How long will a DSLR body last ?

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bob - 08 Jan 2007 11:50 GMT

I still have not made my mind up regariging which DSLR Nikon D80 or the D200
. If the tecnology is not going to last. Should I just go for the cheaper
D80 which may last for say 4 years ? then upgrade

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3Putt from South Carolina - 08 Jan 2007 13:40 GMT

I have the D50, which is a plastic body. It's half-life at the landfill is
about 500 years. I think you may need to rephrase the question.

>I still have not made my mind up regariging which DSLR Nikon D80 or the
>D200 . If the tecnology is not going to last. Should I just go for the
>cheaper D80 which may last for say 4 years ? then upgrade

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bob - 08 Jan 2007 14:02 GMT

All Im trying to ask .. should I go for the cheaper option as DSLRS seem
to go outof date as soon as you buy them . I could buy another updated DSLR
in say 3 - 5 years time, in the mean time buy better glass. with the money
saved from a dearer body (prob need it for the next DSLR upgrade :)

>I have the D50, which is a plastic body. It's half-life at the landfill is
>about 500 years. I think you may need to rephrase the question.
>
>>I still have not made my mind up regariging which DSLR Nikon D80 or the
>>D200 . If the tecnology is not going to last. Should I just go for the
>>cheaper D80 which may last for say 4 years ? then upgrade

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drew.avis@gmail.com - 08 Jan 2007 14:14 GMT

> All Im trying to ask .. should I go for the cheaper option as DSLRS seem
> to go outof date as soon as you buy them . I could buy another updated DSLR
> in say 3 - 5 years time, in the mean time buy better glass. with the money
> saved from a dearer body (prob need it for the next DSLR upgrade :)

It depends. Is there a feature on the D200 that the D80 has that's
worth ~$900 to you? If yes, get the D200. I recently went through
this math myself, and ended up with the D80. I'm very happy with it.
As you already know, you can put the savings towards a nice lens (or
rent, or food, etc). I'm expecting to use my D80 for about as long as
I used my F801, which would be about 20 years. That may be optimistic.
Though maybe not, the 801 is still working just fine. :-)

You could rephrase your question "will I want to upgrade my perfectly
good D80/200 in four years when there's a 16 mpix full frame body
available for $2000?" Which is a question that we can guess at, but
only you can answer.

Drew

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Tony Polson - 08 Jan 2007 17:51 GMT

>All Im trying to ask .. should I go for the cheaper option as DSLRS seem
>to go outof date as soon as you buy them . I could buy another updated DSLR
>in say 3 - 5 years time, in the mean time buy better glass. with the money
>saved from a dearer body (prob need it for the next DSLR upgrade :)

The D80 is a fine camera. The benefits of the D200 do not include a
significantly better image quality compared to the D80.

So, if you can live with the D80's slightly different handling and its
limitations compared to the D200, the money saved by buying the D80
will certainly allow you to buy better quality glass, which is almost
always money well spent.

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faune8 - 08 Jan 2007 15:46 GMT

> I have the D50, which is a plastic body. It's half-life at the
> landfill is about 500 years. I think you may need to rephrase the
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>>the D200 . If the tecnology is not going to last. Should I just go for
>>the cheaper D80 which may last for say 4 years ? then upgrade

hey he's talking about photography not pollution smat guy.

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Volker Hetzer - 08 Jan 2007 23:17 GMT

> I have the D50, which is a plastic body. It's half-life at the landfill is
> about 500 years. I think you may need to rephrase the question.

You still use landfills?

>> I still have not made my mind up regariging which DSLR Nikon D80 or the
>> D200 . If the tecnology is not going to last. Should I just go for the
>> cheaper D80 which may last for say 4 years ? then upgrade

Yes.

Lots of Greetings!
Volker

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3Putt from South Carolina - 08 Jan 2007 23:23 GMT

>> I have the D50, which is a plastic body. It's half-life at the landfill
>> is about 500 years. I think you may need to rephrase the question.
> You still use landfills?

Sorry, I meant recycling center.

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C J Campbell - 08 Jan 2007 14:03 GMT

> I still have not made my mind up regariging which DSLR Nikon D80 or the D200
> . If the tecnology is not going to last. Should I just go for the cheaper
> D80 which may last for say 4 years ? then upgrade

A DSLR body will last practically forever. The mirror and shutter mechanism
will wear out, but those can be replaced. It will eventually become scuffed
and battered, but it will still work. A DSLR will likely either die in an
accident, freeze up from salt corrosion, or rot away on a shelf long after it
has become obsolete. There will be collectors taking pictures with their
Rebel XT 50 years from now.

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Charles Gillen - 08 Jan 2007 14:58 GMT

> A DSLR body will last practically forever. There will be
> collectors taking pictures with their Rebel XT 50 years from now.

Unlikely, in my experience. Our DSLR controls have many little electronic
buttons and switches which are relatively fragile. On my first DSLR
several of them expired shortly after the warranty did. Cost to repair
would have been half the cost of a new body.

