How Nikon is Killing Camera Repair
On Monday, January 16th, Nikon Inc. sent a letter to independent camera repair technicians in the US to say that “it will no longer make repair parts available for purchase by repair facilities that have not been authorized by Nikon Inc. to perform camera repairs.” So after July 13, 2012, all Nikon repairs will be pushed through Nikon’s own repair service or one of 22 “Nikon authorized repair stations.” Local, independent camera repair shops will no longer be able to repair Nikon cameras with manufacturer-approved parts.
This is unnerving news.
What’s the Problem?
Eliminating the supply of parts will devastate many local repair shops—Nikon repairs make up a significant portion of their business—and will make it significantly more difficult for photographers to get their Nikon equipment fixed.
Scott Jarvie, a full-time photographer, outlined his concerns with the policy in a detailed Google+ post. He demonstrates how silly the new policy seems by comparing cameras to cars. What if your car broke, and you went to your favorite mechanic, but he told you that you’re out of luck? Though he could fix your car by tomorrow, your car’s manufacturer will no longer allow him to buy the necessary parts. Instead, you have to send your car to your car manufacturer’s own repair shop (which, if we’re taking this analogy all the way, has a much poorer BBB rating than your own local shop) or one of two dozen manufacturer-authorized repair shops—oh, you don’t live near one of those? There’s not even one in your state? Too bad. Forget driving to work this week; you’re going to have to ship in your car. Think the car analogy sounds ridiculous? Don’t speak too soon.
If you depend on your camera for work, as Jarvie does, having to mail your camera in to be fixed will cost you more than just the price of the repair: lost business, shipping costs, and time lost waiting for the Postal Service to shuttle the camera back and forth.
Plus, a major manufacturer limiting repairs to only their own approved repair shops doesn’t bode well for the future of camera repair in general. The more barriers to repair, the more likely people are to trash their broken stuff instead of trying to fix it. And if one major manufacturer successfully implements this new model (a model that is likely to make them some money—siphoning business from local repair shops is one way to increase profit, I suppose), other manufacturers may follow.
Why is Nikon Doing This?
In the letter sent to camera repair shops, Nikon cites the increasing complexity and specialization of technology, “as well as the specialized tools that are now necessary to perform repairs on this complex equipment.” Frankly, this seems ridiculous to me: local camera shops are staffed by people who have extensive experience repairing Nikon equipment, and the only reason they wouldn’t have access to the necessary tools is if Nikon uses proprietary or tamper-proof fasteners and won’t sell the tools their own repair techs use.
Yes, Nikon cameras, like nearly all consumer electronics, are getting more complicated as they become more computerized. But they’re certainly not too complicated to repair—we have 37 repair guides for 15 different Nikon cameras, including the D70 top cover guide for which we took the photo above.
If Nikon is just worried about uneducated techs working on their equipment, why not reach out to repair shops and encourage them to become certified? Why not provide better service documentation? Why not educate more technicians rather than restricting trade?
A company certainly can’t be blamed for wanting to make a profit. But companies should be held accountable for developing ethical, responsible business practices.
How Can You Help?
When customers fight back loudly enough, companies listen. Verizon dropped their $2 online bill pay fee following a consumer backlash, and Netflix decided not to split its business in two with Qwikster when its users spoke out.
So tell Nikon, as loudly as possible, that they need to keep selling parts to smaller repair shops. Here’s an online petition you can sign. You can also send Nikon a letter at 1300 Walt Whitman Road, Melville, NY 11747-3064, U.S.A., or call them at 631-547-4200. Tweet at them @Nikon_USA.
Comments
Hi, I live in Australia and why they say we’re a laid back nation, it’s totally true – lay back read the letter again and see what it takes to become an authorized Nikon repair technician – isn’t it exactly what you have concluded later on in your post?
oh, too bad.
uhh, by the way, what forces me to keep using and buying Nikon products ?
Nothing ?
Oh, that’s not a so bad new, thus, except for Nikon itself.
