Weekly Nikon news flash #158

By [NR] admin | Published: April 15, 2012

  • In an email to customer with existing D800 pre-orders Vistek (one of the major Canadian retailers) claims that Nikon is having "production problems" with the D800.
  • Nikon D800E should be now shipping to NPS orders in the US.
  • Collecting all Nikon D800/D4 issues in this [NR] forum thread.
  • New firmware update for the S9200 and S9300 Coolpix cameras.
  • Nikon D800E images started to show up online.

Related posts:

  1. Weekly Nikon news flash #150
  2. Weekly Nikon news flash #168
  3. Weekly Nikon news flash #166
  4. Weekly Nikon news flash #153
  5. Weekly Nikon news flash #172
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  • sade

    AF problem?!

  • sade

    It seems Nikon finally understood that some people have problem with the outer AF point and now tries to fix it.

  • Glenn

    The notice does not specify what the problem is so we cannot assume that production problems mean Camera problems.

    It could be that production lines are not meeting their expectations yet in terms of number of units they’re able to put out for shipping.

    But then you could be right also. :-)

    • sade

      But in the email it says production problems not production line problems.

      • http://www.modifiedphotographics.com Jason

        I think you have to take anything from a vendor with a grain of salt when it comes to them covering their own butts for slow fulfillment of pre-orders.

        It is very possible that Nikon is making “changes” to the cameras before producing too many more in order to reduce the number of repair orders that will follow. (I’ve also read about a number of battery door issues which may be a result of flimsy construction or a “design flaw” that can be addressed mid-production.)

        However, it is also very likely that Nikon is completely overwhelmed by the demand for the D800 and D800E.

        • Richard

          I can easily believe that Nikon are having difficulty ramping up production volume to meet demand simply because the demand is so great. I note that the letter said that Nikon were continuing to deliver cameras and that the vendor was continuing to work to assure that they would receive product.

          It is also possible, though there is no particular reference to any particular problem, that Nikon are having difficulty obtaining sensors in sufficient volume to meet production requirements.

          We don’t know what the “problem” may be and may never know unless some inside source tattles.

  • SoftonDemand

    I’ve been playing with my D800 + MD-B12 for more than a week and i’m pretty impressed. But now i want the E.. I got a 300mm f/2.8 coming.. fuck..

    • http://cdsharper.zenfolio.com/p842502530/h349fcf9c D800 Images

      I love my D800 and look forward to attaching my MD-B12 for wildlife. I’m doing ok with it as I improvem my technique. I see this body as a game changer with high MP to allow crops and low noise ISO. I never thought I’d view ISO as a tool and not a camera setting to worry about.

  • texasjoe

    Why does DxO have a test on the Nikon D4 but not the 14-24?

  • Ebvette

    Sorry, don’t buy it. I just got email from my vendor telling me they got off the telephone with Nikon (conference call with other such vendors) and Nikon has stated a shipment is due to it vendors week of 15th with another shipment week of 22nd. My vendor, who I have paid in full, states they still have not delivered the D800 all the NPS folks, but this week that should be completed, and this vendor will have the camera sent out to the waiting list by weeks end with almost everybody getting their order.

    So who do you believe? Granted my vendor is a rather small dealer compared to B&H and other “National” dealers, but I also know him personally and he is the type who does not make up stuff to pacify customers.

    This is exaclty what he sent out:

    “Please understand that NO new cameras have been delivered to any Nikon dealers in the USA in the last 2 weeks. The lack of cameras is not a (NAME OF VENDOR) issue – it is a Nikon issue. But, the next 2 weeks will be a different story – at least, that’s what I am told. We hope to deliver many D800 & D4 cameras to our customers soon!

    “(NAME OF VENDOR) has relatively small & manageable waiting lists, and we will receive a favorable allocation (many more than most dealers) of camera as they become available. We will offer the allocated cameras to our customers on the lists in chronological order. This is the only fair way to deliver cameras, and we hope that everyone understands our process. I have attached the waiting list FAQ’s for those photographers relatively new to our waiting lists. Please feel free to contact me with any questions about D800 & D4 cameras – and I will gladly help in any way possible and perhaps shed some light on the allocation & delivery process that cannot be communicated via email. I will also send additional emails to you, as soon as more information on deliveries becomes available.”

    This vendor has kept his customers informed almost every week or so, has been above board with his customers, and I think in the long run this is much better then hearing nothing from a Vendor…. Just my Humble Opinion…

    • Monkey Nigh Mow

      Yeh seems like they’re playing funny buggers to me.

