Nikon Breaks Warranty Agreement On Defective SLR Camera

The aperture control stopped working just weeks before the warranty was up on my D5000 SLR camera. When I sent it in for repairs I was surprised to get a bill from Nikon, with their claim that the damage was due to an "impact" and thus not covered by their warranty. Unless an evil camera-fairy snuck into my house and dropped it on the ground, the damage was probably due to a defect and not my mishandling of the camera.

The aperture control is a common problem with this camera. I see dozens of similar complaints in online photography forums. When I switched it on one day the aperture simply wasn't working.

Still, it is otherwise a decent camera, a good introduction if you are new to SLRs. It struggles a little bit with dark levels, so you should expect to bring a tripod to do architecture photography at sunrise or sunset. But with such a common defect and a slimy company's unethical refusal to honor contracts, you should go with a Canon instead!