Nikon D300 w/SB - 910 Flash

[Digital]

I just spent an interesting hour with Nikon Technical Support. My question was whether the Nikon D300 is compatible with the Nikon SB-910 Flash. The first agent told me the camera, and flash are NOT compatible with each other.
I then contacted two camera stores where I was told that the D300, and SB-910 WOULD work together.
A second call to Nikon Technical Support repeated what the first agent had said. They even emailed me the User's Manual for the D300. I wondered about that since the D300 User's Manual was written before the SB-910 was introduced.
I called a third camera store-they repeated what the first two camera stores had told me. However they related they would check with Nikon, and email me a response on Monday. It should be noted that all three of these stores are
well established in the camera business.
If all else fails pull out the User's Guide for the SB-910. According to the manual the D300, and SB-910 are compatible.
A third call to Nikon Technical Support. After further checking they basically told me I had received incorrect information on the first two calls.
The moral of this story is that I should have not asked the question in the first place.

Bruce

[Stagecoach]

Bruce,

Did the first two calls to Nikon support give a reason that it was not compatible ?

[Digital]

Bruce,

Did the first two calls to Nikon support give a reason that it was not compatible ?

Grahame, no they did not; however I did not ask. Thinking about it, it would have been better if I did.
I really got suspicious regarding their information when they emailed me the Owner's Manual for the D300. It would have been more suitable if they had emailed me the Owner's Manual on the SB-910.

Bruce

[PhotomanJohn]

Bruce - I understand your frustration because I also have had similar experiences with the manufacturer's technical support. I find that the best source of information is the internet but one must be able to correlate multiple sources to be able to filter out the BS from the truth. Nikon does have good compatibility tables online.

I think the problem is that modern cameras, flashes and the like are rather complicated devices with some variation between them. Many of the tech support individuals may not even be photo enthusiasts. To them it is just a job. Even many professional photographers are not very good at answering technical questions. They tend to be more artistic/creative people with little interest/aptitude for the technical side. I have been involved with photography for over 50 years with a strong interest in the technical side and find that I still learn new things on a regular basis.

John

[Stagecoach]

I suppose it could have been a ploy to get you to consider upgrading your camera

[Digital]

Thanks John. Your comments made a lot of sense; however one would EXPECT Nikon's Technical Support team to be more aware of the specs of the products they manufacture. I wonder how many photographers would not have pursued this after the first phone call. If a person was thinking of purchasing the SB-910 (who already had a D300 or any other Nikon camera for that matter), and took their word for it there would go a potential sale.
In my case I was motivated to pursue this because I already own a SB-910 which I have not used yet. I trusted the camera store that sold me this flash, and it turns out this trust was well founded.

Bruce

[PhotomanJohn]

Bruce - You are correct. Customer service is such an important aspect of any good business. Poor customer service can cause missed opportunities for the company and potentially loss of otherwise good customers. No matter what folks think about Really Right Stuff, their customer service is over the top excellent which is partly why they are able to charge what they do for their products.

Nikon has very good people as well but they are somewhat hidden. When I can't get a straight answer about one of their products or an issue I am having, I have a contact within their Nikon Professional Services who knows her stuff.

John

[shreds]

Guess they just looked and couldn't see the SB910 in the D300 manual and followed that. As said above, to many of these call centre operators it is just a job and they don't stray beyond the manual.

Not good for Nikon, and not typical of the service I have had from them here in the UK, but blind adherence is regrettably too common these days. They are scared of loosing their jobs or getting sued.

Of course if you had asked here first.........

(Incidentally, the SB900 which predated the SB910 which supposedly overheated if used in quick succession. I have not managed to replicate this condition and neither have numerous shooters I have spoken to. Just wonder about the individuals and the support they may have received which lead to the need to upgrade the model)

[NorthernFocus]

My own personal experience with Nikon tech support on the phone is that they are essentially just a call center. They seem to go down a list of pre-programmed Q/A regardless of what you tell them. If you say something to throw them off script they simply thank you politely and return to the script. They don't exhibit ANY knowledge of Nikon products as evidenced by them sending a manual of the D300 which pre-dates the flash and couldn't possibly reference it. I had them tell me that a Sony XQD card was not on Nikon's list of approved cards. When I pointed out that Sony was the only manufacturer of XQD and that Nikon supplied it with the camera, they acted like they didn't know we were talking about a D4. Which was really disturbing since that was the purpose of the call...

The only positive thing I can say about Nikon from a customer service standpoint is that they will honor their warranty. Trick is that you have to get past the tech support desk as step one. That can be gotten around by going through whoever the equipment was bought from. Their dealers seem to understand how bad the tech support is and go out of their way to fill the gap.

[Digital]

Thanks John, Ian, and Dan for your feedback.
Ian, after the first call I did think of posing this question with CiC. However that as far as it got, just a thought.
I also heard that the SB-900 had a tendency to overheat if rapidly fired; however to me it was just a "rumor" since I know of no one who owns the SB-900, let alone had that particular complaint.
Dan, as I stated earlier I got suspicious when they sent me a manual on the D300 that pre-dated the flash I was referring to.
John, I would rather pay more for a product if it was backed up by a RELIABLE support staff.

Bruce