Second hand SLR, would you?
Discussion
I have been steadily getting into Photography over the past 3-4 yrs, and I feel I have out grown my Canon D400.
I was thinking of upgrading to a D60, and stumbled across this website that sells 2nd hand equipment...
http://www.mpbphotographic.co.uk
I was never too interested in purchasing off Ebay, but these guys seem a more safe option, has anyone used them and do you think it's worth buying a used D60 for around £475 as opposed to a new one at £640.
Does anyone have any other sites that they use for 'good' deals?
Money isn't really an issue it's just that I get a warm feeling from getting value for money (wife calls it tight).
TIA
I was thinking of upgrading to a D60, and stumbled across this website that sells 2nd hand equipment...
http://www.mpbphotographic.co.uk
I was never too interested in purchasing off Ebay, but these guys seem a more safe option, has anyone used them and do you think it's worth buying a used D60 for around £475 as opposed to a new one at £640.
Does anyone have any other sites that they use for 'good' deals?
Money isn't really an issue it's just that I get a warm feeling from getting value for money (wife calls it tight).
TIA
I've used MPB loads over the last three or four years (body, lenses, flashes). The product will be as described so if you're happy with the description there's nothing to worry about.
Other places I've used and happy to recommend have been Aperture in London & Ffordes in Beauly, Scotland. Some branches of London Camera Exchange carry used stock but you'll want to be happy with the store and with items on an individual basis...
Other places I've used and happy to recommend have been Aperture in London & Ffordes in Beauly, Scotland. Some branches of London Camera Exchange carry used stock but you'll want to be happy with the store and with items on an individual basis...
MPB have had in excess of £4000 out of me. They're 100% legit and if anything the descriptions on their site tend to undersell their kit.
I bought a 580EXII flash from them last week which was described as "Mint--". The only difference from a new one was a few creases on the box.
Most, if not all their kit comes with a 6 month guarantee too.
I bought a 580EXII flash from them last week which was described as "Mint--". The only difference from a new one was a few creases on the box.
Most, if not all their kit comes with a 6 month guarantee too.
Edited by MonkeyHanger on Sunday 2nd December 23:16
R.P.M said:
Thanks really encouraging.
Is there any way to tell how many 'fires' the camera has made or am I being super fussy?
Try this....i haven't so i don't know how accurate it is...obviously you'll need the camera first Is there any way to tell how many 'fires' the camera has made or am I being super fussy?
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php...
I've bought quite a few cameras off Ebay and never had a problem. Put 150k on a 400D body over this summer that I bought for $150.
With a 60D though (and anything above the 400D - it was the last body that couldn't do this) you can get a shutter count from the body. Everyone has their own idea about what is high shutter count, but anything up 30k is more than acceptable, even higher. 1D owners will happily brag about 200-300k activations.
Another way to check shutter activations (but not 100% perfect) is seeing what the file number of the latest shot is. Most people don't ever reset the counter, so IMG_5102.jpg could well be the 5102 image it took. Could also be the 105,102 image it took, but you get the drift. Not perfect, but another clue to overall use.
The key thing though on any s/h body is condition, or more importantly, how many times it's been dropped. It's difficult, but there are give away clues - look at the corners of the camera itself, if they are beaten up, it's had a hard life. Also the rubber grip can wear on the cheaper bodies, on some bodies where there is the cover for the USB, that whole side gets worn (400D certainly suffers from it), you are looking for scuffs on the rear screen as opposed to an individual scratch. Also look for polished areas of plastic, which means wear. Look at the where where your right thumb would go.
Something else to look for is a dirty lens mount (although unlikely on a newish body like a 60D). If there is a ring of dirt - it means the owner never took off the kit lens! Which means the mirror and ccd should be fairly clean.
Another thing on eBay is whether it comes with it's original box. If it does, it came from a good home, and you are talking to the original owner. Bought another 400D a couple of years ago that had lived in it's box most of it's life, had 3,000 actuations, and it was nearly perfect, unbelievably clean and 3-4 years old.
