Nikon scratched sensor/glass. Warranty, but $750?

jasonfodor

New member
Any help would be appreciated, don't know much about cameras

Background: Got into photography, asked dad for money for a camera, and he gave me his D810 instead. He told me it has a scratched image senor, he very busy with work and didn't want to deal with it. Essentially gave it to me to do a warranty claim or sell it for money towards a new camera.


(1) Is the image sensor actually scratched?

On my earlier post someone said it's hard to scratch the sensor and few people said it might just need to be cleaned. Unfortunately, I'm in a small college town, so there isn't any camera repair/services within an hour I can take it to.
Everything on the camera works, even the image sensor works, it's just that the glass is probably scratched and the scratch appears in photos.

I did send an email to perfectimagecamera.com they do mail in cleanings, and his response was:

Based on your photo, unfortunately it does look like the sensor glass is scratched. It looks like someone attempted to clean the sensor on their own and as they dragged the swab across the glass scratched the surface, the uniform directional lines would indicate this. It's actually pretty easy to scratch the glass covering the sensor with improper cleaning techniques. While I do not think our sensor cleaning service would resolve your issue, our service is $59.95 for the cleaning plus return shipping charges. Your best bet would be sending it to Nikon or an authorized Nikon repair center to get an estimate on how much it would cost to replace the filter in front of your sensor.

ea5102ab33ef42a2980a0d6a40365ac3

View: original size




(2) Should I push Nikon for in warranty?

I didn't expect the camera to have warranty, nor Nikon to cover it. I searched for Nikon camera's in my hometown (not college) and planned on having a friend or family bring it in there. There's only one place in my home town, and he asked for my dad's name and was able to pull up his purchase. It's actually from Dec 2018, he emailed me the receipt and advised me to send it to Nikon and said they should cover it since sensor's aren't suppose to scratch.

On Nikon's repair website if you click without warranty it said mail in for quote (essentially you know it won't be cheap). I called the first time and she made it seem it wouldn't be covered by warranty anyways.

After finding out it's under warranty, on Nikon's website when I select under warranty and select image sensor it says free. The second time I called they said a scratch sensor will be covered as long as I send in proof of purchase.
I sent it to Nikon, but they sent me a repair form asking $750 ($730 for repair and $20 for shipping).

IMAGE SENSOR NEEDS REPLACEMENT
THE SENSOR IS SCRATCHED / DAMAGED
This repair is not covered under warranty and needs approval

Little bit of a gray area. On one hand the retail shop and the second Nikon phone rep made it seem like sensor cleaning is routine cleaning and the sensor should not scratch with routine cleaning so it should be covered under warranty. On the other hand, the first rep made it seem like if the sensor scratched then you've abused the camera i.e. user fault.

Saw a few posts on here suggesting Nikon negotiates?

Although I will admit both phone reps seemed clueless. Almost want to say it was outsourced calls. The only thing both agreed on and made it clear there would be no return shipping, but the repair bill suggests return shipping.



(3) What are my other options?

I don't want an IR conversion. I want a regular camera.

From what I searched on forums, image sensor replacement from Nikon is 75-80% of the retail price of the camera, so I would have expected more. Do you think Nikon is taking me for a ride? (i.e. only replacing the glass or just cleaning it).

An used D810 is $850, so the $750 Nikon repair doesn't make sense, I could sell it for parts and put in less than $750 towards another D810.

https://www.lifepixel.com/shop/our-services/scratched-sensor-repair/nikon-scratched-sensor-repair

$350 for this, again I'm not sure if this will make the camera function like normal?

That website does sell the glass for $300
https://www.lifepixel.com/shop/filters/original-oem-sensor-filters/nikon-original-oem-sensor-filters
So seems like only $50 for the labor.


https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=nikon+d810+sensor&_sacat=0&_sop=15
There's a complete (I think) sensor for $80, not sure if it includes the glass. But the glass lifepixel is selling for $300 is actually $115 on eBay. So, seems like it might be best if I buy the part (again, not sure what part) and just have some place repair it.
 

Attachments

  • nikon.jpg
    nikon.jpg
    59.4 KB · Views: 152

hark

Administrator
Staff member
Super Mod
Contributor
I don't know what to suggest you do. When I had a D600 with the oil/shutter issue, I sent it in to Nikon for the shutter replacement. They scratched the anti-aliasing filter which is probably the same piece of glass over your sensor. Since they damaged it during servicing, they replaced it. And from then on, I had very tiny spots on my images when I'd shoot stopped down - even after performing a wet cleaning. $750 to replace the sensor does sound quite high. I thought I remember reading where it was around $300 or so.

There are also other non-Nikon service centers that might be able to replace the sensor. I hope other forum members will be able to offer you more information.
 

carguy

Senior Member
Welcome. I would not expect Nikon to cover a scratched sensor under warranty. Reaching out to Nikon directly for a quote would be wise.
 

Fred Kingston

Senior Member
I would go with the LifePixel option... Just to be clear... The sensor isn't scratched... The UV filter in the stack that sits on top of the sensor is. LifePixel has extensive experience in replacing/removing the various filters in the stack that sits on top of the sensor...

The D810 has 1 less filter (the Low-pass filter) in the stack than normal Nikon cameras.

I've used LifePixel in the past to do IR conversions and their work is excellent. They wouldn't be removing/changing the IR filter in the stack, just replacing your scratched UV filter which sits on the top in the stack...

I also wouldn't expect Nikon to replace the sensor assembly under warranty because someone damaged the sensor by cleaning it incorrectly...
 

Danno

Senior Member
Welcome to the forum. It sounds like a tough spot, but $350 from Life Pixel with a testimonial and likely a warranty is a good price for a 1 year old 810. I wish you well.
 

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
I would go with the LifePixel option... Just to be clear... The sensor isn't scratched... The UV filter in the stack that sits on top of the sensor is. LifePixel has extensive experience in replacing/removing the various filters in the stack that sits on top of the sensor...

The D810 has 1 less filter (the Low-pass filter) in the stack than normal Nikon cameras.

I've used LifePixel in the past to do IR conversions and their work is excellent. They wouldn't be removing/changing the IR filter in the stack, just replacing your scratched UV filter which sits on the top in the stack...

I also wouldn't expect Nikon to replace the sensor assembly under warranty because someone damaged the sensor by cleaning it incorrectly...
I agree with Fred on all counts. I too have had work done by LifePixel (they removed the AA filter from my previous D750); their reputation is sterling. There comes a time when you suck it up and PAY A PROFESSIONAL to do a professional job. This is one of those times.
 

Bikerbrent

Senior Member
Welcome aboard. Enjoy the ride.
We look forward to seeing more posts and samples of your work.

It looks like you really have only two valid options. Go with the LifePixel repair, or sell the camera for what you can get for it and buy another camera. You can save a little more by considering a refurbished camera. You could get a D750 or a D7200 or D500 for less than a D810 and have a great camera. Do you have any lenses? If not, you aren't even locked into Nikon.
 
Top