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|| SportsShooter.com: Member Message Board
Digital SLR's repair bills
Bob Ford, Photographer
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Lehighton | Pa | USA | Posted: 12:53 PM on 08.17.05 |
->> I'm a little upset about having to constantly send our digital SLR's in for repair. We have seven DSLR's at the paper I work for, and you can just about guarantee that at any given point one will be in for repair.
My main camera is now four months shy of 2 years old, and is at the repair facility for the second time. Why do we as professional photographers accept the fact that our $3,000+ cameras need repairs as often as they do? When I was shooting film my cameras lasted much, much longer between repairs.
It doesn't seem to be a Nikon or Canon thing, I read the same reports from both camps.
It wouldn't even be that bad if it didn't cost $700-800 a pop for repairs. It's something you should definitely keep in mind if your a freelancer when figuring your cost of doing business. |
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Greg Ferguson, Photographer
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Scottsdale | Az | USA | Posted: 3:31 PM on 08.17.05 |
->> It's because a digital camera is much more complex.
Don't think of them as cameras. Think of them as hand-held computers with automated optical sensing systems driving focus servos. At the push of the shutter release they compute the optimum exposure and trigger the shutter, capture, optionally analyze, and adjust the image, then compress it and archive it up to eight times per second. All that while being easily carried in one hand.
On top of that, they're equipped with a light sensor which is made using ultra sophisticated voodoo, black-magic, or juju, all of which are REALLY expensive and hard to contain inside that melted-sand wafer.
I agree that film systems were a lot cheaper and more robust, but not needing to involve a hotel room's toilet tank or bathroom sink to see photos I've taken when traveling is worth the cost I think. Usually :-) |
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Keith Carson, Photographer
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Roanoke | IN | U.S.A. | Posted: 3:37 PM on 08.17.05 |
->> Granted, I don't know what wear and tear you put your cameras through. But, I've have mine since 2002 and I've only had to put it in for general cleaning.
Godspeed, be safe and always have fresh batteries
Keith Carson
www.carsonphotography.com |
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Keith McArthur, Photographer
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Beale AFB | CA | USA | Posted: 3:50 PM on 08.17.05 |
| ->> I wouldnt make sense for a camera company to put out a completely reliable digital camera even if they could. If we were still using film, no one would need to upgrade from the 1v or F5 (c.1999) |
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john taggart, Photographer
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Philadelphia | PA | USA | Posted: 4:09 PM on 08.17.05 |
| ->> i just sent both of our cameras into canon for repair, and im using a very old point and shoot to cover our assignments.. i feel your pain |
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David Brooks, Photographer, Student/Intern
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Ventura | CA | USA | Posted: 4:14 PM on 08.17.05 |
| ->> Without knowing the type of conditions you and your staff are shooting in, it's hard to say, but your repairs seem excessive not to mention expensive, but general daily work should be no match for the robust pro SLRs. As an intern and student, I'm pretty rough on my gear, I've dropped by D2h more than once and it works fine and it has not been in for repairs, and the staff here in San Diego have 40, Mark II's, yes there is general repair, maintenance but nothing excessive, maybe it's not the camera, maybe it's the quality of repairs!? |
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Dave Prelosky, Photographer
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Lower Burrell | Pa | US | Posted: 4:34 PM on 08.17.05 |
->> Speaking go for the loyal opposition, I'd like to counter David's argument above. Our staff of 2 has had nearly all of our gear in for one repair or another since we went digital 3 years ago. Whether blown D-1h shutters, broken flash feet, lenses that refuse to auto focus or stop down, something breaks on a regular basis.
I'd suggest that the robust, pro SLR's David speaks of are still available, but generally set up to transport and expose film.
What I can't work through is how a repair can easilly cost 20% of the cost of a new unit. |
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David Brooks, Photographer, Student/Intern
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Ventura | CA | USA | Posted: 4:56 PM on 08.17.05 |
| ->> I suppose we've been lucky, which helps since I'm still a student, but I have not had any problems with any of my equipment or the papers'. As long as they are charged and 'on' they are ready to go. I've had my D2h as long as it has been on the market. I don't know.... sorry for the luck |
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Vern Verna, Photographer
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Greenville | SC | United States | Posted: 7:00 PM on 08.17.05 |
->> gees i had a dcs 3c back in the late 90's, broke the lens pin on it put a lens on not know and it overrotated and broke the aperature coupler.