    • Tom

      I love it when people start making up crap. The reason Nikon didn’t ship any is because they had their inventory and year end close out at the beginning of the month. The shipments weren’t delayed for any reason other than Nikon’s bad way of doing their inventory accounting.

      Every time I see something as stupid as this it’s just Chicken Little.

      • twoomy

        Sounds like YOU’re making up crap too. Yes, everybody’s talked about Nikon inventory the FIRST week of April. But now we’re two weeks later and most major retailers still haven’t received any cameras. Nikon sending those cameras over by slowboat?

        • Tom

          Ummm…. you ever deal with customs before? Even if it was flown in it would still take a while to get through customs, go through distribution channels, and get shipped across land masses.

          If you mass shipping products what kind of boat would you use? A bigger one with more volume and slightly slower? Probably.

          So yeah, 2 weeks is about right, and probably a bit optimistic.

          Get a clue.

          • twoomy

            I would love for you to be right and everybody else to be wrong. That would mean there is no problem or delay with the D800′s and my D800 will be in my hands a lot sooner, but I’m not optimistic that that is the case.

        • Garfield

          Sending by slowboat? That might be exactly what they are doing…Nikon shipped the first units by air express…they’re not going to continue to do that for long.

          • zoetmb

            Maybe, maybe not. Apple ships almost everything by air. Some months back, I ordered a little Apple Express network box from their website since AMEX provided a discount by doing so and it was drop shipped to my door directly from China by air. That shocked me – it seemed very inefficient. But others claimed that Apple has gotten the costs down so much that it was indeed efficient. And the shipping companies themselves (DHL, FedEx, UPS) now do much more than ship: they will actually inventory and pack right from their own warehouses. Don’t know if that was the case here.

            While Nikon doesn’t ship in the quantities that Apple ships in, if you’re filling a freight plane, you can apparently negotiate favorable rates. Besides, if you wait for a container ship, I believe that with the additional land travel to most places, you can expect to wait three months.

            But if anyone else has more specific and first-hand knowledge of what companies actually do, I’d love to hear it.

            • Andrew

              As another note, Apple does not make precision equipment like Nikon, so Apples products can be mass produced much more easily.

  • David

    I’m a Vistek customer and was one of the first people to be on the pre-order list for the D800e (I was able to view the list in the store). They told me April 30 is the date for the D800e. I didn’t ask about the D800, so I can’t tell you anything about that model. I do know that there are a little over 200 people on the pr-order list for the D800 for the Toronto Vistek location, alone, so it’s looking grim for them.

    My representative there was quite sure that they are getting approximately 50 D800e bodies on the 30th and there are 48 people on the list (as of the 12th), so all the pre-orders will be filled. I see no reason for him to lie to me, as I am already locked for the lease. Either way, I will let the group know if I get any more info.

    I am wondering about the MB-D12. I’ve already paid for it, and would really like it to be there when I (hopefully) pick up the body on the 30th. So far it’s not yet in stock at all.

    • Gregory

      Now the question I have is, does the Toronto waiting list at Vistek include the online pre-orders, or is that another list in itself. In that case, when Vistek gets D800′s in, do they go to store pre-orders first, or online pre-orders first (or are they going to get right down to the time ordered in-store/online for the distribution of stock).

    • http://www.paramounfocus.com Paramount Focus

      I’m one of those 200 pre-orders at the Toronto location. I was getting March 22, April 1, April 13 and now the email shown here is not giving me hope at all.

      I ordered within minutes of Vistek posting the D800 on their site but I have a feeling that the customers who mean the most to Vistek will get them first instead of who ordered it first.

      • Mike

        I ordered from Aden. Apparently they had 200 pre-orders and 8 came in. I was fortunate enough to get one of those 8. I’ve been shooting with it or 3 weeks now. Stunning.

    • GrumpyDiver

      Hmm I got an email from Vistek about 2 weeks ago, when I inquired about order status and was informed that they were expecting a shipment from Nikon mid-April. That should be about now.

      Time to see which email is correct.

      As for production problems, that could be just about anything from defective or delayed subassemblies from one of Nikon’s suppliers, the production process not running smoothly yet (that is pretty typical at any new product launch), design defect discovered (ECNs (Engineering Change Notices) are pretty common early in the production cycle as volume as things that worked in pre-production and are problematic in production are worked out. There is always the risk of a serious design defect turning up (both firmware and hardware).

      That being said, they are far enough along in the production cycle for most of those issues to have been solved.

      • Andrew

        And also the fact that many have received the D800 and have been using it with no known defects is a good sign that no serious problems were encountered.

    • orest

      Not an NPS member but did get my D800 from Vistek last week.

      • http://nikonrumors.com/ [NR] admin

        Yes, Canada got a D800 shipment last week.

