Two contraptions Nikon has happily rescued from the dead.
While running around Italy I confirmed a growing suspicion. After over 15,000 shots, my Nikon D600 had finally succumbed to the sensor dust issue that’s plagued the model since its inception. No worries though, as soon as I got back I mailed it off to Nikon repair and they happily fixed it for free. After just two weeks my camera is like new with an entirely replaced shutter mechanism. Thanks Nikon!
If you have a Nikon D600 showing little black specks in your images, Nikon will repair it for free. You don’t have to pay shipping and you don’t have to mess with any proof-of-purchase or warranty stuff, so even if you bought your camera used you can still get the shutter replaced.
The best way to test if your camera has this issue is to put on a wide angle lens, set the aperture at f22 or so, and take a picture of a clear sky or textureless wall. If you see black specks everywhere, get your camera fixed. In practical use (who shoots at that kind of aperture?) these specks are thrown a bit out of focus, so they appear as darkened circles rather than black spots.
This isn’t the first time Nikon Repair has demonstrated its awesomeness. I purchased a used Nikon Coolscan V off eBay and it arrived in horrendous shape. Even though Nikon hadn’t manufactured the Coolscan V in nearly a decade, they not only repaired the internal issue I had, but they also replaced the cracked front, all for only a 250 USD flat fee!
DSLR and scanning equipment is no small feat to repair. If you want an idea of what goes into a ‘free’ repair, check out iFixit’s teardown of the D600 to see how much goes into these tiny wonders.