Posted on 04/14/2015 7:43:50 PM PDT by SWAMPSNIPER
At the end of 2014, Nikon issued a notice saying that fake D800E DSLRs have been discovered during service center repairs. Technicians found that the cameras were actually ordinary D800 DSLRs (a few hundred dollars cheaper) that had their covers replaced with D800E shells.
Nikon issued an update today saying that other models are being faked as well, namely the D610 and D4S
(Excerpt) Read more at petapixel.com ...
I noticed some of the Nikon binoculars are now being made in China. The quality is what it should be but these are their lower price models.
The problem I see is some of these companies are going to start turning out “Great Wall” cameras or some other name which are the equal of the Nikons at a lower price.
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You got that right. Two shifts for the brand, one shift for international counterfeiters. With dies and sourced materials available, how could one resist?
For later ping
I am a professional photographer.
Trust me when I tell you that no one paying $6,500+ for a D4s is going to confuse it with a D800.
It’s a Chevy vs a corvette, and I own both of them.
Plus, as a Nikon Professional Service member, I can assure you that if you are paying a discounted fee for a d4s, something is wrong. We don’t get discounts, and we are their best customers, buying tens of thousands of dollars worth of equipment every year or two.
China did that to the US furniture market.
The company I work for bought discounted Nikon gear. No warranty, but they saved 10 percent. well worth it as long as nothing ever breaks.
If Nikon says there are fakes, I believe them.
Back in old New York in the 1970’s there was a little shop that took deliveries of cartons of cheap watches and counterfeit “Omega” watch faces. They were incredibly poor fakes, but were sold retail to buyers who thought they “fell off a truck”.
I do some videography for stock purposes which is about to the point where it isn’t worth it and was a Canon user forever and loved their products. Just never had any interest in Nikon for whatever reason. No knocking on them at all, know it is quality stuff.
I switched to Panasonic for a 4K system and don’t see me going back.
They probably bought “grey” market, which is foreign import models. You are correct...if they don’t break you are golden. If they do, you are not covered by the US Warranty.
I am not “beating my chest” here, but as someone who uses the stuff every day—a lot—(3-5,000 exposures on a fall afternoon shooting college soccer, football, and field hockey) you cannot afford to take that risk. If it is US, I can get a “loaner.” If its grey, I am screwed.
Oh, I believe them too.
Its just if you are going to shell out that kind of money, hopefully you have done your homework and are working with a reputable company.
There are plenty of sales of high end camera equipment to non-professionals. Maybe even the bulk of sales goes to people with the money to spend, but who don’t have a detailed knowledge of the inner workings and differences among cameras. Apparently the only way to tell the fake Nikon is to literally open the case, which no owner will do to a working camera, or have a tool that can interface with the onboard computer. Also keep in mind that the warranty paperwork on these cameras are faked as well, so it looks genuine in all ways.
The physical case of a D4s is larger, more rubberized than any other Nikon camera.
I am not trying to be argumentative, but if someone gets duped trying to buy a flagship camera they should be ashamed of themselves. I don’t want to say they deserve to be screwed, because no one does. But if it’s too good to be true...
And, regarding the warranty, on the D4s the retailer handles the warranty—something else that would be explained to you at the time of sale.
Really, buying one of these things is like buying a Porsche.
The D800 line has some outstanding video features. I know that TV shows have been shot on both Nikon and Canon SLRs. As someone who’s been shooting for money since I was 13, I am amazed at the changes in camera technology in just the last 15 years. ( and I am in my mid fifties.)
I went with panasonic since they offered 4K in an affordable body which neither Canon or Nikon does last time I checked.
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