I have a lot of camera bodies, around 8 I believe, but only two of those do I normally use for photography. My go two bodies for the past several years has been the Nikon D3 and the Nikon D600. The D3 was a beast back in the day, but it’s 8 years old now, and I use it mainly as a backup. Well, I was at Fayetteville’s Homecoming on Friday, and my D3 thought 8 years was enough. I was firing away when there was a strange click and “Err” popped up the screen. After that, it wouldn’t shoot anymore. I’m pretty sure the shutter went, so now I’m left thinking about replacing a broken camera.
Replacing a Broken Camera
There are quite a few options and things for me to think about before making my decision. The first thing is what to do with the D3. If it is a broken shutter, it will cost $300-$400 to replace. Right now, the D3 is going used anywhere from $600 to $800. So one option is to get it fixed and then sell it and make maybe $400. The other option would be to get it fixed and just keep it. I’ve been using it as a backup for so long, why not just keep doing that? That would solve the whole situation and I could use it for probably another 8 years.
If I do replace the broken D3, there are two cameras I have looked at purchasing: the Nikon D750 and the Nikon D500. I’ve been looking at the D750 for quite some time, but I never had a real reason to upgrade to it. It’s a full frame camera like I’m use to, and it’s supposed to have great image quality. Recently, I started looking at the D500. It’s one of the newest Nikon cameras. At first I dismissed it because it’s a cropped sensor, but after some many people praised it, I decided to look into it more. Usually a cropped sensor means poorer ISO capabilities, but everyone is claiming it isn’t really true in this case. The only other issue with a cropped sensor is it’s harder to get wide shots. Many people claim this is a benefit, though, because a cropped sensor will actually make your long lenses even longer. One of the big benefits of the D500 is that it can shoot 4k video, so that would be a nice step up. As far as prices go, they are pretty close, but there is a refurbished D750 for $500 less. If I do go this route, I’m leaning toward the D500, but I’m not sure yet.
The last option is to sell the D3 and use one of my Canon bodies as a backup. I have a Canon 6d, which is quite nice, and a 85mm and a flash, so it is an option. The only drawback to this is that I’m not as comfortable with the controls of a Canon. It just takes me a little longer to do things because I haven’t trained myself. The other issue I might run into is when we do photos and video. The 6d is one we use for videos, so I’d either have to find a backup for photos at that point or not use the 6d for video.
I knew it would happen at some point, but I wasn’t really looking forward to replacing a broken camera. I was hoping that the D3 would magically last a few more years. Well, it happened and here I am. At this point I don’t know what I’m going to do. I’m sending off the D3 tomorrow to have it examined. Once Nikon tells me what’s up and a price, I’ll be able to make a better decision. Until then, I’ll just wait and research.
