D600 Sensor dust problem

[flashc]

I was just about to buy a D600 and just typed into a search box, "problems with D600" to see what came up and quite a few comments about dust on the sensor surfaced.

DpReview seems to have some discussion on the topic and Nikon may be admitting that the dust is there when the cameras are assembled.

I read, even after a proper clean and never changing a lens, the dust spots can reappear in the same area of the sensor after about 200 shots.

I pressured a local shop salesman who tried to sell me the Canon 6D as an upgrade from my 7D even after I told him I wanted a D600 full frame and he either made this statement up or knows something.

He said that the dust on the sensor problem, from new, with the D600 is only with imported stock and doesn't happen with Nikon genuine Australian sourced stock. The shop has probably never sold a D600 because they won't lower the price at all.

True or False???

[I @ M]

Flash, if you search hard enough for problems with any make or model you will probably find enough chatter on the 'net to convince you to never buy any product.
There seems to be a section of the population that derive enormous pleasure from beating up each and every aspect of any product if it should show any sign of a problem.
The D600 is simply another product that is manufactured in bulk and as likely to be subject to manufacturing flaws as any other. There appears to be an issue with contamination of the low pass filter in newly purchased cameras, there have been instances in the past where people had similar issues with the D7000 and there were reports that the contamination was due to excess lubricant from the mirror assembly landing on the filter.
There are also a few words out there that the "problem" goes away after the filter has been cleaned and the camera used for quite a few images.
If it is a massive problem Nikon may or may not admit to it and clean filters at no charge. Going on their past record of total silence on any issue with some of their cameras I kind of think that they will never state that there is a problem.
As for spots reappearing on sensor filters you are going to find that ALL cameras are going to have similar issues. I have even been shocked to hear that some people have bought a 4x4, hardly ever opened the doors, never opened the windows and have definitely never driven on a dirt road but, ( shock horror ) they have had to clean the interiors of their one month old cars to remove dust!!!!!!

As for the salesman, perhaps he might like to research where the majority of grey import Nikon bodies come from. He will most likely find out that they are sourced from Hong Kong. He then might like to research where all Nikon Australia stock comes from and he will find that they are sourced from --- wait for it --- Hong Kong. I am sure that a camera salesman would never bend the truth to cement a potential sale though so he must be right.

In reality, the problem will go away and there will be many that complained in the first place who end up with dust / muck on their filters after 12 months use just as all DSLR owners do and they will simply pay someone to clean it or learn to do it themselves and all of a sudden it is no longer a problem.

Your desire to own a new camera should be clarified by what each and every model offers and seeing as you already own one excellent lens in the 70-200 I would be looking more closely at the Canon 6D to suit your needs, especially as they don't seem to have any issues reported widely yet if that sort of thing is a worry to you.

[arthurking83]

First things first!!

One thing that I can't understand is why people thing that dust accumulates on the sensor whilst changing lenses!!

What is it about changing lenses that folks believe to be a part of the issue of dust on sensors?

Unless you make a practice of making exposures whilst changing lenses, I'm 99.9% sure that you will not get any dust on your sensor during the changing of the optics.
(the 0.01% is as a failsafe .. people are known to do stoopid things, so I'm giving myself a bit of slack here)

But if you think about it for a second it will make sense.
If you change lenses as per the normal routine, your camera has a shutter curtain(actually two of them).
They are impervious to light .. which means that they will not allow light through to the keeper(in this case the keeper being the sensor).

Whilst this is less important for digital imaging as the digital sensor requires that it be active, it's vital for a film based camera to have total light stopping power from the shutter, as the film would be contaminated prior to the actual exposure being made.
If that were the case, then every film based photograph ever made with a SLR camera over the past 70 years would have been reduced to a washed out, bleached looking mess .. the equivalent to that would be one of those annoying Instagram processing steps!

Nup!! this doesn't happen unless there is an issue(mechanical) with the camera.
Dust accumulates on the sensor during the exposure .. that means whilst the lens is on!
The only way that dust can find it's way onto the sensor is when the shutter is open, and the sensor is active.

