david_cameron2 Posted May 23, 2006 Share Posted May 23, 2006 Well, my Nikon D70 backup camera has succombed to the Blinking Green Light of Doom. Such fun, but at least Nikon's willing to fix it for free, even though its out of warrenty. However, I have a wedding (on a beach, no less) next Tuesday afternoon, the day after Memorial Day. There's no chance Nikon will be returning it to me before then, so I'm faced with two options, that I can see: 1. Shoot the wedding with one camera, which I don't really want to do, especially since its on the beach and I have no desire to change lenses on the fly. 2. Rent another body - I'm having problems finding a local shop (in NC) who does rentals, but Adorama does - I could get another D70 for a week for $200. Unfortunately, since I'm already spending a good amount of my margin on travel expenses for this wedding (it's a friend of a friend, so, they're getting me at a discount), if I end up renting another body, I'm probably going to break even at best. I'm leaning towards renting a second body - no profit margin, but better peace of mind. Figured I'd see if you guys had any other ideas that maybe I hadn't thought of, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rich_dutchman1 Posted May 23, 2006 Share Posted May 23, 2006 David -- Nikon in NY just replaced the entire focus system on my D2X, under warranty, and it was back in my hands three days after I shipped it from D.C. -- and I'm not even a member of NPS. I just told them I was a full time wedding photographer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david_cameron2 Posted May 23, 2006 Author Share Posted May 23, 2006 Well, that would be the best case scenario, no doubt. When I talked to the Nikon Service Rep, he gave me the "5 days minimum" company line. Factoring in the holiday, he said that I should not plan on getting the camera back until next Wednesday or Thursday. If it shows up on my doorstep Friday morning, I might fly to NY and hug the technician myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom_herron Posted May 23, 2006 Share Posted May 23, 2006 Have you looked into buying a used D70 body...I see them regularly going for $500 or under. If you shooting weddings regularly it makes sense to have three bodies (two in use and a third in the bag for back-up). If you don't have the need for the 3rd body, sell it after you get back---you should be able to recoup your expenses minus transaction costs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timcorridan Posted May 23, 2006 Share Posted May 23, 2006 you need a third Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry_ Posted May 23, 2006 Share Posted May 23, 2006 ...check on a used D50 at www.keh.com and see if one is on hand. Can't hurt to have a 'newer' camera body that does not have a 'green light' background. The D50 takes a SD card, but one 1GB card can hold a few NEF files should you need to shoot that format. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david_cameron2 Posted May 23, 2006 Author Share Posted May 23, 2006 Buying used isn't a bad idea. And now, I'm perplexed even more. Came home, went to put the camera in the box to ship it off, and whammo, no more Blinking Green Light of Doom. So now I just have the intermittent BGLOD, and now I'm wondering whether its worth waiting until after next week's wedding to ship it off and have it repaired. I never thought I'd be frustrated that my camera worked, but there you go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben_rubinstein___mancheste Posted May 23, 2006 Share Posted May 23, 2006 You need more friends who shoot the same system as you! I keep friendly with 3 people who own between them a 10D (used to be mine), a 5D (first port of call in an emergency) and a 300D (would have to be pretty bad..) for use as backup as well as a bevy of lenses including the 17-40L (I'm in the middle of buying another one) and 70-200L IS (I only have the f4 version) and flash units (580ex/420ex). Of course I have my own backup body/lenses/flashes though it is still a film body at present but I have the options there if I need them for certain commercial and non wedding/event jobs where a film backup wouldn't hack it time/cost wise. If I was in the nikon camp I would also have access to 3 D70's, an S2 and a D200. To be honest if I didn't have a 'pool' of canon gear to turn to should I need extra bodies/lenses/flash (e.g. when I was having my 5D focus tuned or when my 580ex blew up) I would have gone the nikon route, it is that important to me to have the extra kit nearby. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david_cameron2 Posted May 23, 2006 Author Share Posted May 23, 2006 Good point, Ben. I do have two friends who shoot Nikon, and both have D70's. I should give them a call. Hadn't thought of that, either. Most of my friends shoot Nikon, so I'm out of luck there. I don't think I'll tell them about the BGLOD - only more ammunition for them to mock my Nikon gear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david_schilling___chicago_ Posted May 23, 2006 Share Posted May 23, 2006 Beg, borrow, and/or steal a backup....better yet, have a backup for your backup! It's a wedding, no 2nd chances and no excuses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cariad Posted May 23, 2006 Share Posted May 23, 2006 David, for heavens sake don't trust the camera now. I had the same thing happen and the next day it worked fine. I send it in anyway and it had MAJOR problems and it was at Nikon for over 4 weeks. I wished you lived closer I would lend you a camera :) I sure would hate to do a wedding with no backup. I always have two backups just in case for that reason.......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david_cameron2 Posted May 23, 2006 Author Share Posted May 23, 2006 Oh, don't worry, I'll be acquiring another body for next week's wedding. And, if push came to shove, I still carry my N6006 and a bunch of film. I'd never take just one camera to a wedding - I just can't use my precious 70-200 with the film body, so I don't really consider it a real backup. It's more like a last gasp for air. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
savagesax Posted May 23, 2006 Share Posted May 23, 2006 Do you have any photo friends with camera's that you can borrow? Even a Pentax K1000 as a back up. You can buy one of those anywhere and get a enough film for about 300 to 400 shots. David said it best, beg borrow, do whatever is needed. This is probably the brides most special day of her life. Even if you go in the hole for the wedding perhaps you will make up the difference on reorders. Good luck and let us know how you make out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hearst Posted May 25, 2006 Share Posted May 25, 2006 If you live in the SF Bay Area I'll lend you one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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