New D810 hardware issues

Hi,

I'm researching full frame dSLRs to purchase one within the next few months. I've landed on D810 as my premier choice for mainly landscape work. The dynàmic range and pixel count put this camera up against medium format cameras which is truly saying something.

Nothing is ever perfect, however. I have a couple of concerns for which I can't find satisfactory answers.

1) In 2014 there was a service advisory on the camera which caused in some cases thermal noise. I think the effect was tiny white rings or something like that. People whose serial numbers fell within a certain range were given a free service to correct this fault - those who did not were not given this service but were told to increase their exposure time (or decrease it perhaps) and increase NR. The latter seems uncharitable and unacceptable and I've found 1 star reviews from very unhappy customers on this issue. Question; has this problem gone away now? Question; if buying a new D810 how can I guarantee it is of a new production batch?

2) Similar to 1) there are a ton of reports about dust on the sensor - even right out of the box. Read some reports that the problem goes away after a few thousand shots. Other people believe this is dust coming from the camera itself - from the shutter or mating surfaces of the lens & body. Question; has this problem been formally acknowledged by Nikon and is there any standard remedial action? Perhaps the problem has been fixed?

Thanks!
David.

Howdy David and welcome to Nikonites!

Going through your list in reverse order, if there were dust on the sensor from the factory, it would need a proper cleaning to resolve the issue and not just work itself out after a few thousand shots, no?

For the service advisory back in 2014, if you're buying new, this should not be an issue. Authorized dealers had returned the unsold stock in order to have the service performed, and the updated stock had a mark near the tripod socket to visually identify the correction. I'll have to check with my D810 to see if it carries that same mark, but I've not heard any new concerns about the old problems resurrecting or re-appearing from old product stock.

RocketCowboy said:

Howdy David and welcome to Nikonites!

Going through your list in reverse order, if there were dust on the sensor from the factory, it would need a proper cleaning to resolve the issue and not just work itself out after a few thousand shots, no?

For the service advisory back in 2014, if you're buying new, this should not be an issue. Authorized dealers had returned the unsold stock in order to have the service performed, and the updated stock had a mark near the tripod socket to visually identify the correction. I'll have to check with my D810 to see if it carries that same mark, but I've not heard any new concerns about the old problems resurrecting or re-appearing from old product stock.

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Thank you Charlie.


I have no comcrete idea by what mechanism dust could reduce after a few thousand shutter activations. One can imagine a new component bedding in and shedding micro particles in the process. I found references to another model which had surplus oil from the shutter being shed onto the sensor. This one was acknowledged by Nikon. I'd have to re-research that to confirm the model/year where it happened.


To get to the heart of my first question, how can I guarantee that a camera I buy hasn't been sitting in a warehouse for two years? I live in the UK and work in London. Who is the most reliable, trustworthy and helpful dealer?


Apologies if I sound overly churlish - my hard-earned sponds and I find it terribly hard to part company. I want to believe that the D810 is the best dSLR, but I also need to be certain sure that if there are problems (as found by 10% of the 200 or so Amazon reviewers of this camera, to give an example) then I can definitely get that resolved quickly and without hassle.


Thanks!
David

Welcome to the forum David. You will find some great folks on there.

Now to your concerns. I don't own either camera you are referring to, however here is some info for you. The camera with the oil spots was the 600 I think and Nikon took care of it. There are some on here that had that problem as well as a few other issues. All were corrected by Nikon. As far as dust on the sensor, any camera can get dust and is considered routine maintenance to clean unless like you are referring to a mechanical issue where it is wearing. Out of all of the 810 users on here, it doesn't seem to be an issue.

