Golden Rule Loc: Washington State

This over processed photo shows how dirty my sensor is on the entire right half of the shot and a spot on the upper left. For those who have sent their camera to Nikon for cleaning, how long does it take to get the camera back? I'm still under warranty so should I have Nikon give the camera a check over while they have it?

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rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

Yes, definitely. I did that when my D700 was under warranty and it is returned after a CLR with another 6 months added to the warranty. Now, I did that about 1 year after I purchased it. So, it was very close to the 6 months extension. If I'd done that 6 months after purchase, I'm not sure how that would have affected things. Call them and ask.
--Bob

Golden Rule Loc: Washington State

Thanks, Bob! I will call Monday.

Rich1939 Loc: Pike County Penna.

I send mine in recently to the Melville LI facility. It was back in about 10 days. I hope that has some relativity to the west coast operation.

orrie smith Loc: Kansas

If you are not having any other problems with your camera, you may want to check local camera stores if you have any in your area. If they clean sensors, it would be less expensive and much quicker. Another option would be to get a sensor cleaning system, it is not as difficult as some make it out to be, just put a few drops of cleaning solution on the cleaning tool and lightly stroke the sensor. A google search for a you tube video will guide you through it. I have cleaned the sensor on my cameras many times with no problems so far.

Golden Rule Loc: Washington State

Thanks all. I don't feel comfortable cleaning it myself so I will have the company do it for me.

zug55 Loc: Naivasha, Kenya, and Austin, Texas

Here is the DIY approach. I ordered the stuff but have not cleaned my sensor yet, using this method.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAiTy3qGg2Y

The only drawback of shooting with a mirrorless I noticed so far is that the sensor will collect dust more easily, so I definitely will give this a try.

RonM12 Loc: Washington State

Earlier this month i sent my D850 to the Nikon repair center in LA to have the sensor cleaner. My camera is still under warranty, not only did they clean the sensor, they checked several other functions, all at no cost. Turn around time from when I shipped it to when I got it back, about 2weeks.

Machinedoc Loc: Yorktown Heights, NY

This may seem a little too obvious, but, does your camera have a sensor cleaning function? I have used this successfully many times. If that doesn't work, have you tried something like a Rocket Duster?

Golden Rule Loc: Washington State

I've done both several times to no avail. Now I'm wondering if it is just dust. These splotches are perfectly round and some are very faint while a few are pretty dark.

Golden Rule Loc: Washington State

I'm glad to hear there is a Nikon repair center on our side of the country. I sure hope the turn around is faster than 2 weeks but more importantly, I want a good working camera.

BlueMorel Loc: Southwest Michigan

I'd encourage sending it to the Nikon repair center rather than a DIY or even a local camera place since your camera is still under warranty. If the repair screws it up or doesn't work then Nikon is on the hook, not you. After the warranty expires, feel free to do whatever you feel comfortable with.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

Sending the camera in for a simple sensor cleaning will probably take a week, at a minimum, round trip with shipping to and from the service center (unless you live close by and can drop off and pick it up). There also probably will be some cost of shipping, even when under warranty.

just the opposite of some previous responses... I would instead try to find a local shop that can do the cleaning. It's not all that difficult or time consuming, just needs to be done correctly. Unless the shop has a backlog of work, a cleaning often it can be done "while you wait" or maybe while you go have breakfast or lunch. If a shop screws up the work, they will have to make it right. Won't void the warranty, likely won't cost much more than the shipping to send the camera in, and a professional shop will check over the camera and be able to recommend if it needs anything additional. Probably not, but if any add'l work is needed that requires parts, then you'll probably have to send it in. You don't want to void the warranty, plus Nikon USA has a policy that they won't sell parts to independent shops, will only supply them within their own factory repair facilities and network of approx. 20 "authorized" repairers. They say this is to insure quality repair work... I.e., not so they can exercise control over the cost of parts and labor.

I'd also encourage you to learn to clean the sensor yourself. Your sensor obviously has spots of oil on it (note the roundness of most of the spots... specks of dust tend to be fuzzy and oddly shaped), which requires a "wet cleaning" because any sort of dry cleaning method would just smear the oil and contaminate any brush or tool being used for the cleaning.

You never know when a cleaning might be needed.... so it can be good to know how to do it yourself and to have the necessary tools and supplies on hand.

The short Tony Northrup Youtube video omits some steps that are usually necessary and promotes a single manufacturer's products (which might be fine). I also don't like some things he does in the cleaning process. See the following website for more info.

www.cleaningdigitalcameras.com is a very comprehensive and informative site about doing the work yourself and the tools you'd needed for the purpose. The guys who maintain that site are professional camera repair techs who have done thousands of cleanings and also run micro-tools.com, one of the top suppliers to the camera repair industry. They probably sell and are familiar with every tool and method of sensor cleaning, so are about as unbiased as you'll ever find. They sell "kits" of tools and supplies, but don't manufacture stuff themselves, so don't have reason to steer you toward a particular product of their own making and give recommendations based upon experience instead.

RichardSM Loc: Back in Texas

I’m wondering if it’s some type of lubricant that’s splattered across your sensor Nikon did have an issue with the D600?

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

Yes, it's definitely oil spots on the sensor... probably thrown off by the shutter and/or mirror mechanisms. The round nature of most of the spots in the image confirm that it's oil.

That's a fairly standard problem for a camera that's never had a sensor cleaning (the first cleaning almost always needs to be a "wet cleaning" for that reason).