Buying a USED 450d ?

[B16JUS]

when buying a used 450d is there anything to look out for, a friend at work has found a second have 450d and wanted to know are they bullet proof ?

as he doesnt want to fork out 300 notes for a camera that only has a month or year left in it

Edited by B16JUS on Thursday 10th June 11:38

[tinman0]

B16JUS said:

when buying a used 450d is there anything to look out for, a friend at work has found a second have 450d and wanted to know are they bullet proof ?

as he doesnt want to fork out 300 notes for a camera that only has a month or year left in it

450D will give an actuation count. Software is on the net somewhere (I only have the OSX version of the software). That will give you some idea of usage. Plug it into the USB, run up the software, keep the shutter button down and the PC/Mac should be able to read the shutter count.

The only other thing is to look at the condition of the body. Look at corners for instance, are they shiny or proper worn. The plastic will get shiny from just handling and that's not really an indicator of anything so don't let it put you off. Look for scratches on the body as well, but thats less important than finding impacts on corners. If it looks clean, then it's probably good. ANother thing to look at is the base of camera - always a dead give away if its been thrown about a bit as you'll find just general wear. The base won't be unmarked, but it will give an indicator of how used it is.

Where your thumb goes on the back of the grip will be the two buttons for exposure lock and something else (i forget), check that the blue icons showing the zoom in and out are still present. Those icons wear off with wear.

Anything over 20k I think is getting on a bit in a way, although my 400D did around 60k before knifing itself in the heart. But I fully expected it to be dying at around 40k.

Really its about matching the camera to the story of the owner in some respects. If he says it was kept in a bag and its looking like a Vietnam Vet, then probably ought to steer clear.

(And if you see a 40D get that lol. I humbly apologise for not rating it a few weeks ago and got torn apart on PH for my sins hehe. But i still rate the lower range Canons)

Edited by tinman0 on Thursday 10th June 12:13

[Busa_Rush]

Have you looked here: http://www.mpbphotographic.co.uk/used-equipment/us...

They will give you a good indication of the condition and actuations etc. I've bought a couple of lenses from them and the condition of both was perfect, no real signs of wear at all.

[plg]

tinman0 said:

Anything over 20k I think is getting on a bit in a way, although my 400D did around 60k before knifing itself in the heart. But I fully expected it to be dying at around 40k.

I'm surprised at this - I though the shutters were rated to 100k? Or is that just on 30/40/50D?

Personally I wouldn't be worried on a Canon below about 50k actuations if it has been well maintained - ie not dropped / cracked / split, etc

But either way, buying used I'd look at a 30D or 40D instead - see previous link or somewhere like:
http://www.mifsuds.com/acatalog/Used_Canon_EOS_Bod...