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

donaldejose

Lee: Yes the D610 has no dust problems. Get a refund and use it to buy a D610.

spraynpray

Yes Lee, the D610 did fix the problem, it is what the D600 should have been first time round. You are right to get the ball rolling with the Service Centre, do what you can to keep them on your side, but be firm too. Disappointed but firm. When they've had a go at fixing it, shoot twenty or thirty frames then test it, log the results and get back to them if there are spots again then or as soon as they start to appear again. If you have one, send the body back with a prime lens on it and leave it on until you have shot a few hundred shots that way they can't blame a zoom lens for pumping air in and out during use.

Keep us informed how it goes, good luck!

Photobug

Today I went to a camera expo at a local dealer and spent 2 hours talking to the Nikon sales representative and looking at the Df, D610, D800, and D4 and the appropriate FF lens.

I asked him about the D600 and the issues with oil and dust on the sensor. Basically he acknowledged that there was an issue with the first batch of D600 and Nikon will stand behind those defective cameras. They decided to continue selling them because after the first batch the issue was corrected. The amount of defective cameras is small.

Internet discussions had blown this way out of proportion and now people are hearing that some D600 had problems and they are contacting Nikon Service saying does mine have that problem? They should have determined if their D600 had the issue and then sent it to Nikon Service for corrective actions. I could tell he had answered this question before and it just rolled off his lips.

He said they will stand behind the D600's that have the issue and that people should contact the service centers. He was not aware of any free upgrade or upgrades for a flat fee to the D610.

So based upon that conversation, perform the test and if your D600 has the issue then immediately contact a Nikon Service Center.

Later when talking to another looker, he accidentally said that the Exceed's processor in the D5300 is going to make an appearance in other cameras over the next two years.

ChasCS

That's how "Rumor's" are often started, isn't it?

bcn2

Purchased a new D610 from Amazon, aperture priority f13, blue sky, oil spots x 2, upper left quadrant as usual right out of the box, oil spots started appearing after 5th photo, Will send it back and try once again, doesn't look that the D610 has fixed this issue

Msmoto

All the tests I have seen suggest the D610 does not have the problem of the D600. And the oil spot issue you are describing may be transient. I might suggest clicking off a couple hundred shots and then seeing what the sky shots look like. If you have the sensor covered with spots you can then decide what to do.

bcn2

just like with my D600, see previous posts, but will try 200 more shots and update. As with my D600, these spots were present out of the box but I was unaware of the problem or how to look for it. Would caution D610 users to take blue sky pics with f13 70-300 lens and look closely in left upper quadrant before the 30 day return period or 1 year warranty expires.

smadman

Be careful with this. Many of the larger retail outfits (like Adorama and B & H) have fine print that says the shutter count must be under 200 to return the camera...read the fine print on the return policy. I know from my experience with the D600 that B & H will waive this if the camera is considered "defective". Don't know what Amazon's policy is in this regard.

bcn2

after 200 clicks definitely worse, very evident with a dark blue sky, again F13, upper left quadrant perfect cicles which must be oil although Nikon calls this dust even after reviewing the images on the D600

spraynpray

Just a thought: Try leaving the camera over night and the next day take one more shot. If the circles have grown as the 'oil' spot grows, then it is oil, if not, it's prolly dust.

bolt

The zoom 70-300 can be the culprit of the dust that you are observing- try a prime clean lens and see if new spots are created. I was fooled by my 28-300 after the D600 was fixed - dust was accumulating on the left upper quadrant - I thought it was oil again , but a local service that inspected the camera confirmed that that was only dust - after the sensor was cleaned II shot a few hundreds pictures with a prime lens and I observed that there was no dust.
Maybe it is natural that the dust accumulates to the lower part of the camera, and you see it on the upper part of the picture.
Keep us informed - I'm placing an order for a D610.

smadman

Very interested to hear how this progresses -- I'm just about to order a D610 myself, but I think I'll wait to see a few more individual stories.

Perhaps we should create a new discussion thread for this..."D610 Experiences"?

bcn2

good idea, created

ben_dmb

Just an idea, put aside the spots issue. Then think about this: what other issues/ problems you have with your camera? I I see a lot of different issues with D800 but but nothing with D600. So, if you could ignore the spots for a minute, what other things bothered you about your camera?

donaldejose

Nothing else. I find I use it more and more over time. At first I had a slight preference for the D800 control layout but now I am not so sure. Once you get used to where the buttons are you can get to them quickly with either layout. I still think the best DX/FX combination is either the D7100 with the D600/610 or the D400 (when it arrives) with the D800/D4. It is good to have the same control layout in all the bodies you regularly use. I find I have no need for 36mp other then when I am doing scenic images which might be printed very big or if I cannot compose fully in the viewfinder and will be needing to do extensive cropping. For planned portraiture where I can compose well in the viewfinder 24mp is enough and D4 uses would surely prove 16mp is enough. If a D4x arrives with around 50mp it will be interesting to see who finds a need for it. While I freely admit I am highly attracted to the most megapixel sensor or the sharpest lens I also freely admit I don't really need them. As my wife says: "And just what is so beautiful about every pimple and every hair on a woman's face?"

Photobug

She is batting you with "As my wife says: "And just what is so beautiful about every pimple and every hair on a woman's face?"
I don't see a good answer to that question without winding up on the couch for the night. ) :-h

Nik0n2011

Hi all,
We do not replace the sensor with a D610 sensor.

