Keep Independent Nikon Repair Service

https://www.nikonimgsupport.com/ni/?ctry=US&lang=en_US

 

As many of you know, Nikon announced that they will no longer support independent repair service agencies after March, 2020. This affects my long-time favorite, Authorized Photo Repair, in Morton Grove, Illinois. I spoke to them this morning, and Nikon has not definitively said what will happen after that date. They repair only Nikon equipment, and have always provided quick, reliable service.

 

If you feel as I do, please write or call Nikon Customer Service, and express your concern.

 

(The 80-200/2.8 AF-S lens I bought in 2001 is in their shop now, awaiting a heart-lung transplant.)

Here in NYS we have some pretty strong consumer protection laws. I've always wondered if a vendor can be compelled to supply parts for a certain number of years and if they have to supply parts to avoid a monopoly position on repair work. Or maybe it only applies to cars.

None of the USA laws trap the mfrs in an inescapable vise like the EU laws. In theory, mfrs are supposed to make parts and repairs available for X years. In practice, good luck with that in USA. Cars and large immobile household appliances still mostly receive old-school long term repair/parts support (tho its begun slipping). Everything else is a crapshoot. Once the initial warranty period is over, you're on your own with consumer electronics- which cameras now essentially are. Don't even ask about Sony: even under original factory warranty with them, you cross your fingers and pray nothing breaks.

 

Nikon & Canon will certainly support their higher end and pro gear for a decent period after warranty, the midrange, consumer, and older gear not so much. At this point Nikon is only seriously interested in supporting the pros, and only for the shortest amount of time they can get away with: they really want us to just buy new gear before the previous model lens or body has a chance to break and require service. They see Sony doing gangbusters with virtually zero repair support, and it makes their beancounters green with envy.

The new stuff is supposed to be disposable when it breaks beyond warranty.

I doubt new parts have been available for the FM2n for a while. Does anyone know about this and other older film bodies?

The new stuff is supposed to be disposable when it breaks beyond warranty.

That may be correct, but for the wrong reasons. I trade up when a new camera has features which enhance its use to me. The old camera becomes a backup, or eventually, someone else's problem.

 

That said, repairs on a mirrorless camera are more likely to be electronic than mechanical, which is easier to accomplish. Sony did a nice job repairing a bent mount A7Riii (bicycle on gravel accident), but not cheaply.

 

Lenses, on the other hand, last for several generations of bodies. I'm not afraid to spend money to repair a good lens, and justify the expense based on the replacement rather than original cost. An used lens is likely to bear someone else's problems (closing the cycle started above).

I agree.

No question it is a matter of selling something new.

But I think the idea of keeping something over 10 years anymore is being bred out of our society.

And yes, 10 years is a stretch.

Me, I love the old stuff.

Not at the exclusion of improvement, but I just wish shelf life was an option and obsolescence wasn’t by design.

It seems the more we make, the less we do. Not in a directly proportional manner, but we seem to be dumbing down, sitting more, imagining less. As if progress bites us in the ass as much as it moves us forward.

 

The repair rather than replace option is one I miss more and more. The newest vehicle I own is 20 years old. I don’t mind spending money on the best parts and when needed the best labor to keep it in good condition.

Edited January 23, 2020 by Moving On

I agree.

No question it is a matter of selling something new.

But I think the idea of keeping something over 10 years anymore is being bred out of our society.

And yes, 10 years is a stretch.

Me, I love the old stuff.

Not at the exclusion of improvement, but I just wish shelf life was an option and obsolescence wasn’t by design.

It seems the more we make, the less we do. Not in a directly proportional manner, but we seem to be dumbing down, sitting more, imagining less. As if progress bites us in the ass as much as it moves us forward.

 

The repair rather than replace option is one I miss more and more. The newest vehicle I own is 20 years old. I don’t mind spending money on the best parts and when needed the best labor to keep it in good condition.

 

I can keep using my camera for 30 years and more without a problem. I can't keep the cars for long though. They simply died on me.

But I think the idea of keeping something over 10 years anymore is being bred out of our society.

 

Companies would like that but such a practice would be bad for our environment. There are moves towards improving the situation, to ensure that repair is possible and that parts are available.

 

'Right to repair' rules brought in for appliances

 

10 years is mentioned but in practice if such legislation leads to manufacturers changing product design so that it can be easily repaired (instead of being built in such a way that they cannot be repaired at all) then it should lead to longer life than 10 years in many cases.