Manufacturer Warranties and Protection Plans

[jgdevlin]

Well here's the jist of it. I have the full PSP and the ADH part of it. I brought my Digital SLR camera in for a cleaning. When I received it back from Precision Camera the mirror remained dirty and foreign dirt and dust particles remained on the CCD sensor (as evidenced when I took some test photos). I returned it that day to be returned to the service center for a cleaning. It was returned back to me with an explanatory letter that I found a little demeaning but I understand the reason it was sent (not everyone knows enough about such a product to accurately describe a problem). To that effect I can forgive the letter but not the service. Here are some photos I shot moments after taking the camera out of the box. The mirror remained dirty too.

Photo 1

Photo 2

Photo 3

Letter scan

Now this is highly disappointing to see this on the camera. I used an air blower that I bought with the camera to clean much of it and thankfully that big, black thing isn't on there anymore but there remains foreign dirt and dust in there as well. I have a shoot this weekend that I scheduled. I brought the camera with enough time for the service to reasonably take place (approximately one month). The camera was returned in 11 days. The re-servicing was completed in 7 days and I received it back this past Monday. I am appreciative that it was returned to me in time but not with the service at all. Precision Camera seems, from all of its literature, a professional cleaning service and these aren't the results I would expect or even accept. Now I am limited during this shoot. If I close the aperture too much I will have dirt and dust but of course I have to do that to get certain degrees of sharpness and clarity that I want. Secondly, why should I be hampered in the usage of my own camera.

I paid $129.99 for the four year plan and now what am I to do, go to an independent camera store and pay more money to do something that was not properly done in the first place?  Will Best Buy reimburse me for this?  I do not think they will.  I am preparing letters to send to both Best Buy's corporate offices and Precision Camera with the photo's as listed above.  

[Rrrrrrr]

Sometimes dirt can "weld" to the sensor and simple cleanings sometimes just wont cut it. 

I cant help ya with the dust other than recommend sending it direct to Nikon for cleaning. I send all mine right to Nikons repair center in Melville, NY. I dont trust 3rd party repair generally. The address and instructions are on nikonusa.com support section.

[jgdevlin]

Which is something I have thought about doing.  Melville isn't far from me but my point of the matter is, if I am going to have a service plan like this and Best Buy's service cannot actually complete the service satisfactorily or properly then what's the point of the service?  Now how much does Nikon charge?

[Rrrrrrr]

I know what you mean. Place I bought my D70 (2004) had a "cleaning program" and the first time I used it they screwed the sensor up. Ended up sending it to Nikon for sensor replacement (warranty). Charge from Nikon is around $50-65 (includes shipping) unless its went up since feb.

[jgdevlin]

Well the manufacturer's warranty is up but I doubt the sensor needs replacement.  It functions absolutely fine, it just has a few specs of dust on it.

[Dorothy-BBY Community Supervisor]

Hello jgdevlin -

Allan, from our Community Connector team, will be reaching out to you, to discuss your concern.  Thank you for your patience and for sharing your experience with us.

[Rrrrrrr]

Is you D60 your first DSLR? One thing I find helps control keeping dust off the sensor is to point the body down when I change lenses whenever possible. Isnt 100% effective, but works. When I do get spots, I usually just use clone brush in PS in post production where they are visable. Debris on a sensor is going to happen with these types of cameras. No real way to get around it unless you only change lenses in a clean room or never take the lens off. Theres kits to clean them yourself but then theres a risk to damage the sensor. Most I do is use a bulb duster like you have between my cameras yearly cleanings.

[jgdevlin]

Yes this is my first D-SLR and I do the same (point the camera down).  But changing lenses enough will do this (especially over time).  I have a Gotto Rocket Air Blower that is pretty good but eventually it just happens.  Precisely.  It's meant to happen it has interchangeable lenses, which is just the reality of the matter.  I'd love to get an 18-200mm lens so I wouldn't have to bother with this but it's too much money.  I'll see what Best Buy tells me.

[Allan-BBY Community Connector]

Hi jgdevlin,

I’m sure the fact that your camera was sent out to be cleaned twice now, just to come back from service with the sensor still dirty, doesn’t instill a lot of faith in the service center’s abilities. I can understand needing your sensor cleaned before your shoot, and I’m sure the prospect of sending it back out for cleaning is not something you are looking forward to.

Unfortunately the only way for us to get this camera cleaned would be to have it sent back to the service center. Another option you should have is to have the service performed by an authorized service center of your choice, and then get reimbursed by your Performance Service Plan (PSP).

If you need my personal assistance in getting this resolved, or specific directions on how to get reimbursed for services rendered by another service center, just send me a private message. To send me a private message you should log into the forum, click on my icon, and then click on the send this user a private message link.

Thanks for posting,

[jgdevlin]

Allan, Thank you for the response.  What mystifies me about this service is that in May I brought the camera in for a needed cleaning and it came back without issue the first time.  So the confidence was definitely there but after this time I wonder if it was just the tech but dropping the camera off for a third time is presently not an option.  Now if the option to have Nikon perform the cleaning be reimbursable under the PSP I would definitely like to explore that route.  I do not have any information on me as I am at work but I will PM you tonight when I arrive home.