In case you're not sure what the policy is, here are two threads with the background:

http://www.nikonians.org/forums/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=138&topic_id=3774&mesg_id=3774&page=

http://www.nikonians.org/forums/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=190&topic_id=78886&mesg_id=78886&page=

This question is for USA members only of course.

Poll result (37 votes) Yes, and I'm a full-time pro photographer (sole income from photography) (0 votes) Vote Yes, and I'm a part-time pro or earn some income from photography (2 votes) Vote Yes and I'm an amateur (no money earned from photography) (1 votes) Vote No and I'm a full-time pro (0 votes) Vote No and I'm a part-time pro or earn some income from photography (11 votes) Vote No and I'm an amateur (no photography income) (23 votes) Vote

I have owned and used Nikon equipment since 1982, never once have I had a problem which required repair. I have owned more than a few bodies over the years. I am not worried.

----------------------------------------------
CEI

"Flectere si nequeo superos, Acheronta movebo."

As long as Authorized Repair Depots still have access to parts and tools, there's really no crisis here. This is absolutely the case - only "non-authorized" shops will cease to gain access without payment in full.

Personally, it's a beancounter's dream - likely the authorized depots were starting to complain - after all, what's the difference between you and the other guy if you both have access to the parts and tools pipeline? Likely price, and the authorized depots were getting undercut. Cash flow issues with the non-authorized shops are also a possibility, with terms of payment stretching out longer and longer given how bad the economy is now. Cash flow is king. And forcing consumers back into Nikon's extended network of service depots is a win-win.

"Toodle-loo from Covey22!"

-Armando
Nikonians Team
Nikonians News - Fresh Everyday!

The Covey Blog!

My Plan:

Get out of the car.
Get closer to the subject.
Pick the right mid-tone this time.

See My Nikonians Gallery

As much as I spend on Nikon equipment, I wouldn't dream of taking my equipment to a repair shop that is not authorized. Perhaps the other shops need to do what it takes to become authorized?

Scott Chapin
Powder Springs, GA, USA
Nikonians Team Member

>As much as I spend on Nikon equipment, I wouldn't dream of
>taking my equipment to a repair shop that is not authorized.
>Perhaps the other shops need to do what it takes to become
>authorized?

I'm with Scott on this. At least you know the people are probably certified, trained and have the specialty equipment to do what they are doing and if they run into any snags, they have a direct line to Nikon to discuss. All of this comes with some expense.

Mel
An Opinionated Old Curmudgeon from Virginia


Website - www.meltalley.com
Blog - http://blog.meltalley.com
Facebook - www.facebook.com/mel.talley
Twitter - @meltalley

I'm with Scott and Mel.

Unfortunately, I've had to have three Nikon cameras, two SLR's and one DSLR repaired, and two lenses repaired.

On the SLR's, I blew out a meter through stupidity. It was my Nikon F Photomic Tn, and the other was my F5 (motor drive). I've had to have a new shutter put in a D700. I wore it out. Over the years I had to get a Manual Focus Nikkor 135mm f/2.8 repaired (aperture got stuck) and a Nikon AF Zoom Nikkor 70-210mm f/4.0S (AF failed).

Each time I went to a Nikon authorized repair center and each time the repair was done promptly with a reasonable cost, and the cameras and lenses never needed to be repaired again.

Ned
A Nikonians Team Member

-----------------------------
Visit my Travel Photography Blog and my Galleries.

IIRC, Nikon USA has never repaired one of my Nikon cameras or Nikkor lenses. I have had several service calls at an Authorized Nikon Repair Center. These centers often repair other brands also, or act as a front for Nikon USA. In any case the door I open, or the address on my parcel is Nikon Authorized Repair Center.

The way I read this bulletin, I don't have to change my practices at all. On the plus side for me, these Authorized Repair Centers have also repaired non-USA Nikon items (gray market) as though they were NikonUSA items. These latter repairs were not warranty repairs, but fixed to factory specs.

Best Regards,
Roger

This doesn't affect me one iota. I've had to have plenty of equipment worked on for one reason or another, including my stupidity (FM2n shutter, cracked SB-800 display, dropped 50/f1.8 Series E), Nikon's broken design (the infamous D2h meter board), some combination (18-200VR), previous impact (135/f2 AF DC, at least two owners ago), just plain wear (HK-27, 35/f1.4, 135/f2 AI) or something else (D100 aperture stop-down mechanism). For a while my policy has been that if it's under warranty from Nikon, I send it to Melville. For anything else, I go to an authorized repair center. That doesn't change with this policy. With the complexity of modern gear (AFS, VR, DSLR, iTTL) it's unlikely that any other places would have the skills to sort the stuff out anyway, even if they had the parts.

_____
Brian... a bicoastal Nikonian and Team Member

My gallery is online. Comments and critique welcomed any time!

This won't change my decision about Nikon, but could be problematic in other ways.

For normal repairs I use Nikon USA for warranty work and difficult repairs. I used Nikon Authorized for routine repair and a few special situations where they have expertise.

My worry is getting parts to special service companies - LifePixel for example. I don't know whether they need Nikon parts, but would imagine they do. I guess this means someone like that would have to source parts through Nikon Authorized shops or overseas through alternative parts sources. KEH is another good repair service that will not have access to parts so it could impact the supply and price of used gear.

It's probably not practical to extend this policy globally - there are a number of countries that do not have any Nikon Authorized Repair services. This appears to be a Nikon USA issue only.

Eric Bowles
Nikonians Team
My Gallery
Workshops

Nikonians membership — my most important photographic investment, after the camera

I've got mixed emotions about this policy change. While It shouldn't have a great impact on me, I compare it to other companies developing the same sort of policy.
Imagine GM saying GM parts to to authorized repair shops only. That would mean you'd be stuck having auto work done at the dealership at xx times competitive shop rate.
Like everyone else, what repairs I need done, I want done to the highest quality possible, but at the same time if I can save a few bucks in the process thats important also.
In the long run, if more companies develop this sort of stratagy, I see it hurting our economy even more. A mass movement in this direction would eliminate another x% of our work force.

____________________________________________________________________
When no one is looking, Pigs can walk on they're hind legs

I think this kind of thing is inevitable. It used to be (say 25 or 50 years ago) that one could repair in one's workshop just about anything. Home repair has been on the decline because of miniaturization and complexity increases in just about everything. I repair my own computers. I doubt I'll be able to repair my iPad2 if it fails. And so the trend goes.

Cameras and lenses I would guess are no different. VR, AF, LiveView, etc. are complex and delicate and calibration with high performance or custom-by-Nikon equipment is essential. I was reading my D90 repair manual recently and some 35 special tools are needed to work on this camera, some the size of a small bench top (for alignment checks and adjustments). This includes computer software that you specially tether to the camera during alignment, etc.

Judging by the multitude of photographs in the 170-page disassembly/reassembly repair manual of my D90, I would guess this camera's guts to be 10X the complexity of my FE2.

And us finicky photographers, on receiving a lens back, shoot at fully open aperture at closest focusing distance and across the entire zoom range and then view the corners of the resulting image at 100% crop on a 27" monitor, all to see if there is one iota of deficiency!

And who performs a repair is not top of mind and soon forgotten and the Nikon brand suffers the brunt of any issues, Nikon's fault or not.

There are some aspects of this policy change which suggest to me it would be something I too would do if I were in charge at Nikon.

Peter