Kool; looks like one from Clive/Dirk Cussler's collection!

Once upon a time, it used to be that long-time insurance company clients who had zero tickets for any reason, who never smoked nor took a drink, with zero accidents and zero claims were in demand and treated fairly by the insurance companies, but no longer. After you reach 60, although you're still an upstanding citizen, safe driver and home owner, your rate are higher, not because your riskier than the 18-40 year olds, but because you aren't going to be around much longer, so time to get as much as possible while you're still breathing. Your insurance rates and taxes will continue to rise at 15-30% yearly, as the insurance/car industry/political mafiosos, need to milk our golden cooked geese while we can still honk. You may save a bit if you can afford to plunk down the full yearly premium for all policies in advance; didn't work for us the past two years. If you're are unable to cover a loss out of pocket, be sure to get two bids from reputable, licensed/insured repair companies if at all possible, before the insurance adjuster shows up to low-ball you because that's their job. If you're involved in any accident, and though it's clear to you and your dashcam you really aren't responsible, never say anything to an adjuster without your legal representative present, and only what your state requires you to calmly say to the police, and with your cellphone/dashcam recording everything. For the past 20-plus years, our lives and data has been stolen and/or sold to anyone wanting it; we're now all tracked, monitored, recorded and suspected of anything by our govt and businesses. Anyone who points a cell phone at you will stick you on TikTok and you can't do quat about it. Home of the free and all that rot. Home and vehicle repairs have been controlled by the auto/insurance industry titans for many years but now those repairs take forever. Lexus Nexus works for the insurance companies and though they won't tell you what they sell to the insurance industry, it does guarantee the insurance industry always knows all. You may get a better rate depending on your good track record, or if you can afford to hop from from company to company every year or and pay in full, but not necessarily. If you've had a single comp claim, ie, a hail or car-jacking or mere vandalism within the last 3 years, your rates will be higher. It didn't used to be this way. With all of the enraged, incompetent lunatic fringe green/pink haired 'fluid' drivers, combined with distracted-texting twits, and unknown, unlicensed illegal aliens now creating deadly havoc on our highways, we all face the same daily odds of experiencing catastrophic loss. Vegas will take those odds. It's become far easier to accept a lesser replacement vehicle than trying to have your accident-damaged vehicle competently repaired.
NADA is an inseperable part of this insurance mafia madness, being the lobbying/marketing/advisory arm of the franchised automotive dealer and manufacturing industry. They 'fix' all used vehicle prices and 'advise' (wink wink) state politicians as to how much any citizen's car should be taxed by a state, based on what you will never truthfully receive if have an accident, or if you are silly and wealthy enough to trade your good car in on a shiny new govt-chipped model, only at one of their licensed franchised dealers. Every year, states charge the highest possible personal property tax on your vehicles based on the NADA 'recommended official used car guide' which has nothing to do with a vehicle's true monetary value. NADA discounts that any citizen has a clue what their own car is actually worth, not that a salesman knows, other than how much more to rip you off for. If you've ever been involved as a professional sales rep for any product, you'll understand. Tax assessors are trained to blame your protests of the ever-escalating car and home taxes, and insurance costs, on the public schools, who are supposedly telling the state how much money the schools want; sort of true due to the toxic woke insanity and countless illegals they now try to cope with. I remember when 'illegal' meant trying to buy Coors east of the Kansas state line. The tax folks say they can't do anything, which is also sort of true, as they're too lazy to look up the data, so with our withering tax dollars, they pay for the same 'official NADA data' from an 'approved' online vendor, then check your 'fair market' property value using google/zillow, then looking commercial satellite photos of your property/car. Tough job, eh? Since most politicians are lawyers, they won't answer your attempted contact-unless you know them personally -or have donated a princely sum to their campaign. They then write the NADA 'advice' into law after getting their fair share of 'advisory' dinners and drinks courtesy of NADA. The car and insurance mafia has redefined our cars as durable goods, perhaps like a brick? Not 'white goods' like sheets and pillows, made in China like the govts EV car batteries.
Our collective payday for this inane greed is now finally upon us in the form of $35 Trillion in un-repayable, catastrophic national debt, with well over $1 Trillion in personal credit card debt, much of it coming from many who struggling to get by, with that national default now looming. All you can do is to investigate your choice of car/home insurance companies -and their smiling agents- to the best of your ability. As in the book and film, '1984' since they already know everything about your life, return the favor, and Good luck to us all.