Bye bye! Nikon
Hello! Pentax, Canon… I’m back !
:o)
Sending equipment to manufacturers for repair is always a royal pain with expensive shipping charges and long delays. Not to mention they are cost prohibitive with post warranty repair – i.e. better to throw it away and start over. Agree with Micro38 – Buy from manufacturers who have the customer in mind.
Understand that some auto makers do make some parts only available through them,,,,they also can now stop making parts whenever they want. Let’s hope that Nikon and others do not follow suit.
Who would buy a new Nikon with this fear hanging over the purchase? Even if they listen to reason and continue selling parts to independent shops, consumers will know that Nikon _wants_ to stop supporting their products and will likely look for future opportunities to drop support.
Either way, they are liable to lose business just by making the announcement.
Onkyo does the same thing with their equipment. I found this out the hard way after spending almost $2000 for a home theater AV system. This is why I will never again own anything with Onkyo no the label. The fastest way to get their attention is with plummeting sales. If a manufacturer tries to give you the business you have the power to take their business!
I will never buy another Nikon product.
This is because of Nikons failure to support essential software for their products for an adequate period after the products cease to be sold new.
After several bad experiences, the coolscan 500ED was the final straw.
This was sold until new from 2003 to 2009 (I bought in 2009) which claimed Mac support.
But the software for the Mac version was a lash up with relying on compatibility software (Rosetta) for software written for the PowerPC processor. Apple moved to Intel in 2006 and from 2007 all macs sold were intel based. And yet Nikon never updated the software for Intel, even though they sold the product for another 2 years. And don’t expect to be able to use your 2 year old Nikon scanner on your Windows 7 PC either.
I have owned numerous Nikon products from the FA to the digital era and longevity of investment, from continuous support of lens mount, was a significant factor in this. But Nikons attitude to the support of software components of their products now makes them disposable trash.
fuck nikon! god bless canon.
I work on vintage Daisy Branded BB Guns for a living. We are an authorized repair station for the things we work on. However I don’t see the point in restricting who works on what. I believe in consumer choice and freedom when it comes to having repairs done. The consumer should have as many possible repair facilities available to Him or Her within driving or if you live in a heavily urban area like NYC within perhaps driving distance.
I have a distaste for manufacturers ‘planned obsolescence’ and forcing we the consumers to toss things into the trash before they are really broken. It is bad for the environment, bad for jobs for those that work int he service/repair industry and It is heavy handed tactics like this that make me glad I fix my own stuff and don’t own any (Currently) Nikon products!
why not just apply for authorized repair status?
duh
I certainly hope this info is stated right up front when purchasing a NIKON. This kind info, I would not purchase a nikon camera, & I actually have been in the market. Nikons off my list now. I will not spend in exorbitant amount for the repair of an item that is out of warranty, especially to the same company I paid a good price for the item to being with. I always attempt repair myself. if I cannot buy parts to fix it myself, then I just refuse to buy the brand again. Just went through this with HP, they wouldn’t even give me a part name. So I am looking elsewhere for printers scanners now.
I have never used anything but Nikons. And I have never had any occasion to get any kind of repair.
The best thing to do is discourage new NIKON buyers to buy equipment that you can’t fix. That would be the end of it. It’s like buying a discontinued item.
I don’t have much invested in cameras and currently own no Nikon equipment. But, I do teach night school classes that involve photography, and students often ask for my recommendations. I usually suggest buying one of the major brands such as Canon or Nikon. Guess which brand is going to be dropped from my list.
It really is not surprising. I have been repairing all cameras for 2 years now. I can see which brands are made well and which ones are not. Nikon is living solely on reputation from its 35mm days basically due to excellent lens quality. But today electronics mean as much or more than lens quality and that is where Nikon just cannot compete. Also from what I have seen, Nikon designs its cameras to be disposable especially the coolpix line. The pcbs are soldered together instead of using cables. Here is the list of cameras that I know are best from seeing how they are made. Top consideration goes to lens quality, good electronics, and availability of repair parts.
