D600 less than two weeks old - dust problems

Bought a D600 to try out. Did a photo shoot with it. Lots of the pics of noticeable dust spots. They weren't in the same place most of the time.

I can return it tomorrow for a full refund and I found a online sale for $100 less shipped then what I paid locally. Should I do it?

You might want to be careful that the online store has got a good rep. Not all deals are worth it even if it is cheaper.

Yes as the saying goes Buyer beware.

It's from a online computer store. I have bought lots from them in the past (20+ orders) and they have been my favorite computer retailer so far. Quick to answer questions (they phone me back if I e-mail them sometimes) and they take returns without a restocking fee. It's where I bought my Nikon 50mm 1.8G fro $230 CAD.

They have a sweet pricebeat (pricematch) system that I matched to another store in canada which is how I got the good price (and the lack of provincial tax also saves me).

If you trust them and will get the warranty, then it's good to save some cash! I'll be looking for a D600 too, as soon as I can figure out how to get up enough money that is! Lol

Bun-Bun said:

It's from a online computer store. I have bought lots from them in the past (20+ orders) and they have been my favorite computer retailer so far. Quick to answer questions (they phone me back if I e-mail them sometimes) and they take returns without a restocking fee. It's where I bought my Nikon 50mm 1.8G fro $230 CAD.

They have a sweet pricebeat (pricematch) system that I matched to another store in canada which is how I got the good price (and the lack of provincial tax also saves me).

Click to expand...

Keep in mind the one you get online is likely to have the dust issue also. Which means mailing it back if you have issues or cleaning the sensor.

The dust spots weren't in the same place most of the time? Doesn't sound like the spots are from oil. Have you tried just an air blast to clean out the dust?

Also, you make it sound as if you bought the camera from a local store "to try out", but now want to return it and get the same body from an online retailer. If that's correct (maybe not), you should keep the body you have and/or give the local retailer a chance to help you fix the problem. Local brick-and-mortar stores, where you "try out" merchandise, will disappear if people go there to see it, then purchase from online retailers who have no investment in an actual store where you can get your hands on the stuff you want to buy. Please support your local businesses if you want the experience to get your hands on stuff and talk face-to-face with knowledgeable staff in the future. Sorry to preach, but otherwise you face a future Saskatoon with no camera shops at all.

If it didn't have problems already I would keep it and support the local economy. If I take it to them they will have to ship it away and I will be without the camera for several weeks. Being that I just bought the camera I am still within my return window.

I did try blowing it out and some of the spots went away and new ones arose. Being that this wasn't just a collection of specs in the corner like others report and was random specs consistently I feel like I should get a different camera.

​The store I bought it from is a big chain store. The online store is still a b&m store with fantastic customer service.

I also thought the one online might be a newer batch that doesn't have the dust issue.

You are making the supposition that they will have to send it away. Why not go to the store with the camera and discuss it with them. They might have someone that would do a wet cleaning for free and then see what happens from there. Then if the problem re-appears, they would maybe vouch for you with Nikon and maybe lend you another camera while your's is away if it has to go.

Good luck

If the spots aren't in the same place all the time, it's not the oil & dust issue, it's something else that probably has a lot more to do with the environment than the camera. People buying D600's have to stop knee-jerk panicking and start thinking.

Bun-Bun said:

If it didn't have problems already I would keep it and support the local economy. If I take it to them they will have to ship it away and I will be without the camera for several weeks. Being that I just bought the camera I am still within my return window.

Click to expand...

I understand your point. Especially at this price level, you do not want to get stuck with a camera that has a problem. Let us know what the local retailer suggests when you take it back. They might be willing to swap it out for a new one right there.

Bun-Bun said:

I did try blowing it out and some of the spots went away and new ones arose. Being that this wasn't just a collection of specs in the corner like others report and was random specs consistently I feel like I should get a different camera.

Click to expand...

I really, REALLY have to ask about the environment you're shooting in and how you're blowing your sensor, because if you're doing it right you're not going to lose some and gain some. This is not a camera problem, it's a user issue. How free of dust is the room you're working in? How are you blowing the dust off? If you're holding the camera any way other than face down you're inviting gravity and the blower to introduce problems. Hold it face down and blow across the sensor and let gravity pull the dust away. Then quickly and with the camera continuing to face directly down, close the shutter and install the lens. There's almost no way you'll introduce more dust that way.

Cameras don't have dust issues, rooms do. The D600 did not have a "dust issue", it had an oil issue related to the shutter, which does not show up randomly on the sensor and get blown off but builds in the corners with persistent dust issues developing as it sticks to the oil. You're looking to blame the camera for a problem it doesn't have!!

Marcel said:

You are making the supposition that they will have to send it away. Why not go to the store with the camera and discuss it with them. They might have someone that would do a wet cleaning for free and then see what happens from there. Then if the problem re-appears, they would maybe vouch for you with Nikon and maybe lend you another camera while your's is away if it has to go.

Good luck

Click to expand...

I have dealt with them in the past. Its a chain store and the tech is in the HQ in winnipeg. Anytime I bring anything in it's a $50 fee and has to be shipped to Winnipeg to be looked at to decide the course of action from there. Of course on warranty I wouldn't have to pay the $50 but they would still have to send it to Winnipeg meaning I would be without the camera for at least a week.

