I currently have a D3s, thought about a D4 but passed and used the money to buy a used 400 2.8 AFS II for about the same price. In 5 years I'll bet I'm better off. I'll consider another body in 3 - 4 years , maybe a D5. I don't do video or have much interest in it.

framer

DxOMark scores for the D600 are out. The Overall score for the D600 is 94. The DxOMark score for the D3x is 88. The price of used D3x cameras should fall to less than the price of a new D600 unless one is willing to pay a large premium for the more robust build of the D3x.

I would think the D3x would have about the highest depreciation rate of last generation Nikons since it was priced too high in the first place. With the D600 out for about $2100 in the US the D3x should sell for less than $2,000 if, as I suspect, the image quality of the D600, especially at high ISO, will prove to be superior. Since the D3x originally sold for about $8,000 it will drop about $6,000 in the few years it was owned. That can be a bitter pill to swallow.

The comparison with computers is very fitting in my opinion. Your D700 that you never took outside the studio, which is in mint condition and only has some 10k exposures is virtually new when it comes to strain and deterioration and so on and still has the same IQ it had when you bought it. However, that very IQ is matched or even bested now by cheap entry models, thus one cannot be surprised if prices drop fast.

The D700 is now ~5yrs old compared to the D800 or D600 in a market that has gone from 3MP to images over 10 times that and which are better and cleaner as well within 13yrs! Speaking in terms of cars since their invention, the D700 is a 1967 Mustang. Awesome, but so, so old. Would you buy a 200MHz Pentium II tower for 800$ because the person selling it payed 1200$ in 1994?

interesting to note, in the UK, you can currently get a D800 for less than the pre order price of the D600

sevencrossing said:
how do most people sell their second hand kit

Because I expect to get a right kick between the legs, I hardly ever sell my old equipment. I either use it as backup, or give it to family. In my mind I effectively write off the new cost of it over say 3-4 years, so I'd rather someone I know benefit from it gratis, than the shop getting the satisfaction of turning me over. I did however sell my 70-300 on eBay to fund my recent TC 2III acquisition. I got enough to pay for it in full, so that didn't seem so bad to me.

Not sure if we need a separate thread
but how do most people sell their second hand kit

I sold my D70 and my D90 to friends
using e bay to get an idea of of value

my D700 seems to be worth ~ £1100 so it has deprecated ~£250 a year
like my D70 and D90 it has certainly earned it's keep and certainly worth £1000 as a spare camera

Gareth said:
don't buy new cameras as an investment. they are for taking photos.

Yep, Gareth's comment gets another "plus 1" from me. Bear in mind also PaulR that a part x sale in a camera shop will ALWAYS represent a poor deal for the customer, as the shop is looking to offer you so little for your equipment, that they can guarantee earning a handsome profit whatever they happen to sell for. One way around this is to ask the shop to sell your stuff on commission, you agree a percentage to them of the sale price (say 20%), which is much less than they would normally try and earn, but as there is absolutely no risk to them, and they don't part with any cash until they've received payment themselves, it's a deal many will accept.

Price is always a major part of making a decision when changing cameras,however You buy a camera to suit the use you want, my background is 60% studio work and 40% landscape hence the reason i bought the D3X,If you are a sport or photo journalist, the D4 is a selected choice, I just wanted to up date to the new technology, but not at any cost. My final decision was made up for me by this link http://snapsort.com/compare/Nikon-D4-vs-Nikon_D3X

Gareth said:
don't buy new cameras as an investment. they are for taking photos.

+1.

Also, even if you bought a D4 to replace your old D40 and the D4 broke during paid work in the field, then for you the D40 is the best (because it's the only) camera in the world so how much is it worth then?

In all honesty with a D800 selling for $3000 new, who's going to buy a D3x for even 2500 GBP?

Excellent topic that gets my full support! The D3X is still priced very high here in South Korea at 5.3 million won or around $4900. Thats only a thousand dollars less than a new D4 which is the way it should be. Good job PaulR to walk out on the deal because you felt that it was unfair!

Digital cameras are no different than any other high technology device. Basically they are technologically outdated when they hit the store shelves. Thus is the pace of change in a technology rich world. I agree with others who have stated in one form or another to buy cameras for their intended use, not as an investment. As sevencrossing infered, 3-4 year-old computers are boat anchors and digital cameras are not a lot different in terms of value. However, I see many, many photographs in NR PAD and elsewhere that are taken with older cameras and the images are still very good. Just because a tool is older doesn't mean it doesn't have intrinsic value to its owner and can't still produce a quality result/product.