Hello G: Thank you for your post. Everyone in my family and all of my elders served, and survived their service related wounds, and ill treatment from the VA. My Father joined several months before Pearl Harbor as a skinny, half-starved farm boy, and actually gained weight during boot camp. As a non-com, it definitely beat being drafted into the Army during the war. The higher-ups quickly discovered he had prime pilot skills. He finished his service as a full Commander, and was a Naval Aviator for almost 20 years, ferrying all aircraft types anywhere on the planet that was needed, he flew everything from the biggest heavies to puddle-jumpers, and actually enjoyed flying the Steerrman. On a flight from STL to Millington TN, taking him and others to monthly drill the aircraft went down after engine failure on takeoff. He said it was a wild belly-flop-hop ride of a landing, and that the pilot who was flying the plane should have gotten a commendation. He wasn't seriously injured but a couple of men didn't make it. He saw a narrow crack in the side of the plane where it had split in half and edged his way ou before the plane caught fire. When he was clear of the crash he looked around and saw his suitcase sitting upright 10 feet clear of the crash. Everyone else was running away, but he said he wasn't about to lose his dress uniform and other gear so he walked over and retrieved the suitcase. The men who were seriously injured fought for years to get their benefits, unfortunately some passed away too soon, physically, mentally and financially broken trying to get help from the system that is required to provide what we owe all veterans. My Mother's older brother enlisted in the Marines when he was only 17, my grandfather signed for him and he served as a DI for many years after he came back from Korea, rising to the rank of Master Gunnery Sargent. He was injured in a similar crash as my Dad in the early 60s, fighting for his benefitss. He was finally awarded back-pay and 100% disability 4 years before he passed. He was a tough man but in civilian life you'd never know it; he was as mild-mannered as 'Clark Kent' and was kind to one and all. His greatest joy during his final years was feeding the wild birds in his back yard every morning before going to work part time at the Post Office each day, back when we actually had a working Post Office. He took hundreds of amazing photos of all 'his' birds, had a shelf full of photo albums and had many enlargements on the walls, which disappeared after his funeral.

My favorite running buddy in HS in the '60s was drafted into the the Army in the summer of '68, sent straight to VN after boot. Four months into his 1st tour, was hit through his right side with a .50 cal round outside the base. I saw the scars and it was a miracle he lived. He was stablized as best they could manage, then flown back to the states for recovery. He spent 6 months in the hospital in TX then two months after leaving the hospital, incredibly the Army sent him back to VN for a 2nd tour. Shortly after he arrived in country, he took a small caliber bullet through his leg that hit his femur, and again was flown back to the US for another long hospital stay, and finally learned how to walk again. He was medically discharged and ultimately awarded 90% disability rating a year later, with help form both a congressman and senator in DC. Pardon my long winded-ness; On behalf of everyone who understand what you and so many other veterans have had to suffer/endure with the VA, God bless you and yours. I salute you and all of our veterans for serving our Citizens and Nation. It remains a national disgrace that our VA system seldom provides what our country owes to our servicemen and women for life. Your and all our veterans honor and service can never be diminished. Merry Christmas to you, and with hopes things will improve for you and all of our countrymen, so that we have a better and Happy New Year in 2024.