  • Hom Thogan

    strange. i got a ship confer, from amazon yesterday. i will have my D800 monday.

    • HONG

      Is that Amazon US or UK?

    • Nokin

      Congratulations! What time did you pre-order it? I ordered only 73 minutes after the link went live on Amazon US (live at 9:23 pm PST, ordered 10:36 pm PST), still have delivery estimate posted as April 13-30.

  • Wayne

    Sympathies to all those waiting. Seems to me to be a US issue rather than a Nikon production issue. Even the small camera shops here (Thailand) have D800 and D4s in their windows and available for general sale and have had for a couple of weeks or so.

    • http://www.amanochocolate.com Art

      Well… There we go! Now we know the real reason for the delays!
      Nikon accidentally shipped the US cameras to Thailand!

      ;-)

      • HONG

        I think so too! LOL

      • Zoetmb

        I sometime get the feeling that because of the weak US $ against the strong Yen, Nikon does indeed shift shipments elsewhere if they think they can sell them and in spite of the fact that the U.S. is their largest single market. Because even before the disasters in Japan and Thailand, Nikon was terrible at keeping products in stock in the U.S.

        Right now, aside from pre-orders, the only Nikon DSLR bodies you can buy at B&H is the D5100 and the D3100. And yet the senior executives at Nikon seem to survive. And the last time I checked a few weeks ago, 20 Nikon lenses were out of stock. Of the 14 DX lenses, 8 were out of stock.

    • Peter

      Vistek is a Canadian company…please don’t lump us with our neighbours.

      • Wayne

        Ooops! Abject apologies ;-)

    • Apa

      Yeah! Same stoty in here Finland. We have lots of D800 & D4 bodys here. Eaven my small local retailer have like a 5-10 D800 bodies so the issue must be somewhere in US.

      • Joe

        That definitely is NOT the case here in Switzerland, I pre-ordered back in February (digitech), and I have still not received any word on when the D800 will ship. All other online stores in Switzerland seem to be out of stock with no information on next shipment too. Patiently waiting… at least the weather has been bad here for the past two weeks. Not exactly inspiring me to get out and take photos.

        • sade

          I have ordered D800 from digitec, too. a few days ago I received an email from them saying that they have no idea when they can ship me my camera. They said, so far they could cover less than 10% of the preorders. It seems I must wait at least until July to get my camera in my hands.

          • Joe

            July? I hope that’s an over-conservative estimate, I was really hoping to have it by early next month. It would be nice if they let us know our position in the pre-order queue, god knows how many people are waiting with us. Nikon should also let the retailers know how much they were planning to ship in their next shipment.

            • sade

              I actually asked them :D
              I’m around the 200-th in the list. they avoided to tell me my precise rank in the list though!
              I don’t mind if I get my D800 in July, as long as it comes without any focusing or other kind of problems. By the way, I ordered mine in about mid March.

            • El Aura

              Sade,

              which day did you order? I’m curious about my rank in their waiting list.

            • El Aura

              I must be horrible in reading, as you already said mid-March. I ordered on 8 Feb and have not received it yet.

        • E

          I have a 15k usd order waiting on digitec due to d800 delay!

      • danpe

        Sweden has no D800 in stock, but on the other hand pricing hasn’t increased. Still just below 25000 SEK from the usual large dealers as have been the norm since prices initially were made available around mid February.

        Can’t seem to find any D4/D800 in stock at Rajala, who I think is one of the major photo chains in Finland?

      • Sahaja

        The Japanese have always liked the Finns.

    • braedough

      Which shops in Thailand??? I’ve called all the major dealers here in Bangkok with no luck. Please tell me where I can get one!

  • HONG

    Haven’t heard a word from Amazon UK. Every time I inquire about the D800 and if they have heard anything from Nikon they avoid my question like the plague :S

    Anyone from the UK heard anything regarding shipments to the UK stores? I heard that Jessops received shipment last Friday.

    • JSP

      I think jessops received a very small amount recently but didn’t fulfill my order placed on the 6th of March, they told me yesterday that I will get it before the end of the month but I’ll believe it when I see it.

  • Hom Thogan

    I placed my pre order with Amazon.com (US) on 2/6 at 22:26 PST.

    I was really hoping B&H or Roberts Camera would have filled my order first, but at this point I’m willing to pay the (sales tax) premium.

    I hope they paled it well though, because it’s gone from Nevada, to Louisville to Portland OR already.

    • Paul

      So you’re saying you ordered (3) bodies? If so. you’re one of the reasons for the delays. You’re taking space on multiple waiting lists. Why not sell them on eBay while you’re at it.

