ADVICE NEEDED - Cracked D600 body, am I safe to use it until I Can get it fixed?!

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jodiegabrielle

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First off Hi! I'm new here, I hope I am posting this in the right place!

A couple of weeks ago I bought myself a new D600 (to replace the D80 I have been using for 8 years!) It took me 2 years to save up for. I got to around 1050 shots and then my worse nightmare happened, I was putting it back in my camera bag, the bag shifted, and I dropped my brand new camera that I've been scrimping and saving for for 2 years on a concrete floor! I felt sick, picked it up to take a look, and I have cracked 2 pieces of the body. Apart from that, as far as I can tell, everything else is working fine.

Luckily, I had insured it, but only 4 days before my accident, and I am worried a claim so close to insuring it will look realllllly dodgy, and I'm scared of how much my premium will go up next year. So I have decided to see how much it will cost to have fixed, and if it is around about the same as my excess, I'll just have it repaired.

I'm still trying to decide between sending it to Nikon UK (which I have heard could take over a month!) Or send it to FixationUK who (I have read) have a faster turnaround time, but am worried they will be more expensive than Nikon UK. If anyone has any experience with body repairs from either of them I would love to hear them!

Ok so here is the other question, I have a paid job a week from today, and would much rather use my D600 than my D80. But obviously, living up North, there is no way I would have my camera fixed and back in time! I've posted some pictures of the damage below, can anyone advise me, if I tape up the flash, would I be able to get away with using it without causing further damage to the camera? Such as water, dust, etc getting in?

Thank you in advance!

8744433390


8743316753


8744434342


http://www.flickr.com/photos/12623868@N02/8744434342/in/photostream/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/12623868@N02/8743316753/in/photostream/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/12623868@N02/8744433390/in/photostream/
 
First up you need to link to the actual jpg for your photo to show - like this

8744434342_0ca6956d21_z.jpg


that aside the answer to your question is , maybe - looking at where the damage is its unlikely its affected the light tightness , but the question is

a) does the camera still work properly ie has the shock affected anything else ? and

b) will you make anything worse by using it ?

We can't answer those without more info - to be honest i'd just be upfront with the insurers, so long as its a decent company they arent lieky to quibble just because its only 4 days from policy start.
 
If your insurer has a problem with claims close to taking out the policy, the terms will say so, so have a read. If not, go ahead and claim.

The fact that it's only two weeks old is in your favour anyway; you've pretty much had it insured for all of its life, so they can't argue that you've had it ages, and only decided to insure it now because you have a claim to make.
 
big soft moose said:
First up you need to link to the actual jpg for your photo to show - like this

8744434342_0ca6956d21_z.jpg


that aside the answer to your question is , maybe - looking at where the damage is its unlikely its affected the light tightness , but the question is

a) does the camera still work properly ie has the shock affected anything else ? and

b) will you make anything worse by using it ?

We can't answer those without more info - to be honest i'd just be upfront with the insurers, so long as its a decent company they arent lieky to quibble just because its only 4 days from policy start.
Click to expand...

I did add the [ img ] links, but they did not show in the preview, thats why I added links underneath the photos also, just in case... and its a good job I did, because they didn't show in the actual post either. Like I said, I'm new here, I didn't know how to correct it so I did the next best thing.

Like I said in my post, the camera appears to be working fine, I've done a couple of test shots, the thing I don't know is if it will make it any worse by using it, thats why I posted here to see if anyone had had a similar problem in the past that could advise me.

Part of the reason I didn't want to go running to the insurance right away is because I am worried how much my premium will go up in years to come. I've had an estimated quote from Fixation today, which is only £58 more than my excess, so you see... if Aaduki (my insurance company) are going to put my premium up next year by £100+, it would be more cost effective to just have it repaired.

Anyhow, Thank you Southdowns, I checked my policy and it didn't say anything about how soon after policy start you can claim, so I called them to see how much my premium would rise by (which they cannot tell me) and told them about my quote from Fixation, turns out they have an account with Fixation, so I can send it there for them to take a look at and then decide what I want to do.
Also, thank you sk66, I'll not risk it, will package the camera up tomorrow and hope for the best out of my D80!
 
jodiegabrielle said:
I did add the [ img ] links, but they did not show in the preview, thats why I added links underneath the photos also, just in case... and its a good job I did, because they didn't show in the actual post either. Like I said, I'm new here, I didn't know how to correct it so I did the next best thing.
Click to expand...

The reason they didnt show is you've used links to the photostream, not the actual image - the url in the brackets must end in the file extension ie .jpg

[quote="jodiegabrielle, post: 5574638"]
Like I said in my post, the camera appears to be working fine, I've done a couple of test shots, the thing I don't know is if it will make it any worse by using it, thats why I posted here to see if anyone had had a similar problem in the past that could advise me.[/quote]

My advice would be use it if you have to but don't take it out in the rain/fog etc

[quote="jodiegabrielle, post: 5574638"]
Part of the reason I didn't want to go running to the insurance right away is because I am worried how much my premium will go up in years to come. I've had an estimated quote from Fixation today, which is only £58 more than my excess, so you see... if Aaduki (my insurance company) are going to put my premium up next year by £100+, it would be more cost effective to just have it repaired.
![/QUOTE]

Aduki are a decent company - i'd be suprised if they put your premium up that much. At the end of the day theres not much point in having damage insurance if you arent going to use it when damage occurs.
 
