Nikon D3s - which one?

[Michael8nuts]

Hello everyone. I am looking at two used D3s bodies. One is $3800 (Can.) with 10,000 clicks and an extra battery, the other is $2880 with 100,000 clicks. I am trying to come up with a reason to buy the cheaper one, because it's saving money ...... but the other is in new condition (was a back up body). 100,000 clicks is probably nothing for a D3s, but i am just too picky!

Any thoughts?

[Manfred M]

I guess my initial thought would be that if the cheaper camera's shutter died the day after you bought it, the cost of having a new one put in would be around $400, so you would still be around $500 to the good. I think the shutter is nominally rated at 300,000 cycles, so it should still have lots of shots left.

On the other hand, you are paying out the same money as for a brand new D800, which I feel is a far superior camera in everything except continuous shooting speed and weather sealing.

[Michael8nuts]

Yeah, it's 6 of 1 and a dozen of the other. I'm not worried about the shutter on a D3s, that seems to more of an issue with the D3. I see a lot of Ads stating that the shutter has been replaced ... usually below 20,000 clicks.
If I add a 2nd battery to the older D3s, then it's about $3000 vs $3800. A D800 is of no use for me. I have a D600 with grip and find no advantage of the 24mp's, unless I crop heavily. I photograph a lot of sports .... cycling, moto cross, hockey,. volleyball, ect, so I need a D3s. A D3 is a lot cheaper still, but that's lesser IQ than my D600, in terms of ISO.
I'll probably go for the lower milage D3s ...

[Manfred M]

If you are shooting sports, I see the advantage to you. I looked at the D3s before opting for the D800 because of the IQ, but then I tend to do a lot of landscape / cityscape shooting with some limited people shots, so the dynamic range is the key driver for me. Yes, the D3 is a lot cheaper but the lack of automated dust removal makes that body an no go for me.