Time to say goodbye? at DVinfo.net

Wayne Chu · March 19th, 2008, 08:38 PM

Well, after years of good service, my PD170 finally went kaput and the repair shop tells me it'll cost me about $1,600 to fix it (almost half the cost of a new one!). So I was wanting to get the community's opinion on this. I totally agree that the PD170s time has not come yet, especially if you've already got one, but in this case, is it worth paying the repair cost or is time to move on to HD?

Don Bloom · March 19th, 2008, 09:45 PM

Wayne,
What happened? Did it fall on the floor? $1600 is the price of a preowned 170.
New is about $25-2600 from B&H. (something in that area).
Would I spend 1600 to FIX it? NO! Would I spend 1600 to buy a preowned to use for the year or 2? YES!
HD? Why? I can only speak for myself and the work I get. Right now it would be a pure luxury. I haven't had any client even ask about it so why would I spend the money. That's just me. Perhaps if I'm still shooting next year, I might consider it.
As for you, you need to look at the work you're doing and decide for yourself if it's worth it to go to HD or not. Personally if it were me, I'd get another 170 but not a new one. You know yourself our camera gear is like a new car. Drive it off the showroom floor and man do you take a hit. Depreciation galore.
You asked ;-)

Don

Wayne Chu · March 19th, 2008, 10:20 PM

Thanks for the advice Don. Apparently there are a couple circuit boards that need to be replaced, most likely due to the rough use I put 'ol gal through. It's been through a few continents :) The problem was that the picture's colour was fluttering, as if one of the R, G, or B sensors were intermittently cutting out.

What about that price! At first I thought they were milking me on labour, but then they told be that $1,400 of that is just for parts.

That's a good point about the depreciation. I was worried about futureproofing myself, but perhaps a good idea to let the market to mature a bit first? That being said, now that the HD format war is over, and digital TV in the US in 2009 and 2011 in Canada, you may start getting those HD requests soon :)

Eric Stemen · March 20th, 2008, 12:27 AM

did you go through a sony service center?

Simon Denny · March 20th, 2008, 01:50 AM

I own a PD170 and thought what will i do with it? I recently purchsed a Sony Z1 and my last two jobs with this camera have been in 4.3 Pal.
I'm so glad i have kept the PD170 as i now have two great cameras for 4.3 Pal.

I you can get it fixed do it, it's a good camera and will be around for years to come.

Regards
Simon

Boyd Ostroff · March 20th, 2008, 07:33 AM

Aside from any debate about the merits of HD vs SD, I don't think it makes any economic sense to put that kind of money into a used PD-170. You said it gave you "years of good service" - does that mean it has a lot of hours on it? After you've spent $1,600 you will still have a used high-mileage camera.

For a sense of the market see:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=113768
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=110186
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=105083

Russ Holland · March 20th, 2008, 10:59 AM

I've just recently been sorted out with a brand new VX2100, because my old one had an accident and the colours went funny and the mic shattered. I wouldn't be without it. Prior to that, I was considering HD, but then I looked into it properly. It's all OK forking out for a HDV camera, your natural Sony choice would probably be the FX7 which is in fact cheaper than the VX2100, but there are hardly any burners available yet to make HD quality dvd's, a powerful PC is a definate with a very large amount of disk space, and it's new editing software if you currently don't support HD capture.

Now, you probably already have all that stuff if you make money from your camera, but HD at the moment in my opinion is far too expensive and is indeed still a luxury.

SD is certainly not dead yet, and won't be until the consumer says it is, while there's still a market for it, consumables for SD will still be made and repairs supported. I agree with Don in saying that if you don't need to go HD yet then don't; you'll only end up down converting to SD anyway at least for the next couple of years until there is enough mainstream compatibility to support HD. There may be an HDTV in many homes in your part of the world, but I'll bet SD still outweigh it by far, so while your clients are still happy to see the content of your work rather than how many pixels are on the screen, then you're best bet is to grab yourself a used PD170 and get a few more years good service out of her.

Regards,
Russ

Allen Plowman · March 20th, 2008, 11:22 AM

I bet after you buy a good used camera for 1600, you can sell your broken dead one for a couple hundred for parts.

Wayne Chu · March 20th, 2008, 04:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Allen Plowman

I bet after you buy a good used camera for 1600, you can sell your broken dead one for a couple hundred for parts.