With a 60D though (and anything above the 400D - it was the last body that couldn't do this) you can get a shutter count from the body. Everyone has their own idea about what is high shutter count, but anything up 30k is more than acceptable, even higher. 1D owners will happily brag about 200-300k activations.
Another way to check shutter activations (but not 100% perfect) is seeing what the file number of the latest shot is. Most people don't ever reset the counter, so IMG_5102.jpg could well be the 5102 image it took. Could also be the 105,102 image it took, but you get the drift. Not perfect, but another clue to overall use.
The key thing though on any s/h body is condition, or more importantly, how many times it's been dropped. It's difficult, but there are give away clues - look at the corners of the camera itself, if they are beaten up, it's had a hard life. Also the rubber grip can wear on the cheaper bodies, on some bodies where there is the cover for the USB, that whole side gets worn (400D certainly suffers from it), you are looking for scuffs on the rear screen as opposed to an individual scratch. Also look for polished areas of plastic, which means wear. Look at the where where your right thumb would go.
Something else to look for is a dirty lens mount (although unlikely on a newish body like a 60D). If there is a ring of dirt - it means the owner never took off the kit lens! Which means the mirror and ccd should be fairly clean.
Another thing on eBay is whether it comes with it's original box. If it does, it came from a good home, and you are talking to the original owner. Bought another 400D a couple of years ago that had lived in it's box most of it's life, had 3,000 actuations, and it was nearly perfect, unbelievably clean and 3-4 years old.
I have come to the conclusion that most camera equipment sold is hardly used. There are exceptions but I would guess an awful lot of kit is bought on a 'must have one' whim and rarely sees any action. Which means that if shutter is considered to be an important measure of used value (it may be a bit more complicated than that for bodies with a reputation for video ...) then most used stuff is likely to be highly valued!
Of course there are exceptions and other considerations.
As an example - I have a 400D bought "refurbed" in 2007 iirc. Mostly used with old manual lenses for the first couple of years. Then as a second camera for the past 2 years. It's had a few tumbles in that time and probably about 50 or 60k shutter actuations. Maybe a lot more, no idea. I may be able to estimate that more accurately but I don't think it is that important.
The tumbles have resulted in scratched plastic (but it happens to be an unlovable silver body so who cares?) and the grip area and control buttons show a lot of wear. (Quite surprising really as much of it's early use was on a tripod with a 600mm lens attached. It still works just as well as ever it did.
This leads me to believe that usage can probably be best assessed by appearance (although I supposed people might walk around camera in hand and never take a shot yet still get the same wear rate!) and that in any case they can normally take quite a lot of abuse. There will be exceptions of course but in the main they will be OK.
If you get a duff one it will be bad luck. HOWEVER you should always take the opportunity to give a used item a serious workout on arrival with a view to being able to return anything that you feel may not be acceptable.
Of course there are exceptions and other considerations.
As an example - I have a 400D bought "refurbed" in 2007 iirc. Mostly used with old manual lenses for the first couple of years. Then as a second camera for the past 2 years. It's had a few tumbles in that time and probably about 50 or 60k shutter actuations. Maybe a lot more, no idea. I may be able to estimate that more accurately but I don't think it is that important.
The tumbles have resulted in scratched plastic (but it happens to be an unlovable silver body so who cares?) and the grip area and control buttons show a lot of wear. (Quite surprising really as much of it's early use was on a tripod with a 600mm lens attached. It still works just as well as ever it did.
This leads me to believe that usage can probably be best assessed by appearance (although I supposed people might walk around camera in hand and never take a shot yet still get the same wear rate!) and that in any case they can normally take quite a lot of abuse. There will be exceptions of course but in the main they will be OK.
