Ahhhh the joys of being a Nikonian ...

[Titan]

Okay, so I had to send my D50 in for repairs a few weeks ago, and I was very fortunate to have a friend who just happened to have a spare D50 body that I could borrow in the mean time. The required 4 to 6 weeks pass and I get my D50 back.

I trade a few text messages with my buddy to arrange a time and place for her to get her D50 body back, no problemo.

skip forward a few days... I'm downtown shooting one of Grand Rapids more famous sculptures for a class assignment, and after about 15 or so shots, poof ERR. I try the shutter again. ERR. Again. ERR. Error message after error message. But oddly enough the shots I'm taking are showing up on the screen and are being written to the memory card. So why the ERR I ask myself.

Skip forward another few days to Black Friday. The camera store I bought my D50 from has 2 stores, and the repair department happens to be in another city, where I just happen to be shopping, or rather, not shopping while my pseudo girlfriend and her BFF are shopping. I figure I'll take my not repaired D50 directly to the repair department manager and let her handle it, only... The malfunction that I experienced a few days earlier isn't malfunctioning. In fact my repaired D50 is behaving perfectly. Sigh, okay so maybe all those ERR's from a few days earlier were just.. what? apparations ? didn't really happen?

So I didnt take it back to the store that day, picked up my pseudo GF and her BFF and went home.

Skip forward again to today (Sunday November 25 2007 if you're reading this in the future) I have a senior shoot with a client who had previously hired me for portfolio work.

Yep, you guessed it, my repaired D50 malfunctions, only this time the ERR message did not capture the photo, it did however capture a lovely solid shade of black. Black, black, black.

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

Tell the client whats going on. Try to call the buddy and see if I can get her spare D50 body long enough to finish the shoot. NO ANSWER ! GAHHHHHHH GOTDAGGITRENAEANSWERYOURFRICKINGPHONE ! ! ! !


Explain to the clients again what the situation is, and almost beg them to stick around while I go buy a new camera. The clients were very understanding, and didn't mind waiting.

Decide to bite the bullet, spend all of the money I've managed to save from weddings and seniors over the summer and go buy a NEW (WOOHOO!) D80 at best buy.

On the drive to best buy I realize 2 things. 1. I don't have my check book. 2. I don't have my debit card with me.

So, I have to turn around, head back to the highway, go home, get the debit card, and then go back to best buy.


At best buy I talk to the sales guy, who happens to be a friend, get a D80 kit and check out. YAY. I'm on my way and things are just grooooovy.

I get back to the location and the client are waiting patiently.

Open up the box, attach the new lens, slip the battery in and turn the power switch to "on"

AND !

Nothing. The battery is dead.

Okay, no problem, I've got a couple spare batteries. I open the battery door.

THE BATTERY WONT EJECT !

It's stuck, the spring mechanism in my G*&da&$% brand new D80 is broken. Brand new camera straight out of the box, and it's defective.

I take a deep breath and silently utter a couple of choice meaty profanities, and explain to my ever so patient clients what the situation is.

They understand, and agree to postpone the shoot for a week.

I drive back to best buy, exchange the defective D80 for a new one, and this time I check it out BEFORE I leave the parking lot.

Everything seems to be in order on the new new D80, and I call my second client of the day to tell them I'm on my way. The shoot with them goes pretty much as planned except... how do I adjust the aperture?