I feel sick!

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I feel sick!

Hardcore
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p.1 #1 · I feel sick!

Sent my d800 + 70-200mm VRII + 14-24mm in for calibration. D800 started backfocusing.

Anyways, Nikon sent estimate of $650 to fix. They say impact damage and lens mount is bent. I have never dropped camera. How can they say that and charge me for this?

What recourse do I have? I have spent $7000 in the last 4 months on nikon equipment and if this is what kind of warranty work I'm going to have to deal with then I've made a huge mistake converting to Nikon.

The one thing I have noticed about the nikons in comparison to the canon's is the slender lens mount. Is the mount that weak that it can live up to normal wear and tear using larger lenses?

Anyways, Pretty frustrated right now. They are closed so can't get a hold of them to comment!

Aug 02, 2012 at 10:34 PM

vivisha
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p.1 #2 · I feel sick!

I only got one experience with El Segundo repair facility. I dropped my 24-70 and the zoom ring got stiff, so I took it for repair, now mind you the lens didn't look like it was dropped, as it landed on carpet so there were no nicks of any sort, I was going to pay for the repair anyway as I bought the lens used with no warranty, but the counter guy determined within looking at the lens for a good 5 seconds that the damage was due to impact.

Aug 02, 2012 at 10:42 PM

dj dunzie
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p.1 #3 · I feel sick!

Not sure where in Canada you're located, but I've had nothing but success stories in dealing with the Arrowhead Road Toronto Nikon Canada HQ and repairs both in and out of warranty.

Regarding the lens mount I'm not sure what to say except I'm sure I've been hard on lens mounts more than my share in past, hanging long teles off the body in ways I likely shouldn't have from time to time, with no negative results to this point. Thankfully (and knock on wood) I've never seen a damaged mount.

Is this a problem right from day one with the camera body or was it ok initially??

Aug 02, 2012 at 10:50 PM

Hardcore
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p.1 #4 · I feel sick!

It was okay initially. Then got worse. I guess it could be a damage lens mount, but I have never dropped the thing so I'm nervous about the strength of the nikon lens mount. Canon's is a lot beefier with greater diameter.

What does bent mean? All my lenses mated normally with the body without any sort of abnormal friction. Actually after looking at the estimate again it looks like they are saying the 14-24mm and the d800 both have bent mounts and the cost to repair is $1300!

Aug 02, 2012 at 10:54 PM

dj dunzie
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p.1 #5 · I feel sick!

Well, I don't personally think there's anyway the weight of a 14-24 hanging off the Nikon lens mount on your D800 could have bent it alone. It just isn't heavy enough to do that kind of thing. I shoot regularly with a 300VR and 70-200VR2 and those are a little heftier than the 14-24.

Given that the problem has occurred since initially getting it I'm not sure what to tell you. If you don't recall dropping it or at least banging it off something, I'm not sure what could have caused that.

I'd give them a shout tomorrow when they're open and ask to speak to the tech that did the check... maybe give them a chance to explain both the damage and the repair estimate.

Aug 02, 2012 at 11:03 PM

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p.1 #6 · I feel sick!

Thanks DJ!

Calmer heads prevailing now! Estimate is $1300 after second email came in. Insured gear but still scratching my head!

Aug 02, 2012 at 11:35 PM

EB-1
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p.1 #7 · I feel sick!

Sorry to say, but I've seen such bogus claims from Nikon service before.

I prefer the Nikon authorized centers, but don't know if they work on the D800 yet.

EBH

Aug 02, 2012 at 11:37 PM

WatchFan1
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p.1 #8 · I feel sick!

Hire a lawyer.
It will cost you less than $200 for him to draft a 'nice letter' to them.
I am willing to bet dollars vs. donuts that it's gonna save you $1100

Aug 03, 2012 at 06:01 AM

James R
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p.1 #9 · I feel sick!

Whenever Nikon CS see anything odd with the lens flange or mount it is declared impact damage. My 24-70 literally fell apart as I took it out of the bag. Fell 2' to the asphalt. The cause was obviously screws that worked loose. Brought it to El Segundo and the lady declared it impact damage. I pointed out the problems, she called somebody else in to look at it and they said it would be no cost. Week later I had my lens and it was perfect.

I learned to check all my equipment at least once a year. That would have caught the 24-70 problem.

Aug 03, 2012 at 07:10 AM

DGC1
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p.1 #10 · I feel sick!

"Impact damage" seems to be the verdict in about 90% of the threads I've read over the years. Love my Nikons but I think this is a standard Nikon repair facility excuse to overcharge you for repairs.

Aug 03, 2012 at 12:15 PM

Hardcore
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p.1 #11 · I feel sick!

Ya, I'm getting more and more suspicious. They won't let me talk to technician that did the work so they have no other information other than that both the mount on camera and mount on the 14-24mm are "bent".

