Ask any pro why they choose the body they use and one of the first things you will hear is durability. Before I ever shot my first paid gig, I treated my gear like it was fine China. Well, after awhile you realize that the difference between getting a shot and letting one slip away is just “being there.” That means sometimes your gear gets banged up. However, I never expected my Nikon D3 to survive getting driven over by a car! …I cannot say the same for the lens
Let me preface this by saying that I was 50% dumb, which is why I was only reimbursed 50%. That said, read on…
I was recently shooting a wedding and someone accidentally drove over my gear. They destroyed my 70-200 f/2.8 (what a horrible sound). My D3 was pulled and dragged under the car as the lens was trying to tear off the body. I caught the tail end of the incident, only to watch in horror as I lost over $4,000 worth of camera gear. The lens is now a sad looking paper weight. To my shock and surprise, I picked up the D3 and it still worked. Sure, it is pretty banged up, but it was actually able to limp to the end of the night and allow me to finish the wedding with both camera bodies.
D3 Damage Report:
1. Nasty Road Rash, I mean chunks of Magnesium Alloy are still left on the ground.
2. The F-Mount has slightly torn away from the body on the right (causing slight blur on that side shooting wide unless I compensate with an aperture of around f/7.1)
3. The Shutter Release/on-off system is a little whacked. I can tap it and it turns on. Thankfully, it stays on!
4. The Aperture wheel is a little tighter than before.
Other than that, it can still be used…at least until I have Nikon repair it. I mean, it works, but that is a loose definition.
Nikkor 70-200 f/2.8 Damage Report:
DESTROYED
Overall, this is a testament to Nikon’s professional gear. Any other camera body would probably be in pieces. Sure, it has some serious battle scars. But, it will live to fight another day! Yes, I did lose over $2,000 and I still have to pay Nikon to repair the D3 so it is operating at 100%. But, the important thing was that I was able to finish the wedding. I was paid to do a job and, as a pro, you are expected to complete the shoot. The Bride and Groom deserve nothing less. The D3 allowed me to complete the job. This is why I will remain loyal to Nikon, even more than before.
Did I get a little lucky? Sure. But, would a lesser body have allowed me to finish the day? No way.
Thank you Nikon.
http://chrisbilodeauphotography.com
-Chris
chris bilodeau 
My D3 is like the Eveready bunny, albeit heavier, it just keeps clicking. No new Nikon camera offers the consistency, durability and performance that the D3 presents. And as for more pixels, enough is enough.
Sorry to hear about the loss of your lens!
Several years ago, at an early summer party in Montana, I forgot my D200 including mounted Nikon lens out on the back porch one evening. It started raining that night for several hours and I simply forgot about the camera until the next morning. The lens had fogged up bit, so I took everything inside, towelled off all exterior surfaces, removed the lens, battery and memory card, and let everything just sit and dry for a day. No loss of pictures. The D200 didn’t even sneeeze and kept working flawlessly since then. Long live Nikon!
Nice Story Brother – but why did you leave your Gear on the Ground
that something like a Car can drive over it ?
Pro´s dont do that…………
Pro’s make mistakes. (BTW, she was found at fault as well)
again it is a testimony to the fact when we say ” we get what we pay for”. some people complain about the price of a pro camera body but that just how it is.
why didn’t you make that asshat pay you for driving over your camera?
A better question to ask is why someone would leave $4000 worth of camera equipment in a position that it could be run over!
You were not there. She was found at fault. I admit, I do own some of that responsibility as well. It happens.
Having just purchased a D3 recently, I’m amazed at the resilience of the camera that it withstood being run over and dragged by a vehicle many times it’s own weight and still performed…Just proves that the build of Nikon professional cameras are second to none!…I just hope that you can get the D3 and the lens repaired through insurance and not be out of pocket doing so! Good Luck!!!
This post worth so much for me to read. Thank you
Reblogged this on icstech2012's Blog and commented:
Wow
First things first: sorry for the loss, it is quite unfortunate. Second: D3 is a pro tool. Any Canon EOS “1” (or any other pro body) can take the same anount of damage (ask the colleagues) and can survive. Third: please check this “incident”: http://www.karlgrobl.com/EquipmentReviews/ThrashedCanons.htm
Hope that you will get a new Nikkor soon, it is a very good lens! Cheers! 🙂
Absolutely amazing! What lens did you finish the wedding with? Did you notice any issues with photos pre and post smash?
Thanks. My 2nd shooter is still using DX, so I mounted my 24-70 f/2.8 on my D3 and used his 18-70 DX lens on my D700, but i lost a lot of the frame. Thankfully, all I had left was the family formals and reception. I usually use the 70-200 for formals, but i was fine with the 24-70. the reception was easy with any lens and flash. I had to adjust, but not too bad.
The D3 is the camera of my life. The camera I will always look back on as the camera I had when I made it in photography
What a great camera. My d3 is my life in terms of photography.