The movies, Minority Report, Enemy of the State and others come to mind. The powers that be have pushed all of these changes for many years; remember cash for clunkers? It was a plan not merely to get vehicles blowing oil out the tailpipe off the road, but the amount of chips and CPUs in cars increased dramatically after the Millennium. We have a 2006, 2007 (limited number of CPUs) and a 2012 model which has 3 times the amount of automated, anti-human vehicular system controls. We don't play the state 'authorized franchise dealer' game, and will never again purchase any sort of vehicle newer than what we have. All non-computer parts for the cars are in extremely short supply, and there's a critical shortage of qualified mechanics that can be trained to utilize the factory mandated computers/software. Chips are just one angle in this phantom menace; the NADA personal property tax scheme is present in many states now, where assessors have to tax what the lobbying agency for the dealers says your car is worth, if they buy or sell it. A couple radicals in our conservative state guv't tried to sneak a law into being last year which prohibit owners from working/servicing their own cars, which thankfully went out the window. Several states have bought into this mandate of forced vehicle software upgrades, which the law enables car manufacturers to charge the owners mandatory subscription fees; you either pay or the car won't run. A Federal law passed recently, mandates that in the near future, 'someone' will be monitoring your car's data in real time, meaning, if 'they' think you've swerved once too often in a certain time interval, 'they' can shut your vehicle down and pronto. If the swerve was to avoid a head-on collision, or a deer traipsing across the road, too bad, you're penalized, guilty and done, no trial, no reports to file. A federal senator that sponsored/voted yes, denied that the law contained any onerous sections, so another senator had to enlighten her with a printout of that clause. Obviously, our 'servants of the people' aren't troubled with having to change their own tires or oil and are clueless about how the peasants have to try to get by. In all police/surveillance states, that's how it's done. Oh my; surely that's only done in films, and not present in the land of the 'free'. G'day mates:)

Hi Trapper:
Have you considered buying a refurbished HP on Amazon? I've bought several in different configurations over the past 10 years, and the ones I've received have been clean, with a new copy of windoze installed. They are mostly off-lease business machines, and compared to Dells I've used, are worth the small amount you pay. Alway check the vendor's reviews, ratings and history as no two vendors are alike, however most of the good ones will respond to any questions you have within 24 hours. Not dismissing Dells, but I have HP boxes and laptops dating back to 2000 which still start up and run fine, though slower than everyone wants in 2023. Dell has always seemed to cheap out more in their builds, unlike the HP units I've owned and serviced (too many people don't clean their machines at least once a year; the dust build up causes heat which causes the demise of the computer. I've always built my own for the past 40 years, and though the first build causes a fair bit of anxiety, once it works the first time, you're on your way. There are many sites with easy to understand building instructions, and you are your own systems administrator, no pressure. Build tips; always be sure you have a good quality power supply (EVGA are good if you can source one) and always have defenses in depth for any machine that will ever be permitted online access in any way. Have a good battery backup power supply, a secure router with frequent FW upgrades (such as Asus/Merlin), a quality VPN provider, firewall, sandbox and active AV/Malware protection running constantly whenever you're online. If Henry Cavill (Man of Steel) can build his own gaming system, so can you:)
Good luck getting what you need!

Hello 3kids3cats:
I've had good experiences over the years by selling locally. There are many older photographers out there who really like older gear but don't get online, and they peruse the area sale adsheets and newspapers. The largest local paper in our area gives free ads for a 3-5 line ad. If you can set up a temporary free/disposable email account so you aren't throwing a phone number to the world wide net of wolves, it's something to consider. My .02cents worth, good luck!

Hello Rich:
I sold the last of my film gear several years ago. My D3S is still very capable as is my D700 and D4. I want an D850 and battery pack, with your glass you'll get good results from any of the D800 bodies. Sports shooters still love the D4. I''ll sell the other bodies but keep my D4.

A D850 with low shutter counts sometimes shows up on Roberts but are sold quickly. If possible, rent one for a weekend and then you'll know if it's right for you. A friend snagged a used Z6II last year but uses his D5 and D850 more. On a weekend visit I used his 850 and knew I wanted one. D800/810 bodies on Roberts, with reasonably low shutter counts is what I'm hoping for. Hope this is helpful, Cheers.