David - I've had my D810 for about three years and love it, I did have a medium format RB 67 for a number of years and the quality of this DSLR certainly matches that (plus it's a lot easier to carry ) ... so in my opinion "you won't be disappointed" - I look forward to hearing of your purchase and seeing some results.
I found Darrell Young's book "Mastering the D810" an invaluable source of info presented in an easy to read format... If you have any questions please feel free to give me a PM and I'l try to help out, other than that I'm sure you will find "tons" of information on this forum - not to mention lots of friendly folks only too willing to answer all your questions.
And one last thing - don't forget "the only stupid question is the one you didn't ask"... this is a complex bit of kit and there's a lot to learn so don't be afraid to ask... we all have to start somewhere...
cheers

My D810 is 2 years old next week and it is a fantastic piece of kit. The problems you raised in issue 1 were on a first production batch only almost 3 years ago. These were fixed and models since then have had no issues. Nikon marked the D810 box with a black dot on all models that were produced after the fix see pic



Issue 2. Never heard of a dust on the sensor issue for D810. All DSLRs get dust on their sensor if you change lenses regularly sensor cleaning is no big deal. Simply use a blower.

I've never heard of a sensor issue with the D810. As Dave said, the thermal issue was a problem on very early models. The link below from Nikon gives advice and serial number check for those models affected
Service Advisory

Thank you for your positive replies everyone.

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3746844

Here a thread which discusses the unusually high amount of dust witnessed by a servicing agent on new Nikons and in reply to the OP someone says "I think it is a bad thing for a customer to buy a $3300 camera and have dust show up on image #1! There has to be a way to prevent this. My experience with MY D810 was that it indeed had dust from the get-go. After several thousand shutter actuations the problem slows down and goes away. I have heard several owners say this."

Also, looking through the 1-star reviews on Amazon.com I see this review from last year entitled "Overpriced dust collector";
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Now that I've had this for awhile and put over 13000 shots on it. I can now say that this camera is a giant dust collector. If you want to spend $75.00 everytime you shoot to have the sensor cleaned or have to clean it yourself then buy it otherwise don't. This is almost being in an area that is close to a clean room as well. It gets old after this long when you spend more time in ACR cleaning spots then actually out shooting.

I can clean the sensor to a point where there is just a very few dust spots. I do this in my bathroom since that is the room you will have the least amount of dust floating in the air. I turn the camera off so the mirror goes back down. I put on a lens and go outside in my backyard and shoot a few shots. I come back in the house and carefully change a lens and shoot a few more shots. Sure enough more dust has gotten back on the this pathetic sensor somehow. There are no dust spots on the lenses front or back either.

I spoke with a friend who has a Canon 5D Mark III and he has no dust problems. He changes his lenses outdoors as well.

UPDATE 12/17/15
Out in Utah for a few days. 1st day of shooting there, got back to hotel and tweaked some settings on the menu screen. Processed some shots in ACR. Turned camera back on and NO Live View. It will display shots on my SD card, the menu screen and also settings via the LCD. You press the Live View button and nothing happens. No mirror lock or image appearing on LCD. Camera is at Nikon Service Center. Only have had it 10 months.

Back to the dust issue. I had gotten another D810 a few weeks prior as a backup and it was still in the box. Took it out of it's packing. Went into the bathroom with the NEW body and a lens. I checked the lens front and back for dust first. Holding the camera body face down, I slowly moved over top the lens with the cover removed and twisted the lens onto the body. I went outside and shot 3 bracketed shots at f/18 on a 16-35mm lens. Opened the normal shot in ACR and went to Spot Removal Tool. As careful as I was to attach the lens there were 18-20 spots already on the sensor. So Nikon is selling brand new camera with dust on their sensors. Pathetic.

Because of the Live View problem and my new D810 coming out of it's packaging with spots I have downgraded this product to 1-Star.

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12 people found that helpful.

On the one hand we have people saying this camera is great others say it has problems out of the box. Among the one stars are reports of the camera locking up totally (this seems to be also reported on this forum). Clearly some people can experience problems - the key is being able to find a dealer with whom a resolution will be easy and cost free.

++++

Still looking for a reputable dealer in the UK. Nikon lists 400 but I've yet to find one that looks any good;

Argos and Currys
Huge mass retail outfits who generally have no camera expertise. They generally don't stock pro level equipment anyway.

RG Wells
Bust

Calumet
Terrible rating on trustpilot

Selfridges and John Lewis
Broadly same comment about Argos and Currys but I recently had major hassles with JL and prefer to avoid them.