Gareth said:
don't buy new cameras as an investment. they are for taking photos.

absolutely and like computers in 3 -4 years time they will be outdated

but unlike computers they still do have a reasonable S/H values

Yes, the D3x WAS and still IS a great camera, as are many older digital cameras. It is just that digital camera technology, like computer technology, seems to be able to produce so much more for so much less every 2 or 3 years. Who would have thought when they spent $8,000 a few years ago to get a huge 24mp sensor in a D3x that in just a few years Nikon would put a 24mp DX sensor in the D3200 and a 24mp FX sensor in the D600? All digital cameras and all computers are poor investments. They have to be thought of as consumable items. Use them hard because you will likely not be able to wear them out before you will likely want to replace them in 3 to 5 years.

When the price of a D3 or D3x falls low enough I will buy one to enjoy it like I enjoy the used D40, D70, D3100 etc. which I have purchased on e-bay. If you have seen my PAD posts recently I have been praising these "obsolete" cameras you can now purchase for a few hundred bucks by demonstrating they record more detail than PAD can show.

don't buy new cameras as an investment. they are for taking photos.

PaulR said:
One of the things that is very apparent from Forums is people have great knowledge about cameras they have never owned or used.
Ask any D3X owner about this camera and I am sure they will have nothing but praise,
The D3X was designed for a limited market, so was never going to be a top seller,
Perhaps the people who knock cameras should at least go through the, Try and Test, before basing an opinion based on information they have gained on the internet

I think a depreciation of over 70% in three years makes Nikon cameras look poor value for money , However at the end of the day its only an price if you accept it.

Likewise, its only a price if you can get it too I'm afraid, and as you say, the D3X market was niche to begin with.

One of the things that is very apparent from Forums is people have great knowledge about cameras they have never owned or used.
Ask any D3X owner about this camera and I am sure they will have nothing but praise,
The D3X was designed for a limited market, so was never going to be a top seller,
Perhaps the people who knock cameras should at least go through the, Try and Test, before basing an opinion based on information they have gained on the internet

I think a depreciation of over 70% in three years makes Nikon cameras look poor value for money , However at the end of the day its only an price if you accept it.

I think if you want to sell a D3X, it's better to do it now rather than wait. Great camera, but the D800/800E is a great new camera.

As I recall the D3x was not good at high ISO and from the one set of high ISO photos I have seen from the D600 it seems the D600 will be much better at high ISO than the D3x was. Overall I expect D600 image quality to exceed that of the D3x. So what is the use of the D3x now? Just a more robust body and different controls. I would expect D3x prices to drop and drop some more to less than $2,000 when people realize what the D600 can do. Same for a D3. Disappointed the D600 was not priced at $1,500 as an entry to FX? Not to worry, the D700 and D3 should fall to about $1,500 and the D3x to less than $2,000 soon. They will be the entry level FX bodies.

I've seen the same used D3x advertised on Craig's List go from over $5k asking to less than $4k and it's still there.

Something to consider: I've seen decent D3 bodies going for not much more than a D600...

I kind of chuckled when I saw this. In the US, few really want old digital bodies, and when they do take them, it is usually 40-50% of original purchase price if the next (or better) model is out and beats it. My D300 will get $700 on ebay, $500 on trade. It is worth it for me to keep it as a back up. $2,000 new and 5 years later, only worth 35%.

Personally after seeing what the D800 can do, market wise, £2200 (or about $3,500 US) is the best you can get on a D3x, and that will be dropping fast with the D600 out. This would be the time to sell if you were going to. It is about the same position the D2xs had when the D300 came out, new, cheaper, and better IQ. Better features on the pro body though.

That is the sad reality of digital camera bodies - they quickly drop in price, and below their worth (considering performance) in the hands of the owner.

PaulR said: Keeping my D3X until D4's come down in price

You may have a long wait! I doubt they will fall by much i.e. how much did the D3s come down even when the D4 was imminent? Even if they do, your D3X will be worth less too.

The second hand D3X market is currently, on average, hovering around £2000 mark, or just above - so £2500 plus a 3 year old D3X for a D4 that retails new near £4800 doesn't seem wildly unfair.

Still, good, solid advice.

Having owned a Nikon D3X for just over 3 years I decided to buy a D4, Dealers were advertising ,"We want your part exchange',
I found prices varied in Cost To Change by £700 00 difference, Lesson learned , don't take the first price, and be prepared to haggle, My experience was in the UK, perhaps its different in the States,
Final conclusion was best deal would have cost me £2500 00 to swap with my camera, for a camera that sells foe less money than the one I have. Decision made, Keeping my D3X until D4's come down in price