Is the shutter the only part that wears out?

[spuds]

I'm looking at a second hand D3 which although looks well used, has been recently serviced and had the shutter replaced.

Is the shutter the only part of the camera with appreciable wear and tear? I know everything wears out over time, but it seems that the number of shutter actuations generally serves as gauge of the camera's life expectancy.

Assuming that the camera hasn't been recklessly abused, is it safe to think that the camera will give me several years of good use? Taking in mind that it is a pro body too...

Thanks.

[Xenedis]

To gain many years from a camera is not unreasonable or unexpected.

The shutter mechanism is generally rated for a certain number of actuations, much like a hard disk's MTBF (mean time between failures).

The shutter could fail well before that, or fail after many actuations after that rated number, and it could take years to do so.

The problem with digital cameras these days is not the quality of parts of expected lifecycles before something fails, but obsolescence!

Having said that, replacing a part in a digital camera can be prohibitively expensive, and depending on the age of the camera, it's sometimes more economical to buy a new model for marginally more money than spend a motza replacing parts for an EOL model.

[ricktas]

no it isnt the only part that can wear out. All buttons, knobs, dials and connections can fail. Just the same as any other mechanical/electrical device

[kiwi]

Costs about $500 to do a shutter replacement

The other areas to look at a D3 is the rubber on the grips detaching, the card door, and the general condition of the lens mount

Really shoould last for years (just look at all the D2H's and D2X's still abounding out there)

[Wayne]

Re-sale is also something to keep in mind. If you get it really cheap then great, but if for only a few $$ more you could get a low mileage one, that may be a better option. Do you really need the D3? I can only guess what you might be paying for a well used one, but it would probably be enough to buy a brand new D700.....

[spuds]

Thanks for the input!
I'll have a good think about this...

[Sar NOP]

I'm looking at a second hand D3 which although looks well used, has been recently serviced and had the shutter replaced.

Is the shutter the only part of the camera with appreciable wear and tear?

The camera is almost new now ! :cool:

[RRRoger]

As an EVENT photographer, I've had a bunch of D1-3 cameras.
One shutter failed before 10,000 activations, one failed after over 1 million, most will go over 250k.
Which service center did the D3 come back from?
Most will return the camera in factory default (new) condition.
However if it looks "well used", I would expect to get it for a low price.

[OzzieTraveller]

G'day spuds

While not a D3, my previous camera failed after 4yrs x 90,000 frames when the on-off button failed
I have also heard of circuit-board failure causing terminal-failure issues as well

Regards, Phil

[phototyke]

For the record,I thought I recently had a 'shutter moment' checked my exif and I was up around 130k on actuations,when taking a sequence of shots the mirror would stay up and only release when the shutter pressed again. Photos were vastly over exposed.So wrongly assumed it was the shutter dying. Took it into Nikon and the verdict was that the "Charge Base Plate Unit" and the "I Base Plate Unit" were cactus. Apparently this is the guts that controls/operates the shutter/aperture/drive movements?!
$430 later and all working good (incls new rubbers/seals etc)