1. Canon (parts not available for all models)
2. Panasonic (These cameras are hard to break)
3. Sony (break very easily but take the best photos)
4. Fuji (Solid cameras but hard to find parts)
5. Nikon (Break easy, quality deficient)
6. Olympus (Great lenses, but otherwise just OK)
In my limited experience with Nikon, I have found their service network to be inadequate. I no longer buy Nikon products.
Screw Nikon! Every Nikon I’ve ever owned has failed me at some point, yet the Minolta, Canon, Pentax and even the old Yashica just keep on working. Even Kodak makes more reliable cameras than Nikon.
I’m very glad not to have bought anikon product. In my opinion, they are acting as dunces.
Forcing all service through a small number of centers is a problem, as many have mentioned. Equally severe is that these service centers, and Nikon itself, give terrible service. The number of postings on various photography sites that relate Nikon service nightmares (service by Nikon itself) is very high.
This isn’t actually about camera repair. If you look more closely you may find its about eliminating parallel imports (grey market).
The grey market relys on warranties from alternative warranty suppliers who use non-OEM repair facilities should a warranty claim be required. By removing the repair facility, the grey market seller cant offer a warranty and therefore the buyer is unlikely to purchase the camera.
I always found paying to ship back a defective / broken product to the manufacturer while under warranty was effectively a way to “pay” for a legal right. In other words, You buy something with a standard 1-year warranty on it, but if you need to use the warranty, then you’ll pay a premium.
AFAIK, only Apple covers s&h both ways when a repair or replacement needs to be done and the local shop can’t do it.
too bad for everybody!
in actual fact, modern cameras are becoming EASIER to repair as electronics are becoming far more densely integrated (and reliable) and aspects of mechanical design are made ‘self calibrating’. quite the opposite of what Nikon is claiming, an SLR digital camera made today is far easier to work on than one made 5 years ago. there ARE some (less common) repairs that require specialized tools and equipment (such as shutter replacement), but picking such a failure shouldn’t be so hard for a repair shop, who can then, just for those ‘hard’ repairs, ship the unit back to Nikon.
Vertical integration is considered a form of anti-trust activity by the Justice Department, especially when it has no business justification. It looks very much to me like Nikon’s public argument is a thin veil for an attempt to put you out of business. You might shame or embarrass them with your public campaign, but an inquiry by the Justice Department would do the trick definitivelyl if I were you I’d file a complaint and see what happens.
I’ve repaired Nikon cameras since the early 1970′s and find their equipment no more difficult to repair than Canon’s. Yet Canon supports even the independent camera repair shops very well.
The excuse Nikon is now using is that their authorized service centers are independent businesses and therefore they are not trying to monopolize the repair business. That doesn’t hold water due to the fact that the authorized service centers still have contractual agreements as to what they can and can’t work on.
Please visit the petition and send a message to Nikon that restraint of trade by a Japanese company in the USA will not be tolerated.
http://www.change.org/petitions/nikon-inc-keep-selling-repair-parts-in-the-usa-as-they-have-always-done
Petition signed!
If Nikon does not revise their policy – They definitely will loose customers not only in USA!
And some others will gain their ex. customers!
I am a Nikon Professional Services (NPS) and Canon Professional Services (CPS) member and I have also been repairing cameras since 1973, Originally taught by National Camera Inc. I am a member of the Society of Photo-Technologists (SPT) and the National Association of Photo Equipment Technicians (NAPET). I worked on a Nuclear Submarine for 6 years as a Navigations Electronics Technician, spent 14 years with Hughes Aircraft as a Communications and Air Defense Field Engineer and Nikon USA has the AUDACITY to tell me that I don’t have the training or equipment to fix their low technology products! Hell I can write better firmware than they do. I have had no problem repairing and hacking My Nikon D3, D700 D2HS and D300. So I have no idea what they are talking about. I find it interesting though that their Nikon parts and service facility in El Segundo, CA has an F rating from the Better Business Bureau. So much for Customer Service and Quality Control. Nikon USA will eventually join Kodak in the “Used to be a Great Company” community and I will be the first to help them reach that goal if they stop selling me parts.
