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Archive 2014 · Nikon D3.. to repair or write off?

  
 
darrenleow
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Nikon D3.. to repair or write off?


Background: I used to shoot a couple of paid gigs, photojournalism for the college paper, and sports photography. But I'm now a much more casual user, though I'm quite spoiled by the D3's professional-grade quality and responsiveness. I also love that 9/11 fps is there when I need it, but mostly shoot around 5fps. Hardly shoot any video so it would be a good-to-have but not necessary at all. Really enjoy the D3's size and solid feeling, but the shutter is really loud and conspicuous.

I have a Nikon D3 that I've been using for the last 2+ years or so (bought 2nd hand), roughly 200k+ clicks on it. During a rainy shoot it just died -- the playback and menu buttons wouldn't work, and moving the drive mode to Live View would cause the shutter release to become unresponsive. Oddly it came back to life after sitting around a couple of months in my dry cabinet, but has gone back to its broken state. I can still use the camera as-is, just have no access to playback or menus, thus rendering the camera operable but a major risk to shoot anything important with.

Nikon has quoted me about US$1000+ to repair the camera and replace the shutter unit. I know that the D3 is an ancient camera, though still perfectly fine for my needs.I've checked and found that a 2nd hand D3 isn't about 1.5x to 2x more expensive than the repair cost. Plus there are many newer cameras on the market, though I don't know if the new tech is worth stepping down in terms of the build quality (D4 is definitely out of my budget)

I hardly print my photos, and mostly 8x10 at the maximum, I have been pretty happy with the high ISO and DR of the D3, but maybe I simply don't know what I'm missing out from the new technology available 7 years on. I'm really hesitant is to go for the 36MP of the D800 trio, I suspect it's going to really weigh down my post-processing workflow on my old MBP.

If you were in my shoes, what would you do?
1. Fork out the US$1000 to repair the D3 -- Is this an economically sound course of action? Will I be much better off stepping up

Either keep the D3 or try to sell it off for cheap and:
2. Source for a 2nd hand D3 (approx US$1500 to US$2000) -- I'm slightly wary of buying 2nd hand cameras out of warranty at this point, especially for such an old camera
3. Buy a D800/D800e (approx US$2000) -- Same as above, but less risk here. 36 MP, got to adapt my workflow
4. Buy a D610 (approx US$2000) -- Will the step down in terms of AF performance and build quality leave me disappointed?
5. Buy a D810 (approx US$3000) -- Users are raving that it's the best all-around FX camera, but would 36 MP be overkill for me?

Of course I'm waiting for the new D750 announcement to see what it brings to the table, but I'm also assessing the options available currently.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.



Sep 04, 2014 at 11:55 AM
BenV
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Nikon D3.. to repair or write off?


$1000 for the shutter seems awfully high. Don't they normally run $350ish? Check with other repair centers first.


Sep 04, 2014 at 11:59 AM
Dpedraza
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Nikon D3.. to repair or write off?


I know that sending your gear to nikon is the best bet but you're near united camera see what they'd quote you to fix it. honestly if the D3 is more than suitable for your needs get another or get yours fixed.


Sep 04, 2014 at 12:00 PM
darrenleow
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Nikon D3.. to repair or write off?


BenV wrote:
$1000 for the shutter seems awfully high. Don't they normally run $350ish? Check with other repair centers first.


The shutter is working fine, they suggested it as a pre-emptive replacement. The issue I'm facing is probably related to some PCB - maybe a corrosion on the PCB due to a water leak. Basically I can shoot the camera in S, CL, CH modes but I can't access playback or menu via the buttons. My D3 is essentially a 9fps digital F6 that I can only access the photos on my computer.

BTW I used to be based in Chicago, but now I'm in Singapore. The only authorized service centre is Nikon itself. I've liaised with another repair place (experienced guy, but not Nikon-authorized), but they can't seem to diagnose the actual issue, nor have the spare parts to fix it due to Nikon's clampdown.



Sep 04, 2014 at 12:02 PM
darrenleow
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Nikon D3.. to repair or write off?


Dpedraza wrote:
I know that sending your gear to nikon is the best bet but you're near united camera see what they'd quote you to fix it. honestly if the D3 is more than suitable for your needs get another or get yours fixed.


Thanks for your thoughts. As mentioned I'm no longer in Chicago/USA so Nikon is my only real repair option. Will make another trip to get a new estimate, but this was based on my last trip some time ago before I balked and took it to another repair guy (no luck there).

