D70 Repair Diary

I sent my d70 to Nikon's El Segundo repair center on Wednesday, 10/5, and Fedex confirmed delivery at 9:00AM on Friday. This is the letter that accompanied it:

Now it's a waiting game. The standard procedure is for them to log is the camera, evaluate it, and then contact the owner by Snail-Mail to get authorization for the repair. I hope to shortcut the system, and will call on Tuesday and try to speak to a very responsive tech at El Segundo that Phil Youngblood identified for me. I'll see if I can authorize the repair by phone, and try to make the case that this is a design problem that should be repaired at Nikon's expense. If the d70 isn't capable of supporting the heaview lenses, that should have been noted in its specs. Users shouldn't be penalized for buying Nikon's best lenses, and enriching their profit line, should they?

Note that I spoke to a service tech on Friday afternoon, and she thought I was calling about a BGLOD return. They are estimating a 5 day turn-around for BGLOD repairs. I hope that doesn't stuff the system up and extend the repair cycle for other problems.

I'll keep you updated about the repair process on this thread. It'll help me cope with my withdrawal symptoms.  epressed.

 

Good News!!!

I called Nikon El Segundo to see if my d70, which they received on Friday morning, had been logged into the system yet. Yes, it has, and they were able to give me the service number!

Even better news! The technician has already evaluated it, and since I had returned my d70 for warranty work in June, they are treating this as a no-charge re-repair!!! And since that doesn't require customer authorization, they're already working on it.

The service rep says that their current standard is a 5 day turn around on repairs. Of course, that's based on them having parts in hand. I'm hoping that's the case, and they'll be able to ship it out by the end of the week.

Gotta love Nikon... sometimes :wink:.

 

No, I'm going to borrow Philippe's d70 for the engagement shoot this weekend, and rely on Nikon to get me my camera back in time for the wedding in November. It's looking pretty good... now.

Since I won't have to spend a bundle on the repair or a new camera, I think I'm going to splurge on a gray market 85/1.4... but I'll wait until I've got the camera back before I place the order.

 

Heck, at 6,000 activations, your d70 isn't even broken in yet, Ken. I've got 18,000 on mine. If I were you, I'd wait for the d200.

 

I called Nikon El Segundo yesterday, to see how my d70 repair was faring, but after waiting 20 minutes to get a live body on the line, I gave up. I was just about to try again this morning when my doorbell rang, and the UPS man delivered my repaired d70!!! Since it was categorized as a re-repair, they sent it back by Next Day Air.

The invoice lists the following:

Repair Communication
Clean CCD
Check AF
Check Flash Operation
General Check & Clean

My thanks and kudos to Nikon El Segundo!!!

 

Thanks, Frank and Phil! I've tried out the camera, and it seems to be perfect! Great job by Nikon.

 

This is the first real problem I've had with a Nikon, dating back to when I bought a CP995 in early 2002. The quality of their gear has been excellent, and now I have anecdotal evidence that their service is just as good as their equipment. I guess I might as well get that Nikon tattoo now, cause I'm not buying anything else :wink:.

 

Thanks, Ed. It turns out that all that agita about borrowing a camera for the engagement shoot on Saturday was unnecessary. But who would have thought that Nikon would turn around a major repair in just 5 days?