Jessops I've had issues with in the past and they nearly went bust recently.

Grays of Westminster - might be wrong but they seem to deal only in second hand gear.

Amazon UK has one listed and it is quite cheap but someone asked if it was a grey import and someone replied that is was.

Thanks
David

If you have many tens or even hundreds of thousands users of anything you will always have some people find fault. Some sites like DP review do attract moaners but you can count the number of real issues on one hand. Thats life these days.

Like you say National stores or major web sites are not geared up to give in depth technical support. So if you need that then find your nearest small camera shop, but then don't complain about the difference in price.

You seem to be very nervous about buying one. The same will apply to any other camera model regardless of manufacturer.
If you want a camera then you have to press the button and get one.

First, I am not trying to convince you to buy an 810, but simply share my perspective on reviews in places like Amazon.

I used to get really wrapped around the axle over reviews. I looked at them and really struggled with things that did not have 5 stars. But the more things I have bought over the years the more I realize that more people complain than praise. I looked at the Amazon page for the 810. Only 230 reviews. Of that 28 were critical. I am thinking that they have sold more than that.

I think about my own practices. If I have a problem I am quick to complain in a review. But if everything is good I do not always bother to write a review... If I really like something I might, but it takes time to do it right and I do not always have the time or am willing to make the time to do it.

I do not have the 810 but I am surely leaning that way when I make the move to full frame. A good friend at my church has one and he loves it... loved it right out of the box. I have shot it a few times and I really do like it.

wornish said:

My D810 is 2 years old next week and it is a fantastic piece of kit. The problems you raised in issue 1 were on a first production batch only almost 3 years ago. These were fixed and models since then have had no issues. Nikon marked the D810 box with a black dot on all models that were produced after the fix see pic

View attachment 231073

Issue 2. Never heard of a dust on the sensor issue for D810. All DSLRs get dust on their sensor if you change lenses regularly sensor cleaning is no big deal. Simply use a blower.

Click to expand...

I thought it was the tripod mount hole that was marked. I just bought a D810 and I do not have a 'Blue' dot like you are pointing out But mine is a D810 (AS) not D810 (HK).

Scott Murray said:

I thought it was the tripod mount hole that was marked. I just bought a D810 and I do not have a 'Blue' dot like you are pointing out But mine is a D810 (AS) not D810 (HK).

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Maybe they stopped doing it.

Just checked mine and there is no marking on the tripod mount hole. Anyway it works great and thats all that matters.

I thought it was the tripod mount as well, but now I'm going to have to check both that and the box when I get home.

RocketCowboy said:

I thought it was the tripod mount as well, but now I'm going to have to check both that and the box when I get home.

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Just check here - https://support.nikonusa.com/app/D810/sn

Scott Murray said:

Just check here - https://support.nikonusa.com/app/D810/sn

Click to expand...

Thanks Scott! That site gave me the all clear.

Following up, there is no visual marking on either the box or the body to signify that the new body was affected by the service advisory. Looks like three years later, there should not be stock floating out there that causes confusion.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I think these stats tell an interesting story. One that kind of turns me off looking at Nikon;

Canon 5DS: 27 reviews (1 one-star, not happy about weight, other reviews 4 & 5 stars).
Canon 5DSR: 42 reviews (no one-stars).
Canon 5D Mark IV: 28 reviews (1 one-star, not happy about video, 1 two-star CF issue).
Canon 5D Mark III: 663 reviews (5 one-stars; dead pixel, dial cover came off, DOA, didn't like video, rebuild required).

Sony A7R ii: 121 reviews (3 one-stars: not happy about AF, other non-hardware issues).
Nikon D810: 231 reviews (14 one-stars: mainly hardware issues, with reports of bad service from Nikon).

Summary: 6% of people who bought the 810 had issues for which Nikon were not always helpful in resolving. Canon hardly has any bad reviews over hardware issues (highest 0.75% for the 5diii) and virtually no reports of bad service. Sony - very few hardware issues.

Admittedly that is not an exhaustive survey, but it's a picture that emerges when I read reviews.