I asked for photos and they said they would try. He said it could have been caused from improperly mounting the lens?!?!

I told him there is only 1 way to mount it and if you can cause $1300 damage by mounting a lens onto a camera then it should be covered under warranty.

Aug 03, 2012 at 01:47 PM

henrylw
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p.1 #12 · I feel sick!

Which Nikon center you are dealing with?

I sent my D800E to Nikon Mississauga for left focus problem and it came back with serious front focus and focus shifting at different focus length. I sent it back in and questioned them why they didn't check focus before delivery, no answer. Later the supervisor sent me an email claiming the bayonet mount was deformed due to impact damage, but offered me a "one time good will gesture" to replace the mount for free. When my camera came back, the front focus problem got much worse, literally unusable at 24mm on 24-70. I decided I didn't want to deal with their repair any more, asked for a refund, and after a few email exchanges back and forth, they finally agreed.

I had the camera for just around one month before I sent it in for service and I only used the camera on weekends. I was very careful with my camera, don't remember anytime I gave it an "impact", not even a nudge.( Before D800E, I used Canon 5D original for 6 years and when I sold it early this year, the buyer checked my 5D and was very happy to say "your camera looks like new!". )

I think it might be better you go there and ask to talk to their supervisor directly.

Aug 03, 2012 at 02:00 PM

Avi B
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p.1 #13 · I feel sick!

Who's the supervisor? Did you talk to Paul or Lassandra or someone else?

Aug 03, 2012 at 02:23 PM

NathanHamler
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p.1 #14 · I feel sick!

i hate threads like this.....makes me lose faith in nikon service....i've never had anything serviced by Nikon directly....only KEH, and APS....with stories like this i think i'll continue "taking my chances" with the 3rd party services....then again, i NEVER buy new gear, so warranty repair isn't in my vocabulary...

Aug 03, 2012 at 02:33 PM

penpro
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p.1 #15 · I feel sick!

Just like when having your car worked on ask for the damaged parts or to see the damage they see before they work on it. Not hard to determine if there really are bent and damaged parts.

Aug 03, 2012 at 02:33 PM

Hardcore
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p.1 #16 · I feel sick!

Henry,

I also have sent my item to Mississauga. Are they trying to tell us all of our bayonet mounts are deformed from impact and trying to scam us? Or are they trying to correct a deficiency in quality control when the camera is released from factory. Maybe out of tolerance!

I'm thinking about just asking for my camera and lens back so I can fix it somewhere else!

Aug 03, 2012 at 05:01 PM

williamkazak
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p.1 #17 · I feel sick!

DGC1 wrote:
"Impact damage" seems to be the verdict in about 90% of the threads I've read over the years. Love my Nikons but I think this is a standard Nikon repair facility excuse to overcharge you for repairs.
+1

Aug 03, 2012 at 05:20 PM

Bond
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p.1 #18 · I feel sick!

I had an extremely mixed experience with Nikon, Mississauga recently. My 24/1.4 fell a few feet to the floor and had a slight bend in the filter ring. Otherwise it worked flawlessly. I really wanted to be able to mount filters on it so I took it Nikon where they said the part would be $70 or something like that (dealing with a parts guy, Bob, who was really great) and should only take about 45 minutes to fix, quoting a little over $100 in labour. It took a full year for them to get the part in after getting the wrong part in once. That was partially due to the tsunami, but a year is a little crazy.

Anyhow, once it finally got in, I brought my lens to them and then had to speak with the "service guy" (long-haired dude who's not stellar from what I've seen) who said it would be $650 to repair because the lens had to be disassembled in order to maintain warranty etc. and could even cost up to $1,100 if they found more damage. I got really frustrated and was about to walk out when the parts guy asked me to wait, went to the back and then said they'd fix my lens for the "minimum service and adjustment fee" of $240 or so.

Around a year ago they switched over to have that 3 tiers service fee structure; around $250, $650 and the over $1,000. So if you take a lens in, you're looking at a minimum of $250, it seems.

Aug 03, 2012 at 05:36 PM

twgphotog
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p.1 #19 · I feel sick!

This might seem like a couple of dumb questions since I have never seen a lens mount get bent (although I have seen a lens mount on the camera get torn off by a lens). What would cause the lens mount on the camera to get bent (or on a lens), especially on a pro-model camera (or lens)? It seems to me that it would take a lot of force to bed it and even if there was enough force wouldn’t that also strip the screws holding the mount in place on the camera? Wouldn’t you be able to see or feel (by attaching a lens to the camera) that the lens mount had been bent before sending it off to Nikon?

Aug 03, 2012 at 06:22 PM

DontShoot
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p.1 #20 · I feel sick!

I think I'll start learning how to fix lenses myself

Aug 03, 2012 at 06:35 PM

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