      • Hom Thogan

        Yessir, that’s right. Will cancel the other two – net impact to you…zero, so get over it already.

        • Ben

          Same here. As soon as 100 cameras come in I’d be willing to bet that 100 pre-orders will be cancelled due to double ordering. When I get my D800, three other photographers will move up a spot on the waiting lists. You’re welcome guy’s. Keep your fingers crossed for me!!!

          • Gregory

            Problem comes when 100 B&H customers cancel their fake pre-order that does nothing to help 99 Vistek customers who are still waiting for stock. It just means there’s a shelf in New York (read: Not Canada) that has 100 D800 bodys on it.

            • Luis

              Doesn’t Nikon use still use the first digit in the serial number to denote what country the body was created for? If so then those 100 USA bodies at B&H wouldn’t have made it to Canada anyway.

              Serial numbers beginning with:
              2 – Japan
              3 – USA
              4 – Europe (excluding UK)
              5 – Canada
              6 – Australia / New Zealand(?)
              7 – Asia (excluding Japan)
              8 – UK

            • KnightPhoto

              @Luis my Canadian D4 serial no. begins with ’2′, so it doesn’t match the pattern you outline.

              I just got it on Friday (13th) and the number implies > 16,000 have been built if you can believe it!

    • JStrait

      OMG! You ordered your’s SIX minutes before me and I’m still waiting. BOO! ;) However that is good news for me that I shouldn’t be too far behind… hopefully…

      Ordered via Amazon US at 22:32 (10:32pm) PST on 2/6

  • Joaquim Prado

    Ritz is now saying they are expecting in a few weeks! So something is really wrong with this camera production! I know there is a great demand but in this particular cases 2 weeks without shipping no cameras is not commum at all! I am tired of those generic excuses from Ritz everytime time on chat their estimative are always weeks ahead.

    by November I might take the first shot with mine!

    • Thrillington

      It’s been discussed ad nauseam since before the first shipments that Nikon would be doing their annual inventory and not shipping anything over the last couple of weeks. No conspiracy here. Of course, it’s makes for better chatter to speculate on flaws with the camera, etc.

      • Jonathan

        beat me to it. Why do people seem to be forgetting that Nikon US stopped deliveries for two weeks for their yearly inventory?

        • Thrillington

          Because people do not inform themselves before forming an opinion. Unfortunately, it is a sign of the times.

          • Ben

            Then where are the cameras???

            • Joaquim Prado

              it’s been more than two weeks already!

  • Nicolò

    I’m using my D800 since March 23th and haven’t found any problems.
    Just a perfect pice of gear!

    • Josh

      LMAO. That’s because you either haven’t tested the outer AF points correctly or don’t know how to. If you do it right, you will that you DO have the problem. When you start to see OOF shots later on using the left bank of AF points, then don’t scratch your head too hard until you get bald – it is just the problems with the outer AF points. But by that time, the return window would have expired and you will be stuck with a dud camera.

      • Nicolò

        Josh,
        My sincere apologies!
        With light from the left I usualy use the middle or right AF points.
        I just did a brick wall test and indeed a real unsharpness when I use the left outer AF point.

        • Josh

          I would strongly suggest that you do some more real world tests with the outer AF points. This is turning out to be a defect in some D800s. It seems that the AF module might be misaligned. If you can live with this, keep it, else return the camera. I for one returned mine and will wait until Nikon rectifies this issue on subsequent batches.

  • glen

    anybody here heard something from adorama?

    • Samas

      Yeah… same question here. Anybody heard any peep from Adorama? They must have been back already from their siesta…

    • AC

      I just got a generic “item still on back order” email from Adorama. I ordered 2/7. Was hoping today would be the day.

    • http://www.johnbrunjes.com JB

      I got a shipment confirmation yesterday from Adorama for my XQD card and a still on back-order message about the card reader from them. I’ve ordered a D4 locally…still a no-go on it.

      • NNinAZ

        I ordered my D4 from Adorama within 45 minutes of the preorder link going live, and a week later I ordered a 16GB XQD card, USB reader and an extra battery. A couple of weeks ago they shipped my XQD card but everything else is still on backorder. I got the same generic back-order messages this morning on the camera, reader and battery. Anyone know if they are still going to include a card and reader with the D4 bodies?

      • http://www.artandlife.com Sole Prop

        I received my XQD and CF card order from B&H some time ago, long enough ago that I’ve received a (standard) email from them asking me to review the purchase. Hard to review an XQD card without a camera. So we’ll see. I’m feeling a bit like a vampire, though, waiting on this camera for over three months.

