About 33 years ago, I was taking the tour inside Hoover Dam and somehow
dropped my Nikon Ftn (OMs didn't exist yet) 5+ feet onto the concrete
floor. Somehow, the fact that the floor was part of such a massive piece
of concrete made it seem harder. The camera acquired a rather modest
ding on the corner and I got a crooked, out of focus picture of the
ceiling. Never had any problem with the camera for the several years I
used it before replacing it with my first OM.
I don't disagree at all with what William said about the right type and
quality of plastic, used correctly, being superior to metals for most of
the structural uses in camera construction. That doesn't mean a sturdily
made metal camera isn't rugged. One thing not discussed directly in this
thread is the quality of design and choice of materials (assuming the
materials used are those actually specified per Richard Allen's post).
It is possible to make a camera that is mostly metal that is rugged and
reliable or one that is fragile and unreliable (we can all think of
examples) and the same is true of a mostly plastic camera. Putting the
whole thing down to plastic vs. metal is way too simplistic. I posted a
while ago about a failure of the plastic focus/zoom mechanism in my
Can*n S110 that was clearly an avoidable design flaw, not a problem with
using plastic, but how it was used. On the other hand, who among the
mechanically inclined hasn't encountered metal structural pieces that
crystallized and cracked under vibration and/or stress?
Also, putting the whole disposable vs. repairable issue onto structural
materials is off base. Much of that comes from electronics issues of
reliability, repairability and obsolence.
Moose
John Cwiklinski wrote:
William wrote:
<<
I invite any reader to try the same thing with a Nikon F, Olympus OM,
etc, and let us know what happens. (No? If metal cameras are so
rugged, why are you afraid of dropping one 3' onto an asphalt
surface?) Plastic withstands all sorts of abuse that would severely
damage a metal-bodied camera.
<<
I have inadvertently dropped (actually kicked) an OM camera from a
high school gym bleachers. Sure, it made alot of noise, people stared
at me, etc. As it was going down, my thought was on the circuitry, not
the mechanical. (Still works great, today)
The D100 is not professional and is based on the Nikon N80 body (I
believe), whereas the D1X is still considered the pro version. Both
take the majority of Nikon's SLR lenses.
I'm not sure what the intent of your post is. I don't think I would go
out and buy any camera just to do a drop test. I think I'd rather use
it for its designed purpose, taking photos.
As always, my 0.02 USD.
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