My D3 is D E A D after just 10 months???

[Cre8tivepixels]

Way to go Nikon.....on the job tonight and BANG the shutter dies.....what a JOKE.....i would say i would have turned over conservatively 98,000 clicks?? (Nikon have stated 300,000)

Will i be covered with warrenty? Will i get a NEW one as i think i damn well should (its a pro cam it should last for years)...Will i get a replacement Cam while this one is out of action (i have jobs coming up and without my cam NO income)....

Talk about stuffed, i am as stuffed as my camera is!



Dan

[Oz_Beachside]

i've got milk older than that...

sorry to hear that Dan, hope all goes well for a loaner, maybe they will hand you a D3x for the interim?

[methd]

Here's the bit where you ask "Did you buy it locally or as a grey?". I'm assuming it's local in which you should get warranty but not too sure about a replacement while it gets fixed. Don't you have a backup body at all?

[gstark]

Dan,

First of all, I'm sorry to hear about this.

How do you know that the problem is the shutter? Has it been professionally diagnosed yet? Just because the shutter isn't working doesn't mean that that's the problem. To get the current shutter count, just run the last image you shot through Opanda Exif; it will tell you what that value is. The 300000 shots stated by Nikon is an average expectancy, not a guarantee. Some will be higher, some will be lower.

As methd asks, so do I: do you not have a backup body? I have never gone on a professional shoot without at least three bodies in train: two would be the absolute minimum, and any form of equipment failure, to me, is merely an excuse. As a pro you should be prepared for this and have a stategy in place to effectively deal with this so that, yes, the equipment may fail, but no, it does not affect my ability to complete the task.

Warranty: what does it say about professional useage? Some warranties exclude this, but I would not expect the warranty of a camera targeted at professional users to do this. If the camera is Nikon Oz stock, then I would expect that the warranty should apply.

Loaner? Can you whistle?

[big pix]

...... sorry to here that your camera has gone into down time

loan cameras are available to Nikon NPS members......... all working professional photographers, using Nikon, should have NPS membership.....

as Gary stated, always have a backup camera body or 2........

[the foto fanatic]

As Gary said, it may not be the shutter.

It could, for example, be a circuit board, which would be a relatively easy fix.

Let's hope that, whatever it is, you can have it repaired quickly.

And, if it is an Aussie warranty that you have, I would certainly expect a loaner from Nikon.

Good luck.

[kiwi]

Sorry to hear about this Dan. A dead camera always sucks no matter what the cause. If it's any consolation I don't remember seeing any other reports of D3's dying like this so hopefully it's not a major issue and systematic in any way.

[MATT]

Not good news.. Hopefully it will all end well.

Goodluck

MATT

[Raskill]

Thats a bit poor....

Should have just kept NPS's gear at Indy.

[chrisk]

bad news for you Dan., i feel for you mate. like any and all things there will be failures in electronics and/ or moving parts. thats part of the world we live in, so is it a "joke" ? well hardly. they dont have a reputation for failure.

i know people that have dropped $100k on a merc that had a gearbox shit itself after 6 months....does that mean every merc is a lemon ? you only paid $5k so as pissed off as you may be cos it happened to you....put it in perspective. we have to accept the fact that things fail. its is only a camera after all, not like its an MRI machine.

[Big V]

Unless you have NPS you will not get a loan camera I am afraid

[Cre8tivepixels]

Thanks guys for the various responces....your right they DONT have a reputation of failure, so hopefully this is an isolated incidence, i guess i was just feeling sick and pissed when it happened

Rang Rob at NPS today, all is well they will fix me up ASAP and in the meantime i should have a replacement body on loan from them. There are posts around in a few forums that says Nikon have built a better quality shutter for the newer batches of D3 and they are putting that shutter into replacement D3s

Dan

[sirhc55]

Dan, I would suggest your camera decided to breakdown as it could not take the strain of your usual subject matter

[who]

Dan, I would suggest your camera decided to breakdown as it could not take the strain of your usual subject matter

A heart attack, so to speak

Or maybe it decided it was not worthy of being used by you in your quality work?

[Nikon boy]

My D3 suffered a shutter collapse in Nov 2008, it took Nikon Aus over five weeks to obtain replacement parts from Japan (it also needed a new charge motor) evidently Nikon has the policy to send all parts via sea mail this is what caused the delay .

[chrisk]

Dan, I would suggest your camera decided to breakdown as it could not take the strain of your usual subject matter

it lasted 9months, 29days, 23hours and 45minutes longer than i would've !!

[Grev]

Yeah, thought you'd have a backup body as well...

[Cre8tivepixels]

I do HAVE a backup just didnt want to use it......and after paying 8k for the D3 i really didn't expect to HAVE to use it after just 10months???

[aim54x]

Can I ask what your back up body is?

[Cre8tivepixels]

Can I ask what your back up body is?

D200 plus D80

[Reschsmooth]

I do HAVE a backup just didnt want to use it......and after paying 8k for the D3 i really didn't expect to HAVE to use it after just 10months???

With all due respect, do you not accept that, sometimes, things fail before we expect them to? Didn't the fact that the camera had a warranty suggest that the product is not infallible? I appreciate it is frustrating, but also bear in mind that you have used a third of the average shutter actuations in 10 months, suggesting that you would get to 300k in 2.5 years from purchase, which is fairly heavy going (I could be wrong, and happy to admit that). As others have said, 300k is only an average, meaning, by definition, that there will be some higher and lower than that.

[gstark]

I do HAVE a backup just didnt want to use it

In which case, any failure to complete a job is not due to the failure of the camera, but due to an active decision that you have made in choosing to not have a backup camera.

......and after paying 8k for the D3 i really didn't expect to HAVE to use it after just 10months???

Forget the fact that the camera failed under warranty: that is bad, but in terms of your ability to finish the job, it's irrelevant. What about the situation where you might have dropped the camera? Or placed it on a table and walked away, forgetting that you still have the camera's strap around your neck? What's your backup plan for those situations?

What do you do if your CF card fails? Do you just carry the one?

While I empathise that the camera broke, and that it should not have, I respectfully suggest that any adverse consequences of that occurrence are self inflicted.

[Cre8tivepixels]

Where in my post have i said that i 'didnt' complete a job?

It didn't effect my work at all apart from being a complete pain in the arse....to Nikon's absolute credit the camera is fixed and all is ok (took two days)......jesus i love coming to this site and being spoken too like a naughty child....!

Yes my original post was a rant....i accept that but i have well and truly moved on!

[gstark]

It didn't effect my work at all

????

(i have jobs coming up and without my cam NO income)....

Talk about stuffed, i am as stuffed as my camera is!

Would you care to reconcile those statements, Dan?

[MATT]

Two days , you've got to be happy with the that.. I guess that why they give you warranty. On the off chance something happens.

Regards
MATT

[Reschsmooth]

Yes my original post was a rant....i accept that but i have well and truly moved on!

Apart from the comment earlier today.

Nevertheless, that's great service and good to see you have your camera back. Hopefully, it works on the other side of the average.

[MATT]

Did they say what the problem was??

MATT

[Cre8tivepixels]

Hey Matt...yeah shutter failure