BackdoorHippie said:

If the spots aren't in the same place all the time, it's not the oil & dust issue, it's something else that probably has a lot more to do with the environment than the camera. People buying D600's have to stop knee-jerk panicking and start thinking.

Click to expand...

BackdoorHippie said:

I really, REALLY have to ask about the environment you're shooting in and how you're blowing your sensor, because if you're doing it right you're not going to lose some and gain some. This is not a camera problem, it's a user issue. How free of dust is the room you're working in? How are you blowing the dust off? If you're holding the camera any way other than face down you're inviting gravity and the blower to introduce problems. Hold it face down and blow across the sensor and let gravity pull the dust away. Then quickly and with the camera continuing to face directly down, close the shutter and install the lens. There's almost no way you'll introduce more dust that way.

Cameras don't have dust issues, rooms do. The D600 did not have a "dust issue", it had an oil issue related to the shutter, which does not show up randomly on the sensor and get blown off but builds in the corners with persistent dust issues developing as it sticks to the oil. You're looking to blame the camera for a problem it doesn't have!!

Click to expand...

The environment was a clients house. It was clean and relatively dust free. I made one lens change in the entire shoot.

Then when I did my testing I made sure my lens was clean and yup there was dust. I use a hand "rocket" blower, blowing up into the camera (holding the camera upside down) sweeping across as I pump the blower.

Did this a couple times testing in between until there was no more change in the dust. Now there is one spec in the middle and one in the upper right corner of the picture that looks more like a film then dust.

The only reason I am thinking there is a problem is I have never had issues like this with any of my camera's (Konica Minolta 7D, Nikon D40x, Nikon D7000) or my dads cameras (Konica Minolta 7D, Nikon D70s, D200, D300). And I have less than 500 actuation's on the camera and at the time I started noticing spots I had only taken 100 pictures.

To me that is unacceptable. It's a brand new camera. That said am I really going to gain anything by buying the online one? Or do they all have this issue? I read that the problem seems to go away after 3000 actuation's.

Once again, the problemhas nothing to do with dust, it has to do with oil from the shutter which dust adheres to permanently. The D600 is no more a dust magnet than anything else. If you have the bad shutter then it will exhibit oil spots and persistent dust, not anything that will move around when blown. I'm not saying that you somehow didn't wind up with a "dirty camera" somehow, but I can assure you that Nikon will not accept a warranty return on a camera with your symptoms, they will simply call it "normal dust" and offer to clean it for you. The oil problem seems to remedy itself after a while as all excess oil is expunged from the shutter, but will require wet cleanings to get it back into shape. Dust never goes away permanently, only temporarily.

And I understand that. But I've never had issues like this before this camera (except dirty lenses).

And there are about four spots of film that don't change with blowing. The most prominent being one in the center and a big splotch in the corner.

Bun-Bun said:

And I understand that. But I've never had issues like this before this camera (except dirty lenses).

And there are about four spots of film that don't change with blowing. The most prominent being one in the center and a big splotch in the corner.

Click to expand...

What aperture were you using in your client's house?

Anywhere from F1.8-11. Spots were noticeable on shots anywhere from F5.6-11.

They were easily edited out in lightroom so it wasn't a huge deal but its just he fact that I am still within my 2 week return window. I can easily return it and get another.

Or am I wasting my time?

Another way to look at it is regardless of where I buy it if I take care of warranty myself ie. ship it direct to nikon that will result in faster turn around for warranty claims instead of dropping it off at local store and then them sending it to Winnipeg where then it goes to nikon...

Bun-Bun said:

Anywhere from F1.8-11. Spots were noticeable on shots anywhere from F5.6-11.

They were easily edited out in lightroom so it wasn't a huge deal but its just he fact that I am still within my 2 week return window. I can easily return it and get another.

Or am I wasting my time?

Another way to look at it is regardless of where I buy it if I take care of warranty myself ie. ship it direct to nikon that will result in faster turn around for warranty claims instead of dropping it off at local store and then them sending it to Winnipeg where then it goes to nikon...

Click to expand...

That doesn't sound right. The spots should come up around f12-f22. I use anywhere between f1.8-f9 and I don't see the spots, but once I start using strobes (rarely) and change the aperture to f16, that's when I start seeing the dots (I pre-ordered the D600).

There has to be something else causing the issue because at f5.6-f9 (at minimum), it should still be invisible from your shots.

I would suggest you to sit down and check the issue before shooting paid jobs. It's still possible it's the environment or user error.

You should also post some of the problem photos so we can recognize if it's a oil/dust issue.

Comparing the shots from the shoot to the test shots of the sky (@F16) the spots I saw on my shots correlate to the shots showing up on the tests shots and my lens was definitely clean for the tests shots of the sky.

There was only a few pics from the shoot that I had to remove the specs from. And those were with flash at F9-11. The rest were found from pixel peeping.

And again I have never had this issue with any other DSLR that I have used. My Konica Minolta showed spots once but that was after two years of use and during a trip Montreal where I did a lot of outdoor shooting.

Well just returned it.

Placed the order for the other one and it will be here tomorrow.