How long does your Dxxx series camera last you?

[nathan_spratt]

<p>Apparently mine only last just over a year. I bought my d300 last September, and now, after bringing it in for a bent pin I am thrown a repair bill of $1,023.23 for various apparent damages such as replacing the AF sensor, rear body replacement, mirror replacement, etc... I phoned them up to enquire and they told me that after my 123 something thousand shutter actuations (I shoot a lot of sports, weddings etc...) the camera usually needs to replace the af sensor and that I had a "big" crack near my usb port (I hadn't even noticed it before). </p>

<p>I am stuck with the delema over getting it repaired or getting a new Nikon d300s for around $1,550 (price Nikon offered me in exchange for me letting them keep my broken d300).</p>

<p>Suggestions? Thoughts? Would it be better value for me to go for a D3s (so I don't have to do this in another year) because I apparently bang my camera around too much?</p>

[dan_south]

<p>Not surprising. It sounds as though your are a power user. Do you only carry one body? If you spread the load across 2 or 3 bodies they might last longer.</p>

<p>How did the pin bend? How did the body crack? Did you abuse the camera?</p>

[mark_s8]

<p>Well, the D3s and the D300 aren't even in the same league. I mean you're talking nearly a 4 grand price swing, right?<br>

If it were me, I'd pay the extra 500 bucks over the repair cost and get the new D300s, and then I'd be a BIT more careful with it.</p>

[kevin_delson]

<p>Your experience is a exception, hardly the norm for that camera.<br>

I'm on my 2nd D-300..The first had about 112,000 actuations and is still operating as the day it was new.</p>

<p>Yes; with a repair bill like that, you may as well get a new one.</p>

<p>Odd how you sent it in for a bent pin and now they want to do all this additional work? Hmm?</p>

[howard_m]

<p>I'd be surprised if the D3 lasted *that much longer* (longer enough to justify its 2-3x price). Look at Nikon's MTBF numbers for the shutter. Is the D3 built that much tougher than the D300/D700 ? </p>

<p>I can't see that repairing the D300 is financially worth it. How much are they going for on the used market?</p>

[joseph_leotta]

<p>123 thousand activations, sounds like you got your money's worth out of the camera. <br>

The D300 is a proconsumer camera, the D3 is a pro camera and is rated at over double the life span, but more than double the price.<br>

If you have a lot of DX lens I'd get 2 D300s and spread the load as suggested.</p>

 

[wpahnelas]

<p>it sounds like the OP beat the crap out of his D300, and when nikon took a look at it they were bewildered at what they saw. that may be why they're offering at least some financial incentive for holding onto the remains. i mean, they're under no obligation to offer anything, so they're being good sports about it. 123.000 actuations is pretty heavy usage for a little over a year's time, but that barely begins to account for what that poor D300 sounds as if it's been through.<br>

as for whether the D3/D3s would last longer, yes, it probably would. that class of camera -- with its hefty price tag -- is built to take a beating, day in and day out, by people who depend on the camera for their livelihood. and when it's beaten up beyond repair, it just gets replaced, without sentimentality or hurt feelings.</p>

[nathan_spratt]

<p>I shot with the d300 as a main and the d80 as a backup.<br>

The only time I majorly hit my camera was when my tripod was nocked over onto concrete from about 4 feet, camera was fine, lens took the damage.<br>

I have all full frame glass so I would have no problem switching to d3s or d700.<br>

I have been tempted to work with two cameras, a d300 and a d700, but my back is already sore enough after shooting with d300, mb-d10, 70-200, L-bracket, flash bracket, and flash. (Plus other lenses and batteries around my think tank belt)</p>

[mark liddell]

<p>If you want a camera to stand up to that kind of (ab)use then by a pro body ie. a D3.</p>

[niccoury]

<p>Those cameras are rated to 150,000, whereas pro bodies last around 300,000 shots. Give or take a bunch on either body.</p>

<p>I'm a full-time pro, working for a newspaper and my own business and I go through about 2,000 a week. I have two D700's and the photos add up when you shoot a lot. It just happens.</p>

<p>Get a second body or a pro body.</p>

[bgelfand]

<p>When you write,</p>

 

<blockquote>

<p>I bought my d300 last September</p>

</blockquote>

<p>I hope you mean September 2008 and not this past September - September 2009.</p>

<p>I am an amateur and shoot mostly film, so I shoot nowhere near the amount you do. I will, however, respectfully disagree with the advice to purchase two bodies and load balance for two reasons.</p>

<p>First, new bodies come come out about every 18 months. Why spend twice the amount now when you could spend half now and half on the next generation body when you wear this one out. You do need a backup, but it need not be another D300s.</p>

<p>Second, do not load balance across two items with a limited life. If you do, both will wear out or fail at approximately the same time, leaving you with no backup. Use one for most of your work; use the other sparingly just to insure it is in good working order. When the first one requires maintenance, send it off and use the second.</p>

<p> </p>

[joseph_leotta]

<p>Brooks - the main reason to spread the load between 2 bodies is to have a backup. If one goes down, you don't get shut down. With only one body you can get shut down in the middle of an important shoot.<br>

Your logic works very well for amateur, but I think its very different for a pro which the op is.</p>

[pcnilssen]

<p>Nathan,<br>

even though the D300 is rated to 150.000 clicks, this is an approx. figure. Some last way longer, and some shorter. </p>

<p>My guess is that the Nikon rep wants to give you an estimate of which problems they have seen in the pipeline with your D300, and wants to present you this information for you to give you a chance to consider whether you want to repair.</p>

[kpataky]

<p>I've have a pair of D300 cameras. My first one I bought the end of November 2007 and the second I purchased in December 2008. The former has over 250,000 shots on it and working as good as the day I goot it - so I plan on riding it into the ground as the latter is my spare and has only a couple thousand shots on it.</p>

[mark_audacity_romberg]

<p>If you haven't had any problems with the mirror, the AF, or the apparent crack in the body, why not just pay to fix the pin and leave those other problems be? If they didn't make themselves known in the kind of high-intensity shooting you do as a sports tog, they can't be that big of a deal.<br>

AF sensor wearing out sounds fishy. If the shutter (the only moving assembly in the camera) doesn't need replacing, why would an imager chip (the AF sensor is basically a simple camera, after all) be burnt up? Degraded AF performance is something you DEFINITELY would have noticed.</p>

<p>I'd say buy another as a backup for now, anticipating that your current body is going to bite it soon, but use the current one 'til it dies. Get your money's worth out of it. And heck, it may surprise you how long it keeps going. </p>

<p>It is a Nikon, after all.</p>