Hi Lee, please correct me if i am wrong
but isnt it 'the shutter mechanism' to be replaced-fixed ?
the sensor seems not to be the problem

if nikon says we dont put the 610 sensor into the 600 thats correct and right (eventually)

what splish splash the oil OVER the sensor, whatever sensor it is (coolpix to d4) is the shutter shutting every time
it's like asking for a brand new heart while you need a rib to be replaced.

wrong?correct?

Msmoto

@Nik0n2011

It would appear LEE was simply quoting Nikon's response to his query. And, Nikon will not tell us if they are indeed replacing D600 shutters with the D610 shutter as this would possibly create an avalanche of requests for a new shutter.

I would suspect Nikon is waiting fro the one year warranty to expire on the D600's and hoping no more folks request major service. I suspect as well, Nikon has learned something from this experience and may be more careful in the future.

Msmoto

ronaldlee said:

I was lucky enough to get a new D600 on Tuesday and its looking good so far with three concerns.

1) The LCD screen exhibits the greenish tint that the D800 and other D600 owner's complained of in the past. Is this something that Nikon can correct on the D600, like it was be corrected on the D800? (either through service or firmware). Do ALL D600's have this?

Does anyone know if the D610 has the same greenish tint? Out of the box?

2) The camera backfocuses just a tad bit, but enough for me to want it to be zeroed out through servicing..

3) No oil splatter issue yet (new camera) but it did come from the factory with a lot of dust already in camera.

At the moment, I'm trying to decide to keep the D600 if all three are non-issues or change to the D610 if the issues cannot be fixed and are not issues for the D610.

Your feedback?

*********
As to your question, ronaldlee, I doubt Nikon is going to do much of anything with the D600. The green tint issue for those who state they saw it, is only a perceptual one IMO. My D4 is supposed to have this, but I do not know anyone who uses the image on the back to do anything except see the crop and focus. The histogram shows exposure info, but color is so subjective and dependent on surrounding color the image cannot be judged.

Ironheart

@ronaldlee,

1) LCD screens change their color as they age with use, I believe they tend to go towards yellow as they do. So in one sense the color will correct itself over time. However, I agree 110% with Msmoto, the color cast of the screen is irrelevant to the picture making process. Are you looking at the screen in daylight? Fluorescent? Incandescent? My point is it will be different (and still irrelevant).

2) Have you tried more than one lens? Perhaps it is your lens that is off, in any event usually easily fixed at a sevice center. Just make sure to give them your body and lenses so they can be matched.

3) I'll let others deal with this, but if you are going to send in for #2 anyway...

roombarobot

Regarding #2, you might want to read this helpful post by Roger Cicala:
http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2008/12/this-lens-is-soft-and-other-myths

Watch #3 very closely, particularly during the time under which you could return the camera. You don't want to be stuck with a bad D600 like I was.

roombarobot

Matt Granger, formerly ThatNikonGuy, gave the D600 his "SB910 Award"
http://mattgranger.com/gear-talk/item/514-the-best-and-worst-of-2013
fast forward to 14 minutes

Photobug

roanaldlee said Does anyone know if the D610 has the same greenish tint? Out of the box?

I doubt that Nikon will do anything to correct this in the D600. However, if you go to Ken Rockwell's web site he has the instructions on how to customize the view setting to remove the greenish tint. As Msmoto said, it's only for viewing so the green tint has nothing to due with the final image on the memory card.

I would watch that sensor like a hawk and if you see signs of the dust and/or oil, I would touch base with Nikon Service. Remember not all D600's have this problem. If yours was not from the early batch you should be okay. Several people have left instructions on how to close down the aperture and take pictures of a white wall or sky to look for oil and dust on the sensor.

Suggest you buy the 24-70 F/2.8 or the 24-140mm F/4. Get out there and take pictures and enjoy a terrific DSLR body.

ronaldlee

Hi there all!

I went to one of my camera retailers this morning with my D600 cash in hand ready to buy a D610 if it was better aaannndddd.....

The D610 has a marked improvement in White Balance (auto) when shooting side by side with the D600, however the D610 also has a greenish tint to it, although it appeared to be a lesser cast. I don't know if it was lesser because the LCD has less green tint OR the white balance difference (I spent 30 minutes doing side by side testing but forgot to test a the same specific WB Kelvin setting), but nonetheless I left the store WITHOUT the D610 as it's the same as the D600 with just slightly better looking LCD (again, don't know why yet).

WHY DO I WANT the LCD to be as accurate as possible (although its rare that it will be fully color accurate)? Because I like the fact my D7000 is fairly color accurate to the computer screen, as was my D80, as is a host of many other Nikons. WHY Should D600 users SETTLE for green? You shouldn't fully trust the LCD anyway, but at least its close.

My D7000 gives great color representation but its not perfect in that the screen is too bright, I get nicely exposed previews only to see that the RAW is too dark on my computer/histogram. I like the fact that color is good and I check histogram for exposure.

GOOD points about the lens might be off their focusing. I'll have to get those looked at, as perhaps they had a few bumps in the bag too many. I wonder if they'll zero out the camera focusing and then fine tune to each lens for me.

ronaldlee

PS: the Ken Rockwell fix is to increase the magenta by 1 square (to M1) for WB (Auto). This does somewhat fix the look of the LCD, but this will also cause the actual RAW image to be a little too magenta, correct?

Yes, yes I know, RAW RAW RAW, but I'd still prefer things to match up during workflow.