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Sorry, you will need to speak to Kalabhai for this info.

I've never used a dry cabinet before as this is used mainly in coastal and high humidity areas.

Cheers!

I too, like you, cringe when I think about cleaning my lens. I wouldnt dare think about cleaning the sensor. I've seen multiple Canikon cameras fail after they were opened up here in India - so now, I just wait until I'm traveling to the US, and get work done there. I might be paranoid - but I just am not comfortable with any camera DIY, although after my experience with service in India, I'm even less confident in the service capabilities.

Let us know what you finally did!

Cleaning sensor is pretty easy if you have the right tools. Although 95% of the time blower is more than enough.

Lenses are pretty easy, Rocket blower, followed by few drops of lens cleaner, followed by micro fiber cloth.

I don't think u should worry too much about giving it to the nikon service center but no local camera repair shop unless they're strongly recommended by someone you know. My experience with the Canon center has been very good in BLR. Afterall its just a dust speck, no big rocket science and won't even involve surgical process of tearing down the camera.

Ok chaps. Problem seems to be solved. I used the built in sensor clean function. Put the camera into MUP mode, a blast of air from the rocket blower did the job and I cannot see the spec of dust now. Viva la Giotto's rocket blower!

Let me give you an example of why I called the technicians at local SC Bozos. Last year I accidentally touch the front element of one of my lenses and wanted it cleaned. I called up the Nikon ASC and asked the man how much he would charge to clean the FE. He said Rs 3K and I was like Whoa! Dude! So I told him to listen to me carefully and mentioned ONLY the FE needs cleaning as it has a fingerprint on it.

He then said he thought the entire lens needed cleaning. So, what did this experience tell me? Either these guys don't listen to their customers, or they cannot understand or they are trying to pull a fast one on unsuspecting ones.

The boss man at the ASC is known to me, I'd get a free sensor clean if I spoke to him but the thought of one of the ASC monkeys touching my camera's sensor is scary. I was very tempted to report my discomforting experience to the boss man but left it at that.

That's what I did for the sensor as mentioned above.

The lens - it was cleaned it with a blast from the rocket blower, followed by a lens brush, final operation was with a lens cleaner and a microfibre cloth. And it was sparkling clean. After that experience I swore never to take off the UV/clear filter again. :Frustrati

I don't really trust service centres in India, even car SCs, and always do a double check. Unfortunately camera service centres have strict access rules and a customer can't really see what the tech is doing. I just may trust the ASC here but I need to take it up with the owner first.

In my opinion, if front element of your lens is not so clean, it would not affect the image as such.
I have read in forums earlier that even if there are scratches on front element, it would not affect the image at all.
Reason given for this is that anything on front element would be so out of focus, image is not affected. However, anything even very minor on rear element can critically ruin your image.

Can others please comment on above.

Regards,

JLS

Wow! Getting to a service center for a fingerprint on the front element is being overly careful I must say. No wonder the guy offered you a full cleaning of the lens. rl:

Take it easy mate, the glass wont scratch so easy and even if it does, its not going to show up on your images unless you've scratched it purposely with a blade at which point there may be some unpleasant flare in some pictures but nothing otherwise.

Personally speaking, I'd never even worry about a dust speck on the sensor until it comes to a point where the spot interferes at wider apertures as well and it's in the middle of the frame. But I understand the whole thing about taking care of the expensive equipment etc, believe me, your equipment is much tougher than you think and can handle abuse to a good extent. So don't worry and shoot away!

That's right JLS, the fingerprint on the FE will NOT affect the image..I am aware of that. It is just that I keep my camera and lenses absolutely clean. Not removing an oily fingerprint is an invitation to more dust sticking to the FE. Plus I have read on the 'net that a fingerprint can accelerate development of fungus. For e.g. here:

Camera Lens Fungus - Learn How to Avoid Camera Lens Fungus

On a different note, Nikon Japan has announced the development of a new super telephoto - the 800mm F/5.6 to match Canon's model. There's still no word on the pricing (will be stratospheric given the 600mm is US $10K) or availability/release date.

It's like my service advisor offering to repaint my car when all I asked for is a car wash and wax. :uncontrol It would certainly make me think the man at the other end of the line is a bit short on mental faculties.

