€470 to Save My Nikon D750 – Or Should I Have Bought a New Camera?
I have been taking photos with my Nikon D750 for years, and until recently I never had much reason to think about replacing it. It does what I need, I know my way around it, and I have always been careful with my camera equipment.
Unfortunately, taking good care of something doesn't mean it will last forever.
During our trip to Oberwiesenthal, my D750 suddenly started showing an ERR message after taking a photo. The strange thing was that the camera still saved the picture. Everything seemed normal until the shutter was released, and then the error appeared.
My first thought was that it couldn't be anything serious. Perhaps the lens wasn't sitting correctly or the battery was causing trouble.
I removed the battery, changed lenses and even tried releasing the shutter without a lens attached. Nothing helped. The same error appeared every time.
That was the moment I started worrying about an expensive repair.
A Small Detour Through Dresden
We were staying near Oberwiesenthal and would be driving home to Greifswald the next day. Since Dresden was on our route, I contacted the Nikon Service Point there and asked whether I could bring the camera in personally.
I received a friendly reply quite quickly. They told me I could drop it off before 3 p.m., so we made a short stop in Dresden on our way home.
I was told that preparing a repair estimate would normally take around two working days.
Well, they were much faster than that!
Only a few hours after dropping off the camera, I already had the estimate in my email inbox. I certainly hadn't expected such a quick response.
Unfortunately, the amount wasn't quite as pleasant.
€470.82 for the repair.
According to the technicians, the aperture control system needs to be replaced and adjusted. The autofocus system also requires a complete adjustment because the focus plane is outside the specified tolerances. There are some additional jobs, including replacing the rubber grips, cleaning the camera and sensor, and checking the equipment.
So this wasn't just a matter of cleaning a contact or resetting the electronics.
And now I had a decision to make.
Would It Be Better to Buy Another Camera?
Almost €500 is a considerable amount of money to spend on an older DSLR. Naturally, I started looking at the alternatives.
The most obvious solution would be another used Nikon D750. You can find these cameras for around the cost of the repair, depending on their condition.
But what would I really be buying?
A camera might look beautiful in the photos and still have problems nobody knows about. How many times has the shutter been used? Has it been dropped? Is the autofocus properly adjusted? And will the next expensive problem appear six months later?
Of course, not every used camera is a bad purchase. There are plenty of photographers who take excellent care of their equipment.
But with my own D750, I already know its history. I know where it has been, how it has been handled and what it has experienced over the years.
That is something a second-hand listing cannot offer me.
Then I started thinking about Nikon's mirrorless Z cameras.
A used Nikon Z6 II would certainly be interesting. The newer Z5 II also caught my attention, and the Z6 III would be a substantial upgrade.
But there is one problem that makes switching systems a little more complicated.
My lenses.
I already have F-mount lenses, including my Tamron 24–70mm f/2.8. Buying a Nikon Z camera would mean deciding whether to continue using those lenses or gradually replace them.
Nikon offers the FTZ adapter, allowing many older F-mount lenses to work on Z cameras. That sounds like an excellent solution, but compatibility depends on the individual lens. Especially with third-party manufacturers such as Tamron, I would want to make sure autofocus and other functions work correctly before spending the money.
The alternative would be buying native Nikon Z lenses.
And anyone who has looked at the prices of good full-frame lenses knows how quickly the total can increase.
What starts as replacing a camera body can suddenly turn into buying an entirely new system.
I am not against mirrorless cameras. Quite the opposite. There are many things I like about the technology, and I am sure that one day I will probably make that switch.
But I don't think a camera failure is necessarily the best reason to rush into it.
What About the Nikon D850?
There was another camera that kept coming back into my thoughts: the Nikon D850.
If I wanted to stay with a DSLR, why not move up to one of Nikon's finest full-frame models?
With its 45.7-megapixel sensor, excellent image quality and professional construction, the D850 is still an impressive camera. I could also continue using my F-mount lenses without an adapter.
That is a real advantage.
On the other hand, the D850 is considerably more expensive than repairing my D750. It is also heavier, and those high-resolution files require more storage and processing power.
Would I enjoy owning one? Absolutely.
Would I really need everything it offers for my photography? Probably not.
And even though the D850 is an excellent camera, I would still be investing in a DSLR system at a time when Nikon's new developments are focused on mirrorless technology.
So I kept coming back to my original camera.
Why I Approved the Repair
After comparing the possibilities, I decided to have the D750 repaired.
The bill still hurts, but I believe it makes more sense for me at the moment.
I am not simply paying to make the error message disappear. The aperture system will be repaired, the autofocus adjusted and the camera cleaned and checked by a specialist Nikon workshop.
That doesn't make it a brand-new camera, and nobody can guarantee that another component won't fail someday.
But it means I should get back a camera I know well, with several important systems serviced and adjusted.
For me, that is worth more than taking a chance on another used D750.
There is also something to be said for repairing equipment instead of replacing it immediately. We live in a time when buying something new often seems to be the first solution. Yet if a good piece of equipment can be repaired at a reasonable cost, why throw it away?
Unfortunately, There Is Another Delay
A new email from Nikon Service Dresden arrived recently.
One of the required spare parts is currently unavailable. The workshop has already ordered it with priority, but delivery problems mean the repair is expected to take another 7 to 10 working days.
That is disappointing, especially after the excellent service I experienced when dropping off the camera. The repair estimate arrived in just a few hours, but now everything depends on the availability of one replacement part.
I can't really blame the workshop for that.
For the moment, my camera is staying in Dresden.
I miss having it available, particularly when we are out travelling and I see something worth photographing. I have taken this camera on so many trips that reaching for it has become a habit.
Hopefully, when it finally returns, I can take it out again without having to worry about another ERR message.
The whole experience has certainly made me think more seriously about the Nikon Z system. Maybe the next camera will be mirrorless after all. But I would rather make that decision when I am ready to upgrade, not when I am forced to replace something that can still be repaired.
Now I am curious what other photographers think.
Would you spend almost €500 repairing a camera you know and trust, or would you put that money towards a newer model? And if you already switched from Nikon DSLR to Nikon Z, was it worth replacing your lenses, or are you still using them with the FTZ adapter?
I would be interested to hear about your experiences.
Tags: photography, nikon, camera, technology, repair