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Nikons maintenance centre is located in Estonian city of Tartu (10.12.2013)
In the downtown of Tartu, there is a repair shop that is full of spot-on and complicated devices which can be used to fix and regulate optics, set up cameras and do a lot more things necessary for fixing and maintaining Nikon cameras.
This is a centre where cameras are sent for fixing or maintaining from Estonia and 8 other countries: Denmark, Norway, Czech, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, Sweden and Iceland. In those countries other countries, only maintenance of the professional cameras is performed, rest of the photography technology is sent to Tartu.
Each month, thousands of cameras are sent to Tartu for maintenance by UPS courier. “During the summer and Christmas time, even more,“ says Arno Merelaht,the CEO of Nikon’s maintenance centre ARWEST, when explaining the peak seasons of camera use which then, with a little delay affect the workflow of the centre.
The biggest enemies of photography technology are soft drinks and alcohol. There are also problems with cameras that have been taken to the beach. If, from the opening of the centre, Nikon’s repairmen had maintained all the different sand samples that have fallen from the cameras, they would have sand samples from all over the world by now. ”Unfortunately, we cannot fix all the cameras,“ says Merelaht. For example, we had to give up on a camera that had been on a fishing trip to Norway and on a camera that had been run over by a car and had a broken body. But most of the cameras leave the centre ready to photograph again.
It is possible to repair almost all Nikon cameras in Estonia, only D1 and D2 find their way to Sweden. Soon, it will be possible to start taking in D4’s but some preparations still need to be done to before starting to repair that camera. All the rest of the Nikon models are sent to Tartu which is the only centre in the abovementioned countries that does repair works. Starting from last year, it is possible to repair Nikon optics as well. “We have all the spare parts and necessary equipment to do that,“ Merelaht explains.
If the warranty period is over and the camera breaks, the camera might not end up at the Tartu centre although it should. The handymen from Tartu centre remember that they have seen cameras that have previously been repaired by all kinds of „repairmen“ – those cameras cannot sometimes be even properly fixed later. “The worst thing is super attack. With this glue, things cannot be undone and when dealing with smaller cameras, there is nothing more to do,“ says Merelaht and advises to always fix your cameras at the official workshop of the dealer. Even the original spare parts are not as resistant as the Nikon’s own production. 90% of all necessary spare parts are coming from the cupboards of the work shop. If something very very special is missing, it is ordered and the delivery time is about a week.
According to the maintenance expert Mari Jõgeva, the shops are doing a good job assessing whether it is possible to repair the camera and if there is a point. Unfortunately, in general, it is not worth to fix cheaper compact cameras since the whole modules are exchanged instead of fixing certain components. Tartu repair shop also offers repair calculations service so that it would be easier for the customer to decide whether or not they wish to repair their camera’s error during the warranty period.
In the repair shop, different experts work with different types of cameras: some with COOLPIX, some with half professional, some with professional cameras. In general, it takes about 2 to 3 days to fix a camera. “The result must meet the standards,“ Merelaht explains. That is why, the focal length, ISO etc. are measured and adjusted, if necessary. There is a cupboard full of so-called standard cameras that meet the Nikon standards. If necessary, the handymen compare the camera they are fixing with the standard camera.
“Ask, and the help is on the way,“ Jõgeva praises the cooperation with Nikon. When there is something missing at the spot, even the Japanese specialists help. But problems go this far only once a year or so. Usually, help comes from a lot closer – from Sweden. “It is very nice that they have good repairing and regulating devices, materials, manuals and excellent technical support,“ Merelaht adds. When a new model goes to the market, the handymen in Tartu are taught to take care of those new ones as well.
Tip!
Belt, bag and a suitable camera
To have the camera serve its owner as long as possible, the photographer has to take care of the camera as well. The first thing is not to drop the camera. For this, camera has a belt and while photographing, the belt should be around the neck not hanging uselessly on the camera. Falling is the biggest risk for having an error or breaking. If the camera is not used, it belongs to a camera bag. This also makes the camera shockproof and protects it from dust and sand. When choosing a camera bag, it is necessary to choose a bag that fits the camera and its additional equipment. You can find a wide choice of camera bags and other protective accessories from here.
Sometimes, it is unavoidable to photograph in very extreme situations – while hiking in the mountains, doing extreme sports, diving - or in situations where there is a great danger of the camera falling onto the ground or into the water. For situations like this, Nikon has created cameras that are water-, freezing and shock proof. The camera system NIKON 1 AW1 with exchangeable lenses is meant to last even in the harshest conditions of photographing.