Camera Labs

Hi everyone,

In a bit of a bind at the moment with a certain issue i currently have with my Nikon D90...and need a push in one direction or another.

Quite a few months ago, i discovered the rear LCD screen on my D90 wasn't working. I could still take pictures and view them on my laptop...but not on the LCD. After researching online, I found most people saying the issue was most likely the contacts and thought this was the issue. Only a couple of weeks ago, I gave my D90 to a camera repair store to get a quote for fixing the issue.

He has advised me today that it's not the contacts causing the issue but that the actual "board' is faulty and needs to be replaced. He's given me a fairly hefty price of $330 (Australian) to replace the board. I immediately thought if the board was faulty, i wouldn't be able to use the camera at all...which was certainly not the case. I only really have his word at this stage to go with.

My bind is...and this is where i need help:

1) Do I just pay the $330 and have the faulty board repaired?
2) For a couple of hundred dollars more, do I get a new D90 body and keep the old D90 for spare parts?
3) Do I use this as an opportunity to upgrade to a D7000 body...and keep the old D90 for spare parts?

Any other options/avenues I can potentially consider??

Appreciate any help.

Cheers,
Jaz

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jzzdhillon
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Nikon D90 | 18-105 VR | Nikon 35mm f1.8G

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jazdhillon

How long have you had the camera/how old is it/how many actuations?

I guess only you can decide, but if you're happy with the D90 & it does everything you need, just buy another new one. You'll then get a new warranty.
IF you can afford the D7000 though (which is pretty cheap atm) it's certainly a step up & you should be more than happy with it.

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Nikon D700 & D7100 bodies + Nikkor 300mm F2.8 VR11, 1.7TC, 50mm F1.4G, 16-35mm f/4G VR, 105 F2.8 VR macro, 70-300mm lenses. A couple of filters, Giotto tripod & ballhead. Lowepro Slingshot 302 AW

http://www.flickr.com/photos/oldcarlos/

With no main screen you are going to be limited to which functions you can access as well as not being able to see any shots you have taken. You may find there is some relatively low cost tethered solution using a laptop, phone or tablet type device which would give you full functionality back. Have a search for "D90 tethered shooting" or something similar.

If you go down the new D90 body route you will have a backup camera body and some spare parts for the future. If you go down the D7000 route you will have some better features and a backup camera body (even if it is limited in comparison).

It really depends on your budget and future photography plans.

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Nikon D90
Nikkor AF-S DX; 18-105 f/3.5-5.6G VR, 55-300 f/4.5-5.6G VR, 35mm f/1.8G
Speedlight SB-700

http://keystrokesukimages.com

this is the problem you have with any kind of repair, you have to trust what they are telling you, theres nothing wrong with taking it to another repair centre and getting a second opinion.

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Nikon D90, nikon 18-105vr, nikon 70-300vr, sigma 105 macro, nikon 50 1.8, Tokina 11-16 2.8

If I were you, Id buy a new D90 and try if you could send your faulty D90, under warranty of the new one, to get it repaired. After that you could sell one D90 again.

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Ruben

Panasonic DMC-FZ18, Panasonic DMC-FZ28, Canon G5, Canon 350D, Canon 50D + BG-E2N
Tamron 17-50 2.8, Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM,
Canon 18-55 II plus lots of Minolta MD/M42 lenses and bodies