Nikonians refusing to honour Markins warranty

[Leif]

About a year ago I bought a Markins M10 ball head from Nikonians, in Germany. It was very nice until a week ago I found the quick release knob had gone missing. It was a lucky accident that I discovered its absence, as the next day I was planning to get up at 6am and drive to a local nature reserve. At the suggestion of a neighbour, I purchased a wing nut and some nuts to act as a temporary replacement. Anyway, I contacted Nikonians, and straight way they sent a replacement non-captive QR knob. I thought the original was supposed to have been captive, as that was one of the reasons for the purchase, and so I checked the documents. Sure enough, it was captive, and even looked like a captive knob. And the warranty was 3 years. Anyway, Nikonians are refusing to supply a replacement captive knob, saying that they have already done so. They haven't. They have supplied a non-captive knob which is useless as it will fall off again. I am not prepared to take the risk of finding myself in the middle of nowhere with a useless ball head.

Nikonians have several times indirectly called me a liar which I find offensive. I am not in the least but happy about this, especially since I paid nearly £300 for the item. I am not a liar, and I expect them to honour the warranty.

Can anyone recommend how I can go about taking legal action against them? I would appreciate advice from anyone who has done likewise. I really am angry that they do not give a damn.

I have attached some pictures of the replacement knob which shows that it is made from one piece of solid metal.

Thanks,

Leif

[Leif]

Just to update my post, Nikonians have now offered to honour the warranty and have asked me to send the entire ball head back to Germany, and they will send me a new one. I guess I cannot argue with that, but it is inconvenient, meaning that I would be without a ball head for at least a week. It also seems wasteful to replace the entire unit. So I will order a replacement QR clamp from an alternative supplier.

[Don Hoey]

Sorry I am a bit late on this Leif. If the end of the knob has come unscrewed and the replacement is of the same thread then I would suggest a thorough degrease of both threads and use Loctite. 270 is for permanent jobs and 242 is for removeable jobs.

I am guessing that although this was stated as being captive and in view of the replacement knob that this was designed to be loctited in assembly. Either an out of date Loctite or insufficient cleaning prior to assembly caused the joint to fail. With fresh 270 applied to clean threads you would have to apply a lot of heat ( blowtorch job ) to break the resulting joint. Loctite like all these type of adhesives has a shelf life and should be kept refridgerated in storage.

Don

[Leif]

I can see where you are coming from Don, but the idea of the knob is to push against a bushing and bring together the jaws of the quick release clamp. The threaded rod on which the knob rides does not rotate. Hence the knob should not be glued in place, as it is meant to rotate. It basically acts as a nut.

I think the way the knob should work is that one end is drilled out, and then once the knob in on the threaded rod, a lock nut is placed on the end, to prevent it calling off. The knob is fairly long, and has a plastic cap to hide the lock nut from view. You can see that from the brochure and manual in the photos.

I could bore out one end of the non-captive knob seen in the photo, assuming I had the tools. But I am currently using a wing nut in place of the locking knob and it works quite well. The only problem is that it is not captive. A 6mm locking nut does not work as it is too wide. I think a piece of plastic tubing whose inside diameter is a bit less than the outside diameter of the thread would act as a good locking nut.

BTW yes I have a new toy!

[Don Hoey]

Leif,

It my help in getting my head round the clamp if you can post a pic of it. I will do a net search to see if I can find various views of it in the mean time.

Hope you are enjoying your new toy. The pics are impressive.

Don

[Don Hoey]

Leif,

So far I have an instruction sheet in German. It would be interesting to see a pic of the threaded end the knob fits on. For the nut to be captive I would expect a circlip groove or internal thread for a locking screw. This would then be hidden behind the plastic end cap.

Don

[Don Hoey]

I now have English instructions, but a pic as in the previous post would be helpful.

Don

[Don Hoey]

Leif,

Give a dog a bone and .............................................

http://www.markinsamerica.com/downlo...ll_en_v2_1.pdf

The instructions they should have sent with the replacement knob.

You should be able to knock out the plastic end cap with a drift and lets hope they have included a locknut. I would suggest a touch of loctite 242 on it when you do assemble.

Don

[Leif]

Don: Take a look at the photos I posted and you will see that the knob they sent me looks like the old non-captive one. It is solid. There is no plastic cap, or locking screw. I kept telling them they had sent the wrong knob, and they kept saying they sent the captive one. It was like banging my head against the wall.

It is certainly confusing trying to explain this.

[Don Hoey]

Now I know what I am looking at I can only suggest you ask, in view of seeing their own fitting instructions, to send the correct one + locking nut. I could bore it out for you if all else fails but I can only make a brass or steel end cap. Size and pitch of the thread needed as I would need to do a locknut to go with it.

In fact if you can do a set of pics and give dimensions particularly thread size and pitch ( you may need to send me a nut that fits if unsure ) and I will make one. Steel or brass as I have no Ally.

PM for address

Don