My gut feel also says that the D3 is a rock-solid camera and quite perfect for my needs. But also reading a lot of reviews about guys who've upgraded from D700/D3 to D800 and D810, and are raving about it. So not sure if I'm missing out.

Perhaps I should go rent a D800 and try it out for a bit.



Sep 04, 2014 at 12:06 PM
Joseph.
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Nikon D3.. to repair or write off?


Sell it at a reasonable price with full disclosure. Some people don't care much about image playback. Sometimes I turn mine off too.

If you're so used to the pro body ergonomics, I wouldn't touch a D800/D600. Either get another D3, D3s or D4.



Sep 04, 2014 at 12:16 PM
Dpedraza
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Nikon D3.. to repair or write off?


The D800 is an exceptional camera.

Initially your location said Chicago so I guess that sucks that nikon is your only repair center.



Sep 04, 2014 at 12:21 PM
darrenleow
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Nikon D3.. to repair or write off?


DontShoot wrote:
Sell it at a reasonable price with full disclosure. Some people don't care much about image playback. Sometimes I turn mine off too.

If you're so used to the pro body ergonomics, I wouldn't touch a D800/D600. Either get another D3, D3s or D4.


Will try my luck selling it as-is. Not hopeful that it'll be sold in Singapore's market - most camera guys here are guys who wanna buy the latest and greatest DSLR to photograph their kids at playgrounds, interest from serious shooters in D3 is quite low. The market for 10k shutter count D800 is very high though.




Sep 04, 2014 at 12:23 PM
darrenleow
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Nikon D3.. to repair or write off?


Dpedraza wrote:
The D800 is an exceptional camera.

Initially your location said Chicago so I guess that sucks that nikon is your only repair center.


Haven't been on FM since I left. Used to drive out to Authorized Photo Service when I was in Chicago for any repair work. Great service and quick turnaround times, didn't cost too much either.



Sep 04, 2014 at 12:25 PM
Mr. Clean
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Nikon D3.. to repair or write off?


$1k for what I think would be a completely refurbished D3 isn't all that bad really. I'd either fix it, or what and see what the D750 really is. If you don't print large and are happy with the ISO performance then I wouldn't even look at the D8XX series...


Sep 04, 2014 at 02:21 PM
Zichar
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Nikon D3.. to repair or write off?


US$1000 is rather steep... But I've nothing but compliments about the Singapore Nikon Service Center. None of that *ahem* impact damage horror stories. For an alternative though, have you contacted David Hilos? Freelance repair guy and incredibly talented


Sep 05, 2014 at 12:11 AM
darrenleow
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Nikon D3.. to repair or write off?


Mr. Clean wrote:
$1k for what I think would be a completely refurbished D3 isn't all that bad really. I'd either fix it, or what and see what the D750 really is. If you don't print large and are happy with the ISO performance then I wouldn't even look at the D8XX series...


Thanks, good to hear that you think $1k is a fair price. Dropping more money on another D3 could lead to another potential costly problem given the age of these cameras, even in real (and not camera) years.

Will wait and see what the D750 is like. I could buy a D750 and use it as a primary camera, with the D3 as a second body. Good thing that most of the main shooting functions on the D3 (changing ISO, formatting the card, etc can be done without the screen.
---------------------------------------------

Zichar wrote:
US$1000 is rather steep... But I've nothing but compliments about the Singapore Nikon Service Center. None of that *ahem* impact damage horror stories. For an alternative though, have you contacted David Hilos? Freelance repair guy and incredibly talented


Yeah, but still a really expensive quotation because I think they planned to replace most of the parts instead of finding out the individual part(s) that needed replacing. I just got back my camera from David yesterday - he's had it for the last few months but hasn't been able to fix it due to the lack of Nikon spare parts. I guess Nikon is the only realistic repair option.



Sep 05, 2014 at 05:33 AM
Mr. Clean
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Nikon D3.. to repair or write off?


My counterpoint to the steep repair bill is that I think, based on the description, the fix is going to end up being a darn near refurbished D3. Not bad for $1K.
I too second your opinion on the D750 but even IF it's announced, and IF the specs match the rumors, then it's still probably going to be next year till release. I'm assuming you need a camera sooner, like we all would!



Sep 05, 2014 at 10:10 AM





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