KidsCats; 'Renewed' means a private owner with a good record and good conscience, took care of the camera, checked and cleaned it before listing it. Also, it could be, a tech from or a repair shop sell it after a repair, or one of the photo sales houses selling a used/trade in that hopefully, they tested/cleaned and probably has simultaneously listed it for sale on their company website; if so, the unit would ship directly from them, not Amazon and they might even offer a more extended warranty than 30 days.

If you see 'Renewed/Premium' for anything listed on Amazon, Amazon -owns- it, and likely is electronics returned to a Prime/Business customer, that Amazon had to have repaired. They relist/sell it with a one year replacement warranty with the same or a similar item, or a full refund if the one you bought is no longer available.

When purchasing a new DSLR from Amazon, you get the OEM warranty and the Amazon 30-day return policy. For renewed/premium listings, Amazon has approved contractors who test/cleaned/repackage those before reselling with the year long Amazon satisfaction guarantee. They sell lots of renewed/premium cell phones, but no DSLRs I've ever seen. If you buy a 'Renewed' used camera from any seller to save $100, and you keep it past 30 days and then it fails, you're stuck with it. It's well worth the extra $100 for new camera.

Several years ago I bought a DSLR listed/rated 'like new/mint condition' which were Amazons rating system for 3rd party seller listings, but back in those days, Amazon policies under Jeff B. were tilted toward Prime/Business members. In the end, it came out OK but don't think what happened in my case would ever turn out as well ehese days.

When the camera arrived it was in the OEM box, with the original manual, no dings/scratches; very very clean. I thought like I'd won the lottery. However, immediately after shooting a few shots, and after a whole day of testing, all the settings seemed to work except; the body refused to focus with any of the 30 lens I owned. The seller wouldn't respond so I had 30 days to work with from day it arrived. The next morning I called Nikon and they advised since it was a preowned USA body it was out of warranty, but they still had a 3-month supply of all new parts, and would agreed to examine and repair it, if I agree to their estimate fee with a credit card. I shipped it to them next day air and they notified me 4 days later that it seemed that the previous owner (or someone), had dropped the camera, with a lens attached straight down, bending the mount in the body, which had to replaced as well as the shutter. They always go completely through these units, and tested/repaired everything for me, returning to me via next day air for only $20 extra, re-manufactured to new specs so it worked like brand new.

I spoke to Amazon management, explained what had transpired. They were puzzled, and asked why I hadn't just requested a return. I would've have, however at that time there were no other 'as-new' used bodies available anywhere. I don't count ebay. I had performed due diligence before sending to Nikon, checking to see if the serial number had been reported to law enforcement or to Nikon. I contacted the authorities where the seller was supposedly located, but they said they had never heard of him. Amazon went on hold for a couple moments, then said they were refunding the full price to my card, and were having their investigations team look into the seller. I passed on what I had determined. I was lucky, as Amazon could have decided against doing me a big favor; it pays to be a good, very long-term customer. They told me to enjoy my 'new' camera and I do.

If you buy -anything- in 'renewed' condition from any seller on Amazon (or anywhere else online), regardless of the price, description, sellers history and reviews, take screen-grabs of everything and always take photos of everything when your purchases arrive or before returning them. I don't recommend what I did then because Amazon is not the same, and it could have been an expensive experience. Copy Amazons return policy/terms because they change often. Good luck whatever you buy. Hope this is helpful, Cheers.

A buddy contacted me for help a while back after he first tried using a cheap no-name blower without testing it first, and he didn't use a clean environment. The blower 'spit' a drop glop of gunk onto to the mirror, my guess was done during manufacturing, Luckily for him, he hadn't locked the mirror up; he said was going to clean the sensor. I told him to ship it to Nikon or other qualified service rather than take a chance on making it worse. On my recommendation he paid for UPS 2-day air shipping both ways and purchased additional UPS insurance for full replacement value, in the rare event the body was lost or damaged while in their possession. Such loss isn't common, but after 40 years of shipping and seeing irreparably damaged items, replacement value insurance coverage is worth every penny if the worst happens.

