Somewhere between 1000 and 1066 shutter activations a mild form of chaos appears to have broken loose inside the D600 body and the sensor now has a healthy covering of oil. Nikon replaced the shutter mechanism and a seal under warranty in a camera that Harvey Norman at Penrith refused to acknowledge had a problem. It’s worrying on a number of fronts. The first being that there seems to be some issue with the quality of the components in the shutter mechanism. I understand the issue is not common to all D600’s. it appears to affect about 1 in 4 cameras (based on reader comment). The second is that the retailer from whom I purchased the camera seemed to be reluctant to acknowledge that there was a production or component issue that affected some but not all D600’s, despite cameras going in for servicing and part replacement under warranty.

The reference images clearly show a big increase in oil on the sensor between 1012 and 1066 actuation’s. The 50mm f1.8 lens has not been off the camera since I collected it from the service center at Nikon Sydney. Nikon have acknowledged the fault and repaired it; however, the problem is back and I don’t want to spend the rest of my natural life putting this camera in for repair.

I’ve added an adjusted image image below the original after looking at the results over at Kyle Clements blog. He was still getting oil after 5000 shutter activations.

I’ll be happy if Harvey Norman honour their 3 Year Replacement Warranty?

Image (5014 x 3346) shot at 1066 shutter actuation mark.

Levels and curves adjusted image. More marks are visible (circled in yellow)