Oil spots/AF issues--called Nikon for service

[hark]

Today I shipped out my D600 for the 3rd time within the past 4-5 weeks. At least the supervisor who is helping me is terrific with staying in touch. I included a jpeg (burned to a CD), and I circled many of the oil/dust spots plus I asked about a mark that showed up in every photo I took--I sure hope they didn't damage the low pass filter, but the mark isn't oil or dust.

Hopefully they will do a better job of fixing the oil/dust issue and cleaning the sensor.

 

[nzswift]

This is for Kiwi owners of D600's...
I took my camera to the photo store I bought it off asked him to send it back to T A McAllistars for a general service and showed him an enlarged photo of a white card. He agreed it needed a sensor clean...
Got it back Friday and the repair sheet of replacement parts shows "shutter assembly" so it seems as if there are spots on the sensor they replace the shutter as a matter of course...
So if you have warranty time left take it back to the retailer and see if you have the same experience I had...

 

[hark]

So if you have warranty time left take it back to the retailer and see if you have the same experience I had...

My paperwork also stated the shutter was replaced during its first servicing, but supposedly Nikon is using the same shutters. No changes were made to how those shutters were built which is why I am still having problems with the oil/dust. Keep an eye on yours. Mine had the oil/dust on the very first test photo after it was returned from service (on both the first and second servicing). I certainly thought I'd get at least a few hundred shots before having the oil/dust show up.

The spots may not be visible to the naked eye, but when I used PSE10 and made adjustments to the shadows, the spots showed up immediately. And I'm not talking about just one or two spots either.

 

[hark]

There is a supervisor who has been excellent with sending me updates. He assured me they received the CD with the jpeg image and will review everything. The camera arrived at Nikon last Friday but didn't get logged into their system until Tuesday. At this point I do feel like they are trying to resolve any issues with my D600.

 

[Rick M]

​I Certainly hope they fix it this time! If not, I would push for a replacement or full credit towards a D610.

 

[hark]

The status of my D600 has changed. Now it is listed as:

Problem: SENSOR DUST CLEAN SENSOR / SPOTS TO GWO SCTACHES ON SENSOR/REPLACE SENSOR

I hope they also address the shutter again. It was listed in my letter, and they mentioned in their initial findings that I requested it be replaced again.

 

[PapaST]

wow, replacing the sensor... I don't think I've seen that before with this problem.

 

[hark]

Today I received a message letting me know what all was done to my D600 for this 3rd repair. I sure hope this resolves the problem! And hopefully I will have the camera back sometime this week.

Replaced Shutter Mechanism
Replaced CCD Sensor
Adjusted A-White Balance
Checked Communications
Cleaned Low Pass Filter
General Check & Clean

 

[Marcel]

Today I received a message letting me know what all was done to my D600 for this 3rd repair. I sure hope this resolves the problem! And hopefully I will have the camera back sometime this week.

Replaced Shutter Mechanism
Replaced CCD Sensor
Adjusted A-White Balance
Checked Communications
Cleaned Low Pass Filter
General Check & Clean

I sincerely hope that they didn't forget anything and that you'll be a happy camper with the refurbished D600.

 

[hark]

At this point, I am at a loss for words. If the sky wasn't so colorful, there might be even more spots visible. ​

 

[Dave_W]

I was told once by the Nikon repair shop here in SD that Nikon's tolerances apply only to f/16, anything above they do not consider relevant. Nevertheless, this has got to really suck for you and my heart goes out to you. But before you pull all your hair out, take another shot at nothing higher than f16 and use only blue sky, no clouds and let's see how bad it is. Also, I do a great deal of landscape photography and I love nothing more than crisp images so I rarely go any smaller than f/11 due to the diffraction. If at f/16 or larger you're not seeing much, if any, spots then I would consider it good to go.