Yes, always watch the experienced fellows who share how it's done on youtube, and neverdischarge pressurized air/propellant into your camera body/lens. Buy the best good cleaning products and always test your blower before starting. I use canned air for light cleaning of outer surfaces of a body or lens if needed, or for cleaning computer parts such as motherboards, fans, filters, keyboards etc. A quality blower used wisely will dislodge light specks but as others have repeated, if you can't see the dust motes in test enlargements, don't disturb them. I no longer change a lens outdoors; if I did, I'd use canned air to dislodge as much dust as possible from the outer surfaces before changing inside a clean field-changing bag. Plan you work and work your plan.

I used to buy used bodies in mint or excellent condition and the vast majority of them arrived spotless, inside and out. Those that were dusty were always were RMA'd immediately. One with 200 clicks came in looking brand new, but the inside looked like it been dumped in the desert. I photographed it sitting on top of the of the shipping box, emailed the photo to the store about 30 minutes after it arrived. To the store's credits they emailed me back saying they were replacing it with a new-refurbished body.

Last note; UPS temporarily lost a body I shipped to Nikon 2nd day air, for cleaning with full replacement insurance. They recovered it intact after a very stressful week as it would've been a $3K loss. Nikon said UPS hand carried into the facility and watched as the box was opened. Seeing the thousands of empty shipping cartons of looted freight cars covering train yards during the covid lock-downs, the default $100 UPS shipping insurance isn't much comfort if the worst happens. My friend was lucky, he spent a total of $150 to get the gunk cleaned off his mirror including a clean sensor.

I've used the foggy bathroom procedure for a long time to install tempered glass screens on rear screens, tablets and cellphones. Before fogging the room I damp mop the floor and wet wipe the surfaces, and while that's happening, I wipe the camera body cap with a Zeiss lens cleaner, slide the camera and swabs into a new gallon- size ziplock bag. After 5 minutes of fogging I open the door gently and slip inside slowly to keep as much dusty outer air from outside from being drawn in. After a couple of more minutes I turn on the ceiling fan to exhaust any remaining excess moisture, slip on a new pair of surgical gloves and the grounding strap before removing the camera to clean. A surgeon friend tipped me to these steps, he's never sent his cameras off for cleaning. It sounds tedious but worth doing.

The funniest depiction of 'canned air' in the movies was in the 1987 Star Wars spoof, 'Spaceballs'. The late great Dick Van Patten was depicted popping open and breathing 'Perri-Air' on planet Druidia. Hope this is useful, cheers and have a great Labor Day:)

Howdy!,
I replied when you originally posted, I found my original Kingston MobileLite G2 wireless media router sitting on my desk the next day. I bought it from Newegg about 9 years ago and it still holds a good charge and works fine.

If I were to replace it, I believe I might try one of the newer iDiskk Mfi Certified sold on Amazon, either in 1 or 2TB units, prices on 8/26/23 are $115 for 1gb unit which says it's sold sold abut 1400, and $126 for the 2 gb unit, sold about 60 of those. Both units are verified user rating of 4 stars.

Not hawking Amazon or iDisk but the specs appear good, and after 23 years of ordering from them, with only a couple exceptions (from reps having a bad day, and everyone has them occasionally), AMZ has always treated us exceptionally well. If you have a Prime or Prime Business account, you might want to try one of the iDish units and post again, and if you don't care for it, Amazon gives free returns within 30 days. Darned nice that large capacity memory has finally come down after so many years, now that the industry has advanced several gens. Hope the info is useful, cheers.

I've used my original Nikon 24-120 'street sweeper' on the 7200, and still do on my D4. Even without the newer model VR features, it's a fine lens. I still use the older 70-200 f2.8 model, the weight difference is noticeable, it extends further, and I'd hate to replace it if it was damaged, it's hard to find unless you buy new. I like the lightweight 18-200mm, but mainly use the newer model Tamron 28-300 VC/Di. The Nikon70-300 P model lens is very light, quick and silent. The older film-era Tamron 28-300mm is amazingly sharp and focuses fast, if you're lucky enough to find one in good condition. Mine was bumped by a passerby on the street in 2015 but I finally found a replacement in extremely good condition on ebay from a seller in Japan, and though the older model wasn't made for digital era bodies, my DSLRs never got the memo, and they still get along fine with in AF or manual mode.