Yups, I agree that the lenses/camera are far tougher than I give them credit for. But keeping my camera/lenses and car in pristine condition is something that's second nature to me. stupid:

Fingerprint or scratch on front element is not a problem. Moderate of fungus growth on front elements and even some on the rear element itself will not affect lens's sharpness - my Beercan is a perfect example. If there's too much of it, contrast will get affected.

OK, so I have been wanting to upgrade from my D90, and waiting for the D400 (D7000 and D300s are not that big of a leap for me to make it worth the investment). Sort of like waiting for Godot.

If they release it with 18-24 MP, better fps and buffer than D300s, similar build quality, much better AF. DR and ISO performance (flowing down from the new FX cousins) - it would be the perfect camera for me given my use. I shoot 90% of my stuff outdoors, under uncontrolled circumstances, and often need react fast.

During a recent trip I felt that I am outgrowing the D90.

I am not interested in FX at the moment because I can't afford all the expensive supporting gear I will need to buy.

Any other folks waiting for such a high end-DX camera?

Technically, I'm also waiting for a better crop sensor but in the Canon lineup. My 7D is just about (or actually a little below) average on the ISO performance and I was thinking that they'll bring up something soon. The 5D III isn't something I'd yearn for given it's price proximity with the 1D Mark IV which is the hero in my kit. Honestly, I'd put in the extra bit to pick up another 1D Mark IV than the 5D III, but that's not happening any time soon!

BTW, for all 7D users, Canon is coming up with a new firmware update for the 7D in August which is significant change than the regular updates. I'm hoping it will do some good to the usability overall, but the ISO performance may not change much.

I've a D300 and no, I don't want to upgrade. Rather I'm on the lookout for a second body; changing lenses in the middle of a jungle atop a bouncing & bucking gypsy is not a good scenario.

So for me the obvious choice is a FX body. When the D4/800/E came out after a long and agonising delay, I had expected that the price of D3/s would fall significantly. What shocked me was the vanisihing of D3/s from the market. Not a single piece is available anywhere.

Since I wasn't interested in the 700, the choice narrowed down to 800. Now this piece of hardware is in eternal short supply worldwide. And true to the saying - "make hay while the sun shines", Nikon has been increasing its price by 10K every month. How very unethical..!

I don't know what to do and am waiting as there is no such pressure on me since the National Parks are on a 3 month holiday.:D

Hi GD,
You can also consider waiting for the D600 , which would be a cheaper full frame camera than the D800. Though it will cut down on quite a few specs as compared to the D800 (eg 24Mp instead of 36Mp, 39 focus points instead of 51 etc), it will be a strong value proposition and from what I have heard, it will be below the 1 L mark. I am also waiting for this to upgrade from my existing D90 to a full frame. Word is that it should be out around mid-Aug/ September.

Regards,
Behemoth

I agree Behemoth. The reported specs too suit me the best:

24.7MP full frame sensor
Weight: 760g (850g with battery and memory cards)
3.2" LCD with 921K dot with ambient sensor control
HDMI output
Video compression: H264/MPEG-4
Full HD with 30p, 25p, 24p, HD with 60p, 50p, 30p, 25p
Viewfinder coverage: 100% for FX , 97% for Dx
The Nikon D600 will have built-in AF motor
The body most probably will be weather sealed
The D600 may not have built-in GPS
ISO range: 100-6400 (with Lo-1 ISO 50 and Hi-2 ISO 25,600)
39 AF points (with an option of 11 AF points), 9 cross-type AF points
AF face detection
Exposure compensation: ±5 EV (same as the D800)
5 fps (same as the D700, the D800 has 4fps)
2 SD card slots with Eye-fi support
Build-in retouching images functionality
Built-in flash with sync speed of 1/250s
Two user settings: U1 and U2
Fn button
Auto DX crop mode
In-camera RAW editor
Built in time-lapse functionality
Possibly with build-in HDR
New external battery grip
Announcement before Photokina (September 2012)

What I'm worried about is the announcement/release part. They kept on advancing the release of 800 citing the Tsunami & floods in Thailand/Malaysia as a reason. If they do release in September, then so far so good.