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Neil Harrington - 08 Jan 2007 14:45 GMT

Since as you say you still haven't made up your mind between them, and
obviously you've given it a lot of thought, then in your place I'd buy the
D80. Why pay more money for something you don't know if you really need or
want? Prices on the D200 will probably drift somewhat lower anyway, so in
the unlikely event you decide later you've made a mistake you can always
sell the one and buy the other.

I wouldn't worry that "the technology is not going to last." The technology
curve seems to have leveled off and we're just getting very small
refinements in it now from year to year. It's nothing like the past decade
when there were really important leaps in digital camera technology.

Neil

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Charles Schuler - 08 Jan 2007 21:56 GMT

> I wouldn't worry that "the technology is not going to last." The
> technology curve seems to have leveled off and we're just getting very
> small refinements in it now from year to year. It's nothing like the past
> decade when there were really important leaps in digital camera
> technology.

I agree with Neil. Think for a moment: the huge gains from model to model
are over. The curve is indeed at a much flatter slope. Always ask: "What
is there about this latest camera that would allow me to take shots that I
cannot grab now?" There might be a few shots that you would miss, but are
they important to you?

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Joseph Meehan - 08 Jan 2007 17:08 GMT

> I still have not made my mind up regariging which DSLR Nikon D80 or
> the D200 .

> If the tecnology is not going to last.

>Should I just go
> for the cheaper D80 which may last for say 4 years ? then upgrade

Well, The technology is going to last, it will not change. What might
change is the rest of the world.

It is a regular question that has been asked many times and it is not
really possible to answer. My suggestion is to get what fits YOUR needs NOW
and in the foreseeable future and don't worry about what might come out next
year or ten years from now.

If the cheaper camera meets your current needs, why by the more
expensive one?

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Joseph Meehan

Dia 's Muire duit

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Adrian Boliston - 08 Jan 2007 19:30 GMT

I'd say always go with the cheaper body and use any saving for quality
glass. I have heard of digital bodies almost being regarded as "disposable"
parts on the basis that they are like other consumer electronics like
laptops and PCs. Get a body that does what you want in terms of features
as it's the glass which mostly governs the actual picture quality rather
than the body, and the chances are that you will get through many bodies in
a lifetime, but keep the same glass (unless you break it or it's stolen!).

cheers adrian www.boliston.co.uk

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Bob - 08 Jan 2007 20:31 GMT

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> I'd say always go with the cheaper body and use any saving for quality
> glass. I have heard of digital bodies almost being regarded as
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> get through many bodies in a lifetime, but keep the same glass (unless you
> break it or it's stolen!).

Think this has knocked sense into me .. for my needs a D80 will do the
trick.

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RichA - 09 Jan 2007 01:15 GMT

On the cheapest ones, as long as it takes for the shutter to break.
You won't want to pay the repair bill. I don't even know if the cheap
ones rate the shutter for any expected lifetime.

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Paul Furman - 09 Jan 2007 01:21 GMT

I bought my D200 when I dropped my D70 & the body cracked so I figured
the stronger metal bpdy was wise. OTOH the D80 wasn't availiable. I
bought an old 28mm f/2 AIS for $200 and While a comparable new lens of
that quality isn't even available it would probably be in the $800
range. OTOH it's a bitch manual focusing that bugger.

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Bruce - 10 Jan 2007 00:29 GMT

Three years ago I bought a Nikon D70 since then the D80 came out & I was
tempted to upgrade to the D80, then I thought I may as well go the whole hog
and get the D200. After a lot of thought I decided to stick with the D70
simply because it is capable of producing better photographs then I have yet
taken. Also after talking to a local proper camera shop guy about the
durability of Canon & Nikon DSLR he said most of the repairs he gets in
(apart from accidental damage)are for the CCD replacement costing around
£110.

So I'm sticking with the D70 till my standard of photography improves.

Bruce

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Greg "_" - 10 Jan 2007 01:02 GMT

> Three years ago I bought a Nikon D70 since then the D80 came out & I was
> tempted to upgrade to the D80, then I thought I may as well go the whole hog
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
>
> Bruce

I think those are certainly valid reasons, my next upgrade is decidedly
a 12 MP camera. Wether that happens is up to Nikon at a price point I
can afford. Anything in my world over 3k is ridiculous.

On the D70 side last year I shot 24 weddings between two D70 cameras the
previous year 36. On average that's 15,000 exposures per camera.

Not including the 15-20 magazine assignments averaging 200 + images.

Someone told me these non pro cameras would not hold up to that kind of
use or abuse ;^)

My big desire regarding the bigger file is to go across two pages at
11x17 so the 12MP would be a help.

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Dallas Dahms - 10 Jan 2007 07:40 GMT

On 1/8/07 1:50 PM, in article 1168257030.18698.0@iris.uk.clara.net, "bob"
<nospam@hotmail.com> wrote:

> I still have not made my mind up regariging which DSLR Nikon D80 or the D200
> . If the tecnology is not going to last. Should I just go for the cheaper
>
> D80 which may last for say 4 years ? then upgrade

The D200 has one very significant advantage over the D80 in that you are
able to meter with manual focus AI and AI'd Nikkor lenses. That alone is
worth the extra money to me.

My next DSLR will be a D200 (to be bought used when the world's wannabe's
ditch them in favour of the next flavour).

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