The newer Tamron 28-300mm VC/Di is as light as the Nikon 18-200mm VR, practically feather weight, they used to sell between $50 to $100 in good condition. I found my VC/Di model at Roberts in 2018 in nearly-new condition and seldom take it off the 7200, and hardly ever use the 18-200 (or the 24-120mm). I've been fortunately enough to own many good Tamron and Nikon model lenses since I started traveling in the 70's. I never turned down a chance to try a different model lens, and ignored folks who informed me it wasn't wise to use a film lens on a modern digital camera. From the olden 'wooden shutter' days, I've never been hesitant about swapping between film DX or FX lenses between the bodies, depending on the situation, though you do have to know when a very old lens is capable of damaging a new body. Older lens are can be very good buy as long as they've been treated well. For many years now, I buy used gear from Roberts. Both of my Tammy 28-300mm models (and their 150-600mm cousins) are among my favorites on the 7200, and I still employ one of my old 200-400mm Tamrons; it's a bit long but heavy for the 7200, but not as much as the 15-600, and like the others it's extremely sharp and fast.

The last time I found any of these for sale used, it was only $85. If you don't need that reach and don't mind a used lens, an old model street sweeper is a great walking around lens in the city. Hope this helps and happy shooting.

Some folks claim this one works but that it isn't speedy,

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B081CD34DP/ref=aod_recs_desktop_prsubs_4#customerReviews

Somewhere around the studio, I have a battery/AC powered travel router bought from Newegg 10 years ago. Has 802.11 wi-fi & RJ-45, and a bit larger than a deck of cards. I tried the wireless a few times in the living room and it worked, but with a Cat5 cable it tested at 20 megabits. Used it only to back my camera cards in the field via the built in USB 2.0 hub to SSD drive with a battery bank plugged in, just so the built in battery never ran out. It reads/writes on the SSD drive just as fast as the notebook PC I used to lug around. The built in SD card backup slot is very slow given it's age, compared to using the USB hub connection to SSD, that all fit in the back compartment of my camera bag. I charged it just before Christmas 2022, misplaced it but it will turn up. I believe Motorola manufactured them briefly. Never lost a file, very dependable and sure beats packing the old notebook around. Highly recommended if you get a newer unit.

'HooToo' brand still makes a similar unit that a friend has, he's on his 2nd one. There are several other brands of these though not through Amazon. Cheers:)

For many years we purchased from several NY vendors, about 12 years ago started purchasing cameras, lenses from Adorama and B&H. We never ordered online, but as for Adorama, we dealt with a salesman with whom we developed trust in as time went on. He would take the time and trouble to check on the actual intake photos of used gear, and would look personally at items that had no photos, and he never steered us wrong. Recently when making a query, he wasn't available, another salesman stated he was 'sick' but that he'd be glad to help. He quoted a good price on a couple of items that he said the company photos and inspection indicated were in great mechanical condition and appearance, with free shipping, however everything he stated was not factual. The items arrived and were in extremely bad condition, and the manufacturer advised that we ask that they be replaced, as they would no longer offer inspections or repairs on older gear. Though I'd had a bad experience with a different company in NY in the early 80's, this was the only time Adorama would not reply or act responsibly, nor offer replacements that were actually in 'great' condition as had been represented. (Having your own recording of a sales call as the sellers all do can sometimes be helpful). Long story short, the salesman became unemployed but no other other assistance or replacement gear was offered, so that spelled the end of our association with Adorama. They didn't used to be that way.

