david vt Loc: Vermont

Hi all

Part 1. Stupidity.

After lending my D7200 with long lens to my spouse to shoot our son in a decathalon that I could not attend (and setting up for a non-enthusiest to use it), I was returning said camera to its home when I became distracted and put it down on an upholstered bench, just for a second to grab something. You can see it coming, right? Sure enough, it rolled off the bench, to the tile floor, and pulled the mounting ring right off the camera.

Part 2. Sadness.

No one to blame but myself, and I am normally so careful, to the point of being a***-retentive about where I set it down and how I change lenses. As my spouse said “glad that was you and not me”, complemented by my aspiring photog daughter, whom commented “that hurts - I sometimes think you worry more about your camera than us”. Full-transparency- on some days, she may be right.

the only good news came from my son, who pointed out that at least it happened after the last meet of the year, and I have all summer to get it fixed. (90% of my shooting is school sports, indoor and outdoor). He is right - two weeks ago would have been devastating- but it does not take much of the sting out of my stupidity.


Part 3. Questions.

So I contacted Nikon repair about sending the whole thing in to be fixed and checked out. Their online estimator priced it at about $350 for the body repair. This camera is no longer sold. Have not been able to find any mfg refurbs. The closest I can find it a KEH used EX+ for about $650, but I can’t tell the shutter count on that. I like the dual slots (I shoot jpeg for quick postings and RAW for when I want to work a particular shot more) so the D7500 is really not to my liking, and the D5 is too many $$ right now.

A) my D7200, but for this accident, was near perfect with about 8000 shutter count. Do you think it is worth the repair, given that to replace means the used market? If you were going to look at something else (likely in the $1000 or less range), what else might you consider, given my primarily “HS sports shooting” goal.

B) I have to send the long lens (70-200 f2.8 VR2) in anyway, both to get the “extra” mounting ring off and to have it checked out. As long as it is in, should I have them “tune” them together for AF fine tune? I have never done this, but they will have both parts.....

C) as long as I am sending in, I might send in the Nikkor 16-80 as it seems a bit noisy and also to have them do the AF Finetune. Thoughts?


Thank you in advance for your advice.

BebuLamar

I would buy a new D7200 for $696 but it's currently out of stock.

Quixdraw Loc: x

Plenty new D7200s on the 'Bay right now. Have been watching them since I like mine so well and it has a good bit of mileage.

juan_uy Loc: Uruguay

I agree with Bebu.
However, a couple of comments:
- I would also consider the D750 as a replacement if you ever thought of jumping to FF
- You could still use RAW+JPEG with a single slot. Both files goes to the same card, you can then easily sort by file type and copy the ones you need from the card.

Quixdraw Loc: x

Have both - D 750 operationally very similar to the D7200 - uses the same batteries. One issue is what lenses you have - if all DX D 750 maybe not a practical choice.

david vt Loc: Vermont

Thanks. I am a relative amateur, but I not heard the D750 come up a lot in discussions of “good sports bodies”, but would be interested if others think so. I like the reach the APC format gets me @ 24MP capture, and I really want to stay as lower $$ if possible (this was not a planned expense, after-all. Cutting into my GAS money!)

I could likely separate out the two file types (I use different programs/computers at this point), but it seems clumsier than two separate cards.

Thanks

david vt Loc: Vermont

Actually, this is one place I have spent my $$ - my better lens, with the exception of the 16-80 are all FX, but I am shooting open outdoor sports quite a bit, and the 70-200 @ the 1.4 CF goes a long way. Normally I am shooting in the 160-200 end of that lens near wide open

Quixdraw Loc: x

Hard to choose between the two ex the 1.5X advantage the D 7200 has with FX lenses for wildlife and sports.

juan_uy Loc: Uruguay

Then, with that consideration, in your place I would:
- Try to find a new D7200
- Consider if you can stretch to the D500 (that would be $500 more than you expect to spend)

Kmgw9v Loc: Miami, Florida

Good excuse to upgrade the camera body.

PixelStan77 Loc: Vermont/Chicago

Being a conservative guy, I would have Nikon fix it.

BebuLamar

If the OP has more of the FX lenses then going for the D750 is a good choice. The OP's 70-200mm is better utilized on an FX body.

cmc4214 Loc: S.W. Pennsylvania

D750 has two card slots

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

A)D7200 is a great camera, certainly worth repairing. When you send in a camera to Nikon, they will refurbish it to like new operation, and replace things like battery and card slot doors, rubber grips, clean the mirror, focusing screen and sensor, etc. I'd either get a backup D7200 down the road, or get a used D500 (better for your intended use).

B) Was the 70-200 the one that was attached when it fell? If so, it needs to go in for that and any other things you want to have done to it. I would definitely NOT have the lens adjusted to the camera - have it brought to factory spec. Ditto for the camera. This way you''ll be able to use that lens with any body, and the camera will work fine without needing to have it tuned to any lens that is also up to factory spec. I have a dozen lenses from Nikon (mostly), Tamron and Sigma, and 3 bodies - I need interchangeability for all of my gear. Using the approach I suggest above will ensure that. None of my bodies require any AF Fine Tune compensation with any of my lenses, and that's what works best for me.

C) Same thing. The 16-80 needs to be checked out and brought up to factory spec. Again do not have them fine tune it to the camera - but do have them fine tune it to spec.

Among the things they do in the body is ensure that the visual indicators for AF points are properly mapped to the actual AF sensors, they correct any communication issues between camera and lens(es). ONe or more improperly mapped AF points can look like back or front focus, but you'd never be able to adjust it with AF Fine Tune. The techs have tools, both software and hardware, to make the necessary corrections.

SuperflyTNT Loc: Manassas VA

You mention the D5 but not the D500. That would be my choice for a replacement, but it’s also worth $350 to get it fixed.