This can't be happening :(

[Sahil]

Thanks, Terry. I hope the same.
I will behave ignorant & dumb, as Chris suggested with service center guys.

[arith]

I just seen this and can remember some kid trying to catch me with a laser; but I also noticed where it said bright light can cause damage, and I always use manual because I don't want to learn all that rubbish about fec and ec ect ect, sometimes I just press the button and get a white out.

Thanks for the warning Sahil, I think I would take it back to the shop and plead ignorance; you are assuming it is laser damage or that it was done at a concert.

As above it could be malicious, or simply a faulty sensor.

[Sahil]

I think I would not mention laser at any time. I would tell them that I picked up my camera after two days & this is what I have got...
Thanks, Steve.

[krispix]

Hi Sahil,
I'm with MiniChris. Nikon service is lousy. I agree that you should make a stand on the fact that the instruction book does not point this out (check your book first!). I've had a look in my D700 & D300s books and this danger is not mentioned.
I'm pretty sure Nikon's response will be, "Does your car's manual tell you not to drive it off a cliff?" This argument has some validity, in the same way if you use your camera to drive some nails into pieces of wood that is clearly abuse and they can't be expected to stand for any damage so caused. However, this is a bit of a specific issue and one that 'common sense' would not necessarily dictate. Keep pounding away at them, they may give way if you make enough noise.

[Sahil]

Hey Chris,

I agree. I actually will have to act dumb there and eat their brains out.
Although I am not at all good at doing this. (Acting I mean, not being dumb. I AM dumb)
Lets see what call they take.

[Dizzy]

Sahil, just last week in a fit of anxiety over a "dust bunny" on my sensor and a few specks of dust on my viewfinder screen, I made a vain *attempt* to clean the area. I never touched the mirror or sensor (fortunately), but did manage to completely foul the internal window to the viewfinder. All I did was gently brush it with [what I thought] was a clean brush..and it left hundreds of tiny specks plus small hairs all over it! So, desperate to clean-up the mess I had just made, I tried to swab the thing with a Q-tip and alcohol-free lens cleaner..it removed the hairs, but left spots and 10x the dust ...

Closest service center was 120 miles away, and I was very blessed with a secondary reason to drive down there. $65 in fuel, a 2 hr. drive (one-way), $100 and 4 hrs. later I picked it back up. Found when I got home that the sensor and mirror were cleaned (no more dust bunny), but one look told me they never even touched the internal viewfinder screen.. Apparently, it isn't part of the normal "mirror box" cleaning.

I called and complained (calmly of course..) and they have offered to clean it for free on my next trip down. Free cleaning offered, but a 250 mile round-trip will cost another $65 in fuel.

Now it's become a $230 screw-up, and was completely avoidable.

End result, I'm still looking at my screw-up every time I take a picture, reminding me of the lesson well learned. Aside from using the blower bulb, I will never, EVER mess about in the mirror box again.

It's not a sensor, but I can absolutely understand, and "feel your pain". Chock it up to a lesson learned, get it fixed and move on. Dwelling on the offense will help nothing, and only make you feel worse. This I know all too well.

Note to Admins & Mods:- Can I/we please have a 'Crying a$$ Out' emoticon please.

Feel free to save the ones I used above, host them somewhere and insert when needed. When tears are appropriate, try this one:

We've all made mistakes, and although avoidable if you had known different, your situation was more accident than self-inflicted. Hopefully, you can get it quickly repaired so you can get back to posting those grand images you take!

Mike

[Sahil]

Ouch!
What all we DSLR owners have to go through.
Well I am lucky that service center is just 3 Kms from my work place. I just hope they are kind and understanding people, who would calmly listen to me, feel bad about it & offer to replace the sensor, ASAP
Thanks for those emoticons.

Thanks Gang!

[Nass]

I feel for you.

Note to self. Avoid laser lighting with camera.

[Sahil]

Thanks, Johan.

[Sahil]

Well I went to the service center. The guy had a look and said there is some dust on sensor. He tried cleaning it. But it wasn't working. He told me to take a few more shots after the cleaning was done, but there was no change.
He said it could be fungus on sensor. He said it happens at times.
The camera needs to be sent to Gurgaon, New Delhi, (may be their main service center) and then only they will be in a position to explain the problem. I had forgotten to take body cover with me, so I couldn't give it to them.
Lets see what happens.

[Nass]

Hope it works out for you. Maybe you're beating yourself up unneccessarily, your red pixels thing looks totally different to that canon guy's laser thing. Then again maybe it manifests itself differently according to sensor and laser.

[lizzy310]

Thanks, Colin.
Buahahahahaha
I bought this for $1200. I think sensor will make at least 30% of the total cost.
And I got it insured yesterday only, & today found this problem. I think I will have to wait for 15 days before I can ask for a claim for Insurance.
And to top it all, I am going for a holiday next month. I was way too excited for it. First time to a sea beach with my DSLR.

