A couple bought an $800 Nikon P1000 for bird photography. And when it broke – the company could do nothing to fix it. Even though the camera was bought at Walmart, Nikon considers it to be “gray market gear” and won’t repair it, leaving the couple with a “$800 paperweight.”
Resurrecting a broken 50-year-old Linhof tripod with a little DIY repair
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There is a lot of old camera gear out there and I regularly see people showing off their “finds” on social media. Usually, though, it’s cameras or lenses. Often in decent working condition, too. Occasionally, though, they become repair projects, and following that process is fascinating. Less common, though, are anything photo-related that isn’t a camera or a lens… Like a tripod.
Well, Markus Hofstätter found himself in possession of a 50-year-old Linhof tripod that had apparently been involved in a bicycle accident and was in pretty rough shape. Being a big fan of really old camera gear and also being pretty good at repairing it, he decided to see if he could give this old Linhof tripod a new life.
Camera Rescue starts a free school for repairing and preserving old film cameras
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The Camera Rescue team are on a mission to save old and discontinued film cameras. And if you’d like to join them and learn their craft – now you can. They’re starting a school where they will teach you to repair and preserve old film cameras, and even recreate the missing parts for them. And it’s completely free of charge.
Apple kills off 3rd party iPhone 12 camera repairs thanks to proprietary Apple tool requirement
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If you’re one of those who’s jumped on the new iPhone 12 smartphones, be ready to take very good care of it because if you kill the camera, there’s no inexpensive repair option. It will have to go back to either Apple or one of the few (expensive) authorised repair centres, iFixit has discovered in some more extensive testing of the new iPhones.
A leaked internal Apple training guide suggests that this is intentional on Apple’s part, and also indicates that it’s true of all four models of the new 12 series iPhones, as they have to be tested through Apple’s proprietary software – although iFixit has only seen issues with the iPhone 12 so far. Oh, yeah, and screens can’t be user replaced without errors, either.
Nikon USA has opened back up its repair service – but not for walk-ins
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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 DJI Mavic Air 2 is actually super easy to fix
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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.
Canon USA suspends its repair centers in four states due to coronavirus pandemic
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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.
Nikon has suspended camera repair services in the USA and Canada
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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 about to make it a lot more difficult to get your camera repaired
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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.
Nikon is ending is free D600 sensor “dust” repair service in January 2020
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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.
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