cope07 wrote:
This is all a very nice reasonable, rationale discussion....so I'll whine a bit
I'm all for them using this material for increased durability/decreased weight BUT, the exterior plastic panels wear so much worse IMO than the painted magnesium. The plastic turns glossy in wear areas and looks cheap and worn out quickly, whereas the paint slowly wears to magnesium which looks much better (and feels better). In the Z8 it looks like basically all of the touch points are Seerebo (or rubber, which is great. Nikon does the best/grippiest rubber).
I'm also a little dumbfounded that body is basically entirely Seerebo (just a mag front plate), and still so heavy/close to the weight of the D850....Show more →
To be fair, I feel some of the same things you describe. The grip on my D850 is rubber. And that means it is "grippy"... sticky. The Z8 is not rubber and so not as sticky. I have always had confidence that the old D850 will never slide out of my grip. And it will not. I do not have that same confidence with my Z8.
And the part of the D850 grip that is under the base of my thumb is showing the magnesium alloy you describe.... because the paint is worn off.
And this Z8 is so lightweight and compact. Everything is a trade-off isn't it?
I haven't ever had issues with ANY brand of camera regarding the grip materials. However I don't subject it to excessive moisture or heat, keep it clean. I'm blessed with very low acidic hands regarding any oils. Played guitar for over 50 years and my strings last many months where for many others they die out in a month or less due to the acidity in one's hand oil. I typically would grab a camera with clean hands, not sweaty or having eaten with them, so no doubt that helps as well. I have at times treated the material with 303 Aerospace spray which is a wonderful liquid to keep rubber and even artificial materials like it (faux leather in cars) in like new condition. Just a thought.
Oscarsmadness wrote:
After reading this, I'd say YOU are durable... you're taking work that I would flatly turn down.
Of the D700, D3s, and D810 that I have used, I haven't noticed any one model deteriorate more quickly than another. The D3s saw some abuse. The D700 has peeling rubber. The D810 looks great because I baby the thing. I do appreciate the weight savings of the Sereebo in the D810.
Peeling rubber is standard equipment on the D700. Mine has it too. I cured the fogged rear screen with a week in a freezer bag and large packet of desiccant.
The D800- is famous, or infamous, for cracking magnesium frames. After that it is a parts holder.
RoamingScott wrote:
This is precisely the feedback I was hoping for, thanks Mark! I have no issue with the use of plastics. Many of the older DSLR bodies that people say "feel like tanks" were partly plastic. I get equating heft to quality, but in the case of the Z9, it just feels needlessly heavy.
I sometimes wonder why people say they dislike plastic lenses, especially knowing what excessive heat can do to a lens.
There is a huge difference between a cheap crackerjack feeling all plastic lens with a plastic mount (40/2) and a high quality S zoom that is primarily plastic (24-120). I think people have more issues with the former than the latter.
Rainbow Chaser wrote:
I sometimes wonder why people say they dislike plastic lenses, especially knowing what excessive heat can do to a lens.
p.2 #10 · Seerebo, Nikon's thermoplastic of choice
Thanks. That distinction makes more sense.
RoamingScott wrote:
There is a huge difference between a cheap crackerjack feeling all plastic lens with a plastic mount (40/2) and a high quality S zoom that is primarily plastic (24-120). I think people have more issues with the former than the latter.
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