Nikon D40 Garbled Viewfinder Display

I am the unfortunate purchaser of a Nikon D40 lemon. The display inside the

viewfinder has become garbled and is completely useless and frustrates my

efforts to adjust exposure when photographing.<br>

The camera is still able to take pictures just fine, with adjusting of shutter

speed and aperture made possible via the lcd display on back of camera.

Alternately I could use it at one of the many auto settings, but I did not pay

big dollars to wind up with a point and shoot camera.<br>

Taking out/charging the battery does not solve the problem, resetting does not

solve the problem, fiddling with the controls and buttons and settings does not

solve the problem. So I have no choice other than to take the camera back to

the retailer for repair and now after spending around $800 I will be without

camera for two months, probably longer. The store will not give me a

replacement while I wait. Considering that I bought the camera only 6 months

ago and treated it like my baby I must say that I am EXTREMELY unimpressed with

Nikon and with Black's (the retailer) and wish I had bought another brand

instead.<br>

Has anyone heard of this problem? Any advice to offer? From what the

salespeople at Black's are telling me this problem has never happened before.

Lucky me =/<br>

Very angry.

It's too bad your Nikon is malfunctioning, but you can get a "lemon" from any brand. Why 2+ months for repairs? I had a D70 repaired (new shutter under warranty) in less than 3 weeks. I didn't consider it a "lemon" just because of one problem, and it gave me good service for a year or so until I sold it. I've had a D200 now for almost a year without problems. Buy a Canon, if you're so displeased, but they can need repairs, too.

Bypass the retailer and send your camera directly to Nikon. I have had items returned to me quickly from Melville, usually in about 2 weeks and always fixed properly.

 

Anything made by humans is subject to failure. EVERY camera manufacturer has service departements that are busier than they would like. Nikon, like many manufacturers, stands behind their products with reasonable warranties and prompt service. I have had 2 out of warranty repairs that Nikon fixed at no charge. I am EXTREMELY impressed with Nikon products, service and 24 hour FREE tech support.

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00M2Ph

If we are talking about Nikon USA, typical warranty repair time is more like 2 weeks rather than 2 months.

Sorry for the rant folks, I guess I just needed a good cry. It's like losing an eyeball to me.<br>

Yes, everything breaks down and everything needs servicing sometime, but for me this little Nikon broke down practically right off the shelf. It's been malfunctioning for a couple of months now, but I've been holding off on sending it for repair because they said it would take so long. And like I said I babied the thing.<br>

Hopefully you guys are right about it only taking a couple of weeks, but the saleslady (here in ontario) said it'd be about 2 months.<br>

To make lemonade out of this lemon, I'll use the time to learn what I can about theory. And I have about 15gb of NEF's to sort through and backup, so lots of time to tidy up for when I finally get my lovely, lovely camera back =) Oh dear camera I miss you so!<br>

excuse me now, I have something in my eye... *sob*

it is faster to take it to nikon then the retailers. And you have the satisfaction that Nikon did it not bob or tom in the back of the store you bought it from. And everything will malfunction. I am a mechanic, and believe me i had a brand new 2007 Lincoln navigator stoping on front of my shop due to a computer problem. Its not a lemon you are just lucky to get the 1 in a million camera that malfunction. If i was you i will grab the camera, run to las vegas, and see if i can hit the 20 million jackpot!

Nikon Canada's main service centre is at their head office in Mississauga, near Toronto Pearson

International Airport. I have had mixed experiences with them. I started with a Coolpix 4500, loved it,

shot baby photos with it until it wore out a few days before a vacation, took it to the service centre and

a fabulous service rep named Ty put through

a rush order and had a tech call me back the next morning to say the camera was toast

and a month past warranty so he'd give me something like 2/3 of its value as a trade-in

toward a new camera. I bought a Coolpix 5400 from him (the swivel-mounted preview

screen is great for getting kids' attention), which he overnighted from the warehouse for

me.

 

Two years later I wore out the 5400, again right before a holiday, but was told that

Ty didn't work there anymore, and his replacement was less than helpful. It took

about $300 and three weeks to repair the camera (they didn't say, but I think the

problem was dirt in the lens drive), they lost the lens cap (not helpful, given the

nature of the problem and likelihood of repetition), and when I complained, the

rep told me that I could complain all I wanted to, but it was a discontinued item

and they just didn't have parts like lens caps for it anymore (except presumably

the one that fell behind a tech's desk somewhere), and no, they couldn't order one

from Nikon in any other country.

 

So I went down to Vistek.ca, looked around, and bought my D40, with which I have

been quite happy. I do hope that the service rep that I dealt with will have lost

his job by the time I have to take the D40 in for service though.

 

Despite my negative experiences though, I would encourage you to deal with

Nikon Service directly. Black's has friendly but not especially knowledgeable

staff, and as others have said, going through them adds unnecessary complication

and delay.

 

Good luck!