In Australia we have to send all camera gear (Nikon or otherwise) away for repair – its really no big deal.
If you rely on your camera for work I’d have thought you would have a second body/lens anyhow? I’m not a pro and I always carry 2 when I’m on an important shoot…
I’d rather my gear was fixed by Nikon than the local camera guy in any case…
If I were the competition I’d be giddy! This is a prime example of how to go in the direction of Kodak. Become obsolete. Except in the case of Kodak it was a great story in the beginning… Looked at Nikon Corp Stock price and will follow it to see how quickly the stock price starts to fall after this summer. It should be a dramatic plunge. If there are any business professors out there this should be a text book lesson in what not to do.
Switch to Canon
Nikon is taking after Apple. They are turning greedier and greedier. Not good for the average photog.
Sending it to Nikon has NEVER been a problem… Never taken more than a week to fix any of my cameras. The shipping? UPS has never cost me more than $14.00
If you want to leave Nikon because of this, you’re ridiculous!
As a working professional, I trust no one fixing my Nikon Cameras other than Nikon. I have multiple bodies, it’s my business, it’s a great tool.
People can be so dramatic! lol
tnx for information
im from iran
tnx a lot
Just as an FYI… I did some digging and most of the major camera manufacturers have had this same policy for pretty much forever (Canon being one of them).
I don’t even shoot Nikon and this pisses me off. SO much for customer loyalty, eh?
Get over yourselves guys… You all make it sound like you get your Nikon fixed weekly.
End of your world huh?
Ages ago I bought a Nikon Coolpix 5000, then I bought a top of the line flash, as I planned to switch over to a DSLR, trouble was the very next DSLR they brought out did not support my new and expensive flash. They had devised a new signalling system, and immediatly dropped all suport for the previous – Ouch.
Guess what, I am now a Cannon man.
Have a look at the mobile phone market. The manufacturers only allow warranty repairs through their accredited agents – who have to pay for the privelege and have strict rules on what can and cannot be repaired.
The manufacturers hide the “cost” in the “new jig” that HAS to be used to complete a repair. That’ll be $2k but don’t worry, we will guarantee you volume work, as long as you complete the work in the way we tell you …..
Remember, the manufacturer wants to sell you a new product, so restrict who can repair and how ….. “sorry Sir/Madam, it cannot be repaired. Have you looked at the new D700? Nice camera”
I’ve always wondered about using a Canon so thank you Nikon for making up my mind. I’m ready to buy so today is Canon day!
Someone commented to just apply to become authorized to do the repairs… sometimes it’s not so cut and dry. For example, Nikon will only allow a business to be an authorized dealer OR and authorized repair shop, but not both. So, most camera companies choose to be authorized dealers instead, since that’s where most of their business is from, but still have stellar repair departments with highly trained technicians.
So just set up a second dummy business name. Common practise in business.
Then get on their list of authorised repairers?
Duh…
I’ve been a loyal Nikon customer for my entire adult life, after reading this i can say my next camera will be a Canon.
oh! terrible strategy for nikon.
I plan to buy nikon camera. But wow! bad idea. hopefully the company should think about this. so dump.
NIKON, BIG MISTAKE, VERY BIG MISTAKE!!!!
What’s next? Maybe a separate 1-year Warrantee (with a large 10% to 20% fee of course?)
This will maintenance control restriction only works until market share loss hits the Enterprize Bean Counters, the product managers resume’s look bad and THE LOSS of TRUST by the customer in the ability of counting on the History of Best in CLASS to drive them to dig in their pockets deeper for that built in quality initially and Nikon company support in towns like, “Any Mountain, Any plain, Other Desert, Antarctic Dreams, Ocean Traveler and the like.