Dust can accumulate in the mirror box, even in a camera that has never had more than one lens on it it's entire life!
My old D70 hardly sees the light of day .. maybe one short spell every few months now, and it constantly has a small collection of dust within it's mirror box.
That is the dust that eventually settles on the sensor during an exposure, and my theory is that the longer the exposures, the more chance that dust will have to settle on the electrically charged sensor too ... meaning that longer exposures may allow more dust to settle on the sensor.

People just need to get used to the fact that dust is a fact of life.
Sure, there is the occasional issue such as that of the D7000 where some sort of oily substance caused an issue and dust accumulation was higher than normal, but people need to just get on with their lives and stop worrying about such nonsense. '
It's an easy fix .. clean your sensor regularly if the dust causes grief.
Or in this case, if the D600 has a above average accumulation of dust on it's sensor, then take it back and get them to clean it .. it should be a free service.

to the OP: I'm curious as to why you would want a D600, when a 6D would make more sense for your situation!

[old dog]

it sounds to me much like what Arthur said. My D7000 had a slight bit of oil spatter on the sensor but a wet clean is easy to do and it sure does the trick. Probably the D600 suffers from the same problem with the oil...esp if it`s in the same area. Could be dust? but most likely oil. and the dealer is telling a big porky about imported or grey marketed cameras only having the problem. Could happen to any of them...they all come out of the same factory.

[Cage]

No dust or oil on my sensor

I'd buy another one in a flash if I needed it.

My only regret in buying the D600 is that I couldn't do it years ago.

[flashc]

Or in this case, if the D600 has a above average accumulation of dust on it's sensor, then take it back and get them to clean it .. it should be a free service.

to the OP: I'm curious as to why you would want a D600, when a 6D would make more sense for your situation!

Hi everyone...

Thanks for all the replies... This dust/oil thing was the only complaint I found about the D600. Just wanted to see if anyone here had noticed it.

I have a Nikon D5100 too, and some lenses including a 50mm f1.4 so I'm not just a canon devotee. I'm quite impressed by the D5100 focusing and low noise performance at 6400 ISO+. I own 2 different makes of cars too.

Without wishing to appear to be pushing the Canon Brand, I've never manually cleaned the sensor on my 7D after over 2 years of use and would like to expect the same from any Nikon D600 or D800, I may buy.

Now, if I was to buy a new DSLR online, I would guess for the saving of A$700.00, that Nikon Australia wouldn't want to know me if some type of dust/oil manufacturers problem was recognised as a manufacturers fault in the future.

I bought all my current Nikon gear locally in Australia with the 2 year warranties... At some point, $700.00 difference for any brand is not just a minor consideration.

[arthurking83]

$700 at the $2K price range represents a 30% saving, so that's fair'nuff ... I'd probably look to do the same thing if I were in the market for that sort of product. It's worth taking the risk.

But in doing that, I'd also be prepared to forego the factory warranty, especially if the only possible issue is dust on sensor.

A cleaning kit only costs about $50 to $100, and would give you at least 5 years of cleaning service, if you cleaned it regularly.

[arnica]

Sorry for the thread rival, but I also was experiencing some sensor dust on the D600 when i first got it. However I have recently noticed that the dust has disappeared??? I have don't any cleaning or anything, just continued taking shots ... I'm not sure how they have disappeared? maybe they have fallen off the sensor?

[Epoc]

Remember that most grey HK sellers offer local warranty, especially if you stick with sellers that have local contact details ie. Eglobal and DWI. Many people have has issues and had them resolved locally with too much hassle.

[MI5]

Sorry for the thread rival, but I also was experiencing some sensor dust on the D600 when i first got it. However I have recently noticed that the dust has disappeared??? I have don't any cleaning or anything, just continued taking shots ... I'm not sure how they have disappeared? maybe they have fallen off the sensor?

Maybe enough dusts had gathered to cover the sensor evenly (just joking).