And I think that's what I am going to do. Thanks, all, for the great advice. Good to have a place to go to hear voices of reason :)

March 19th, 2008, 08:38 PM	#1
Wayne Chu New Boot Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Toronto Posts: 12	Time to say goodbye? Well, after years of good service, my PD170 finally went kaput and the repair shop tells me it'll cost me about $1,600 to fix it (almost half the cost of a new one!). So I was wanting to get the community's opinion on this. I totally agree that the PD170s time has not come yet, especially if you've already got one, but in this case, is it worth paying the repair cost or is time to move on to HD?

March 20th, 2008, 10:59 AM	#7
Russ Holland Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Burton on Trent, UK Posts: 193	I've just recently been sorted out with a brand new VX2100, because my old one had an accident and the colours went funny and the mic shattered. I wouldn't be without it. Prior to that, I was considering HD, but then I looked into it properly. It's all OK forking out for a HDV camera, your natural Sony choice would probably be the FX7 which is in fact cheaper than the VX2100, but there are hardly any burners available yet to make HD quality dvd's, a powerful PC is a definate with a very large amount of disk space, and it's new editing software if you currently don't support HD capture. Now, you probably already have all that stuff if you make money from your camera, but HD at the moment in my opinion is far too expensive and is indeed still a luxury. SD is certainly not dead yet, and won't be until the consumer says it is, while there's still a market for it, consumables for SD will still be made and repairs supported. I agree with Don in saying that if you don't need to go HD yet then don't; you'll only end up down converting to SD anyway at least for the next couple of years until there is enough mainstream compatibility to support HD. There may be an HDTV in many homes in your part of the world, but I'll bet SD still outweigh it by far, so while your clients are still happy to see the content of your work rather than how many pixels are on the screen, then you're best bet is to grab yourself a used PD170 and get a few more years good service out of her. Regards, Russ __________________ Sony Alpha a57 \| RODE VideoMic \| Adobe Premiere CS5 Manfrotto 785b \| Manfrotto 718b

March 20th, 2008, 11:22 AM	#8
Allen Plowman Major Player Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Paradise, california Posts: 353	I bet after you buy a good used camera for 1600, you can sell your broken dead one for a couple hundred for parts. __________________ "What I need is an exact list of specific unknown problems we might encounter."

March 19th, 2008, 09:45 PM	#2
Don Bloom Inner Circle Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 6,609	Wayne, What happened? Did it fall on the floor? $1600 is the price of a preowned 170. New is about $25-2600 from B&H. (something in that area). Would I spend 1600 to FIX it? NO! Would I spend 1600 to buy a preowned to use for the year or 2? YES! HD? Why? I can only speak for myself and the work I get. Right now it would be a pure luxury. I haven't had any client even ask about it so why would I spend the money. That's just me. Perhaps if I'm still shooting next year, I might consider it. As for you, you need to look at the work you're doing and decide for yourself if it's worth it to go to HD or not. Personally if it were me, I'd get another 170 but not a new one. You know yourself our camera gear is like a new car. Drive it off the showroom floor and man do you take a hit. Depreciation galore. You asked ;-) Don

March 19th, 2008, 10:20 PM	#3
Wayne Chu New Boot Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Toronto Posts: 12	Thanks for the advice Don. Apparently there are a couple circuit boards that need to be replaced, most likely due to the rough use I put 'ol gal through. It's been through a few continents :) The problem was that the picture's colour was fluttering, as if one of the R, G, or B sensors were intermittently cutting out. What about that price! At first I thought they were milking me on labour, but then they told be that $1,400 of that is just for parts. That's a good point about the depreciation. I was worried about futureproofing myself, but perhaps a good idea to let the market to mature a bit first? That being said, now that the HD format war is over, and digital TV in the US in 2009 and 2011 in Canada, you may start getting those HD requests soon :)

March 20th, 2008, 12:27 AM	#4
Eric Stemen Major Player Join Date: May 2004 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 378	did you go through a sony service center?

March 20th, 2008, 01:50 AM	#5
Simon Denny Trustee Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Australia Posts: 1,409	I own a PD170 and thought what will i do with it? I recently purchsed a Sony Z1 and my last two jobs with this camera have been in 4.3 Pal. I'm so glad i have kept the PD170 as i now have two great cameras for 4.3 Pal. I you can get it fixed do it, it's a good camera and will be around for years to come. Regards Simon

March 20th, 2008, 07:33 AM	#6
Boyd Ostroff Wrangler Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Mays Landing, NJ Posts: 11,787	Aside from any debate about the merits of HD vs SD, I don't think it makes any economic sense to put that kind of money into a used PD-170. You said it gave you "years of good service" - does that mean it has a lot of hours on it? After you've spent $1,600 you will still have a used high-mileage camera. For a sense of the market see: http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=113768 http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=110186 http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=105083