I am responding to the person who said it is a simple matter or just applying for “Authorised Repairer” status… making that comment is very easy but in real terms the issue with becoming an authorised repair centre is that you must comply with the manufacturers pricing schedule and all repairs and parts are costed by volume ordering. This means in plain english that you can’t set your own prices for the work you do which often has a very small profit margin, and unless you are a very high turnover repairer you will get screwed on stock prices leaving even less of a real profit margin. This does not happen with all companies but there are a number of them out there who will drive you to insolvency and just move on to the next poor sap who will buy in on it.
This is all accorded to planned obsolescence and time-limited repair support. All bad for the end user.
Beware of the “petition.” I’m sure that iFixit is just trying to get some internet group action, but it turns out that the link goes to a company called change.org that COLLECTS your email address and sets you up for weekly petitions. I followed their instructions to have my email address removed and contact their legal department and of course I got a “support engineer” who wanted me to provide more information. DO NOT GO TO THIS SITE – we are better off sending emails directly to Nikon.
I totally agree with supporting my small repair shop, not only for camera parts which I’m all with too but supporting your local ma & pa shop as well! I wiil & did fill out the form you left a link for, thank you for the post, kmapjr
I NEVER had a problem with a Nikon AUTHORIZED repair service. This is not about greed, but about problems with supply. The AUTHORIZED dealer I work with (I have 3 Nikon cameras) have problem getting parts as fast as they used to because of the Tsunami issue in Japan and the disruption of the supply pipeline. is about protecting thier own. Look for an authorized dealer, that should not be difficult to find!
Well, I’m glad to have read this. I’ve been saving up for a DSLR and I had intended to buy a Nikon.
No longer! Now that I see the trouble I may have, I don’t think it would be a wise choice.
Service availability is a MAJOR deciding factor for me.
Companies should provide parts to all repair shops easily to help the consumer.If not the consumers should go for those products whose parts are easily available.
Such a tragedy. Consumers will be let with no choices when it comes to camera repair!
Like the one Bob shared, there is another petition being run over at http://www.CameraSpa.com (full disclosure: I work with the company running it) that we are sending not only to Nikon, but ALL camera manufacturers, as this is a policy change many of them are considering/taking.
I have a nikon coolpx p500. I need to buy main board flash and flash open close switch. How can I get them. I live in United Arab Emirates.
I was a Technician in Nikon Cambodia , and why no body can set up a new Nikon Cambodia Service center ???????
- Because no profit , no good salary for any technician , no body work for company for ever ,,,
Service center can not compete with out door repair shop , many photo grafpher , they don;t want to have repair at Service Center , because the price very high , and there are many poor peoples , so the just bring the broken camera to
have repair at cheaper shop , Thanks
ME A full time camera technician 34 years passed. Have fixed many cameras with no single wire in it. Was A KING once. Now no spares. Most of the time is lost in repairing
the boards. Not wining every time. They
must provide spares.
Never ever buy any Nikon cameras any more! I got a Nikon D90 as a present from my mom 3 years ago. It was an expensive machine. However the screen and diaphragm was broken after only a half year, even though I didn’t use it a lot. Becasue of some reason I didn’t get it repaired immediately. This summer I’m planning to travel so I sent it back to Nikon Inc in Sacramento CA for repairing. It took them two weeks to send me an e-mail about my repairing situation, they provided me more than 4 different ways to log in online with my billing name to check my status but none of them works! Even the discussing about how can I check my status took them a month!! Then they ask for an “international proof of purchase”, Who would keep this stupid things for 3 years?!!!! I replied about this situation and then after another two weeks I got their reply. They said unfortunately they can’t repair the camera without a stupid proof. SO WHAT? I can’t get a Nikon D90 repaired without a proof of purchase? I don’t mind to pay for my repair, it’s reasonable. BUT what do you mean you can’t?!!! Aren’t you should be response for this? It’s a Nikon camera broke for no reason and YOU Nikon can not repair it because I don’t have a fucking proof? They are so irresponsible and low efficient. Now I even can’t get that broken camera repaired by other stores. So my camera is now a camera-shaped metal. so rediculous!
