zissou

Ok - I'm glad to report that I just got back my d80 from Precision Camera. The sensor is scratch free and spotlessly clean. Images at small apertures are perfect. It took two weeks, incl shipping, and cost about $175 including shipping both ways.

Concur, a nikon refurb d80 goes for a mere $450 these days it's hardly worth $250 to roll the dice on a repair. $160 on the other hand is appealing. Well if it doesn't work out, it can always be an excuse to upgrade.

I just sent off my d80 to get repaired. There is a 1mm scratch in the dead center of the sensor or the LP filter which sits over it. It could be a trapped tiny hair - but I doubt it. I believe it happened when I was attempting to rid of the huge dust particles on the sensor. I have to admit dslr sensor dust is a PITA. I'm tempted to upgrade to a D7000, but the cost is... I had trouble finding decent, recent feedback on the the three shops I found to replace the LP filter. 1.) LifePixel.com of WA ($250) 2.) Spencerscamera.com of UT ($200) 3.) Precisioncamera of CT ($160 flat fee for unspecified repair) All claimed to have "fast turn around" however all had a few disgruntled reviews online. Spencer's has a BBB rating of F. Lifepixel was a little pricey, so I decided to go with option 3, since it was the least expensive and is a large manufacturer service center. We shall see how it goes. I'm especially curious if they will actually honor their flat $160 fee. Anyone have experience with these repair shops?

Ok that is clear. So the flare is caused by light from the strobe directly hitting the front of the lens, which then reflects off the dome and into the image? By pulling the strobe back the housing/back of the port would block any strobe lighting from directly striking the lens. Angling the strobe more parallel to the lens will reduce back scatter. Thanks, strobe placement is a new challenge for me. Wellington

I was hoping to get some help with a new ikelite dome port issue I'm having. The problem is happening with a D80, tokina 10-17 with an ikelite housing and 8"dome. I have a single ds-125 stretched out on an 8 and 12 inch arm. In some of my photos I'm getting a pretty severe flare from the strobe. The attached photo, taken at night (Cocos Island), has a pronounced example. This must be related to strobe positioning, however I was wondering what thoughts people had in minimizing this. Thanks for any advice you might have. Also - I've been using the smudge tool to try and blend this out. What other techniques are there for hiding this in CS2/3?

Does anyone know if you can fit a Ikelite 8" dome port vertically in a Thinktank International Roller? thanks -