Time to upgrade!

[arthurking83]

Yeah, they chop and change(their minds) all the time there at Nikon HQ.
Can't recall exactly but the D7100 was always touted as a D300(s) type replacement, where Nikon had a long long break between the D300/D300s twins and then the subsequent D500(ie, no D400 in there).
So maybe that was the overall model iteration idea, but then changed or whatever.
And then they did something similar to the D800 -> D810, where more of the D810's body went with plastics ... not all, just more than the previous model had ... and all the internet warriors went crazy.
Nikon addressed that and gave the D850 full metal jacket.

I wonder how many D810 have seriously failed with their more plasticky bodies?

Plastics have their place, and metal has it's place .. but as said before if I had a plastic or metal option for some specific thing(say a tripod) .. plastic would easily win for some things. (noting that carbon fibre is a plastic )

Plastic camera body .. never really bothered me much.
My D70s had it's fair share of use and a little abuse, same condition as my D300(ie. very good to excellent), but the D800E did fail in a metal to metal/plastic joint .. the 10 pin port gave in.
Only part that I'd say would be better made in a lightweight sturdy metal tho is always the bottom plate. That's the main area I feel you feel a difference between plastic and metal.

[jim]

Yeah, they chop and change(their minds) all the time there at Nikon HQ.
Can't recall exactly but the D7100 was always touted as a D300(s) type replacement, where Nikon had a long long break between the D300/D300s twins and then the subsequent D500(ie, no D400 in there).
So maybe that was the overall model iteration idea, but then changed or whatever.
And then they did something similar to the D800 -> D810, where more of the D810's body went with plastics ... not all, just more than the previous model had ... and all the internet warriors went crazy.
Nikon addressed that and gave the D850 full metal jacket.

I wonder how many D810 have seriously failed with their more plasticky bodies?

Plastics have their place, and metal has it's place .. but as said before if I had a plastic or metal option for some specific thing(say a tripod) .. plastic would easily win for some things. (noting that carbon fibre is a plastic )

Plastic camera body .. never really bothered me much.
My D70s had it's fair share of use and a little abuse, same condition as my D300(ie. very good to excellent), but the D800E did fail in a metal to metal/plastic joint .. the 10 pin port gave in.
Only part that I'd say would be better made in a lightweight sturdy metal tho is always the bottom plate. That's the main area I feel you feel a difference between plastic and metal.

Not sure if this differs from the D800 and the D850, but not long after buying it I put my D810 down on a rock, there was a tiny click and the viewfinder fell off. The whole thing is held in place by a single screw in a piece of thin plastic.

Would never have happened with my F4.

[arthurking83]

Not sure if this differs from the D800 and the D850, but not long after buying it I put my D810 down on a rock, there was a tiny click and the viewfinder fell off. The whole thing is held in place by a single screw in a piece of thin plastic.

Would never have happened with my F4.

Yeah, F4 is a totally different beast tho. The entire VF is a unit in itself.
That could have happened with any of the current higher end Nikons with the circular eyepiece(diopter). D800 body is the same, D850 is a little different but basically the same.
But it could have happened with any of the cameras with a similar design type. Me thinks just a bit of bad luck.

I remember my (ex) father in law had a FM(maybe FM2) and he once told me that the diopter used to undo itself. They're a straight screw on design with no locking tab like on the D8xx and higher bodies.
He had an eyecup on it too tho, maybe that was part of the reason, dunno.
I have an eyecup(forget the part number tho) on my D800E too. Never fell off, although after 6 or 7 years the rubber did shear and it can fall apart, but no issues with the circular ring coming off tho.
Top Tip for those circular eyepiece camera bodies, the rubber eyecup is a nice accessory to have