Every now and then, no matter how long you've been with a vendor, there will come a time when everyone will deal with someone who is less than honest or honorable, and if the company who employs them refuses to make things right (or flat out won't respond), the relationship is at an end. In that case all that's left to do is to file a complaint with the attorney generals of the seller's state and yours, and always start by notifying your credit card company. Sadly, the BBB is a waste of time these days. There are still many good businesses left who won't tolerate staff misbehavior and warranty almost everything they sell for 6 months, such as Roberts, who has a sterling reputation and strong following, and there are others. It's sad when folks are burned by dishonest practices and people, but these things happen regularly, though not frequently to each of us. There is always a couple of bad apples in sales whose words mean nothing who ruin the experience for the buyer and the seller. Hope this helps; keep on shooting.

Over the last 50 years I've been with several major insurance companies; as long as you aren't using your gear as a professional making your living, the cost of replacement coverage for VPP or specific cameras isn't all that bad, but these days, it is becoming far different, depending on your state and every different insurance company. Except for one or two independent or regional companies, at present they are ALL completely into Big Data and every form of Ai that's available in the guise of 'loss prevention', documenting your life history to raise their bottom line. In the midwest, we've been with a regional company, Shelter Insurance (called MFA insurance many years ago), for home, auto and everything we own for over 15 years. With some companies, they insist on having your SocSec number, but with Shelter, they didn't ask, but as everyone knows, insurance companies are tied into all of the states as well as the national criminal and driving (and professional) licensing databases, so they'll get your SS# anyway as soon as they run your license to be sure you're in their territory, and that your driving record is clean. After 3 years with most companies, many of them used to consider your record clean, unless you have any children on your policy, and/or living at home, and that always makes for a higher claim and payout rate. With a regional insurance company, if they aren't in a coastal region, most of those don't have to deal with hurricanes unless they're working as a re-insurer for other companies; in FL, the east or west coast..well, sorry about that chief. Since the NADA has driven up all prices on all used and new model year cars (doesn't matter if it's a 20 year old rust bucket), they and most other insurance companies have introduced an 'inflation' clause into all 'personal property' policies for any and all property you insure with them, cars, homes, cameras, jewelry, firearms, name it. Many states are now required by state law, to use the most recent NADA estimate of whatever their franchised and or independent dealers might decide to allow you on a car trade in and/or what they can screw someone else out of if they sell your trade in for. Many retired folks these days can't afford a 'new' car unless they can write a check for one, and personally, I've met only one 'honest' car dealer in over 60 years. As with used cars and cameras, no matter where you buy personal property, depending on age or mileage, dealers will not offer or sell you any type of insurance for it, so you are at the mercy of the insurance industry as to what they consider 'average' or 'replacement' value. After talking with 2 different agents and companies recently, they confirmed that even if you've never before had a claim, even if it's a 'replacement/comprehensive' or 'replacement value-Valuable Personal Property (Nikon, Canon, Sony, Ford, Chevy, etc, or jewelry/firearm collection), they consult their databases or a national appraisal value online vendor who has all of the latest repair/replacement values at their fingertips. Local tax assessors everywhere are getting a bit lazy and no longer pay you a visit to value anything. Most of them don't like this new process any more than most regular citizens, they have to pay taxes and for insurance as the rest of us. They drive new and old cars, but many of them have decent homes and cameras, so they know how the insurance game is now played. The insurance industry blames higher rates on on Covid, the 'supply chain' issue and anything else as an excuse, even if those reasons are now getting quite state and out of date. One agent admitted, that if you file more than one personal property camera replacement in 3 years, they'll cancel every policy you have, regardless if you have photos, receipts, notarized witness affidavits and official police reports, and even you've never filed a claim with their company. The insurance industry underwriters are connected to all databases so they do whatever the data says they should do. Most folks have always played fair, but this way of doing things is hurting all businesses. We've had only one comprehensive (windshield) claim in 25 years, an uncovered dump truck threw a stone at ours and several other autos on the freeway; the insurance company whined so much about the claim, that I had to gently remind them that we weren't with organized crime, and of the many thousands of dollars worth of profit we'd made them over the years. My joke didn't seem to impress the rep, but as they're all working from home, they may or may not be acting in a professional manner when they're rude to their customers. What you can't see may hurt you. That single full coverage replacement/value comp claim more than paid back 5 years worth of full comprehensive coverage on everything we own. Windshields and installs are quite expensive for any car built in the last 15 years, and the same is true with most modern cameras, because the manufacturers aren't stocking parts or offering to fix a camera over a few years old. I had a D700 rebuilt by Nikon about 3-4 years ago; they advised in that instance that they only had 2 months worth of parts and then they would no longer service the D700. I insured it with UPS for full/loss/damage replacement retail price with overnight shipping to Nikon (which really got the agent's attention), and the same for Nikon to return it to me. Naturally, UPS was very gentle with it since I didn't trust their basic $100 loss/damaged shipment policy. The insurance companies are leveraging all of our current databases everywhere to their advantage, and if they decide for any reason to cancel you after they pay you for a claim, they have divisions of attorneys on retainer to 'just keep saying no' to you for filing your claim in good faith. Kind of makes you wonder why we have to pay so much for all of this protection when we're becoming so limited in recourse, or worse yet; afraid to use the policies. As my dear old dad used to say, full coverage replacement insurance is the final frickin you get if you frack up, such as if you allow your policy to lapse or don't have full value replacement cost on everything. It's now getting to the point that unless your home and contents are wiped out by fire, tornado or an earthquake, you better have full retail/equivalent replacement value for your used personal property, (& nuclear war isn't covered). Be certain sure you have your full retail replacement coverage on everything and keep copies of all of your records off site in fireproof safes, unless your bank has a vault.