    • ilan

      just got off the phone with Adorama. They’re expecting the D800e shipment only at the end of April. AND NPS will be fulfilled first.
      Wouldn’t tell me my place on the list.
      Ordered 2/7

  • One for the textbook

    Nikon has really plucked defeat from the jaws of victory with the D800.
    It takes decades to build a reputation but only one stuff-up to lost it.
    I think they just lost it – and all they needed to do was to tell the truth.

    • Jonathan

      It’s been well publicized that the first two weeks of April would see no US shipments due to annual inventory. By the way, the inventory is required by law.

    • http://www.johnbrunjes.com JB

      Textbook:

      I understand your frustration…I’ve been waiting for a D4 and feel like I want to explode. I do believe that the “Defeat” comment is a little off though. I believe once we have these amazing cameras in our hands, all this angst will be gone. I’ve had to shoot with people who have both new cameras and they are so happy with what they have. I know we will be to when our time is up! All of this will be forgotten over the next 3++ years of shooting great images with these cameras.

    • Daniel

      OMG, head for the hills. Nikon having huge demand issues for a super hot product means that they have lost their reputation. HELP! HELP!

      What kind of kool-aid are you guys drinking. Yeah, because they have lost their reputation, the camera is the #1 best seller everywhere and is sold out for months. LOL.

  • LP

    I ordered on feb. 27… Not good… Started calling everywhere, found one (1) D800 on a Newport News, Va. Best Buy on march 23 ran there as fast as I could and bought it for 3000 plus tax, 3150, not bad. Found an MB-D12 on Ebay for 500, with 8 NI-MH batteries included, not bad (I think). No issues so far with anything.
    My point is that there are some cameras around selling for 3000 (I know I’m not the only one…), I guess it might be worth the risk to call everywhere and run like hell to get one… Just don’t rely on preorders made the second it was available because there’s something very wrong with the preorder lists, and no store is willing to state your number, so you don’t know if you’re next or 1000000 in line…

    • Jim

      I pre-ordered on Feb 7, and haven’t received the camera. I did call the vendor and I was advised that it was company policy that they could not provide where my order stood in their list of orders – and if someone was told what their standing was, the sales person could be fired. She also advised that the order number could change for a number of reasons, e.g., people canceling their orders, etc., so any “order number” would only be speculation. There was someone on here who said he had a number provided by the same vendor that I used.

  • http://Www.markfiddian.com Marklf

    I collected my d800 from WEX (UK) on Saturday morning. I ordered on the 7th feb early. They had just got in about 12 from Nikon but have a lot of back orders and I don’t expect my second order which I ordered just before the price went up for ages yet.

    • http://Www.markfiddian.com Marklf

      I am going to give it a good test today, try the eye-fi card with iPad and see how it compares to my d3x.

  • colicoid

    Excellent hi res christmas shots coming up…

  • Pengranger

    I ordered from Amazon UK when they reduced the price to £2099 (which they say they are honouring).

    I’ve received one email confirming delivery will be delayed, but no date provided. I think I’ll be lucky if I receive it before August!

  • Cenk

    This seems to be serious problems related to AF system of the cameras…

  • Srini

    On a different note, though not related to Nikon, Canon confirms a light leak issue under dark conditions:

    http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/support/consumer?pageKeyCode=prdAdvDetail&docId=0901e02480538fc7&WT.mc_id=C126149

    • Sahaja

      Good on Canon for acknowledging and publishing a notice of the fault.

  • A nikonian from TO

    I think there is a real issue with the D800 production and it may not necessarily be a hardware defect. It may be that one feature that was scheduled to be software enabled at a later time and generate additional revenue was found enabled by unwanted key combination and required additional tests to ensure it functions as designed.
    I am sure D800 would be available in May with a new firmware.

  • willhelm

    Seems like we’re better off grabbing a low-cost flight to Thailand or Finland and grabbing a D800 right off the store, no waiting list and a test shoot in the local vistas ;]

  • Radek

    jessops uk told me that they sold 3 d800 cameras on saturday. I`ve pre-ordered from amazon UK and no info yet :-/

  • Radek

    I think its not a hardware defect, they have to many oders and thats it :-)

    • Firstlight

      Yes, that would stink :-)

  • UA

    No point to come Finland.. you may run into some polar bears while hunting one D800 from those small rare shops that do not have web shops… hopefully the price increase is just to slow down the demand and they come back to the old price when production is able to match the demand.

  • http://www.envirosea.com Paul W

    Thailand same – no sign yet and I was number 40 on the list for the official importer.

