Broken Nikon D300

Firemunchkin

I took my dad's Nikon D300 on holiday and, towards the end of our week away, it stopped working. We had looked after it, kept it in the case when not using it, never dropped it or got it wet etc.

We suspected one of the pins which connects to the SD card had bent somehow (it's an old camera, about 8 or 9 years old) so we took it to our local independent camera shop to enquire about repairs. We told them we thought the issue was the SD card pins but weren't 100% sure. They took it in and called me a few days later to confirm the price for replacing the pins.

Once this work had been done, I got another call telling me that the circuit board wasn't working when they tested the camera after replacing the pins (apparently the entire camera has to be taken apart and put back together to get the pins replaced). They told me that it was not economically viable to repair the circuit board on the camera.

I haven't called them back since, because I'm a bit sceptical about this. If the circuit board isn't working, then why could we turn it on before we took it in to them? And why didn't they assess that before carrying out the repairs to the pins?

There's a few issues here for me. Firstly, I'm reluctant to pay them for a repair job which clearly hasn't worked. Secondly, I want the camera back so that I can take it somewhere else for a second opinion. Thirdly, I'm concerned that they've damaged the circuit board themselves (if it is indeed broken) because the camera turned on when we took it in.

I'm worried that they will refuse to give me the camera back without paying their hefty repair bill, and that they're trying to pull a fast one by saying it's irreparable so that they can sell it on in their shop or for parts or whatever. I may be paranoid on this but I want my next approach to be the right one.

Any advice on how to handle this one?

harrys_dad

How much are they charging you? To be honest most repairs on an 8 year old camera will be "uneconomic". The technology has improved a huge amount since they came out (which I think was early 2008 so the camera may be only 6 years old) and costs have come down. I would see if they will trade it in for a newer model, that is still compatible with whatever lenses your dad has. Check the new price against the best prices from someone like Wilkinsons though.

If you do not want to do this then I suggest you pay for an independent report, which could be done at the shop if they will not release the camera.