This is a short follow up on the previous post from late 2015, Servicing the Nikon F6. The executive summary is, I continue to be impressed with Nikon Service. Here’s why…
After receiving my F6 back from a refresh late November, 2015 I was very pleased. The camera felt and sounded like new, and aside from the minor wear and tear scars I’ve provided – looked like new too. The Non-AI modification worked beautifully and the ancient, non-AI lenses looked and felt great on the camera. I was tickled.
This is what the F6 looks like with the Pre-AI modification made to the Aperture ring mount.
The F6 with a Pre-AI 50mm 1.4 lens mounted.
I ran a few rolls through just to test and sure enough, all was well. They even figured out how to replace the internal battery without resetting the camera’s roll count, and preserved the rolls of shooting data I’d forgotten to download before sending it in.
After service there’s a 180 day window allowing you to send the camera back if anything is amiss – and they’ll take care of it. Around day 160 I tried to unscrew the Viewfinder Eyepiece to mount the DR-5 Right Angle Viewer and behold – no joy. The Viewfinder Eyepiece may only be unscrewed if the Viewfinder Shutter lever is closed, preventing dirt and damage to the Viewfinder itself. I raised and lowered the Viewfinder Shutter Lever several times. It was functioning correctly; raising and lowering the gray blades covering the Eyepiece. But the Eyepiece would not unscrew. This isn’t something I do every day, so it took a while to discover the malfunction. I returned the camera to the Nikon Service Center in California with a short note requesting it be repaired. The camera went out last Tuesday, May 17th.
This morning as I was settling in for the morning routine. Just as I was about to check the status of the repair on Nikon’s web site, the doorbell rang. It was UPS, handing me the camera back, fully repaired. There had been no need to question or provide proof of anything else. They simply fixed it, fast, put it in the same box and sent it back.
I couldn’t be more pleased. Once again, don’t hesitate to send your F6 in to Nikon Service for a reboot. I’ve found them to be fast, efficient, thorough (OK, someone’s going to mention the eyepiece not unscrewing as them messing the camera up – but stuff happens. What’s important is they made good on it immediately, doing exactly what they promised. In my world that’s what counts.). Thanks very much Nikon Service. Very pleased.
