Nikon has yet to admit any defect with the D600 despite a plethora of reports concerning a defective shutter mechanism. Even when the D610 was announced (way too early as a proper replacement for the D600), Nikon made no mention of the shutter defect. However, Nikon highlighted a new, improved shutter as a feature of the D610.
Now, it appears that some Nikon D600 owners who send their cameras in for cleaning are getting brand new Nikon D610 cameras back with little or no cost to the user. (Update: Nikon later confirmed that all service inquiries are handled on a case-by-case basis, but provided no direct response to the D610 and D600 shutter mechanism debacle. See official statement below.) Of course, Nikon has yet to make an official statement or policy about how these replacements are determined.
We’ve reached out to Nikon for comment and will update this post if and when we hear anything.
UPDATE 1/29/14
I asked Nikon the following questions:
Does Nikon have an official statement on the reports that some Nikon D600 units sent in for cleaning are being replaced with new Nikon D610 units?
Are there any updates to Nikon’s position concerning the allegedly defective shutter mechanism in the Nikon D600?
Nikon provided the following official response:
Nikon Inc. is committed to serving the needs of our customers. All our customer service inquiries are handled on a case-by-case basis.
[via Nikon Rumors]
That is what Nikon should have done right at the beginning. By doing what they did, they lost the trust of many of their customers.
But as the saying goes ” Better late than never”.