D300 Buyers Beware!

Anyone considering buying a Nikon D300 should be aware that many people have had trouble with the camera body and AF "D" lenses. One of my D300 camera bodies won't AF or change apertures, though it works perfectly fine with DX lenses.

My 50mm and 85mm, both AF lenses but with aperture rings, work fine on other D300's, but not my "broken one. Two different camera shops have confirmed that my "D" lenses work fine and the D300 camera body does not! I did several searches on Goggle and found out that many others are having this problem.

When and if you buy a D300 camera body, put a "D" lens on the camera and make sure it will AF and change apertures (you need to set the aperture to F22, BTW). Don't do like I have and not do this until after the 30 day return policy from Amazon- they told me I'm on my own.

In all fairness, the Amazon help department did e-mail me with a contact e-mail at Nikon- that didn't work. I wrote back to Amazon to ask for the correct e-mail address and the return address Amazon used won't accept return e-mails. Oh, did I mention that I had to write Amazon twice, after waiting a week for a response from them.

Just thought I'd give a "heads up" on my experience with Nikon and Amazon.

Buyer beware.......

shep

Update....

Amazon wrote to me today and they've done some looking into the situation and they are making an exception for me- they are letting me ship back the camera body that was purchased 6 months ago and they are giving me a full refund! Hats off to Amazon!

shep

Shep, thanks for the update. Nice to know Amazon is on the ball. So what are you going to do? Are they sending you another D300? I've heard Canon makes a nice camera.

Steve

This sounds like a firmware issue. Is this something that still happens with hew D300 bodies?

I've heard Canon makes a nice camera.

 

Steve

They make better photocopiers though!

Mike

Amazon is giving me a credit on me credit card as they are out of D300's at the moment. There are other suppliers on Amazon that have the D300, but I bought the D300 from Amazon itself.

As for buying a Canon, I have a boat load of Nikon lenses which prompted me to stick with Nikon as Canon made everyone who bought Digital to get new glass and dump all their old glass- that wasn't cool.

The issue with the camera is not a firmware problem, at least as far as I've been able to tell online- it has something to do with "live view" believe it or not! Anyway, if there is going to be a firmware fix I believe Nikon would have already done it- this problem is months and months old.

Again, Amazon has a 30 day return policy and it's been 6 months for me, but because I buy a lot from them I believe they are doing right by me and going beyond their policy to make it right- now that's response!

cheers,

shep

They make better photocopiers though!

Mike

LOL

Every new camera has its glitches. The D70's was backfocus and Blinking Green Light of Death. I had both of them but Nikon fixed them for free, (the BGLOD twice). No worries. It goes with the territory. If you have it just send it in. The worst part is parting with the camera. I bought mine from the local camera shop and they shipped it for me for free too. With new hot cameras you can't get a discount online anyway so it pays to buy locally.

My D300 arrived today. Can't wait to get home and take a look at it. But I bought it from Costco for the 90 day return policy. I don't own any lenses, so I'm not sure if I'll ever have a need or an opportunity to test the "D" lens. Maybe I'll check it out at a camera store some day before July.

My D300 arrived today. Can't wait to get home and take a look at it. But I bought it from Costco for the 90 day return policy. I don't own any lenses, so I'm not sure if I'll ever have a need or an opportunity to test the "D" lens. Maybe I'll check it out at a camera store some day before July.

I don't know if you intend on using your D300 for underwater macro, but if you do and you buy a 60mm or 105mm- they will have aperture rings and could potentially have the same problem I had. It may be worth, before the return period runs out, to go to a camera shop and put a AF "D" lens on the camera, just to make sure.

cheers,

shep

Thanks for the warning. I'm delighted to say I have just checked both my D300s with a 60mm and 105mm D lens and, phew, no problem. Just as well, I'm off to Ningaloo Reef tomorrow. Gee, if my housing would arrive (tomorrow) I can even take some pics...... Come on Seaoptics: do your stuff!