 

[hark]

Yes, I also took f/16 but will retake both f/16 and f/22 when I have a plainer background. My point is this is just a few shots after getting it home. What will it look like after 300 shots? It certainly shouldn't need a wet clean THAT often.

 

[Marcel]

At this point, I am at a loss for words. If the sky wasn't so colorful, there might be even more spots visible. ​ View attachment 56921

Did you just do that picture with the camera that just came back from Nikon? I hope not but am almost afraid to ask...

 

[hark]

My D600 just arrived home this afternoon--yes, that's the one!

 

[hark]

And when I retake photos with a plainer background, I will use a different lens so the lens won't be in question.

 

[PapaST]

ugh... that really stinks.

I guess at this point I would try and escalate the situation. Get out from under that D600.

I'm very sorry to see this Hark. I wish you all the best.

 

[Marcel]

And when I retake photos with a plainer background, I will use a different lens so the lens won't be in question.

When I test for dust, I use a white wall, lowest iso possible, focus to infinity, and I try to get a slow shutter speed so I move the camera while exposing. This prevents defects in the wall or bug or whatever to be sharp. If these show up then it is dust.

 

[hark]

I am curious if there will be additional spots visible when I change lenses. All the previous test shots were taken with my 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 VR, For those who are knowledgeable about lenses, the physical diameter at f/16 on a wide angle lens is MUCH smaller than f/16 on a telephoto lens. f/22 on a telephoto lens has a small diameter, but f/16 on a 20mm lens--will it show even more spots than a telephoto lens simply because of the aperture's diameter?

Excuse me a moment. I'll be right back....

Okay. I just did the math. Both of the above photos were taken at 70mm. The diameter of the apertures are as follows:

70mm lens @ f/22 = 3.181mm diameter aperture (first photo above)
70mm lens @ f/16 = 4.375mm diameter aperture (second photo above)
20mm lens @ f/16 = 1.25mm diameter aperture (what it will be when I retake a test shot with a different lens)

Since the aperture of the 20mm lens at f/16 is smaller than the aperture of a 70mm lens at f/16 and f/22, doesn't it stand to reason that most likely I will find even MORE spots than the f/22 photo shows above?

​Marcel and Dave W, do you follow my logic?

 

[Marcel]

I am curious if there will be additional spots visible when I change lenses. All the previous test shots were taken with my 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 VR, For those who are knowledgeable about lenses, the physical diameter at f/16 on a wide angle lens is MUCH smaller than f/16 on a telephoto lens. f/22 on a telephoto lens has a small diameter, but f/16 on a 20mm lens--will it show even more spots than a telephoto lens simply because of the aperture's diameter?

Excuse me a moment. I'll be right back....

Okay. I just did the math. Both of the above photos were taken at 70mm. The diameter of the apertures are as follows:

70mm lens @ f/22 = 3.181mm diameter aperture (first photo above)
70mm lens @ f/16 = 4.375mm diameter aperture (second photo above)
20mm lens @ f/16 = 1.25mm diameter aperture (what it will be when I retake a test shot with a different lens)

Since the aperture of the 20mm lens at f/16 is smaller than the aperture of a 70mm lens at f/16 and f/22, doesn't it stand to reason that most likely I will find even MORE spots than the f/22 photo shows above?

​Marcel and Dave W, do you follow my logic?

Yes, I've noticed that wide angle shows more dust for the same aperture than a telephoto lens. So, in a way, I follow your logic. But, on the other hand, the photos you mention are not her to be seen...

 

[hark]

Marcel, I didn't think about this until writing my post. Hopefully tomorrow I can try it out. Tomorrow I also want to take my D600 and 20mm lens to my church to shoot some photos in the Chapel. I can only imagine what the light colored walls will look like since I'm hoping to use f/11-f/13. But heck, even f/8 yields a smaller aperture than either of the above test shots. Most likely I'll be doing some heavy editing....

I'll take my D90 as well, but I'm really curious to see how the 20mm performs on full frame since it (the lens) was just repaired.