Note to Admins & Mods:- Can I/we please have a 'Crying a$$ Out' emoticon please.

I didn't know you can insure your camera against accidents. Can someone post a link to where you do that? I will want to as soon as I get my new baby!

[Donald]

I didn't know you can insure your camera against accidents. Can someone post a link to where you do that? I will want to as soon as I get my new baby!

Liz

You can insure your camera equipment as part of home insurance policies, or you can but specialist polices. But beware, may of these so-called specialist polices are not so good as the sort of cover you can get by adding the equipment in to your home contents insurance.

Do a search on the internet on something like 'insurance for camera equipment' and and you'll get's lots of sites to visit.

Good insurance of one form another is, in my opinion, an absolute must-have once you start getting into a DSLR system and accessories.

[Dave Humphries]

Good insurance of one form another is, in my opinion, an absolute must-have once you start getting into a DSLR system and accessories.

Agreed, but be aware, at least on home content policies in UK (US may be different), of any conditions of cover/exclusions regarding the items being away from home and/or abroad and whether you're covered if they're left (out of sight) in an unattended car - you can't always take it with you.

Cheers,

[Sahil]

Hope it works out for you. Maybe you're beating yourself up unneccessarily, your red pixels thing looks totally different to that canon guy's laser thing. Then again maybe it manifests itself differently according to sensor and laser.

True, man!
I am actually wanting that to happen. They diagnose it to be sensor's disorder.

I didn't know you can insure your camera against accidents. Can someone post a link to where you do that? I will want to as soon as I get my new baby

I am from India, so I cannot help you in this regard. I am sure someone surely will, soon.
Premium I paid is 1% of the value. Aprox $12.

ETA:- Donald's & Dave's posts had not got updated when I posted mine. So you can ignore it.

[Donald]

Agreed, but be aware, at least on home content policies in UK (US may be different), of any conditions of cover/exclusions regarding the items being away from home and/or abroad and whether you're covered if they're left (out of sight) in an unattended car - you can't always take it with you.

Cheers,

Dave

You are right. Checking the small print is absolutely essential. But I know that compared with my own home insurance, the conditions of which I checked thoroughly with the insurer before, for example, going to France earlier this year, a couple of 'specialist' insurers offered policies which, on close examination, were significantly more restrictive in terms of the cover offered. But those restrictions were buried deep in the very small print. So, it's a case of buyer beware.

If you feel it appropriate, tell a broker exactly what you want and let them do the searching for you.

[krispix]

Dave

You are right. Checking the small print is absolutely essential. But I know that compared with my own home insurance, the conditions of which I checked thoroughly with the insurer before, for example, going to France earlier this year, a couple of 'specialist' insurers offered policies which, on close examination, were significantly more restrictive in terms of the cover offered. But those restrictions were buried deep in the very small print. So, it's a case of buyer beware.

If you feel it appropriate, tell a broker exactly what you want and let them do the searching for you.

With you all the way Donald/Dave. After a VERY expensive mishap in the 60's I haven't been without insurance since, although I've only had to claim on it once. I pay a lot for my householders, but it covers everything. The only caveat is that I have to specifically schedule any single item worth more than £1,000 - which means the cameras and, er, um ....!

[Colin Southern]

You are right. Checking the small print is absolutely essential

I don't know about you good folks, but I struggle to understand 90% of the small print - it's so "legaleze". I work through a broker for my insurance -- what usually happens is I put a lot of "scenarios" to them - they come back with answers that make sense, but I must admit to always worrying that when "push comes to shove" just how easy it would be to get compensation.

Speaking of insurance in general though - as a basic strategy - I try to insure only against major things (like losing the lot) - so I've elected for a $5000 excess (which lowered the premiums by about 1/3) - if I damaged something to the tune of $4999 I'd have to wear it (which would leave me in a foul mood for a few days!), but it's really the other few hundred thousand that I want protection on.

That reminds me - I have 2 premious due now - there goes another $2000+

[speedneeder]

Wow, I'm sorry for you Sahil
Best wishes on a quick recovery!

[Sahil]

Speaking of insurance in general though - as a basic strategy - I try to insure only against major things (like losing the lot) - so I've elected for a $5000 excess (which lowered the premiums by about 1/3) - if I damaged something to the tune of $4999 I'd have to wear it (which would leave me in a foul mood for a few days!), but it's really the other few hundred thousand that I want protection on.

That reminds me - I have 2 premious due now - there goes another $2000+

$5000 excess clause!!!!!
That's exorbitantly high. I wonder what kind of premiums you must all be paying!

Wow, I'm sorry for you Sahil
Best wishes on a quick recovery!

Thanks for the concern, Brian.