Durability (Canikon)

Antithesis · Jun 2, 2016

So, I am starting to get a little underwhelmed with Nikon's durability... I live in a tropical climate and am pretty hard on gear (I shoot professionally, 120+ days a year). The grips are coming off of all my cameras (mainly my D4), the zoom rings are coming off my lenses and I just had a couple lenses go in for fungus removal on internal elements--these were sealed, professional level lenses. My D4 also has several other issues that are probably related to moisture/salt working it's way into the body (buttons that don't work, etc.). My flashes are unreliable, batteries seem to fail, the list just goes on.

I know canon tends to have less issues with adhesives failing, and I am curious if the lenses are a little more snugly sealed? It just doesn't make sense to send lenses off for cleaning and repair once a year at a few hundred dollars a pop just to maintain usable image quality. Fungus growth is a big problem and even a few small spots means a loss in sharpness and IQ.

I also just had a pretty bad experience with NPS. It was much more expensive than I anticipated to just remove an element and clean the fungus from it, and they managed to ship one lens to the wrong address. I have heard much more promising things from CPS, and Canon just seems a little more dedicated to their pro-level customers. I live in a pretty remote area, and unfortunately it requires a little more effort with shipping/receiving.

Really just trying to decide if I should finally jump ship, or if it will be more of the same.

JacaRanda · Jun 2, 2016

Good luck. Pretty soon you may get several responses that will tell you Canon and CPS have or would have the same issues. In fact, if you search around the internet enough, you will find horror stories from both companies.

Again - good luck. The grass is not always greener, but if you are not happy and shoot professionally, take the leap. Only one way to truly find out.

Dave442 · Jun 2, 2016

I don't know, but I have been using a couple D200's in the tropics now for many years and sure one has a bit of loose grip, but other than that these cameras have held up even longer than any of my film cameras with electronics ever did (Pentax, Sony, Olympus).
Temps here in the 80's and 90's °F and humidity also very high.

I do have a Storm Case that I will sometimes put the cameras and lenses in along with a silica pack for a few days after time at the beach or the jungle. The silica packs can be recharged in the oven and store them in double ziplock bags until you need them. At one time I had some humidity indicator strips, but they only went to 60% so they were always maxed out.

I also have a small electric dehumidifier that runs in the closet where I usually put the camera stuff at home.

astroNikon · Jun 2, 2016

Have you checked with other Pro Photogs in your area/region and see what their experiences are with camera equipment and with servicing ?

Antithesis · Jun 2, 2016

astroNikon said:
Have you checked with other Pro Photogs in your area/region and see what their experiences are with camera equipment and with servicing ?

There aren't really any photographers in my immediate area. I will probably try and do a bit more networking this coming Fall, but I networking involves hopping on a boat or plane.

nerwin · Jun 3, 2016

Tropical climates are hard on camera equipment, I think its quite normal to see these things happening. I hear stories like this from Nikon, Canon, Pentax, etc. Its the climate.

Gary A. · Jun 3, 2016

I fear that Jaca is probably more right than wrong ... that it is more of six of one or half a dozen from another than any significant difference in build quality. I know many tropical phototogs who minimize their fungus growth by using a dry box for storage. I suggest the more expensive dehumidifiers type that look like a little wine frig.

chuasam · Jun 3, 2016

If you really want durability, go with the Olympus pro systems. Other than that it's a simple matter for Nikon to glue the grip back on

Antithesis · Jun 5, 2016

Gary A. said:
I fear that Jaca is probably more right than wrong ... that it is more of six of one or half a dozen from another than any significant difference in build quality. I know many tropical phototogs who minimize their fungus growth by using a dry box for storage. I suggest the more expensive dehumidifiers type that look like a little wine frig.

Yeah, I use have a gun safe where I store all my gear. I am going to caulk/seal the few holes in it, figure out some sort of door seal and get some dehumidifiers to keep in there.

I am mostly concerned with using NPS over CPS right now. NPS just seems really janky. There was no accountability. They shipped a lens back to the wrong address and did not provide a tracking number. I talked to four different people that assured me it was going to the shipping address I provided, and then finally someone realized it had been shipped to my billing address. I was dealing with this for a few days before a shoot that I really needed the lens for, and I was actually able to get a hold of it the day-of.

Still, because of the environment I work in, I will always need to be able to reliably send a piece of gear in for repair and just have the system work.

Chuasam, I like Olympus but I need the subject isolation I get from a full frame or larger sensor in the portraiture I do.

Overread · Jun 5, 2016

Far as I know the most durable is Pentax - they've at least one camera that is pretty much near waterproof for a quick dunking. Otherwise I can only echo what others have said - from what I've heard the tropics are hard on camera gear

Gary A. · Jun 5, 2016

Antithesis said:
Gary A. said:

I fear that Jaca is probably more right than wrong ... that it is more of six of one or half a dozen from another than any significant difference in build quality. I know many tropical phototogs who minimize their fungus growth by using a dry box for storage. I suggest the more expensive dehumidifiers type that look like a little wine frig.

Click to expand...

Yeah, I use have a gun safe where I store all my gear. I am going to caulk/seal the few holes in it, figure out some sort of door seal and get some dehumidifiers to keep in there.

I am mostly concerned with using NPS over CPS right now. NPS just seems really janky. There was no accountability. They shipped a lens back to the wrong address and did not provide a tracking number. I talked to four different people that assured me it was going to the shipping address I provided, and then finally someone realized it had been shipped to my billing address. I was dealing with this for a few days before a shoot that I really needed the lens for, and I was actually able to get a hold of it the day-of.

Still, because of the environment I work in, I will always need to be able to reliably send a piece of gear in for repair and just have the system work.

Chuasam, I like Olympus but I need the subject isolation I get from a full frame or larger sensor in the portraiture I do.

I professionally shot Nikon back in the film only days. NPS was wonderful in all ways. NPS even showed up at major sporting events and would fix/adjust/fine-time stuff on-site while you waited. I've had very good luck with CPS and digital. But Canon is down the street in Irvine and I walked everything in and picked everything up. I found Canon to be competent, they fixed stuff, they honored warranties without a hassle, they didn't go out of their way for you ... nor did they become part of the problem. But then I'm not a CPS member either and maybe their services would be better than competent for members.