  • mazhar

    I was supposed to receive my D800 last week in poland, but the dealer send me an email saying that delivery stopped due a to a factory defect :(

    I have a colligue from turkey who is planning to come to poland just to buy the camera with tax free and go back :)

  • Dweeb

    “We will ship no wine before it’s time” — Orson Wells.

    I know a bit about this but have to keep my mouth shut on some issues.

  • Schrumpfgermane

    It really seems like nobody has gotten a 800E so far. Nothing much seems to have come after the initial shipment of the 800, at least not during the last two weeks here in Germany.

    I ordered a D800E the day it was announced at a large, reputable local “Nikon system partner pro” dealer. I was told I am at position 2 on the waiting list.
    Called them last Friday and they said they expect a shipment from Nikon the next one to one and a half weeks. They do not know what and how many they will get. They have so far received a total of exactly ONE D800. This is a relatively large, dedicated shop, very reputable.

    We’ll see how and if the situation changes with the next batch. To me, it doesn’t look like the FF production line is at full capacity, yet.

  • http://www.icelandgifts.com Stefan H Kristinsson

    I talked to rep. at Nikon Sweden and asked him about this. The reply I got was that they have no information about production problems but he also told me that they are not fully stocked and wasn’t able to give me estimate on when they will be fully stocked.
    We here in Iceland get our cameras normally from Nikon Sweden so I thought I should ask them directly because my local dealer has been quite close lipped about this or had not information about when they will get their shipment.

  • Jim

    There was a report way back, around the time of the D800 announcement, made here on Nikon Rumors, that Nikon had some sort of inventory to do and there would be no shipments during that period. The exact dates I can’t remember but it was from around the end of March until the middle of April. I’ve searched NR for them but I was unable to locate them – perhaps Admin can relocate them.

  • D700guy

    Got this from Adorama regarding my D4 this morning.

    “We’re sorry for the wait.
    Item(s) from your order 1045XXXX are still on backorder.”

    • gan106

      Yes, I got the same notice this morning and I ordered my D4 on January 6th when they first started taking pre-orders. I was expecting a moderate wait as I am not NPS or whatever they call it but to not be able to even give the customer a ball park estimate as to when to expect delivery seems very unfriendly to customers and I don’t know whether that is a Nikon problem or an Adorama problem. It seems simple customer service: just tell us and tell us the truth. We can handle the truth but “we don’t know” just doesn’t cut it.

  • PAG

    When the first 36MP rumors came out, it sounded like many people considered this to be a specialty camera for landscapes and studio work. Nikon seems to have managed to actually make this into an excellent general purpose camera. I imagine they’ll have time keeping up with demand for quite some time.

    It seems like Nikon has been hitting it out of the park at every level. The DSLRs are doing great, the Nikon 1 is doing great, and they seem to be doing just fine with their Coolpixes. Now if they’d just give me a D400 (DX), a 300mm f/4 with VR, and an update to the 80-400mm I’d be one happy bird photographer. (Not that I’m bitching about my D7000 and current 300mm but there’s always room for improvement.)

  • trialcritic

    Wonder if it was this bad with the D700.

    I have been playing with my D800 for 3 weeks using my 14-24. It is superb, no problems with AF etc. I took a trip to Monterey on Saturday and had a great time with it. It is very quick in day light.

    I had preordered at B&H, walked into a BB and got it and canceled my preorder.

    • Ebvette

      No it was not as bad, Nikon Corporation communicated direclty on the status of delivery of the D700 and they had restocked fairly quickly.

  • Ebvette

    What bothers me is not the waiting as much as the silence from Nikon of Japan. You would think if there was a major technical issue holding up production, Nikon Corporate Office would make an announcement directly, not going through one or two resellers. My question is not when are the D800/D4′s going to arrive, but why is Nikon Corporate Offices being so silent or just ignoring this situaton? Plainly they know customers and many loyal customers are very upset, so why is Corporate so quiet?

    One other not also, its not just the D800/D4′s that have not shipped, MANY and I mean many of the lenses are on back order and accessories are still on back order, i.e. the wireless shutter release and several other items, especially baatteries.

    Its not all an invetory problem, to me it’s very poor Corporate Management and Leadership, starting at the top of the Corporation. Senior Execs are the face of the company, and so far, NIKON has introducted excellent products, but if you can put them in the hands of the customers, the Senior Execs from the President down have failed. So far I see failure with Nikons Executives to deliver a product to market after they set a release date.

    Bottom line, we as consumers will wait and wait long for Nikon to deliver their product to us, as Nikon Corporation shows NO Customer Care to the people who purchase their products, we will purchase them, and they will provide when they feel like it with not explaination, simple as that. I look to NIKON CORPORATE LEVEL to do some explaining, not the vendor resellers like a Camera Store, or Web site.

