Broken Nikon N90 -- Repair, Replace, or Upgrade?

About 8 years ago I abandoned the Minolta XK SLR system that I'd been
amassing since 1975 and bought my first AF/AE camera, a used Nikon N90.
It's given me good service since then and I've finally added an N90s and a
D70 along with 7 lenses to the system. But on a recent trip to Italy the
N90 failed -- the mirror's not returning to the down position and the camera
indicates "ERR".

SO ... I have to decide whether to repair, replace, or upgrade. I
definitely want (and many times "need') to have two film bodies in addition
to the digital and I need to be able to use older/non-automatic lenses (like
a 500 mm mirror or a 55 mm AIS macro or the PB-4 bellows) with the film
bodies in Aperture Priority mode. The N90/N90s does this flawlessly as does
IIRC the F100 and the F5/F6, but the N75 that I had for about 6 months did
not and I got rid of it, partially for that reason.

A new F6 body is close to $2K. While I could probably come up with that
much money, I'm not a professional and probably couldn't effectively use the
additional features it possesses beyond the F100 & F5. (For reference, I do
shoot a lot -- on a recent two-week trip to Italy, I shot over 2000 digital
images and 14 rolls of 36-exposure 35mm film, along with a few rolls of
120).

A new F100 is $750 (marginally within my self-imposed budget) and a
reconditioned (by Nikon) N90s is $375. I haven't gotten a quote yet for the
repair but based on recent experiences with other equipment I'd expect it to
be in the $100-200 range. (Note: because of the Nikon $200 rebate, the new
F100 body and the current used F5 offerings are running about $750 so
there's no price advantage of a used F5 over a new F100.)

What to do? Yes, I'd love a new F6 -- I'd certainly be happy with an F5 too
and even the F100 has features beyond what I have with the N90's as well as
faster focusing, ... But as an amateur, there's always the money issue.
I'm quite pleased with the N90s and I certainly wouldn't cry too much if I
simply got a second one but the F100 is very appealing. Is it really worth
twice the price?

Your comments, opinions, and constructive flames will be graciously
accepted.

Norm

Norm Dresner wrote:

About 8 years ago I abandoned the Minolta XK SLR system that I'd been
amassing since 1975 and bought my first AF/AE camera, a used Nikon N90.
It's given me good service since then and I've finally added an N90s and a
D70 along with 7 lenses to the system. But on a recent trip to Italy the
N90 failed -- the mirror's not returning to the down position and the camera
indicates "ERR".

SO ... I have to decide whether to repair, replace, or upgrade. I
definitely want (and many times "need') to have two film bodies in addition
to the digital and I need to be able to use older/non-automatic lenses (like
a 500 mm mirror or a 55 mm AIS macro or the PB-4 bellows) with the film
bodies in Aperture Priority mode. The N90/N90s does this flawlessly as does
IIRC the F100 and the F5/F6, but the N75 that I had for about 6 months did
not and I got rid of it, partially for that reason.

A new F6 body is close to $2K. While I could probably come up with that
much money, I'm not a professional and probably couldn't effectively use the
additional features it possesses beyond the F100 & F5. (For reference, I do
shoot a lot -- on a recent two-week trip to Italy, I shot over 2000 digital
images and 14 rolls of 36-exposure 35mm film, along with a few rolls of
120).

A new F100 is $750 (marginally within my self-imposed budget) and a
reconditioned (by Nikon) N90s is $375. I haven't gotten a quote yet for the
repair but based on recent experiences with other equipment I'd expect it to
be in the $100-200 range. (Note: because of the Nikon $200 rebate, the new
F100 body and the current used F5 offerings are running about $750 so
there's no price advantage of a used F5 over a new F100.)

What to do? Yes, I'd love a new F6 -- I'd certainly be happy with an F5 too
and even the F100 has features beyond what I have with the N90's as well as
faster focusing, ... But as an amateur, there's always the money issue.
I'm quite pleased with the N90s and I certainly wouldn't cry too much if I
simply got a second one but the F100 is very appealing. Is it really worth
twice the price?