I bought my wife a Nikon d5100 for xmas and have regretted it since. This just nails it for us, she really wanted Nikon and now she wishes she’d gotten a Canon.
The first problem is the lens that came with the d5100, it sucks when the sun is out. She sent it back under warranty because there would be a burnt orange circle on just about every photo taken when the sun is out – understand the sun doesn’t have to be in the picture or even in a direct line with the lens! We reproduced it with the camera/lens completely under a porch roof taking a picture of a bright subject. The Nikon response was that they couldn’t reproduce it and since we can’t reproduce it indoors it must be okay. Unbelievable.
So she saved her cash and bought a better lens so she can use the camera. And now it has an error that we believe comes from the mirror being stuck up. She tried to use live view for the first time after having the camera for 8 months or so, and it immediately went to an error that won’t go away “press shutter release again.”
Now going to their website, there is no Nikon authorized dealer _at_all_ listed for the d5100!
I don’t think we’ll be wasting any more money on Nikon gear. This was supposed to be the ultimate prosumer model for her hobby but it’s turned into a hassle way beyond what would be expected for such expensive gear.
Ha – when I bought my camera I have an inclusive service from a shop so while in repairs I will have a substitute. How it will work now? I hope I will not need to figure it out. On the other hand I was looking for spare focusing screen for D200 which was a service part (as it allegedly cannot be changed on that body by customers). Guess what! Nikon UK told me to ship camera but Nikon Belgium had it available to be sold to Customers. And I replaced it without any issue! Very strange it seems to me that days. Now I see why!
I just had the Attorney General of the State of Connecticut get involved to getting my daughter’s camera back from Nikon after 5 months of not knowing where the camera was and why it wasn’t being fixed…(camera wasn’t even a year old yet…D5100 – over $1300.00 dollars.)
Nikon kept pushing me off stating they had no parts. I requested that Nikon be pulled off the shelves since Nikon cannot get parts for the items they sell. Notify your Attorney General if you are going through the same horrific pain and ordeal my daughter and I have been through for five months!
Im on my fifth Nikon camera in about 20 years
the move to Digital was a long time coming.
Just sent in my D-80 for repair… only to be
told it was a grey market item that they
would not fix unless I can come up with
a reciept where it was bought in Europe…
fat chance… bought it new over ebay from
a 5 star shipper….
Good luck to you all… now looking for
some one to freelance the repair.
I just had my Nikon and lens repaired by Nikon Melville. It took over a month to get my D800 back and that is only because of constant nudging and pestering of Nikon service. And this for a left focus point problem that there really should have been a recall for. I love my Nikons, have become far too accustomed to them, and have way too many lenses to switch now, but I do not like their attitude and policies. They had better be careful since a few more blunders like that may well cost them major market share.
Canon and the others do the same. So it is not just a Nikon thing.
The best thing is for many to complain. It really does not help to switch brands as they all are big business. So either you stop buying cameras or complain loud enough for them to hear…
I’m listed as a Nikon service technician on the net. But as a result of their “Grey Market Sequestration/Confiscation” and the new Repair Part policies, I’m just responding back to modern Nikon owner emails with a re-direct back to Nikon on-line. I’m plenty busy, so if Nikon believes that policies like these help them to stay in business, then more power to them. This & the customers reaction to it, is what free market capitalism is all about.
i need nikon repair softwer
I recently dropped my camera and damaged the bayonet mount unit on a Nikon lens. This sort of damage is an extremely common problem with Nikon lenses due to flawed design. Nikon chose to make this part of fragile plastic rather than of sturdy metal, as in older lenses. I learned on the internet that replacing this part is an extremely simple procedure, illustrated on multiple websites with step-by-step instructions and even videos. Prior to Nikon’s discontinuation of part sales, the part cost $17.00. At a local camera shop they told me, falsely, that the repair is so complex and expensive that I was better off buying a replacement lens for more than $300.00. The reasons for Nikon’s change of policy are quite clear. All this illustrates the pervasive dishonesty of multinational corporate business. I don’t believe that switching to Sony or Canon would do any good. They are simply another gang of crooks. Our only real recourse is political. We must work to repeal corporate personhood rights, get corporate money out of politics, end monopolistic practices and break up, tax and regulate businesses that have grown to wield pervasive corrupt power.
