Earlier this week Nikon issued a “Technical Service Advisory” for faulty Vibration Reduction (VR) mechanism on the Nikon Z6 and Z7 mirrorless cameras. We have been doing what we can to collect some information regarding this service advisory to see what type of a recall it is and what serial numbers are affected. Unfortunately, there is not much information regarding this particular recall, but from what we are able to tell from the information we gathered so far, the number of total Z6 and Z7 units affected is very small, potentially under 1500 (in the USA).
First of all, if you own a Nikon Z6 or a Z7 camera, please make sure to visit the following pages to see if your camera is affected:
And here is the actual technical service advisory issued by Nikon:
Technical Service Advisory for Users of the Nikon Z 6 and Z 7 Cameras
MAY 16, 2019
Thank you for choosing Nikon for your photographic needs.
Issue
While Nikon has taken great measures to assure the high quality expected of Nikon products, it has come to our attention that the vibration reduction (VR) feature in some Nikon Z 6 and Z 7 cameras may not function fully. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.Resolution
Nikon has resolved this by making available corrective service for affected Z 6 and Z 7 cameras free of charge, including the cost of shipping an affected Z 6 and Z 7 camera to Nikon as well as its return, even if your Z 6 or Z 7 camera warranty has expired.Identifying Affected Products and Requesting Service
To determine whether your camera is one of those affected, please click the appropriate Check Serial Number button below and enter the serial number for your Z 6 or Z 7 camera as indicated. If your camera is one of those affected, instructions for requesting service, including receiving your free shipping label, will be displayed onscreen. You may also contact Nikon Customer Relations by visiting www.nikonusa.com/support for assistance. If your Z 6 or Z 7 camera is not one of those affected, this will be displayed onscreen and you may continue using your camera without concern for this issue.To locate your camera’s serial number, open the camera’s monitor on the back of the camera and the serial number will be the 7-digit number printed on the label affixed to the camera body, as indicated by the red frame in the image above (the Z 6 camera is represented in the image).
Please understand that Nikon will collect personal information as necessary in order to facilitate the service and shipping of affected cameras. This information will not be used for any other purposes.
Once again, thank you for choosing Nikon for your photographic needs.
First of all, I was a bit surprised to find out that my Nikon Z7 is affected. Having used the camera in the field for over 8 months, I never noticed that mine had any issues related to in-body image stabilization (IBIS). In fact, my sample was one of the units used in the field to report on how amazing the IBIS system on the Z7 is (you can read about it in our Nikon Z7 review). I wonder if Nikon actually knows which particular units are truly affected, because mine does not seem to suffer from any issues. The same goes for Spencer, who also has an affected Z7, but his camera has not had any issues with IBIS either. Perhaps the company came across a sample or two that had some problems and decided to recall the whole batch, who knows. Although mine is doing just fine, I will still go ahead and send it in, as I am curious about what type of service it will go through.
We have run through a few camera samples and serial numbers to determine which ones are affected. Below is what we found so far.
Nikon Z6 Unaffected Serial Numbers:
- 3007380
- 3016213
I went through the above link and tried to put numbers from different ranges (some random), and every time the request comes back with “Your camera is unaffected. Repair not necessary”. It seems like the total number of Z6 cameras affected by the service advisory is very small. So small that I got tired of inputting numbers! My Z6 was from the same pre-order as the Z7 (just shipped later), and I know that I got one of the earlier samples, because I went through NPS drop ship. Still, out of the two units I own, none of them came out positive.
Nikon Z7 Affected Serial Numbers:
- 3000483
- 3000497
- 3000501
- 3000505
- 3000512
- 3000566
- 3000872
The range of affected Z7 cameras also appears to be very small. Three of the cameras from the above list are owned by our team and they are all cameras that we purchased on the same day pre-orders began, so they are all early samples. I tried to enter serial numbers above 3001000 and I could not come across any that were affected, so it seems like there might be less than a few hundred of actual Z7 units that are being recalled.
Nikon Z7 Unaffected Serial Numbers:
- 3001961
- 3002164
I also tried to put in random numbers from higher ranges and none of them showed affected samples.
In summary, it appears that this is a very minor service advisory that affects a small range of cameras. If you own a Nikon Z6 or Z7 and your camera is affected, please let us know in the comments section below. Also, if you have experienced any issues with the IBIS, please let us know as well!