Should I send my camera to Nikon for repair? I had the problem with the meter on my Nikon Df on early March. The meter indicate underexposure no matter what. I talked to Nikon and they...

BebuLamar

I had the problem with the meter on my Nikon Df on early March. The meter indicate underexposure no matter what. I talked to Nikon and they said to send it in but since I needed to use it I planned on sending it in after April 7. However, 2 weeks after the problem the meter started to work off an on for 2 days. After that it continues working until now. I know camera doesn't fix itself but sending it in with no symptom and Nikon may not do anything to it. Should I still send it in.

markngolf Loc: Bridgewater, NJ

I shoot Canon, but I'm sure Nikon should be able to identify and resolve the issue. If it were me, I'd send it to Nikon.
Good luck!
Mark

BebuLamar wrote:

I had the problem with the meter on my Nikon Df on early March. The meter indicate underexposure no matter what. I talked to Nikon and they said to send it in but since I needed to use it I planned on sending it in after April 7. However, 2 weeks after the problem the meter started to work off an on for 2 days. After that it continues working until now. I know camera doesn't fix itself but sending it in with no symptom and Nikon may not do anything to it. Should I still send it in.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Yup. Tell them it's intermittent.
Sometimes it works. (They MAY know what the problem could be.)

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

BebuLamar wrote:

I had the problem with the meter on my Nikon Df on early March. The meter indicate underexposure no matter what. I talked to Nikon and they said to send it in but since I needed to use it I planned on sending it in after April 7. However, 2 weeks after the problem the meter started to work off an on for 2 days. After that it continues working until now. I know camera doesn't fix itself but sending it in with no symptom and Nikon may not do anything to it. Should I still send it in.

Just send it in and explain just as you did here, your situation!

foathog Loc: Greensboro, NC

no send it to Canon

theehmann

Most definitely send it in. If it happened several times before it will happen agsin- most like at an inopportune time.

DavidPine Loc: Fredericksburg, TX

I tend to bite the pill and send my Nikon equipment that is in need of repair. I'm happier in the long run. Nikon does an outstanding job for me. I am extremely hard on cameras and lenses and this past year I have sent two cameras and 3 lenses in for repair. Everything comes back like new.

BebuLamar wrote:

I had the problem with the meter on my Nikon Df on early March. The meter indicate underexposure no matter what. I talked to Nikon and they said to send it in but since I needed to use it I planned on sending it in after April 7. However, 2 weeks after the problem the meter started to work off an on for 2 days. After that it continues working until now. I know camera doesn't fix itself but sending it in with no symptom and Nikon may not do anything to it. Should I still send it in.

mborn Loc: Massachusetts

DavidPine wrote:

I tend to bite the pill and send my Nikon equipment that is in need of repair. I'm happier in the long run. Nikon does an outstanding job for me. I am extremely hard on cameras and lenses and this past year I have sent two cameras and 3 lenses in for repair. Everything comes back like new.

:

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

BebuLamar wrote:

I had the problem with the meter on my Nikon Df on early March. The meter indicate underexposure no matter what. I talked to Nikon and they said to send it in but since I needed to use it I planned on sending it in after April 7. However, 2 weeks after the problem the meter started to work off an on for 2 days. After that it continues working until now. I know camera doesn't fix itself but sending it in with no symptom and Nikon may not do anything to it. Should I still send it in.

If it is working for you then it will be working with Nikon repair. Have you tried the two button reset, sometimes that does the trick. An intermittent problem is always hard to solve. I had an intermittent problem with my 200-500 lens. Nikon worked with me every step of the way and after 4 times they got it right (my first Nikon lens problem in over 50 years) and yes, it was an electronic problem in the lens. Finally Nikon rebuilt the lens and it has not had an issue at all.
Make sure to call Nikon and give them and update as you have done with us, ask their advice since, as you say, the problem comes and goes.

CatMarley Loc: North Carolina

BebuLamar wrote:

I had the problem with the meter on my Nikon Df on early March. The meter indicate underexposure no matter what. I talked to Nikon and they said to send it in but since I needed to use it I planned on sending it in after April 7. However, 2 weeks after the problem the meter started to work off an on for 2 days. After that it continues working until now. I know camera doesn't fix itself but sending it in with no symptom and Nikon may not do anything to it. Should I still send it in.

Where do you live? How long have you had the camera? I ask because an intermittent problem like this can be due to moisture or other environmental issues - animal dander, dust, temperature fluctuation etc affecting a loose contact i the wiring.

Country Boy Loc: Beckley, WV

My thought is it depends on how critical your shots (for money or just pleasure) are. I had an intermittent problem with my D7100 4 months ago and sent it in. It cost me the full amount and they did a cleaning and blessed it and returned it. 2 weeks later, the same problem. Nikon sent me a postage label to send it back to them, they found the problem and returned it without any charge. That said, if it is no longer intermittent it is not likely they will find the problem. I would at least hold off sending it until the condition once again occurred. As stated before, anything may have caused the problem and it may never happen again.

BebuLamar

I would like to answer all the questions in one post.
I have the camera since December 26th 2013 so it's over 4 year old now. I live in Texas and the weather here isn't very good for camera I think. The day the problem started I put the camera on the floor underneath a dining table in a restaurant. Something might have dropped on it for that matter although I saw no sign of that. The problem is with the metering circuit in the viewfinder and it acted as if there is no light at all. In live view mode which the metering system uses the imaging sensor it worked fine. The meter completely dead for about 2 weeks and a half. Then it worked intermittently for 2 days. Then it worked fine without any problem for 4 weeks now. I am willing to pay Nikon to fix the problem but I am afraid they just don't fix it and the problem would be still there and surfaces whenever it decide to surface which can be months from now the way it looks.
No my shots are never critical (I am more critical with my cameras than my shots). I can use the camera without the meter functioning just fine as I did for 2 long days before it started to work intermittently for another 2 days.

JD750 Loc: SoCal

My answer to the title question is a question: "because it needs service ?"

BebuLamar

JD750 wrote:

My answer to the title question is a question: "because it needs service ?"

The answer that yes it does! The question is "Would Nikon try to find and fix a problem when there is no symptom?".

JD750 Loc: SoCal

BebuLamar wrote:

The answer that yes it does! The question is "Would Nikon try to find and fix a problem when there is no symptom?".

If you can describe the problem to them then that is a good start. Why not give them a call and see what they say?