Nikon steps up for the D750: Free fix for flare foibles!
posted Friday, January 9, 2015 at 1:01 AM EST
After numerous reports of flare problems with the popular D750, Nikon responded with an official statement back on Dec. 29th acknowledging their awareness of the issue and that they were "currently looking into measures to address [the] issue." Today, Nikon updated the original support advisory announcing that they will inspect and service affected cameras at no cost.
The advisory notice states that the service and inspection focuses on the camera's light-shielding components and may involve adjusting the position of the camera's AF sensor. This matches our own analysis of the problem. Nikon says the D750 service program will begin at the end of this month and that more information will be forthcoming.
In our extensive independent investigation into this issue, we found that the D750 -- at least our review unit and one other we tested -- displayed a dark band across the top of the frame when shooting with a bright light source just outside the frame, at least with some lenses. (We've since found that some lenses don't produce the phenomena, even if the body is predisposed to it, while others show it clearly.) We did find the phenomenon present to a lesser degree on other full-frame DSLRs from both Nikon and Canon, but the D750 showed this banding artifact much more prominently than the other bodies we looked at.
For more information, see the full text of the service notice -- and bookmark that page for updates as more info becomes available -- or call Nikon directly 1-800-Nikon-US, from 9am - 8pm EST, Monday through Friday. We'll also provide updates as more information is released.
While our analysis suggested that this issue will affect only a very small percentage of shots, big kudos to Nikon for stepping up to insure that every D750 owner is happy with their camera. Despite the relatively low likelihood of this issue cropping up in typical shooting situations, there was a lot of concern in some parts of the D750 owner community over it. It's nice to see that Nikon has alleviated those concerns by addressing the problem directly, with a no-cost service option like this.