades last week and sold both within two days. He has a list of buyers for D600s. There was nothing on the sensors for the two D600's he took on trade. 3K to 18K clicks on the shutter.
4) They are selling new D600 for $200 less than D610's. I had expected a larger discount. His boss just authorized lowering the price on the D600.
5) He just received one 58mm F/1.4 G lens for a pro NPS. No feedback from the pro. It's been ordered for some time.
6) He had no info on the new Df, I had sent him the posting that it was coming out next week. Has no info on price and his standard comment, "if Nikon has not released it I can't sell it." He expects they will order minimal numbers of these bodies and lens.
7. I looked at the new 80-400mm lens. Really nice looking lens and lighter than I expected. His store has sold 3 of these lens already.
8. He just took in a trade the old 80-400mm lens for the new one. It looked liked it was never used. It was very clean, $1,250.

I try to talk to him about once every 6 weeks and always buy something. This time I got off easy, only a pair of batteries. =D>

spraynpray

Yeah, I talked to my local camera store a few months ago and they said the same thing. In England we call it 'spin' which is a name invented to describe the way politicians distort the truth to suit their agenda....