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Nikon refusal to honor warranty on strobe
Purchased a new Nikon SB5000 strobe in April. Standard 1 yr warranty. Took it for an inaugral spin with D850 camera at a photo event in AZ. About halfway through the day, unit began malfunctioning. Temps were low 90's. No moisture, no drops.. When I got home, I took the unit to a Nikon repair shop, which found "issues". Unit was shipped to the factory. Nikon responded that something inside the unit was "corroded" and therefore refused to honor t he warranty. I had to pay $150. for repairs and shipping,. If the unit was "corroded" it was corroded when I first took it out of the box. I don't see anything in the warranty that lists "corrosion" as a reason not to honor the warranty. Caveat emptor, I guess. Frankly, I expected more from Nikon. May 27 18 05:45 pm Link There's a difference between a Nikon repair center and an authorized repair center. Was the Nikon repair place on the list of authorized repair centers? https://www.nikonusa.com/en/service-and … epair.page May 27 18 05:52 pm Link Authorized. May 27 18 06:01 pm Link Nikon's strong suit is their razor sharp lenses, fantastic cameras and superior image processors... NOT their strobes. I would probably pass on buying any of theirs in the future. I own several strobe systems, none of which are Nikons... I recommend these... Speedotrons (for studio)... Cheetahlight (for location)... and a few budget Yongnous for shits and giggles...  May 27 18 06:49 pm Link Long ago I bought one of the first SB28 DX units. It overheated the first time I used it so I took it to my local Nikon repair shop. They sent it out to Nikon who replaced it with a new one the next week. Since then I have been using SB 600 and SB 800 units extensively and have never had a problem. Sorry it didn't work out for you. May 27 18 07:38 pm Link NIKON used to be a GREAT camera and optical company, it is not currently. It is almost funny, but I had CANON pro services (CPS) card 00002, but when they changed the EF mount I went back to NIKON and for the last 20 years I have regretted that choice. The D800 was and currently is the best DSLR that has ever been made but NIKON support sucks now. I do have three SB-800s and they are very poorly made. NIKON should go back to paying attention to the people who use their equipment and less to corporate profits, which they have little. FYI both NIKON and KODAK sponsored my work on Chernobyl May 27 18 10:42 pm Link none of the companies seem to pay out on their strobes. I've had problems with canon, nikon and pentax as well as dynalite and godox doing good customer service. Part of it I think is that so many people mess up their own equipment by misusing strobes. Good luck. I now use godox and so far haven't had any problems although my coworker has had issues with the original 600bm. I shoot all 200s and they work fine with no issues. May 28 18 01:29 am Link Could be the corrosion they speak of is the battery leakage which they call abuse and wiggle out of the warranty using that excuse. One of my SB-900's overheated and the battery expanded and cracked the battery door which cost $75 maybe 3 years ago. I see they are now at $119.90 for either the SB-900 or SB-5000 flat rate on their service website out of Melville, NY or LA service center. Authorized costs may differ, and maybe more if they have to pay to forward it to Mellville or LA too if they elect to not perform a warranty service for whatever reason. I've read where their marketed 5-year warranty on USA lenses often gets axed if they can find one scratch on a lens where they could claim it as dropped or abused. Good selling point though. I've had better luck with the Godox flashes costing a quarter of the Nikon flash price on my Olympus cameras verses the overheating Nikon units that shut down after a few high-power flashes. The Nikon optical CLS system was crap too out in sunlight and I had to buy radio triggers to work around that matter. May 28 18 07:35 am Link BCADULTART wrote: So, you've been in a bad marriage for twenty years and you don't want to get out of it ? Just go back to Canon and you don't have to regret it for the rest of your life. May 28 18 08:01 am Link Curious, where did you purchase the flash ? May 28 18 08:28 am Link U.S. version, or gray market? May 28 18 10:56 am Link Motordrive Photography wrote: I bought myself a couple of Yongnuos other folks have had problems but mine have worked great. I don't know about now but back in the day none of the camera companies made their own flashes. While I have had a couple of flashes "made" by Contax and Nikon most of mine have been aftermarket. You seem to get a lot more bang for the buck. May 28 18 12:34 pm Link Curious, where did you purchase the flash ? Local retail camera store, US warranty May 28 18 02:39 pm Link Oaktree Pictorial wrote: Quality and customer service with Nikon, Canon and Sony is a mixed bag. I own all three brands and I'm a member of NPS and CPS. Sometimes it's to your advantage as a consumer of business equipment to raise a little hell with customer service. I have had to do that a few times, sometimes it works and other times you just know what NOT to buy from those companies. I gave up brand loyalty a long time ago. Just like the big 3 gave up excellent customer service a long time ago. I bought a Nikon flash before the flood of cheap (but good) competing brands. As long is there is a good throw away strobe that does the job (Like Yongnuo or Neewer) that's my pick.$35 - $60 vs. $300+ for Nikon flashes and crappy customer service to boot... I'll pass. So sorry that Nikon warranty was crap. May 28 18 04:47 pm Link How long had you owned it before it malfunctioned? What type of batteries? May 29 18 09:27 am Link About a week. Failure occured on maiden voyage photo shoot. Lithium rechargables, which did NOT catch fire or exolode. Jun 03 18 02:58 pm Link What did the dealer say about it? They should take it back and give you the option of exchanging it, a store credit or refund if it’s within 30 days of purchase. Jun 04 18 04:44 am Link Oaktree Pictorial wrote: At a week after purchase I would have gone to the dealer first. That new there is always to possibility of a previous return that was repackaged to look like it was never used either by the dealer or prior purchaser. Did you check the contacts for signs of battery damage? Jun 04 18 06:04 am Link i had a similar but completely different situation with an appliance. Manufacturer was phenomenally unhelpful, as was the store...until I just went back to my credit company and disputed the charge. Everyone became extremely helpful after that. Jun 04 18 08:12 am Link Bob Helm Photography wrote: This is why I do not purchase display model's, no matter how they might sweeten the pot! Not saying that was a display model, but it very well may have been in another photographers hands! But under a week, the dealer should have been eager to make a exchange. Jun 04 18 04:44 pm Link As a side note, I don't think I'd be buying anybody's OEM flashes. Maybe the $650 Canon or a Leica, if money was no objection and I didn't care about value. And I liked Sony's little tiny model, back when they used the old shoe; it just doesn't work with the new one. Flashes are one of those things where the manufacturers seem like they're not even trying anymore. I don't think any of them have been the first to market with a new feature since Nikon brought out the CSS system some 15 years ago - even that didn't last: we had auto radio control a year or two after using multiple flashes took off. Lenses, you can make a pretty good argument that sometimes it's worth the extra. But flashes, I honestly think these guys look at a great third party model, and then build it slightly more solidly and with a fancier interface for double the price. Jun 04 18 06:25 pm Link The Canon 600-EX-RT is a great unit with good integration into the Canon system. Remote trigger is actually cool and occasionally useful. That said, I very seldom buy anything new - Used, they are still pricy but much less, and usually the seller has barely used it, if at all, so I am not worried about lifespan. The one third party flash I the Youngou (sp?) ringlight. Battery door failed within three months and is now held by tape. Would the Canon version be better in this regard? Maybe. I did get the Yougou trigger over the canon as the Youngou has a focus beam lacking in the Canon version. Interoperability between the two is confirmed working. Jun 05 18 09:47 am Link |
