Hacking Photography - one Picture at a time
After Nikon shut down its repair services in the USA and Canada in March, Nikon USA has reopened its service centre, but only for mail-in customers, not walk-in customers over the counter. This is expected to change as measures are put into place to protect both their staff and customers.
As a result of COVID-19, an announcement on the Nikon USA website says that there is a longer turnaround time than usual and that delays should be expected.
The folks at iFixit have been working hard during the lockdown, including building a massive repository of repair information for ventilators and other devices to help those who need to repair life-saving equipment. But they’re also managing to keep up with their regular YouTube duties, too, still regularly posting teardowns and instructional videos to repair your personal devices.
Most recently, their latest video is the new DJI Mavic Air 2 drone; DJI’s follow-up to 2018’s popular Mavic Air. iFixit’s video takes the Mavic Air 2 apart to show how all of the major components fit together, and how easily they dismantle to provide access to pretty much every component contained within.
After Nikon, Canon has also decided to temporarily shut down some of its repair shops in the USA. In California, New Jersey, Illinois, and Hawaii, Canon is closing the repair facilities “until further notice,” and of course, it’s all because of the current coronavirus pandemic.
If you’re a Nikon shooter based in the USA or Canada and your gear goes down over the next few weeks, you’re going to have a wait on your hands to get it back up and running – not that most of us will have jobs to go shoot anyway. Nikon USA has announced that it has closed down its camera repair service and are currently not accepting equipment.
This follows an announcement a few days ago that Nikon Canada had also suspended their repair service as well as Nikon Pro Services (NPS) loaners. Nikon Australia has also closed its Sydney Office and their Service Centre, although they are still accepting deliveries by courier only.
Nikon is soon killing its authorized third-party repair program. Starting from early 2020, more than a dozen repair shops will come down to only two facilities at the ends of the US. This way, the Authorized Repair Stations will become non-authorized and likely lose access to official parts and software. Therefore, you will need to mail your gear directly to Nikon, no matter where you live.
Back in 2014, Nikon issued a technical service bulletin over “dust” issues with the D600 DSLR. It was an issue that Nikon initially seemed to deny existed but then replaced the D600 with the D610 less than 13 months later. But then, shortly after that, in February 2014, Nikon finally admitted there was a problem with the D600 and issued the service advisory offering free repairs – even if the warranty had expired.
Not too long after that, China even ordered Nikon to stop selling the D600 within the country. And later in 2014, Nikon was finally just replacing D600 bodies with D610s for many owners who had been involved in a class-action lawsuit. Now, Nikon is finally ending that free repair programme.
As a photographer, it’s one of the worst things that can happen. You’re away for three weeks travelling and shooting – for work – and right at the beginning of the trip you drop the only lens you’ve brought with you. That’s what happened to Pierre Lambert and his $2,300 Sony 16-35mm f/2.8 GM lens recently.
With part of the body of the lens twisted, there were obvious issues. Pierre chose to take the rather unconventional decision to attempt to repair the expensive lens himself. Fortunately for us, he shot video so the rest of us can see what’s contained inside this $2,300 lens.
So, this is an interesting one and not something I’ve come across before. But a British photographer we spoke to reports having had serial numbers in his Nikon lenses changed after sending them in to be repaired by Nikon Professional Services in the UK.
He says that Nikon told him they sometimes have to replace the part which contains the serial number. However, this may invalidate your insurance or future warranty when numbers no longer match up. Especially if Nikon isn’t providing any documentation for the new number or even telling you that it has a new one.
Have you ever wondered what it looks like when a technician repairs your camera? This timelapse will answer the question what happens when a shutter is being replaced. While it’s purely technical, it’s mesmerizing to watch. Not to mention I’m in awe when I see how many tiny, fragile parts the technician needs to deal with and leave them unharmed. In particular this case, the guy is working with Canon 6D. But I imagine it’s equally demanding with all DLSRs.
It should be pretty common knowledge by now that you don’t check your delicate camera gear when flying. Ok, sometimes, you might no choice, especially if you fly Delta. But if the ability is there to carry it in your hand luggage, then do it. This was an expensive lesson to learn for one lady who recently brought her Leica M10 & 50mm f/0.95 Noctilux to Leica Store Manchester for repair.
The $10,995 lens has been smashed, and the $6,895 camera now won’t even turn on. Leica Store Manchester told PetaPixel, “She had only had the camera and lens for 2 weeks”.
You can find out more about John on his website and follow his adventures on YouTube.
His videos have over a hundred million views, have been extensively published by news outlets, and has even received recognition from a few film festivals, such as International Ocean Festival
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