most durable DSLR Camera

[arie_vandervelden1]

<p>Don't even think about buying used. If the camera fails in a week, what will the Procurement office say? Used will be a recipe for endless headaches. Don't take the responsibility upon yourself. As an individual you may be comfortable buying used, but when buying for an institution you should buy new with warranty, from a local bricks-and-mortar store that offers service and deals with the manufacturer on your behalf in case things go wrong.</p>

<p>So, having eliminated used gear, I'd go for 1000D/1100D for the reasons that Smooth Carrot states.</p>

[JRCrowe]

<p>If you go with Canon there are adapters available for many brands of lenses that allow you to use your older lenses in stop down mode. Is is difficult to manually focus with the focusing screens of the digital slr's. With live view you can use the lcd screen to focus but that is really only good for static subjects. Of course kids have better eyesight than us old farts so they will have more success I am sure. I still use my Olympus and Pentax mount lenses on my Canon's. I paid $20 for an Olympus 50mm 1.8 at a local camera store and it is every bit as good as the modern Canon 1.8, just no automatic anything. The manual lenses are great for closeup work where autofocus doesn't work well. </p>

[david_l3]

<p>Not mentioned yet, select lenses with metal lens mounts. Low cost kit lenses have plastic mounts and are more prone to disastrous breakage. They are so inexpensive that you may as well buy another one than have it repaired. </p>

[don_bryant2]

<p>> Don't even think about buying used.</p>

<p>Why not. Companies like KEH work with institutions and provide warranty support on used equipment. Budgets are very tight these days.</p>

 

[eric merrill]

<blockquote>

<p>we will be looking at getting in a couple of cameras that will get A LOT of use by students who may not be delicate with them</p>

</blockquote>

<p>I would look at buying the early Canon 1D bodies if you have a preference for Canon. Look at a place like KEH. They're selling 1D bodies for $400-450. 1D2 bodies are $860-1000.</p>

<p>Those will take a lot of abuse, and they're already at the tail end of depreciation. That's going to be the best bang for the buck.</p>

<p>I'd suggest that you have a different problem that isn't solved by camera toughness if your students are using the cameras to pound in tent stakes. I'm surprised that a university wouldn't require its students to supply its own cameras. Mine only supplied 4x5 and 8x10 view cameras, and we had to check those out. They were inspected when checked back in, and we were responsible for any damages.</p>

<p>One good point about buying an original 1D is that a 4 megapixel camera is less likely to go missing. :)</p>

<p>Eric</p>

[johne37179]

<p>I take issue with the not buying used. You can always obtain a service contract. Institutions, like businesses, are interested in saving money. Used equipment with a service contract may fill that bill. I spent 16 years associated with a major college and used equipment for student uses would not have been a problem. We supplied used equipment for student use frequently -- particularly when there was an expectation of hard use.</p>

[pete_s.]

<p>Hmm, Canon doesn't seem like the best alternative for a durable dSLR unless you go with the 1D series.<br>

<br /> How about Nikon, for instance D300s or even a D7000? Nikon also still makes several all metal manual focus lenses. Very solid and no motors or electronics to fail in them. Or perhaps Pentax. Their K-5 model has a metal body and is weather sealed.</p>

[david_wu6]

<p>Not sure where your school is. If in US or alike, charge each student $50 class material fee ($50 compared to some $100+ text book is not significant). For a class of 100 you can buy 10 Nikon D3100+18-55 Kit (AMZN $4xx, last Wed. I saw). I think a Nikon camera, even a lower end one, can survive one semester. So you don't have to worry about durability. Just my $0.02. </p>

[zack_zoll]

<p>Okay, a quick comment on pricing for those of you that are not 'in the system.'</p>

<p>All art classes that provide materials charge a lab fee, or whatever that particular class calls it. They do this so that photography, for instance, doesn't bankrupt the school in computer/chemical costs. Obviously in a sociology class, the student has nothing to steal or break except maybe the overhead projector, so lecture classes generally have no lab fee. Your biology class has no fee, but bio lab probably does. </p>

<p>If you're lending cameras, the proper solution would be to build a deposit into the lab fee. Say for instance that the lab fee is $200. Well, now it's $450, with $250 being refundable at the end of the semester if a student has not broken or lost anything. Student housing works the same way. You can't in good conscience charge the whole value of the camera as a deposit (since it would prevent a lot of students from being able to afford to take the class), but $250 would cover any possible repairs, assuming the camera was repairable. More importantly, it's high enough that a student will REALLY want to return the camera. If the student "loses" the camera, the university may or may not have a policy about withholding grades until the property is returned. If there is a deposit, I should think not though.</p>

<p>The advantage of buying new cameras is not one of price; the advantage is that you cannot buy replacement coverage on used gear, and you generally cannot buy more than a one year 'manufacturer's defect' warranty on used gear either. While theft is always a possible problem, it's not very likely at the university level. In my (whopping) two years of teaching, I've encountered that problem only once; it was a student that borrowed my own personal camera, and then stopped coming to class. Suffice to say I no longer lend out my own gear. I've never had a theft problem with University equipment, but I wouldnt rule it out.</p>

<p>I'd say some 95% of the time though, you're looking at a student dropping the camera as a potential problem. This is why I recommend replacement coverage. Sixty bucks for three years is a lot, but not when you would out the math. If you buy two cameras with the coverage ($120 total), you have three years of coverage for two cameras - that's 12-18 semesters of use, depending on whether or not you offer photography in the Summer term. If a camera gets dropped, it will likely cost $90-$160 to fix, with an educational discount. What are the chances that nothing will happen to your cameras in 18 semesters? If you offer photography over the Winterim, now you're looking at 30 chances to have the cameras damaged.</p>

<p>Advanced photo students are a lot more likely to treat gear well. But for Intro to photo, I'd be very surprised if after 20-30 chances to break, nothing breaks. I have about a dozen students in each class, and in almost every class I have at least one student that drops their OWN camera!</p>

[paul_de_ley]

<p>If you're not tied to full frame, in terms of durability Pentax DSLRs typically offer a little more than the competition. The K7 and K5 are both weather and dust sealed with magnesium alloy chassis. As a teaching tool, another advantage over Canon is that they will take old Pentax manual focus lenses so you can use those to have your students learn about aperture and DOF with the clear markings and much better tactile feedback of operating a traditional aperture ring on the lens. (Nikon bodies would give you that advantage too). If the class would take a dozen or more bodies then you might be able to negotiate a significant discount from Pentax, presumably they will be very keen to get this kind of visibility. And you could also try negotiating with KEH to get all or most of their current inventory of used manual focus lenses in the 28-55mm range, including a few 50 f1.4s, with a special service or replacement clause built int the deal.</p>

[joseph_wisniewski]

<blockquote>

<p>(Nikon bodies would give you that advantage too).</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Except on Nikon bodies, the two lowest level ones, D3100 and D5100 can't meter with old MF lenses. You have to spring for a D7000 or D300 to get metering. Or a used D200 or D1X or D2X.</p>

[w_t1]

<p>to the OP, which Canon camera did you get for university in 2007 when you asked a similar question?<br>

http://www.photo.net/digital-camera-forum/00NUYd</p>