We never had to file more than one camera theft/replacement claim; someone managed to walk away with a spare FE2 body with 35-135mm flash and motor drive at a church function shoot back in the 80s. I always thought shooting in a church was one of the safest environments for photogs to work in. Afterwards, my assistant was always near the back drop, watching everyone and everything that entered the room. Nowadays, it's not only the feds and local police agencies who access all video security video feeds (without warrants) from your local big box, grocery chain, pharmacy or from a live traffic camera; the insurance companies all have the same access via 'Big Data' feeds so they can be more profitable. A former AAA rep recently said, 'how do you suppose we get to take all of those free, all expenses paid employee junket/group trips to Europe, Africa, Australia?'

Best advice, lock down your best insurance deal in writing with your insurance company; they know what all of the other companies terms and rates are. One idea is to have your phone in your coat pocket on voice memo record /silent mode only, so as to have your own personal record of your complete policy review with your licensed insurance agent when you're sitting across from them in their office, as soon as your policy is issued. Have your better half or a good friend on hand to witness the review, because it's very likely the company is recording you on their system. Do your insurance business in-person with your licensed agent and don't depend on whatever the company or the agent may say to you 'off the cuff' or over the phone; none of them will not send you a transcript of their recordings of your call which is always being run over voice stress analysis, so it's in your best interest to depend on that in-person, licensed agent relationship, not some call center person sitting on their balcony in their pajamas. Have your highlighter pen handy to mark specific points of interest as written into your policy regarding terms, especially including what, when, why and how your company may decide to cancel your policy under any and all circumstances, such as how long you can go after filing a fully verified replacement item loss claim, before you're cancelled-if and or when you need to file a subsequent claim, such as 3 years, 5 years etc. When you're out doing public shooting, some fellows will carry a big shiny but non-functional/worthless old camera which you can either swing at a dumb thief doing a run/snatch/grab, but only as long as you can safely determine that criminal isn't pointing their peashooter at you. Always give them the dummy camera so they don't get the good one hanging on the strap under your coat, unless they're going after your coat too, which is the unfortunate current trend in the big cities:)
Hope this is of some help and good luck. Don't sweat the small stuff, and keep on shooting.

CDS, Given the quality build of the 850, if the camera were in my grasp I'd hang onto it. We have several bodies that were obtained with over 250K to over a million releases, all still working well. Nikon can advise if they've ever serviced the camera and might provide a checkup for you, at cost, but replacing the shutter at this point is the same as an overhaul, at full price, but you would get a 6-month warranty, if they haven't changed that policy. Good luck, enjoy the camera.