Your comments, opinions, and constructive flames will be graciously
accepted.

Norm

I think the new F6 has a slightly better balance to it, and slightly brighter
viewfinder, than an F100. However, the difference in price could buy a nice
lens or two. The F5 is very different, quite heavy, a real tank of a camera.

Ciao!

Gordon Moat
A G Studio
http://www.allgstudio.com

Norm Dresner wrote:
: About 8 years ago I abandoned the Minolta XK SLR system that I'd been
: amassing since 1975 and bought my first AF/AE camera, a used Nikon N90.
: It's given me good service since then and I've finally added an N90s and a
: D70 along with 7 lenses to the system. But on a recent trip to Italy the
: N90 failed -- the mirror's not returning to the down position and the camera
: indicates "ERR".
:
And you have tried to replace the batteries? On my F801 this is a normal
symptom of nearly exhausted batteries.

-Bjørn

"Bjørn Pedersen" wrote in message
...
Norm Dresner wrote:
: About 8 years ago I abandoned the Minolta XK SLR system that I'd been
: amassing since 1975 and bought my first AF/AE camera, a used Nikon N90.
: It's given me good service since then and I've finally added an N90s and
a
: D70 along with 7 lenses to the system. But on a recent trip to Italy
the
: N90 failed -- the mirror's not returning to the down position and the
camera
: indicates "ERR".
:
And you have tried to replace the batteries? On my F801 this is a normal
symptom of nearly exhausted batteries.

-Bjørn

I've replaced the batteries, I've switched from the MB-10 to a plain battery
holder with new batteries and there's no change. It may be a problem in the
power supply circuit but just changing batteries doesn't help.

Norm

In article , Bjørn Pedersen
wrote:

: About 8 years ago I abandoned the Minolta XK SLR system that I'd been
: amassing since 1975 and bought my first AF/AE camera, a used Nikon N90.
: It's given me good service since then and I've finally added an N90s and a
: D70 along with 7 lenses to the system. But on a recent trip to Italy the
: N90 failed -- the mirror's not returning to the down position and the
: camera
: indicates "ERR".
:
And you have tried to replace the batteries? On my F801 this is a normal
symptom of nearly exhausted batteries.

-Bjørn

Yeah... I've seen that on my N90 as well. All it took was to pull the
batteries out, LEAVE them out for a while, nd put in a fresh set.

On Tue, 08 Nov 2005 14:39:58 GMT, "Norm Dresner"
wrote:

[snip]

SO ... I have to decide whether to repair, replace, or upgrade. I
definitely want (and many times "need') to have two film bodies in addition
to the digital and I need to be able to use older/non-automatic lenses (like
a 500 mm mirror or a 55 mm AIS macro or the PB-4 bellows) with the film
bodies in Aperture Priority mode. The N90/N90s does this flawlessly as does
IIRC the F100 and the F5/F6, but the N75 that I had for about 6 months did
not and I got rid of it, partially for that reason.

Norm,

You seem to be about a "year ahead of me" in your photographic
experience and I'm hoping I can learn something from your experience.

I own 2 Nikon F2 bodies, a motor drive, and eight Nikon lenses, only
two of them D-series. The others include a 500 mm f8 mirror, and a 55
mm Micro Nikkor, plus a PB-4 bellows and PS-4 slide copier. I'm also
coveting a PC lens, but haven't decided yet whether the 28 mm is worth
the extra scratch over a 35 mm.

I also own an N90s body, and I really like tt he exposure/focus
automation,. but not enough to stop using my F2 bodies.

I'm also planning to get a full-frame digital body when Nikon has it
available. (Caution: rumor here. on a web site, I read that Nikon
will announce their full-frame digital camera at Photokina late next
year.)

So I'm wondering why you would need _two_ film bodies in addition to
the digital, when the digital gives you the ability to change ISO
ratings. Also, do you have any problems because of the 1.5
multiplier effect on lenses on the digital body?

Father Kodak

"Father Kodak" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 08 Nov 2005 14:39:58 GMT, "Norm Dresner"
wrote:

[snip]

SO ... I have to decide whether to repair, replace, or upgrade. I
definitely want (and many times "need') to have two film bodies in
addition
to the digital and I need to be able to use older/non-automatic lenses
(like
a 500 mm mirror or a 55 mm AIS macro or the PB-4 bellows) with the film
bodies in Aperture Priority mode. The N90/N90s does this flawlessly as
does
IIRC the F100 and the F5/F6, but the N75 that I had for about 6 months did
not and I got rid of it, partially for that reason.

Norm,

You seem to be about a "year ahead of me" in your photographic
experience and I'm hoping I can learn something from your experience.

I own 2 Nikon F2 bodies, a motor drive, and eight Nikon lenses, only
two of them D-series. The others include a 500 mm f8 mirror, and a 55
mm Micro Nikkor, plus a PB-4 bellows and PS-4 slide copier. I'm also
coveting a PC lens, but haven't decided yet whether the 28 mm is worth
the extra scratch over a 35 mm.

I also own an N90s body, and I really like tt he exposure/focus
automation,. but not enough to stop using my F2 bodies.

I'm also planning to get a full-frame digital body when Nikon has it
available. (Caution: rumor here. on a web site, I read that Nikon
will announce their full-frame digital camera at Photokina late next
year.)

So I'm wondering why you would need _two_ film bodies in addition to
the digital, when the digital gives you the ability to change ISO
ratings. Also, do you have any problems because of the 1.5
multiplier effect on lenses on the digital body?

Father Kodak

Let's be honest. The D70 is only 6 MP and that's only at the low ISO
ratings. When the ISO is raised, the image quality falls -- only somewhat,
not drastically, but it's still degraded. ISO 100 color negative film is
"rated" at about 24 MP and 400-800 film runs more than half of that, still
considerably more than the D70 can deliver. Also, I feel that the dynamic
range of good film still exceeds that of the digital sensors.

When we were in Italy -- before the N90 died -- I had the N90 loaded with
400/800 film and the N90s loaded with 100/160. I switched between the two
depending on whether we were inside or outside of the churches and other
buildings. Fortunately, with my Bronica, all I had to do was switch film
backs.

Another reason that I'm still using film is the 1.5x multiplier on the
effective lens focal length. When I want really wide angle shots, the Sigma
14mm on the film body is better than anything I can get for the digital that
will also work on film bodies.

On other trips, I've loaded one film body with 400 color negative and the
other with Kodachrome 64.

Norm

On Tue, 08 Nov 2005 22:25:15 GMT, "Norm Dresner"
wrote:

"Father Kodak" wrote in message
.. .
On Tue, 08 Nov 2005 14:39:58 GMT, "Norm Dresner"
wrote:

[snip]

Let's be honest. The D70 is only 6 MP and that's only at the low ISO
ratings. When the ISO is raised, the image quality falls -- only somewhat,
not drastically, but it's still degraded. ISO 100 color negative film is
"rated" at about 24 MP and 400-800 film runs more than half of that, still
considerably more than the D70 can deliver. Also, I feel that the dynamic
range of good film still exceeds that of the digital sensors.

Still a bit of an issue, I agree.


When we were in Italy -- before the N90 died -- I had the N90 loaded with
400/800 film and the N90s loaded with 100/160. I switched between the two
depending on whether we were inside or outside of the churches and other
buildings. Fortunately, with my Bronica, all I had to do was switch film
backs.

Did you carry ALL of this at one time, yourself? I find it a chore
with the two F2 bodies plus all those lenses.

Another reason that I'm still using film is the 1.5x multiplier on the
effective lens focal length. When I want really wide angle shots, the Sigma
14mm on the film body is better than anything I can get for the digital that
will also work on film bodies.

Agree 125%. That is the main reason I'm holding out on going
camera-digital (as opposed to scanning slides and negatives).

On other trips, I've loaded one film body with 400 color negative and the
other with Kodachrome 64.

Yeah, that's my style also, except that my high speed film is
Ektachrome @ 1600. Hardly ever need to use a flash. Don't know why I
carry around the darn thing sometimes.