I'm not wrapped around the axle - I'm just gathering information about my next purchase. Since this will involve buying not only an expensive camera but also expensive glass, I'm taking my time and looking at the options. I'm not liking what I read about Nikon hardware issues.

The good news is that I found an excellent vendor in London (Grays) and they have top notch ratings on trustpilot. I would imagine no hassles in getting a problem resolved with them.

woodspiral said:

I think these stats tell an interesting story. One that kind of turns me off looking at Nikon;

Canon 5DS: 27 reviews (1 one-star, not happy about weight, other reviews 4 & 5 stars).
Canon 5DSR: 42 reviews (no one-stars).
Canon 5D Mark IV: 28 reviews (1 one-star, not happy about video, 1 two-star CF issue).
Canon 5D Mark III: 663 reviews (5 one-stars; dead pixel, dial cover came off, DOA, didn't like video, rebuild required).

Sony A7R ii: 121 reviews (3 one-stars: not happy about AF, other non-hardware issues).
Nikon D810: 231 reviews (14 one-stars: mainly hardware issues, with reports of bad service from Nikon).

Summary: 6% of people who bought the 810 had issues for which Nikon were not always helpful in resolving. Canon hardly has any bad reviews over hardware issues (highest 0.75% for the 5diii) and virtually no reports of bad service. Sony - very few hardware issues.

Admittedly that is not an exhaustive survey, but it's a picture that emerges when I read reviews.

I'm not wrapped around the axle - I'm just gathering information about my next purchase. Since this will involve buying not only an expensive camera but also expensive glass, I'm taking my time and looking at the options. I'm not liking what I read about Nikon hardware issues.

The good news is that I found an excellent vendor in London (Grays) and they have top notch ratings on trustpilot. I would imagine no hassles in getting a problem resolved with them.

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Sorry but way too much analysis. I think you are wrapped around the axle. If you look for it you will find fault with anything.
I am getting the feeling that this is becoming an attempt to wind up Nikonites, so will not be replying further.

Whatever you choose I hope you get as much enjoyment from it as I have with my D810 for the last two years. It simply just does what it says on the tin and more.

At the end of the day, it's all about whatever makes you the most comfortable. If you have in the back of your head that the D810 is going to be a problem, you're going to have that bias as things unfold.

It sounds like you're pretty well researched and comfortable with Canon gear, and consequently you might well have a better experience there. Both systems are going to be comparable, with features tilting towards one vendor or the other. At the end of the day, to me, it's all about what fits your work flow, get you your style in the images, and is comfortable for you while you're shooting. While this is a Nikon oriented forum, I think you'll find the majority of the users here will be supportive of you going which ever route you decide to go, without the religious drama that other vendor-specific forums have.

wornish said:

Sorry but way too much analysis. I think you are wrapped around the axle. If you look for it you will find fault with anything.
I am getting the feeling that this is becoming an attempt to wind up Nikonites, so will not be replying further.

Whatever you choose I hope you get as much enjoyment from it as I have with my D810 for the last two years. It simply just does what it says on the tin and more.

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Really grateful for all your advice and sharing your thoughts. Not trying to wind anyone up, it's just the way I do things, I'm sorry it must be a trifle annoying (and I said the C- word on here, sorry!). The above is a tiny fraction of the amount of research I put into big purchases. I know there's a class of person that just buys something relatively quickly, but it's just not my style. I think if you saw how much research I put into this, you'd think I was crazy. It would be like Odd Couple I guess, with you throwing the linguine against the wall (I'd try to photograph it).

I think at some point I'll end up renting a camera type or two for a day before I make my final choice. The feel of it has to be right.

It really comforts me that the thermal noise problem publicly acknowledged by Nikon seems to be firmly in the past. The dust/sensor issue seem to affect not everyone as well. The fact that I have located a solid dealer in London really helps my decision, because in the rare event that there is a problem it means I can get the camera back to the dealer without having to post it.

It's an interesting time to wait to see how events unfold too. I'm going to wait until at least PhotoPlus - I read a rumour that Nikon might be announcing the successor to the D810 there and also January sales are just around the corner.

Like your photos - especially the one of the moon.

Best wishes,
David.