As you may have read, my D50 hit the ground yesterday at a high rate of speed.  Losing the camera body isn't that big of a deal. What really hurts is the lens. I loved that lens!!

The real question what to replace it with. Catie already has the D300, so I am leaning towards the D90. Then again he D80 is CHEAP!!  I do not know if I really want o put a $1000 camera and a $700 lens in my tailbag.  Any recommendations from the pros here? Should I get the D90 and not look back?

Here is our dearly departed D50 

How did it fall out if it was zipped up in the tail bag? Just curious. Nikon is a camera, right?

Quote from: fastwin on January 12, 2009, 06:29:14 AM
How did it fall out if it was zipped up in the tail bag? Just curious. Nikon is a camera, right?

I MAY have forgotten to zip the bag at our last stop 

This would be a question for Scott since I have Canon gear - I am just amazed that it held together as much as it did !  That is a real testament to Nikon's legendary toughness.  Arlington camera may have something gently used that would be a better ( cheaper ) tail bag camera in case of future disasters.

If you were able to get the memory card out and get your pix off of this then that is pretty amazing. You might write to Nikon and tell them the story ( like an endorsement ) and see if they are moved to offer you a discount somehow !  This is unlikely due to hard economic times - but you never know - they might like to produce an ad showing a cool couple and their cool Ducs who are happy they got their pix out of a Nikon that hit the pavement.

If it were me - insurance would cover it - but Canons that hit pavement at high speed become glitter size pieces and you ususally don't get your photos out when that happens!  Good luck!

PS.  I know Fastwin has heard of Nikon because they make rifle scopes !! 

Oh crap! Didn't know it was operator error. Sorry to hear that. Thought maybe something broke like a strap, etc. Damn! That really sucks.

The memory card is the most amazing part of the story.  It was 20 yards away from the camera parts and relatively unscathed    The camera was insured so I will be filing a claim today 

Wow, didn't even know that you could insure cameras. Pretty neat.

We got an accident protection plan when we bought it. It was kinda pricey but looks like it was worth it  The lens pictured was not covered, but the other lens that was in the bag was.  Total claim will be around $1k 

Replace it with a pony, or a motorcycle...

R.I.P.

Quote from: Slag on January 12, 2009, 06:26:12 AM

Bad news. The replacement insurance has lapsed. Apparently March of 2008 was a long time ago.

Good news. A D700 may be in my future   

No more SLR's in the tail bag. Going to buy a point&shoot.

We picked up one of these shockproof (6.6ft), crushproof (220lb), water resistant (33ft) Olympus 1050 cameras a couple of years ago for travel use.  Not a bad option for a bike environment, and there are a few more models available now.
http://www.olympusamerica.com/cpg_section/cpg_digital_sw.asp

Thanks for the link    That is exactly the type of camera I am looking or 

does anyone on here do any HDR stuff??  i've always been curious to see that in action sometime and see someone do it first hand.