    • David

      +100

      Totally agree, communication from corp is abysmal

    • PeterO

      Communication from Nikon is abysmal because it doesn’t have to be good. Look at the insane demand. Nikon knows that its customers will wait because their products are tops. We’ve had many discussions about this and inevitabley someone comments that they are a business and they are in it for the profits and the shareholders. IMO, greater profits could be had from happy customers. It’s the corporate culture that needs to change at the top, but sadly, that isn’t going to happen as long as everyone is clamouring to buy their products. Do you think there’s a single meeting about how dissatisfied their customer base is. Hardly!

  • Fred

    looks like Nikon have a problem with the AF on one of their production lines.
    Not sure how many lines they have running but it would cause delays.
    Rather sort the problem out and ship improved QA products than continue as if nothing was amiss.

    • GrumpyDiver

      Realistically, Nikon can only produce so many units a day, and these delays are pretty typical when a new product is launched and the demand is high. You see it in pretty well any industry, including cars.

      Nikon only has two choices; delay the launch date and fill the warehouse with inventory (and have people complaining about the delay) or release the product and make the people wait (which is what they have chosen to do).

      They appear to have some “hard” constraints; I seem to remember reading that Sony can only produce around 30000 sensors per month. Unless there are yield problems at the sensor fab and they are having a high reject rate, there is only so much capacity out there. Increasing yields (i.e. producing more good sensors) is the only realistic way to increase capacity, all things being equal.

  • Ken

    surely there is another source to validate that, one retailers e-mail surely doesn’t even warrant a rumor….it’s just adds to the mass negative spin already going on…..!

  • http://www.schultzphotographic.ca jason

    The “production” problems have to do with the Canadian Military and RCMP getting first dibs on the D800. They’re buying oodles of units which is causing the massive delay for joe blow consumer.

    • s.dunn

      It’s a bigger problem than that! We are still waiting too, and Nikon missed fed govt end of year where all products had to be in hand by April 1, 2012. It’s going to mess up a lot of budgets. Also, while I’m not positive, I don’t think the military are using all Nikon cameras. I know they were looking at Sony stuff for a while, however that was PRE D4 announcement, which changed Nikons video offerings considerably!

      • GrumpyDiver

        Cdn Military and RCMP are part of the government too and have the same rules under the FAA (Financial Administration Act), so same rules as the rest of govt’ regarding spending money, accruals, etc.

        • s.dunn

          I guess Im in agreement, but Im not sure what your trying to say.

          What Im indicating is that the RCMP and Canadian Military did order oodles of D4′s and potentially D800′s as well. They haven’t shown up yet. So its likely not the slow down point with Visitek. I was told that Nikon wern’t getting as many D4′s as they originally thought they would be, but who knows.

          The FAA has less impact than Treasury Board Policy which dictates that everything must be delivered/installed/in hand by end of fiscal year to count on the 2011 budget.

          Thus a lot of units wanted to spend big coin and had permission to spend big coin on the remainder of their 2011 fiscal budget. Many units did order cameras during what is often known as March Madness in the Fed Gov. However since these cameras weren’t IN HAND by April 1, 2012 they won’t count on the 2011 Budget. The 2012 budgets in many cases are smaller than years previous, there might not be room for as many camera purchases as before.

          Also Nikon generates its own list internally as too who gets what first, I would imagine the Federal Government is up there, but I wouldn’t think it would be top top of the list.

  • Morag

    I was in a camera store in Winnipeg the other day and I asked if they had a D8oo I could look at but he said the only one he had was this D800 in the box he was sending back to be fixed because it wouldnt auto focus.Do we have a problem?

  • http://ronscubadiver.wordpress.com Ron Scubadiver

    It could be as simple as post tsunami and Thai flood supply chain problems.

    • NoD800Yet

      On one hand, one could argue that Nikon is being smart and trying to not overbuild or over staff. Keeping an assembly line running at a even pace is in the long run, a better strategy for everyone.

      And natural disasters have impacted the entire industry.

      However, camera, lens, accessory supply has been an issue for a number of years. And I wonder about Nikon’s production planning.

  • http://www.seanmolin.com Sean Molin

    Every single camera gets individually checked for metering and AF accuracy before leaving the factory. If there is a production problem, it was most likely found on cameras that didn’t ship.

    • GrumpyDiver

      These kinds of problems are usually found when the parts don’t fit into the assembly or when they don’t work after assembly.

    • Nicolò

      Not very likely because if you do a simple test (a little late in my case) it’s quite obvious the AF-problem is present (and the camera got shipped anyway).