I have been loyal to Nikon for years but my next purchase will be the Mark III NOT the D800 cause I don’t like greedy vendors.
it will create a good market for 3rd party part manufacturers! Those who want to repair their own camera will find a way. Nikon is going to lose eventually
This will have been my last Nikon. I’m on to my 3rd D7000 after Nikon had to replace the others due to shoddy quality control. Poor auto focus with a back focus issue, unreliable metering, excessive color noise even at low ISO to name a few issues. Now if I want to have my camera fixed I must go to a Nikon repair center. Luckily we now have one in Cape Town, but what if this changes in future? It’s not just this issue that will have me look elsewhere when the time comes to replace my camera. It’s the shoddy quality control that seems to be the new way at Nikon. At the moment Nikon themselves are their own worst enemy. They will not endear themselves to customers in this manner. Good bye Nikon
I had a similar experiance with Cannon 20 years ago. It was a Canon AE1 and I was an electronics student. I hadnt used the camera for a while and the symptom was that when I pressed the shutter release, nothing happened except the camer stayed ‘on’. If I set it to delayed release, it would flash its little led until the moment of shutter release and then, just stay energised as before.
I took it to repair, and they said yes they could repair it in 3 days, at their facility in London. I was desperate I was going skiing the following week. I went to collect and was at once suspicious at the number of people being given certificates of insurance write offs as they left. Yes its ready, I was told, its broken, here is your certificate, you can claim it on your insurance. What insurance? I asked. The camera’s a write off, this will prove it to your insurance company the clerk said. I had no insurance of course. I pleaded with them to let me speak to the technician, just to find out how to open it, eventually the secretary gave me some clues, and I went home, cleared a desk, got a bright light and started to take the camera to pieces.
Eventually I found the problem – a corroded connection to a solenoid that triggers the camera, one touch of a soldering iron fixed it. I have the camera to this day, and still occasionally use it. It still works, though now its well battered through heavy use.
But the moral is this. Canon didnt want to repair anything except what they could just replace. Nothing, even the simplest fault would they even look at. A camera technician would have immediately suspected this problem, they just couldnt aford to pay any, I suspect.
As related above, Canon is no saint when it comes to post sale support either. I once bought a $600 Canon fax/printer in the late days of Windows 98. When I got a WinXP computer about a year later I found out they had no plans to release a WinXP driver, and refused to even release the information for someone else to write one. Claimed the intellectual property tied up in their now obsolete boat anchor was too valuable to make public.
It is not just the U.S.A Nikon, Australian independents have the same problem, will not supply parts ,have to go to South East Asia for Nikon parts now.
Not Happy about this but no help from any government agency, so now parts are cheaper ( Parts cost less from outside of Australia ) but customers more frustrated, we tell them the reason and show them the letter from Nikon.
I use to work at a big camera repair center for a large Japan company (not Canon or Nikon).
Now I agree with what Nikon are doing. Why you might ask?
Because I’ve seen repairs from “3rd party” shops where the quality of work has been very poor. There is one repair that really sticks in my mind, but I’m not going to go there. I ended up repairing their poor work, plus the work that they sent it in for.
However, the real main issue is that they don’t have the software or the hardware to do “calibrations” and the repairs.
The company I worked at, once you’ve pulled apart a lens, you’ve got to recalibrate the entire camera. White Balance, Exposure, Pixel Fix, 4x Focus Charts, Vibration Correction/Image Stability, Balance Level.
When you buy a “main board”, you need the software to initialize it, otherwise plugging it in does nothing.
Now not all brands are like this, but this is the situation for one brand.