If you get a duff one it will be bad luck. HOWEVER you should always take the opportunity to give a used item a serious workout on arrival with a view to being able to return anything that you feel may not be acceptable.
LongQ said:
I have come to the conclusion that most camera equipment sold is hardly used. There are exceptions but I would guess an awful lot of kit is bought on a 'must have one' whim and rarely sees any action. Which means that if shutter is considered to be an important measure of used value (it may be a bit more complicated than that for bodies with a reputation for video ...) then most used stuff is likely to be highly valued!
I've kinda decided that how the gear is treated is an indicator of it's useful life. My first 400D was abused to hell, much like yours 
and died at 60k. However, the 400D I used this summer had 150k put on it in two months and is still working fine.
So I've kinda decided that it's the knock and blows that affect the bodies, more than shutter count.
Having said that, the 150k body (it's actually 160k ish as the original owner put 10k on it), sounds a little worn, the shutter is a lot more metallic sounding that it used to be, the shutter button has also lost it's feel (it no longer has the half step feel). It'll be next years backup body.
If the price is right I wouldn't worry about shutter count, a new one isn't the end of the world.
As an example I bought a 1Ds off ebay which needed a new shutter (I knew this when I bought it), Canon Elstree put a fresh one in for £220 +VAT and on it went. As a guide it had done 242,000 frames on the first shutter. I used it for 9 months, sold it to Nellytheelephant off here, he used it and IIRC has now sold it on for a 1Ds2.
Buying used bodies means you can get a much higher spec, if slightly older, body for your money, I kept a 1D Mk2 for motorsport and airshows, paid £400 for it and it did a much better job than a newer consumer level £400 body would have done.
As an example I bought a 1Ds off ebay which needed a new shutter (I knew this when I bought it), Canon Elstree put a fresh one in for £220 +VAT and on it went. As a guide it had done 242,000 frames on the first shutter. I used it for 9 months, sold it to Nellytheelephant off here, he used it and IIRC has now sold it on for a 1Ds2.
Buying used bodies means you can get a much higher spec, if slightly older, body for your money, I kept a 1D Mk2 for motorsport and airshows, paid £400 for it and it did a much better job than a newer consumer level £400 body would have done.
markmullen said:
If the price is right I wouldn't worry about shutter count, a new one isn't the end of the world.
As an example I bought a 1Ds off ebay which needed a new shutter (I knew this when I bought it), Canon Elstree put a fresh one in for £220 +VAT and on it went. As a guide it had done 242,000 frames on the first shutter. I used it for 9 months, sold it to Nellytheelephant off here, he used it and IIRC has now sold it on for a 1Ds2.
Buying used bodies means you can get a much higher spec, if slightly older, body for your money, I kept a 1D Mk2 for motorsport and airshows, paid £400 for it and it did a much better job than a newer consumer level £400 body would have done.
Correct, the 1DS2 came from MPB, as a back up I added a used 40D from MPB too, so yeah, secondhand is fine by me!As an example I bought a 1Ds off ebay which needed a new shutter (I knew this when I bought it), Canon Elstree put a fresh one in for £220 +VAT and on it went. As a guide it had done 242,000 frames on the first shutter. I used it for 9 months, sold it to Nellytheelephant off here, he used it and IIRC has now sold it on for a 1Ds2.
Buying used bodies means you can get a much higher spec, if slightly older, body for your money, I kept a 1D Mk2 for motorsport and airshows, paid £400 for it and it did a much better job than a newer consumer level £400 body would have done.
Upatdawn said:
so whats a decent semi-pro DSLR (NIKON or CANON) im floundering in model numbers....
For Nikon it's a D200/D300/D300s for DX format (1.5x crop factor) spanning from about 2006 to date, and for FX (Full Frame) a D700 from 2009 to date. (All have autofocus motors in their body so when it comes to lenses you can AF on any AF/AFN/AFD/AFG lens as well as AF-S lenses.)Gassing Station | Photography & Video | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff