extended warrenty on D70?

My D70 kit should be in by Wednesday.

The one question I'm not sure about is if I should buy an extended
warranty for it.

I've shot 35mm for 20 years and I've never dropped a camera (lenses yes
once or twice). Ofcourse my old F3s are tough cameras made to hold up
to abuse but the D70? The question is the D70 particularly fragile?
How does it hold up to normal kicking around inside a camera bag and
bouncing against other gear while being carried.

I've shot 35mm for 20 years and I've never dropped a camera (lenses yes
once or twice). Ofcourse my old F3s are tough cameras made to hold up to
abuse but the D70? The question is the D70 particularly fragile?
How does it hold up to normal kicking around inside a camera bag and
bouncing against other gear while being carried.

I would expect the mechanical ruggedness to be comparable to other lighter
Nikons such as the N70 and N80, i.e., not built like a tank, but not a
worry.

The main reason you might wish for an extended warranty is electrical
failure, especially pixel-by-pixel deterioration of the sensor. I have no
feel for how likely this is.

I've shot 35mm for 20 years and I've never dropped a camera (lenses yes
once or twice). Ofcourse my old F3s are tough cameras made to hold up to
abuse but the D70? The question is the D70 particularly fragile?
How does it hold up to normal kicking around inside a camera bag and
bouncing against other gear while being carried.

I would expect the mechanical ruggedness to be comparable to other lighter
Nikons such as the N70 and N80, i.e., not built like a tank, but not a
worry.

The main reason you might wish for an extended warranty is electrical
failure, especially pixel-by-pixel deterioration of the sensor. I have no
feel for how likely this is.

Good point, Rita.

You also have to remember that in 3 years, a good used D70 or a
comparable-performance new camera will be much cheaper than a D70 today.
You may want to simply set aside money so that in case of a catastrophic
failure, you can replace your D70 with a well-preserved secondhand one just
like it, or with a newer camera with comparable or better performance.

Good point, Rita.

You also have to remember that in 3 years, a good used D70 or a
comparable-performance new camera will be much cheaper than a D70 today.
You may want to simply set aside money so that in case of a catastrophic
failure, you can replace your D70 with a well-preserved secondhand one just
like it, or with a newer camera with comparable or better performance.

Interesting. The extension I was quoted from wolf which is ritz was
about $140 for a year.

I'm mainly curious about how the camera holds up. I once had a Minolta
SLR that had what was described to me as a ceramic board in the prism.
It had the problem of being proned to cracking if the top of the camera
was hit (something that can happen when you carry two cameras around).
The electronics of the camera became unreliable. I had it lock up on me
while viewing the 3rd shuttle launch resulting in my getting no
pictures. After that I sold it and purchased my first F3

I don't expect the D70 to be as rugged as an F series Nikon. I'm just
wanting to know how it holds up under normal use.

Rita Ä Berkowitz wrote:
william kossack wrote:

My D70 kit should be in by Wednesday.

The one question I'm not sure about is if I should buy an extended
warranty for it.


Some will disagree with me on this, but I say no. Especially at the price
they want for some of them. I know Ritz wants about as much as a new D70
body for theirs. It's all a personal decision in how you feel about these
things. Run the numbers and see what it will cost you per month for the
same amount of coverage and put that money in a mason jar. At the end of
the term you will have enough to buy the latest body and sell your used one.
I never get extended warranties on anything, even new cars and trucks. The
other option is to call your insurance agent and see about getting a special
rider on your homeowners/renters insurance to cover your camera equipment
for a much cheaper rate.


Rita

In article HXmqd.576885$mD.94359@attbi_s02, william kossack
wrote:

My D70 kit should be in by Wednesday.

The one question I'm not sure about is if I should buy an extended
warranty for it.

I've shot 35mm for 20 years and I've never dropped a camera (lenses yes
once or twice). Ofcourse my old F3s are tough cameras made to hold up
to abuse but the D70? The question is the D70 particularly fragile?
How does it hold up to normal kicking around inside a camera bag and
bouncing against other gear while being carried.

I've used my D70 outdoors every day since July 1, taken more than 7000
shots, carried to every job, restaurant, and vacation including all
over Mexico, and the thing looks brand new -- not even a scratch -- and
works perfecty.

Check your credit card contract. My Mastercard automatically doubles
the warranty on all of my purchases, making extended warranties worth a
lot less.

Also, don't think about the cost of a single extended warranty. If you
refuse extended warranties on all the electronics and appliances you
buy, and then you end up paying for one or two repairs, you'll still be
way, way ahead.

Consumer Reports recently concluded that extended warranties were only
worthwhile on laptops and treadmills:

-----

The odds are heavily stacked against your collecting on an extended
warranty. In fact, the operating profit margins on such warranties are
nearly 70 percent, vs. 10 percent on the products they cover, says
Laura Champine, a consumer-products analyst at Morgan Keegan, a Memphis
investment bank.

Even for products more likely to need repair, such as projection TVs
(14 percent repair rate in their first three years), an extended
warranty is a poor bet. The average cost of a projection-TV warranty
was about the same as the repair cost.

Two exceptions: If you¹re buying an expensive treadmill with a
standard warranty of less than two years on parts and one on labor,
consider an extended warranty for two years. For laptop computers,
consider a one- to three-year extension of the standard one-year
warranty (buy from the maker; that extends tech support). If you travel
with the laptop a lot, consider screen and accidental-damage insurance,
too.

-----

-=-Joe

In article HXmqd.576885$mD.94359@attbi_s02, william kossack
wrote:

My D70 kit should be in by Wednesday.

The one question I'm not sure about is if I should buy an extended
warranty for it.

I've shot 35mm for 20 years and I've never dropped a camera (lenses yes
once or twice). Ofcourse my old F3s are tough cameras made to hold up
to abuse but the D70? The question is the D70 particularly fragile?
How does it hold up to normal kicking around inside a camera bag and
bouncing against other gear while being carried.

I've used my D70 outdoors every day since July 1, taken more than 7000
shots, carried to every job, restaurant, and vacation including all
over Mexico, and the thing looks brand new -- not even a scratch -- and
works perfecty.

Check your credit card contract. My Mastercard automatically doubles
the warranty on all of my purchases, making extended warranties worth a
lot less.

Also, don't think about the cost of a single extended warranty. If you
refuse extended warranties on all the electronics and appliances you
buy, and then you end up paying for one or two repairs, you'll still be
way, way ahead.

Consumer Reports recently concluded that extended warranties were only
worthwhile on laptops and treadmills:

-----

The odds are heavily stacked against your collecting on an extended
warranty. In fact, the operating profit margins on such warranties are
nearly 70 percent, vs. 10 percent on the products they cover, says
Laura Champine, a consumer-products analyst at Morgan Keegan, a Memphis
investment bank.

Even for products more likely to need repair, such as projection TVs
(14 percent repair rate in their first three years), an extended
warranty is a poor bet. The average cost of a projection-TV warranty
was about the same as the repair cost.

Two exceptions: If you¹re buying an expensive treadmill with a
standard warranty of less than two years on parts and one on labor,
consider an extended warranty for two years. For laptop computers,
consider a one- to three-year extension of the standard one-year
warranty (buy from the maker; that extends tech support). If you travel
with the laptop a lot, consider screen and accidental-damage insurance,
too.

-----

-=-Joe

"william kossack" wrote in message
news:2uGqd.484403$D%.141512@attbi_s51...
Normally I would not pay for a warrenty but these kids have a history of
not treating electronics well. One of them goes through a couple portable
CD players in a year. Typical use is to toss it onto the bed and it falls
to the floor or it gets put into a backpack which gets tossed onto the
floor (I think once one of the dogs chewed on it)

They need to learn something very important about their relationship with
the physical universe, rather than having Daddy just pay for the damage.

If you buy an extended warranty, don't tell them.

"william kossack" wrote in message
news:2uGqd.484403$D%.141512@attbi_s51...
Normally I would not pay for a warrenty but these kids have a history of
not treating electronics well. One of them goes through a couple portable
CD players in a year. Typical use is to toss it onto the bed and it falls
to the floor or it gets put into a backpack which gets tossed onto the
floor (I think once one of the dogs chewed on it)

They need to learn something very important about their relationship with
the physical universe, rather than having Daddy just pay for the damage.

If you buy an extended warranty, don't tell them.