Is Nikon Hiding D800 Recall As ‘Free Maintenance’ Initiative?

In today’s world, everyone likes to dress up words and make them sound more appealing to themselves and the masses.  Political correctness is rampant, and we have to be so careful anymore about what we say so as to not offend the sensibilities of others or cast something in a negative light.

Yesterday, various Nikon D800 owners received emails informing them of a free “Nikon Maintenance Service Initiative.”  It’s not clear yet whether Nikon is simply being generous, testing equipment for potential persistent issues, or if this is another name for a recall.

Forum poster “Der Steppenwolf” was kind enough to share a copy of the joyous announcement with the world:

And, the accompanying maintenance certificate:

 

Again, it’s unclear what Nikon’s motives are, but in a competitive world where issuing a formal recall could mean a dip in sales and a hit to stockholders, I can imagine they’d be scrambling to find a way to dress it up.  Some are speculating that the initiative may have something to do with the left focusing issue on the camera.  …or, perhaps they inadvertently built in nuclear launch codes to the firmware.

Then again, maybe Nikon is just taking the high road and doing their best to maintain happy customers.  However, the chances of that are similar to those of me winning a beauty pageant…

[via Nikon Rumors]