Photography Standstill
I have a Nikon D70. It’s a great camera.
At least it was a great camera, before it died.
It started acting up at Mego Meet, when I was trying to shoot some pictures of amazing Mego toys that attendees brought from far and wide.
At right is the amazing Mike Jimenez, who brought his astonishing set of mint Montgomery Ward Secret Identity outfits, still in the original packaging.
After Mike had done a couple of posed set-ups (group and individual) of the outfits dressed on nice Type 1 figures, he asked if I’d like to shoot them in the packaging.
“Are you asking me if I’d like you to recreate Christmas 1974 for the book?” I stammered.
“Ummm. Yes…?”
I was shocked that he was even offering. The outfits are so pristine that I was actually afraid to handle them. Without hesitation, Mike set forth disrobing the figures and repackaging the gloriously dated polyester suits.
Luckily, the camera was still working while Mike was helping me photograph them for the book. But it was during that shoot that the camera started acting funny. The first indication that something had gone wrong was the camera’s sudden inability to expose properly. I’d shoot a picture, and the shutter would just open. And stay open.
By the time it would release, the stored data was a blast of overexposure. Pure white.
Other strange things started to happen, but I managed to shoot everything that people brought with them for the book. By the way, I just want to say thanks again to everyone who did this. It is amazing to me that people were willing to travel with these precious collectibles, and I’m just thrilled that the book will benefit from everyone’s selfless generosity.
When I got home and tried to do a set-up for some 2nd Issue carded figures, the camera just up and croaked. I took it back to the store where I bought it, and was told it would take 5 weeks to get it repaired. My only option was to drive it directly to Nikon in El Segundo and hope they could expedite.
When I got there, I told the woman what was happening and she immediate wrote up the order saying “We’re already aware of this. We’ll take care of it.” Curious about this “awareness” I did a little googling and found out that my camera is a problem child.
According to a quiet statement from Nikon:
“It has come to our attention that electronic components related to exposure control in some D70 cameras may, on rare occasions, fail.
Should you experience this problem with your D70 camera, Nikon will replace the associated components free of charge even if the camera’s warranty has already expired. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience you may have suffered because of this problem.”
I’m still waiting to hear back from Nikon, but I’m hopeful that my camera will get fixed. And more importantly, that they won’t tax my ass like the government.
In the meantime, I’m at a photography standstill. I have a bunch of amazing toys that collectors have mailed to me, and yet I can’t shoot the damned things. It’s incredibly frustrating.
Benjamin