Kodak

Norm

"Father Kodak" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 08 Nov 2005 22:25:15 GMT, "Norm Dresner"
wrote:

"Father Kodak" wrote in message
. ..
On Tue, 08 Nov 2005 14:39:58 GMT, "Norm Dresner"
wrote:

[snip]

Let's be honest. The D70 is only 6 MP and that's only at the low ISO
ratings. When the ISO is raised, the image quality falls -- only somewhat,
not drastically, but it's still degraded. ISO 100 color negative film is
"rated" at about 24 MP and 400-800 film runs more than half of that, still
considerably more than the D70 can deliver. Also, I feel that the dynamic
range of good film still exceeds that of the digital sensors.

Still a bit of an issue, I agree.


When we were in Italy -- before the N90 died -- I had the N90 loaded with
400/800 film and the N90s loaded with 100/160. I switched between the two
depending on whether we were inside or outside of the churches and other
buildings. Fortunately, with my Bronica, all I had to do was switch film
backs.

Did you carry ALL of this at one time, yourself? I find it a chore
with the two F2 bodies plus all those lenses.



I have a Lowepro AW Wheeled Trekker backpack which everything 35mm fits
into for transport -- it weights around 21# but that's not a awful lot to
pack. When I'm actively shooting, at least two camera bodies and lenses are
out of the bag and it loses at least 25% of it's weight. Of course. it's
still around my neck, but it's distributed differently. When I take the
Bronica too, it's in a separate bag my wife carries. Exactly which bag and
how much is packed in it depends on where we're going.
But there were times in Sienna and Rome last week when I had two Nikon
bodies with lenses and the Bronica S2 and a Gossen Luna Pro meter hanging
around my neck while I was hauling the pack on my back. Needless to say,
there were some places I simply didn't fit into ;-))

Norm

On Wed, 09 Nov 2005 14:13:41 GMT, "Norm Dresner"
wrote:

"Father Kodak" wrote in message
.. .
On Tue, 08 Nov 2005 22:25:15 GMT, "Norm Dresner"
wrote:

"Father Kodak" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 08 Nov 2005 14:39:58 GMT, "Norm Dresner"
wrote:

[snip]



Did you carry ALL of this at one time, yourself? I find it a chore
with the two F2 bodies plus all those lenses.



I have a Lowepro AW Wheeled Trekker backpack which everything 35mm fits
into for transport -- it weights around 21# but that's not a awful lot to

I also have a Trekker, but not a wheelie model. I use it when I go
nature hiking. Otherwise, all my gear goes into a bag that hangs off
my (tired, aching, sore) shoulder. Much faster "access" that way for
different lenses, the other body, the spot meter, filters, etc. Or
even (!!) rolls of film.


pack. When I'm actively shooting, at least two camera bodies and lenses are
out of the bag and it loses at least 25% of it's weight. Of course. it's

Yeah, me too at times. It screams, "Tourist!!" If you're in some
parts of Italy, it screams, "Hey kids, rob ME first."

In Rome, somewhere in the Forum area, I was set up on by a gang of
10-year olds who were walking just a bit too close to me. I grabbed
one of my Nikon bodies (with lens), gripped the leather shoulder strap
and started swinging it over my head, while shouting at the kids in
English. I don't think they understood a damn word of English, but
they sure understood the "body English." I still have all my gear.

still around my neck, but it's distributed differently. When I take the
Bronica too, it's in a separate bag my wife carries. Exactly which bag and

Lucky you. My wife *** might *** carry a few rolls of film, or help
me to change a lens. Maybe another argument for digital is that CF
cards are lighter and smaller than 35 mm rolls.

how much is packed in it depends on where we're going.
But there were times in Sienna and Rome last week when I had two Nikon

Sienna, Great place. Especially the central plaza.

bodies with lenses and the Bronica S2 and a Gossen Luna Pro meter hanging
around my neck while I was hauling the pack on my back. Needless to say,
there were some places I simply didn't fit into ;-))



Norm

I've gone on vacations where my camera gear weighed more than my
luggage.

Father Kodak