Leihmanns in Stoke have a good reputation and are Nikon repairers give them a ring or send them the images for their advice......nothing lost!!

http://www.hlehmann.co.uk/

Dave
 
big soft moose said:
Aduki are a decent company - i'd be suprised if they put your premium up that much. At the end of the day theres not much point in having damage insurance if you arent going to use it when damage occurs.
Click to expand...

Its my first time dealing with a claim from Aaduki, although the staff are absolutely lovely and very helpful, I have no idea what to expect when making a claim. I'm just trying to figure out the cheapest route... I know it sounds silly but £40 makes all the difference to me at the minute. I think I'm just going to send it off and use the D80 unless Aaduki can supply me with a rental (which I saw something about when reading back through my policy this afternoon). Better to be safe than sorry.

big soft moose said:
The reason they didnt show is you've used links to the photostream, not the actual image - the url in the brackets must end in the file extension ie .jpg[/QUOTE]

Ah well, now I know. Thanks, won't happen again.

[quote="nikonuser, post: 5574899"]Leihmanns in Stoke have a good reputation and are Nikon repairers give them a ring or send them the images for their advice......nothing lost!!

[url]http://www.hlehmann.co.uk/[/url]

Dave[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the help & recommendation Dave, I had already emailed Leihmanns though because they are the closest to me and I could drive there, sent them the same photos I sent to Fixation, but their estimated quote was £490! (just for the body pieces and labour) Almost double Fixations £258.
Click to expand...
 
I'd be very wary of estimates given without inspection. That was a very bad knock. Who knows what else could be wrong.
You must feel dreadfully sick over this mishap. Hope you get sorted out without too much expence.
 
Have to say I'm in the 'don't use it' camp, I would also let the insurers deal with it in the knowledge that everything necessary can be done to ensure a full repair without you suddenly finding you've made a financial mistake.
If your renewal premium is too high then next year you could try elsewhere or even try putting it on your house insurance if you don't have loads of photographic equipment.
 
gramps said:
Have to say I'm in the 'don't use it' camp, I would also let the insurers deal with it in the knowledge that everything necessary can be done to ensure a full repair without you suddenly finding you've made a financial mistake.
If your renewal premium is too high then next year you could try elsewhere or even try putting it on your house insurance if you don't have loads of photographic equipment.
Click to expand...

Another +1 here :)
 
jodiegabrielle - I would send the camera in for inspection just to be on the safe side. They might be able to tell from a picture the external damage but not any internal issues. It's not a fortune to send a camera via RMSD and you're not obliged to accept the quote from the repair shop. I'd avoid using it in the meantime.

In terms of speed, they're all as good or bad as each other. I;'ve had super-fast repairs by Fixation, and lenses lost. Lehmans have been great with some things (and fast) and then reassembled lenses incorrectly after 8 weeks waiting. Nikon are reliably pedestrian in speed but have never failed me.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for all the advice guys! I got in touch with my insurance company on Friday, they have sent me a claims form and recommended I send it to Fixation! Who I had pretty much decided on anyways. Aaduki's reason been they have an account with them, and you get fast tracked to the top guy there if your insured with them. It will be going in the post tomorrow. I can still decide weather or not to do it on insurance after I have the quote which is good. I must say I highly recommend Aaduki if anyone is trying to decide on an insurance company! So far they have been amazing to deal with (touch wood).
After giving it some thought I had already decided not to risk further damage using it... will keep my hands busy playing with my new fuji x100 in the mean time!

arclight said:
I'd be very wary of estimates given without inspection. That was a very bad knock. Who knows what else could be wrong.
You must feel dreadfully sick over this mishap. Hope you get sorted out without too much expence.
Click to expand...

When I emailed them I was just after a rough estimate, I knew there could be further damage, was just hoping for the best. I felt very sick the second it happened! Dropped to my knees almost! Thank you :)

gramps said:
Have to say I'm in the 'don't use it' camp, I would also let the insurers deal with it in the knowledge that everything necessary can be done to ensure a full repair without you suddenly finding you've made a financial mistake.
If your renewal premium is too high then next year you could try elsewhere or even try putting it on your house insurance if you don't have loads of photographic equipment.
Click to expand...

Until it came to insurance I didn't think I had that much equipment... then I started adding it up! Got a bit of a shock!
 
Not advice, but I would use it. I dropped my D800 and the back was hanging off, I was away at the time and didn't have a spare body with me.
I carried on using it, but tried to avoid having it out in rain.

I sent it to Nikon UK who I thought did a very good repair for a fair price (not insured) and I had it back in about 2 weeks.
 
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