Seeking advice on Nikon DF (Page 4): :sm24: :sm24: :sm24: :sm24:...

wapiti Loc: round rock, texas

Kissel vonKeister wrote:

Not my experience at all. Mine looked like it was taken out of the original box and put in a white one. No sign of it ever having been handled. I bought mine from Nikon direct, and it looked like the refurb program was a means of reducing excess inventory. I've seen this same comment repeatedly on here.

Haydon

I can't speak for Nikon although I can't see how their policies with refurbished are any different than Canon's.

1.) Bought a refurbished Canon 16-35 2.8L in 2010, looked brand new, never had an issue.
2.) Bought a refurbished Canon 1DIV in 2012, looked brand new, never had an issue.
3.) Bought a refurbished Canon SX50 in 2016, looked brand new & never an issue.
4.) Bought a 85 mm 1.8 in 2017, looked brand new and so far no issue.

There are plenty of people on UHH from both camps that buy refurbished and much like myself never have a problem and have difficulty believing they aren't brand new. I think you're case might be an exception.

BebuLamar

I never bought a refurbished so I don't know. I bought a number of store display equipment and they came with warranty as new. I bought a Nikon 20mm f/2.8 AF-D which was a store display for $265. After about 4 years it had stuck diaphragm and Nikon fixed it for me free.
New Df only came with 1 year warranty.
In my opinion Nikon doesn't have a back up inventory or a replacement model is coming.

wapiti Loc: round rock, texas

Dan De Lion,Where does your information come from? I would like to see some information that refurbished items were "returned as defective". I have purchased several refurbished camera bodies without a single problem. I suspect that camera bodies have been returned for several reasons other than "defective".

Pilot 6 Loc: Eugene, OR

Anyone contemplating purchase of Nikon DF should read Tom Hogan's comprehensive, objective review of this camera. Google "Nikon DF reviews" to find it.

silverwren Loc: Alabama

adm, when I compare photos I took in Paris in 1986 with my FM2 to the ones I took several years ago with a D200, the film shots are so much more interesting. That could be me, of course, but I will always treasure that manual camera. I have since bought a DF and D3 and am more than thrilled with them. I'll be taking the DF to Paris next year but I would love to take the FM2 also. What is the deal with film in airports these days?

Ched49 Loc: Pittsburgh, Pa.

mwsilvers wrote:

Scratches and nick's? You must be rough on you gear. I've got 4 dslr bodies and only one of them has a scuff on it. Our 40 year old Pentax K1000 doesn't have a mark on it.

I'm by no means promoting being rough on camera gear...just making a point if a photographer happens to get a nick on it, it doesn't look too bad on the retro style body.

BebuLamar

cjkorb wrote:

I'm by no means promoting being rough on camera gear...just making a point if a photographer happens to get a nick on it, it doesn't look too bad on the retro style body.

While the old F series Nikon were meant to take rough treatment the Df isn't. It's well built but a delicate camera. I bought the Df because I am at the age when I no longer subject my equipment to rough treatment. Otherwise I would have to buy the D4.

Bobspez Loc: Southern NJ, USA

Have never used metering on any digital camera or lens. That's what chimping is for. That's the great advantage of digital over film. You can see what the settings will produce instantly. If you shoot manual you want to make your own decisions anyway.

wingclui44 wrote:

NO metering on D3xxx & D5xxx and even some older one like D40 D60.

Dan De Lion Loc: Montana

Greenmachine wrote:

Good call on the diopter correction lens possibility! I have known several photographers with what they thought were major and possibly expensive focusing issues,
and found out that all they needed was to replace or adjust their unfocused diopter lens usually at minimum expense!
---Greenmachine

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I also thought the mis-focusing viewfinder should be an easy fix. However, the third rate repair facility the Nikon Store sent it to was was not competent enough to do that. Although, if I sent them $250 they could fix it.

Again, refurbished means "a defective camera that has hopefully been fixed."

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JohnSwanda Loc: San Francisco

Bobspez wrote:

Have never used metering on any digital camera or lens. That's what chimping is for. That's the great advantage of digital over film. You can see what the settings will produce instantly. If you shoot manual you want to make your own decisions anyway.

That's fine with static subjects. But with ongoing action and changing lighting, you don't have time to chimp and adjust settings.

Dan De Lion Loc: Montana

wapiti wrote:

Dan De Lion,Where does your information come from? I would like to see some information that refurbished items were "returned as defective". I have purchased several refurbished camera bodies without a single problem. I suspect that camera bodies have been returned for several reasons other than "defective".

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Hey wapiti - Do you really think NikonUSA takes back a camera because someone didn't like its color or its size or its weight and then refurbishes them? No, no,no. Like all businesses, Nikon "fixes" factory mistakes and then blows them out as heavily discounted refurbished items.

Who do you think benefits from the rumor that Nikon's refurbished cameras are really brand new? I'll give you one guess.

Refurbished means fixed. If a new camera needs to be fixed that implies it was defective. There's no free lunch, sorry about that.

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wapiti Loc: round rock, texas

Dan De Lion wrote:

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I also thought the mis-focusing viewfinder should be an easy fix. However, the third rate repair facility the Nikon Store sent it to was was not competent enough to do that. Although, if I sent them $250 they could fix it.

Again, refurbished means "a defective camera that has hopefully been fixed."

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One more time. Refurbished DOES NOT mean a defective camera.

Bobspez Loc: Southern NJ, USA

Well, in that situation you may not have time to manually focus either. But Photoshop does a great job with fixing lighting, shadows,
highlights, etc., as long as the highlights are not totally blown out. It's always better to under expose a bit rather than overexpose to give you leeway to brighten the image. I'm not saying you need to chimp after every shot, just a few test shots before you start to get the exposure you want. I shoot birds like that, not static, with a very short window of opportunity and with constantly changing light. But I wouldn't shoot birds without autofocus.

JohnSwanda wrote:

That's fine with static subjects. But with ongoing action and changing lighting, you don't have time to chimp and adjust settings.

Dan De Lion Loc: Montana

wapiti wrote:

One more time. Refurbished DOES NOT mean a defective camera.

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Wapiti - Try looking up the meaning of the word "refurbished." Do you really think that NikonUSA takes a perfect, brand new camera, and puts it in a refurbished box so that Wapiti can buy it at a heavily discounted price?

Nikon, and all manufacturers, only take back defective cameras. So, what you bought is a hopefully fixed camera which Nikon will warrantee for only 90 days. Don't forget that the refurbished warrantee service is not from Nikon, but from a third rate independent company.

A short warrantee from a third rate independent company. - That tells you all you need to know about Nikon's confidence in their refurbished cameras.

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