  • Kame

    Well, here in Italy is the same.
    Just got a report of 1 camera shipped every 15 days to one of the biggest supplier in my city (Milan).

    Seems that Nikon is shipping randomly…

    We just have to wait…

  • David

    I was in jessops today (uk) and enquired about the d800. Apparently they have around 100 due in a shipment (no idea as to when they will be shipped) and have around 45 preorders from customers. I had originally preordered with jessops but switched when amazon dropped the price to 2099. I was surprised at 45 preorders as this seemed low.

    • T.I.M

      You’ll get your D800 when UK will drive on the right side and use Euros bills, in 200 years !
      :)

    • JSP

      I was told by jessops aaages ago there were around 300 pre ordered. Ordered mine on the 6th of march, expected before the end of the month.

  • CMan

    I want Nikon to have a live webcam to watch production, atleast for peace of mind :P

  • Clucking Hell

    Anyone got a recommendation for a good cheap takeaway ?? Might have more succsess getting my pre ordered D4 if I order number 4 on the menu. Had D4 ordered from jessops 4 weeks ago, they say order should be filled end of April, I should of asked is that April 2012 or 2013 :) )

  • Adorama emails Errr!

    Adorama sure sends out a lot of emails…. I jump everytime I see an email from Adorama pop up on my phone just to find out that they’re having a sale on P&S’s or a workshop on how to turn on your new DSLR. I would add them to my spam list but I don’t want to miss the important notification that they’re going to send to me sometime this year. lol

  • http://www.johnbrunjes.com JB

    Not to distract from concerns where everyone’s camera is (I’m in same boat wondering), but did anyone else catch the interview with McNally and Frakes? I was really interested in McNally’s response on the use of radio remote with TTL. It sounded like to me, he described then as “unreliable”. I assume this means PocketWizard mini TT1 and Flex tt5. I’ve rally struggled with them at times…but I thought it was just me. Anyone else get this from what he said?

    • Jeff

      Yeah, I got the same idea from what he said. I use TT1 and TT5 every day in wedding, and corporate photography. I’ve used them in every situation imaginable, combined with studio flash and speedlights, combined with plus IIs, and even used them to trigger a camera with 10-pin cord, that then triggered 3 groups of speedlights and others as basic trigger, all at once. The Pocket Wizards have never EVER failed me. I have never experienced any problem (not firing, wrong exposure, etc). I think that Joe is such a huge fan of Nikon CLS that it is hard for him to switch over. That is my guess.

  • PicturePerfect

    There are several issues here, all related to communication

    1. It is characteristic of some Japanese companies to be tight-lipped when there are problems (eg Toyota re acceleration issue and TEPCO re Fukushima disaster). They seem to not understand that nature abhors a vacuum.
    2. In the face of the vacuum there are all kinds of rumors floating around and dealers are supplying conflicting information.
    a. Vistek letter conflicts with what other dealers are saying,
    b. One local dealer here who is a subsidiary of a large national company claims they have filled all pre-orders and can fill my order just made in 2-3 weeks. True? Who knows? We shall see.
    3. It is without question that Nikon closed for inventory at the end of March. Even so, inventory built up to that point would still have shipped. Any hiatus would hit a week or so later in terms of actual deliveries. That seems to have been the case with very few deliveries last week.
    4. There may have been, or is, a production problem gleaned from tested units (most people seem to say their cameras work fine). It could be a high fail rate of a specific part or non-existant. We will likely never know- again, communication.
    5. I have seen a number of people saying they have cancelled and bought a Canon. There is no doubt Nikon is losing some sales, but still has far more than they can handle. However, the camera is the doorway to lens, flash and other sales so lost sales of the camera have broader effects.
    6. There has clearly been a large number of multiple orders by people looking for the first to ship who will then cancel their other order(s). The exact number is unknown, but it would not be unreasonable to think that there could be 75% or more duplication.

    At the end of the day, this is what it is, sadly. The cameras will ship when Nikon elects to do so and to whom and in what quatities they determine. We will just have to wait, or not, to see when ours will ship. The rest is just pure conjecture.

    • Bon Jovi

      PicturePerfect has just provided a PerfectPicture of this whole situation.

  • Kheps

    *UK*

    Just been in to a local dealer, he has none in stock, and had just been off the phone with Nikon UK; They told him not to quote any date as to when he might be able to supply the pre-orders as at best it will be 1 or 2 months. No other information from them as they simply did not know themselves.
    On a side note he also mentioned that he can’t source any Canon 5d(3)s either.

    Cheers for keeping us updated ADMIN. really appreciate it! would be losing my mind trying to find info!

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