Every piece of technology has a life span - some cameras will last years and years without a glitch, others will die within a few months or years. Accidents do happen - all it takes is a small drop to fracture the screen or dint the body. Or that awful moment when a glass of wine is knocked and liquid seeps into the inners of your camera. So, the question is, do you repair or buy new?

Nowadays, cameras are a household item - one that can be bought in any price range, with any level of quality. It is far less common to have a camera repaired, due to these low prices and options of brand new exciting functions and abilities. Digital cameras are updated more and more frequently, so often it is not advised to repair a camera that is three years old or more.

Deciding whether to buy new or repair is very dependent on the damage done to the camera. Repair costs for a digital camera can range from $150 to $400 or more, and a repairman can charge up to $120 per hour, plus GST, and your camera generally will be returned to you in one month. Five years ago, camera companies were sending out three to four cameras a week to be repaired, however now, this number has significantly dropped back to one - if that.

Warranty is always an issue when it comes to repairing or replacing. Thinking in advance is always a smart idea - when purchasing the original camera, consider buying from a dealer who supplies an Australian Manufacturing Warranty, and be sure to ask all the right questions. Ordering your digital camera online is always risky, some websites can easily void the warranty due to being an unauthorised seller.

The best option for your battered camera is to have it examined by a specialist - determine the issue, and the cost to repair. With such a huge, diverse range of cameras on the market, why choose to repair when you could upgrade for a similar price? You can easily build your own opinion when researching more camera resources.

Give Kirk’s Cameras a call, or come in down to our Ringwood store, and ask our fantastic team for some advice!

Nikon’s brand new D90 digital SLR camera is beyond any regular DSLR camera. If you’re on the hunt for something new and creative with supreme quality, you’re on the right track! The Nikon D90 is set to impress and suprise, let’s find out why…

The first thing that will amaze all avid photographers is the stunning image quality, made possible by numerous factors. The Nikon D90 is fitted with an image sensor and 12.3 effective megapixels, delivering to you outstanding photos with extreme details, rich colour and low noise. The D90 takes a clear, smooth and ‘picture-perfect’ photo, designed to make any photographer - no matter what skill level - look like a professional.

The in-camera retouch menu includes brand new features, those that the Nikon d80 did not possess. Rather than plugging your camera into your computer and transferring yours photos across to edit them, photographers can now use a diverse range of alternate and new functions that will save them time and effort. These include ‘Quick Retouch’, ‘Straighten’, ‘Distortion Control’, ‘Fisheye’ and all of your traditional abilities as well!

But what is truly exciting about the Nikon D90 is it’s new ability to take very high-quality movies - the D90 being the first DSLR to take video footage. With it’s unbeatable ergonomics, the D90 gives you cinematic results, using a broad selection of NIKKOR lenses - these being used by professional photographers all over the world. So not only now can you take beautiful images with your DSLR, you can capture videos, with even better quality, definition and colour than a cam-corder.

Check out Kirk’s Cameras and their great team down in Ringwood, we’ll be more than happy to give you a demonstration of the new Nikon D90!