Without the calibration software, without the hardware, focus charts, the repair will not be very good and in most cases be out of focus or the image stability will introduce blur. There is a difference in the quality of the repair!
Still, you had some shops repairing them anyway, I feel sorry for those people who paid good money for it too. We still sold parts to whoever asked for it mind you, we always tried to help and offer the best solution.
The other issue is there are always new models popping up very quickly, most of these 3rd party stores would not have the knowledge or service manuals or any training on new models.
I would never go to a 3rd party repairer unless they are an “authorized” repairer, meaning they have the software, have regular training, knowledge, and hardware to do the job correctly, verified from the manufacturer.
I would only ring the major manufacturers service line to find out who are their authorized repairers. Do not trust some site saying they are, definitely ring the manufacturer.
In the end of the day, the service industry is struggling because it costs money to offer support, and because most people rather buy a new camera rather than repairing their old one.
Along with almost everything which appears to be developing within this subject material, your points of view are fairly stimulating. Nonetheless, I appologize, because I can not subscribe to your whole plan, all be it refreshing none the less. It appears to everyone that your comments are generally not totally justified and in actuality you are your self not really completely convinced of your assertion. In any event I did take pleasure in examining it.
I live in Spain and quite frankly the authorised Nikon service centres are diabolical, so much so that most people would rather entrust their dentist to repair their camera than go the official route. In most european countries the case of car dealers voiding warranties if the cars was not serviced by an approved dealer was made illegal. I don’t see why the same laws cannot be applied to camera manufcaturers as well.
As for bob, February 5, 2013 at 11:04 pm – It’s your choice not to go to a 3rd party repair centre. It should be our choice to choose to do so if we so wish, not yours nor the manufacturers to dictate what we should do with an item we have purchased.
Anyone who has ever had to deal with Nikon in the last 5 years knows that their customer service has gone to hell. My local camera shop used to be able to replace the low pass filter for roughly $200 dollars. Nikon can NOT perform the same service for less than $576 because their policy is to replace the sensor AND the low pass filter. They are greedy corporate whores. I recently bought canon and will be selling my nikon and lenses. Nikon sucks. I like the product hate the company.
I need to get my lens mounting part fixed and sent the lens to Nikon through local photo shop. After something like 2 weeks, Nikon finally got back to me asking for proof of purchase! I acutally found it (warrenty card) from a trip to China nearly 4 year ago and sent it to them. Now they are asking my passport to show my dates in China! I work for International Higher Education sector and are familiar with immigration rules , for a service industry asking for immigration documents to fix a lens mount — I am speechless. I did sent the passport with my in/out of country stamps on it. See how it goes. Just really disappointed to find out that Nikon the camera I love has so ridiculous rules for something simple to get fixed!
In an age where customers support is almost nonexistent. May service customers are starving for guidance and assistance using their imaging products.
The manufacturers have never dedicated the resources to fill this need directly; rather, the best among them established extensive Authorized Networks and encouraged Independents by supply the needed parts and technical data. By placing representation near the end user, where face-to-face interaction is easily found, they cultivated and educated a loyal customer base that became an additional sales medium. Educated users begat excellent images begat admiring friend’s begat words-of-advice from a trusted source. You can’t buy product endorsement that is this effective.
If the bean counters would only observe this basic truth, they might begin to grasp the idea that Authorized Service Networks and Independent shops are as much and advertising asset as a service one. When viewed from that perspective, the costs associated are amortized over several business areas.
The reality in this case however, is that Nikon is looking through a straw at a single cost/benefit of supplying parts. Since their business model is based on selling cameras, the benefit of extending its’ life cycle is self-defeating. Limiting the ability to resurrect a broken product makes sense to them.
But from my side of the counter, the disappointment, ill will, frustration and anger their users suffer because of this misguided policy only serves to fuel the fire of bad reputation. Our shop no longer assists Nikon users in any way, other than to emphasize that “Nikon” created the policy. We point out our numerous awards, credentials and associations and 35 years of continued service to the community, and end by strongly endorsing replacement by other brands.
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