This is in follow-up to this post. The problem with my Nikon D500 was that the green LED light on the back panel was continuously blinking (as if the memory card was being accessed) whether the camera was on or off. This would drain the battery to zero power within an hour — again, whether the camera was on or off.
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Thankfully, I received a call yesterday that my Nikon D500 was repaired and ready to be picked-up.
Yay!
So, today, I made the hour-long return trip to Nikon in Mississauga.
When I arrived, the nice person behind the counter retrieved my camera and informed me:
- The camera was cleaned.
- The firmware was updated.
- The autofocus was adjusted.
Me: Oh. That’s all?
Him: That’s it. It’s fixed now.
Well, prior to taking it to Nikon:
- The camera was already clean.
- I had already installed the latest firmware.
- The autofocus was working perfectly; in fact, it’s the one thing I had hoped they wouldn’t touch!
Me: Do you mind if I test it here?
Him: Sure, go right ahead.
(a battery and memory card is placed in the camera… we both stand and watch as the blinking green light turns on… and off… continuously…)
Him: Oh.
Me: This is the problem (that required repair). A technician signed off on this?
Him: Let me take it back inside — please wait here.
(several minutes later…)
Him: I’m very sorry. It seems that there is a hardware problem. It will need to be fixed.
Me: Yes, I know.
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Needless to say, I returned home empty-handed. Now I’ll have to make a 3rd trip to Nikon, at some point. My guess is that they will eventually fix it, but this interaction did not inspire me with confidence.
I just hope that they haven’t messed up the autofocus.
—Peter.
Prosophos 
Peter, i’m sorry you had to endure that. It seems that as complex as digital cameras have become, the more people having needs of service — probably of all brands. That was pretty ridiculous though. They should at least fedx it to you.
Thanks Henry. In all fairness to them, they did offer to courier it back to me. But that means someone needs to be home all day waiting for it vs. taking 1 – 1.5 hours to go get it myself whenever I have time.
The thing that is most annoying about this is that the problem is reproducible 100% of the time yet it was somehow completely missed, despite me having demonstrated it when I dropped off the camera.
Peter, this does completely stink. I recently had to send my D750 in for repair, and couldn’t have had a better experience. I did have to pay for FedEx shipping, but they got me a loaner body while mine was in the shop and the repair was done within 3-4 days. I was really impressed. Sounds like it can be a bit hit or miss with them. Love seeing your work and have a great week.
Hi Dave, thanks for the balanced view. I’m hoping my next interaction will be positive.
Thanks for your kind comments.