d30- i wore it out but it worked long after the length of life canon said
1d- got it wet 4 months into its life and had to have a $400 repair, put over 200,000 exposures on it and never had another problem. sold at 230,000 frames
1d no.2-never a problem
1d no. 3-never a problem
1d no 4-never a problem
mark ii no. 1- never a problem
mark ii no.2- never a problem
basically no problem except my doing. and by the way i use not to be real careful with gear. |
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Thomas E. Witte, Photographer
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Cincinnati | OH | USA | Posted: 7:33 PM on 08.17.05 |
| ->> Bob- Just a hunch, but inform the staff that if they're caught with their gear on the seat of their car, they'll be responsible for any repair costs. It doesn't seem fair I'm sure but how many times have you heard about someone either stopping hard and having the gear slam onto the floor or opening the door and having their gear hit the pavement? Heck even I'm guily of this on more than one occasion. |
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Damon Moritz, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Woodbridge | Va. | USA | Posted: 8:06 PM on 08.17.05 |
->> Thomas,
Dead on - Spot on and absolutely RIGHT!!!
This is an issue that all photographic equipment managers should stress to their staffs.
Damon |
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Andrew Wheeler, Photographer
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Capitola | CA | USA | Posted: 9:50 PM on 08.17.05 |
->> Greg Ferguson>>
I always rub mine before I use it and so far it hasn't failed me...
Seriously, I haven't had any issues with any of my DSLR's and I really use mine (as no doubt do others) - dropped in mud in Ohio, dropped in puddle in Spa Belgium, dust with the equine work and so on...
Andrew =) |
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Bob Ford, Photographer
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Lehighton | Pa | USA | Posted: 8:46 AM on 08.18.05 |
->> I'm not sure how the others at our paper take care of the cameras issued to them, but I don't abuse mine. Most of the repairs are blown shutters, focusing issues and one that stopped recognizing CF cards. The card issue was with a brand new camera.
We bought 3 brand new cameras in December, 2003. One (mine) has been back twice, one has been back three times, and one hasn't been back. The one that hasn't been back at all doesn't get used much.
$3,000 and the rubber didn't even stay on for a full year! I've had my film camera since 1996 and the rubber is still attatched. |
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Barbara Perenic, Photographer
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Gillette | WY | USA | Posted: 3:27 PM on 08.18.05 |
->> Stay away from large groups of law enforcement, politicians, and humanitarian-effort volunteers while changing lenses in tiny rooms for press conferences.
"Don't ask me how I know." -Bobby Pinson |
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Stanley Leary, Photographer
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Roswell | GA | USA | Posted: 4:39 PM on 08.18.05 |
->> I have watched people for years and I have noticed a definite bell curve on this one.
I find there are those who are very careful with their equipment to the extreme. Then there are those who are on the other extreme.
I think the major mistake for those who shot film and now digital is treating the equipment the same way.
I do believe if you go to a camera allowance and people had to pay for their own repairs this would diminish the repairs for most people very quickly--some people are just not as conscious.
Vern shoots as much as anyone, but he is very careful with his equipment. I have watched him setup remotes, lights and pack it all up.
Vern owns his equipment as well as I. I have only sent a camera in once for a major repair—my fault. No camera would survive being dropped onto a concrete floor without some damage.
I think someone is quite mistaken to think if something is professional you can do anything with it and it still work. Go to Iraq and look at the Hummers—they don’t survive everything and I don’t think you can find a better built vehicle for heavy work.
You know something else about Vern. Just like me he is very careful with his equipment, but he also plans ahead. He has backups for his equipment, because he is a professional. You don’t show up at events with one camera and lens and earn a living. Anything could go wrong and will if you don’t plan for it. If you have a backup camera and lens, well your primary may go down, but you can deliver.
One of the main reasons people hire professionals is to deliver the photos, not an excuse that their camera died. |
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Bill Allen, Photographer
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Odenton | MD | USA | Posted: 6:17 PM on 08.18.05 |
->> I just had to send my D2H in. The meter died and the shutter was getting semi-jammed on each cycle, so I could only get about 2 FPS in continuous-high. The Nikon authorized repair place in DC had to send it in to Nikon. They estimated it would cost about $400 to repair, although I still haven't heard anything official from Nikon.
As Stanley will tell you, I'm only a part-time, freelance shooter, so I do own my own gear, and I've always been careful with it. In fact, Stanley always picks on me for having gear that looks too new. Anyway, before things started going wrong, my D2H had been in my camera bag for a few weeks while I was traveling. I didn't drop it or anything, it just broke. Meanwhile, my old D1 is still going strong, but it's no D2H in terms of capability and usability. |
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Stanley Leary, Photographer
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Roswell | GA | USA | Posted: 7:04 AM on 08.19.05 |
->> Bill:
I think your meter just went crazy trying to figure an exposure with one of your model shoots :-)
Shooting sports and then going to models is tough on a D2H.
