Used camera(s) saga: dust spots

Scirocco_09

Scirocco_09

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Hello all

A couple of weeks ago I bought a used Nikon D800E in 'excellent' condition from a respected camera retailer. The first time I used it there were hundreds of dust spots appearing in my images (spots appeared in the same places using different lenses), the camera had supposedly been checked for cleanliness before sale so I arranged to send it back for cleaning. It was sent on to Fixation who were able to eliminate most of the dust, but said they'd need to disassemble the sensor mechanism to remove all as there was a small particle underneath the sensor filter. I was offered the camera back so I could test before this work took place as I wanted to use it last weekend. I accepted this and there were still several spots remaining so I sent it back again for the extra cleaning work.

Yesterday I was told by the retailer that the camera sensor actually appeared to have laser damage and would cost over £1000 for them to fix, so they offered a full refund or exchange. Their other D800Es had high shutter counts so I enquired about an 'as new' D750, the company very kindly said I could exchange for that even though it should have been £200 more than I paid for the D800E. I received the D750 today and am disappointed to find it also has a problem with spots appearing on pictures, not as bad as the D800E, but there's probably in excess of a hundred.

The company's customer service has been excellent so far, they couldn't have been more helpful but I'm embarrassed to have to report this to them again. I've bought one used camera before and didn't have any problem like this, has anyone ever had anything like this happen to them? Am I wrong to expect a used camera in 'excellent' or 'as new' condition to be clear of these problems?
 
Can you post an image taken at f32 against a white wall
 
Thanks both for the replies. These test shots were taken against the sky with two separate lenses at max f22 - harsh editing to bring out all the spots. If you can view at full resolution you can see them all
 
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gramps said:
Why? ... They are the ones who should be embarrassed!
Either send it back as 'not as described' (if that is true) or do a sensor clean yourself and enjoy using the camera :)
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I don't want to seem a moaner! They also forgot to send the strap with the D800E so had to complain about that too
 
Scirocco_09 said:
ut I'm embarrassed to have to report this to them again
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Sorry, but you need to...

Yes you report they have been good with you regarding customer service, but you need to let them know about all the dust bunnies and get them to either sort it or refund you...Relly, I would have thought given the issue with the last camera, they would potentially have checked this one before sending it out...

Hope you get it sorted one way or the other. :)
 
thats the trouble with these pro model second hand cameras ,a lot will have been used by pros and a lot of the time ,press work etc the user simply doesnt care as its not his own property .complain very loudly and either get a refund or another exchange .btw the darker spots look like oil to me ,the faint ones are the dust
 
I think i would get a full refund & move on to someone else.
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I agree with the above.
Ive bought one second hand camera ... and that was on this site. I could see the sellers history and I felt fairly confident that what I would get was what he told me I would get. I wasn't dissappointed.

I know this doesnt help much, but my point being that I agree with the above comments. Get your refund and maybe contemplate the honest nature of many of the sellers on here ..... at least you would know the camera history probably a bit more than when buying from a second hand camera shop.
 
Dust on the sensor is normal and it is easy to clean the sensor

If you bought the camera on the basis that is was in good working condition then you certainly have a complaint

they should be able to clean the sensor while you wait and produce a test image to confirm that it is clean

If the above is your only complaint with the camera I would ask them to do that and discuss the result with them
 
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Thanks for the replies. I just wondered if I expect too much and if these kind of problems are common. The seller is an Internet retailer so each time the camera has to go back via courier, which thankfully they pay for but I'd be without anything for several days. I was hoping to do several photography road trips over the next couple of weeks. They're closed during weekends so I've sent an email with those pictures, I don't think they'd hesitate to offer a refund but that still means sourcing another camera, this seller comes with a 6 month warranty for what it's worth. The D800E apparently had laser damage to the sensor, I wonder if this is the same because I can't see any dust in there, the whole camera looks immaculate apart from a small black spot in the viewfinder. Just stunned at what a farce this has been
 
Just buy one in person from private seller, preferably from here or somebody sensible on fleabay. All sorts of hopeless s*** gets dumped to resellers (amongst some genuine articles of course) for the easy riddance so I would ideally want to avoid commercial resellers.
 
Scirocco_09 said:
Am I wrong to expect a used camera in 'excellent' or 'as new' condition to be clear of these problems?
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No, not at all.

We have dozens of cameras and they see a lot of use. Every time we send one to a customer we check the sensor and clean it if necessary. The success criterion we're looking for is no visible specks at f/32 when viewed at 100% magnification, and that's routinely achieved.

Incidentally here's a tip to make life easier for you when you're checking your sensor. Don't take an in-focus picture of the sky, or of anything really. Instead, take an out-of-focus picture of a blank wall. Use a long focal length so that your subject will be a small section of the wall, and that will minimise any variations in lighting across the frame. If it's a light coloured wall such as magnolia, use a stop or two of positive exposure compensation to make the image nice and bright. Set the lens to manual focus at infinity, take the photo from a distance of a metre or so, and you should get a perfectly uniform frame where it will be very easy to see any dust specks.
 
All sorted now folks. I got refund and bought a brand new D750 instead. After the last few weeks was relieved not to have any problems with it on opening! Thanks for your replies
 
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