I have nothing against Nikon. I love the D800e. In my film days, I preferred the brand over Canon and I still think the whole brouhaha over Canon versus Nikon amounts to nothing. Still, I can only think of today's announcement of the new Nikon D610 as merely a service update by a company unwilling to admit that the D600 was seriously flawed. I've never owned or used a D600, but from reading about the problems with oil on the sensor, I'm pretty sure that if it had been a car, it would have been recalled.

Instead, Nikon announced a replacement only one year after the arrival of the D600, puts in a new shutter mechanism and demands $2000 from those frustrated by the D600 oil problem. In the process, prices for a used D600 are probably going to drop steeply.

Now, the D600 was apparently a great camera, apart from that oily issue. So, logic tells us the D610 is a really great camera.

But is it good client service?

The announcement is here.

By John van Rosendaal