Too bad you majored in Computer Science and not Electrical Engineering at Georgia Tech. Looks like this was more than a reboot :-)
See you at some football games. |
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Steven E. Frischling, Photographer, Photo Editor
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New England | | USA | Posted: 9:42 AM on 08.19.05 |
->> Bob
I think it is hit or miss. I have one D1 go in for repairs (back focusing) 11x in two years, the other D1 which was about the same age never went in for repairs, just cleaning. The D1x bodies seemed to hold up without much service when I had them.
My Canon EOS 1D bodies just went in for repair for the first* time since I got them in 2003. They had gone in for cleaning, but they had been working just fine. I sent both the cameras in at the same time, one had the vertical firing pin "on/off" switch got pulled off (probably my fault) and the other had the lens locking pin sheered in half by the weight of my 400f2.8 Series I lens. I am not sure how I could have prevented that.
*One of the 1D bodies went in for repair shortly after I got it when the main board fried. I had Error 99 a few times, then the camera was fine, then the camera just locked up. That was a problem with the Main Board,not something I did to the camera.
So while the bills cost more because the cameras are not computers, I find the cameras are pretty reliable for the amount of work I put them through esspecially because they are computers inside the shell of a camera. |
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Jim Colburn, Photographer
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Omaha | NE | USA | Posted: 10:58 AM on 08.19.05 |
| ->> I've owned by own cameras for my whole career and have alwsys treated my gear with kid gloves. They always get capped front and rear and they go back into a bag after a gig (never thrown into the trunk or on to the back seat). They only problems I've ever had have been due to dropping or banging the camera or lens and I've had to have gear repaired (knock on wood) perhaps half a dozen times in more than 30 years. I'm amazed when I see the way some pros mistreat their gear and those that do are usually using compnay equipment, not their own. |
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Michael Myers, Photographer, Student/Intern
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Miami Beach | FL | USA | Posted: 8:27 PM on 08.24.05 |
->> My experience so far is opposite of what "makes sense". My lower priced digital cameras never break. They act like they'll run forever. My Canon P&S cameras have only had one problem ever, and that didn't prevent me from taking pictures. My Nikon D70 completely died once, but in over a year, almost two now, that's the only problem. I trust it to keep going. My first and second D2h cameras were nothing but problems, but fortunately they didn't wait for the warranty to run out. I've now got a D2hs, and it had a problem when I first got it - back to Nikon. It's been working fine since then, but I'm not gonna trust it until it proves itself by working OK for at LEAST a year.
You guys with camera problems are "lucky" in that there is an excuse - the camera takes a fall from a car seat, and it's a reasonable explanation of why it might need a repair. Every one of my problems has happened while the camera was sitting - it worked one day, and was broken the next.
I love my D2hs, as it's pretty much what I've always wanted in a digital camera, but if I was going overseas (which I am) I trust the D70 more. .....and I'll probably take my Pro1 for backup.
Last comment - my computers typically get old and "too slow" before I replace them, not busto. Ditto for my film cameras, but in their case it's ten years before thinking of an upgrade. Digital cameras - I'd be happier if they got obsolete before they broke. I would like to think that "most" of our new high-priced, high-tech toys should last for a few years minimum before something goes on the fritz. |
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Mark Smith, Photographer
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Elk City | OK | USA | Posted: 11:50 PM on 08.24.05 |
->> I've been using Nikons since they invented dirt, er, ok, sand. The only beef I've had was with a DCS-620 which had a shutter spit the bits too soon. Of course, the whole Kodak/Nikon thing didn't serve me well. Oh, and also, I had a D2H early on that I bought right before the first firmware update and when I loaded it, the camera stopped. It didn't say, "hey, I don't like that one" or, uh, "could you do that again a bit better" or, "kiss me, first", it just stopped. Fortunately, I'd just received it from one of our sponsors who took it right back and sent me a new one. It could have been my fault, I guess, but I'm pretty much a geekasaurus (a Commodore 64 was my third computer) so I kind of doubt it.
Anyway, I think luck and handling play part. I don't travel just a great deal, so perhaps just riding from my studio to my Tahoe, to the field and back isn't quite the rough ride that many dish out.
My 2 cents. |
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