Do I need a higher shutter life camera? D300 at 150K

ASkip

Hi,
I just checked the ImageNumber on my D300 and in less than a year, I've taken over 150,000 pictures.
I know, just because they test to 150K doesn't mean it'll break there, though both my D70's broke at 40k shutter actuations. My D200 is still alive but just as a backup.
I'm heading in to lacrosse season, lots of night games, lots of pictures to take.
I thought I'd ask some opinions. Should my D300 poop out, do I go D700 because it's cheaper? and then get whatever the next camera is in a year? (that would be my leaning) or go D3 (but isn't that old now) and see if it lasts longer. I don't really want the extra weight or other gizmos, I just would like excellent low light sports shots and reliability.
Any sage advice?
thanks.
anna

Ekaj

Wow that's a lot of shots in less than a year. I would buy a d3 if I shot that much. I'm curious how long your d300 lasts for. I recall someone saying you can replace the shutter on the d300 through nikon and it is not as expensive as buying a new cam.

Art Scott

Ekaj wrote:

Wow that's a lot of shots in less than a year. I would buy a d3 if I shot that much. I'm curious how long your d300 lasts for. I recall someone saying you can replace the shutter on the d300 through nikon and it is not as expensive as buying a new cam.

If you really like the D300, why not purchase another and use it and keep the one you currently have and the D200 as back ups........for sports I can't see going to FF as the extra reach of a DX sensor would be a lot of help it seems......on the D300 a 200mm lens acts like a 300 ....on the D700 the 200mm lens is just a 200mm lens........

swintonphoto

Art Scott wrote:

If you really like the D300, why not purchase another and use it and keep the one you currently have and the D200 as back ups........for sports I can't see going to FF as the extra reach of a DX sensor would be a lot of help it seems......on the D300 a 200mm lens acts like a 300 ....on the D700 the 200mm lens is just a 200mm lens........

I wouldn't switch to FF if I was a sports shooter. The loss of telephoto benefits of the DX sensor isn't worth it. Plus the noise on the D300 is handled really well. IF your D300 dies, I'd just pay to have the shutter replaced.

ASkip

swintonphoto wrote:

I wouldn't switch to FF if I was a sports shooter. The loss of telephoto benefits of the DX sensor isn't worth it. Plus the noise on the D300 is handled really well. IF your D300 dies, I'd just pay to have the shutter replaced.

wow, you guys are so reasonable! I should fix it.

What usually happens is I'm in the middle of a game and the camera dies (has happened 3 times) and I freak out so then I have to run to the store (or internet) to get a replacement fast while the repair guys say hmmm about fixing the old one. The D200 performance pales in comparison so even though it's my backup, I hate to use it.

I talked to a guy at football with a D3, he said he can still make it do the DX-like crop so I wouldn't miss my extra zoomy goodness. But I didn't actually go read about it to make sure he wasn't making it up. Not true?

Thanks for all your thoughtful comments.

ziggy53

ASkip wrote:

...

I talked to a guy at football with a D3, he said he can still make it do the DX-like crop so I wouldn't miss my extra zoomy goodness. But I didn't actually go read about it to make sure he wasn't making it up. Not true?

Thanks for all your thoughtful comments.

The Nikon D3 in DX mode (crop mode) becomes about 5 MPix.

ASkip

ziggy53 wrote:

The Nikon D3 in DX mode (crop mode) becomes about 5 MPix.

Hmm, so to beat the D300 with a 300mm lens, just for zoom and more shutter actuations, I'd need a D3 AND a 400mm lens. I guess that's not going to happen.

Thanks.

swintonphoto

ASkip wrote:

Hmm, so to beat the D300 with a 300mm lens, just for zoom and more shutter actuations, I'd need a D3 AND a 400mm lens. I guess that's not going to happen.

Thanks.

Yep.
The FF craze lately is for some in my opinion, but, many feel they have to go that way, and I know a lot of people who won't go FF because the telephoto benefits of the crop sensor are so great. Plus the crop sensors are getting so good anyways. The D300 is a good example of this.

Cygnus Studios

First let me say that if you are happy with the D300, then stay with it.

However, if you are really going to upgrade, go D3.
Yes, you lose a little with the crop factor. You gain in other areas. Sports are different to different people. If you have good access to the game, you don't need the extra reach. If you buy longer lenses, you don't need the extra reach.
I have done some limited shooting with the 300 and it is a great camera, but no way would I swap my D3 for it. Crop or no crop.

I too am interested in knowing how many clicks you get. Just FYI, you are not alone in the 100,000 clicks a year. I do product photography and should eclipse that mark on both cameras within a year.

jonh68

swintonphoto wrote:

I wouldn't switch to FF if I was a sports shooter. The loss of telephoto benefits of the DX sensor isn't worth it. Plus the noise on the D300 is handled really well. IF your D300 dies, I'd just pay to have the shutter replaced.

I have to really disagree with that statement. Most sports don't take into account time of day or how well lit the arenas are. The ISO performance of the D3,D700 more than make up for loss of range.

Also, if the shutter goes out on the D300, just get it replaced. It will be cheaper than buying a camera and you will have money for lenses.

I talked to a guy at football with a D3, he said he can still make it do the DX-like crop so I wouldn't miss my extra zoomy goodness. But I didn't actually go read about it to make sure he wasn't making it up. Not true?

Probably what he meant is you can use DX lenses and get the same "focal" length, but you lose mega pixels in the reduction. The D3 does have a DX crop mode that bumps up fps to 11 and you get the DX length. I think it's better to go ahead and crop pp than put the camera in the DX mode.

Tee Why

If it was me and I like the d300, I'd consider either just keep shooting and replace the shutter when it breaks and use the d200 as a back up.

Another option is to sell the d200 for a new or a lightly used d300 as a back up so that if the first one's shutter breaks, then you can use the other one for that day.

Another option is to just replace the shutter and not worry anymore before it breaks.

You can also get a D3 I guess, but that's a very expensive option. It's a nice camera though.

ASkip

The beginning of the end? 162K actuations

Tee Why wrote:

If it was me and I like the d300, I'd consider either just keep shooting and replace the shutter when it breaks and use the d200 as a back up.
.

Hi,
So I kept shooting and today the shutter locked up on my D300, all I saw through the viewfinder was black. It's at 162,500 frames. This time, I pushed the shutter button again and it resumed operation. But I think it's the beginning of the end for this shutter for the D300. I ordered a D700, but it's on backorder, so I guess I'll get this fixed for now. Luckily, there's no lacrosse this week, until Saturday.