Any experience with refurbished Canons?

<p>A refurbished 5D Mark II is $800 cheaper than a brand-new one. Has anybody gotten a refurbished Canon before, and if so, when you took it out of its box, was it indistinguishable from a brand-new one? Have you ever had any problems with the cameras down the road that could be attributed to its refurbishment?</p>

<p>Where are you buying it from?</p>

<p>I have bought three Nikon Refurbs. All were pristine. Just like new. If you buy from Adorama and join the VIP club you can get an extended warranty for $7.98. </p>

<p>If Canon is the same as Nikon (and I imagine they are) and if these are FACTROY refurbs with a factory warranty, I wouldn't hesitate to buy one. By the way. I can't imagine a repair that would cost anywhere near $800.00 anyway.</p>

<p>Some place called Dani Camera, through Amazon. They have a 100% positive rating with over 2,000 votes. Why? Doesn't Canon refurbish Canons? Stores don't do it, right?<br>

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B001G5ZTLS/ref=dp_olp_refurbished?ie=UTF8&condition=refurbished&qid=1371949282&sr=8-1</p>

<p>Rick, thanks for the response, but I'm not sure what you mean when you say you're not sure a repair would cost anywhere near $800. What does that have to do with it?</p>

<p>Chris I think Rick means that if for some reason the refurb did end up needing a repair, the repair would likely be less than $800 therefore you are still spending less in the long run over buying new.</p>

<p>Ohh, okay, gotcha. Yeah, I actually found a Canon factory-refurbished 5DMkII for 2,050. Think I'm going with that. Sound good?</p>

Canon has a refurb 5d Mk ii for $1495 right now. I wouldn't pay $2000 for one.

<p>I would be all over refurbs if I could get them in the UK.</p>

<p>I don't think any of these cameras are stripped down and rebuilt, i.e., like old apartment building refurbished into office suites. People return them and a tech checks them out to make they work correctly and adjust and/or repair if needed. They're basically lightly used gear with a checkup.</p>

<p>I have not purchased a refurbed camera body, but I have purchased a few items, the last being a 600EX-RT flash. It looked like brand new, never used, even the accessories. According to the Canon USA website, refurbished products must pass "a comprehensive quality assurance inspection" and "Rigorous function and cosmetic inspections" prior to shipping. </p>

<p>I have another 600EX-RT that I purchased new. I sat the refurbed unit down beside it and forgot which side I put it on. I had to look at the serial numbers to distinguish which was which.</p>

<p>Devon,<br>

Where do you see that Canon has a refurb for $1,495? I went to their website and couldn't find it. Also, $2,050 was the cheapest price on Amazon that said it was factory-refurbished by Canon. All of the others in the refurbished section--all the ones cheaper anyway--did not specify where they were refurbished. But if refurbished means they're like new and pristine, as an above commenter said of his three refurbed Nikons, why not pay $2,050?</p>

<p>Canon direct is $1759.20</p>

<p><a href="http://shop.usa.canon.com/shop/en/catalog/cameras/refurbished-eos-digital-slr-cameras/eos-5d-mark-ii-body-refurbished">http://shop.usa.canon.com/shop/en/catalog/cameras/refurbished-eos-digital-slr-cameras/eos-5d-mark-ii-body-refurbished</a></p>

 

<p>A year or so I bought my wife a refurbished Canon S95 from Adorama. Could not tell it from new. The box was marked refurbished, everything inside looked new.</p>

Chris, I saw it last night at Canon direct, but the price has changed this morning to $1759.20, as Dennis mentioned. And they say that if you spend $500 right now, you get $125 off.

<p>Chris, I don't know where you got the idea that $2050 for a refurbished 5D Mark II is an $800 discount. It's not a $2800 camera. Earlier this year, B&H was selling new Mark IIs for $1799 after a $400 rebate. I bought one, but decided to go with the Mark III and sent the Mark II back unopened when it arrived.</p>

<p>B&H doesn't offer the 5D Mark II camera body by itself now, shows it as discontinued, but they have new 5D Mark II's bundled with the 24-105mm f/4 IS L lens for $2699. If you bought the bundle and sold the lens for more than $649 (current retail on it at B&H is $1149, though I don't think many people buy that lens on its own for that kind of price) you'd have a new camera with a full warranty for less than the price of the refurbished one. Or if you could use the 24-105mm lens, that bundle is in my opinion a much better deal than paying $2050 for a refurbished Mark II, which seems like a very high price to me.</p>

<p>[[Also, $2,050 was the cheapest price on Amazon that said it was factory-refurbished by Canon]]</p>

<p>If a camera has been discontinued, in my experience, Amazon.com Merchants are almost always the last place you should go looking. Second to last would be ebay.</p>

<p>Purchase one either direct from Canon or from Adorama/B&H/KEH/Cameta</p>

 

<p>I have purchased numerous "Canon White Box" refurbished bodies and lenses from both Canon and Adorama and every one has been flawless.I assume many of them are returns after someone breaks open a new factory package then decides to return the item for whatever reason under warranty.According to Canon all are checked out by factory trained technicians,updated with latest firmware and software,and cleaned if necessary.As a bonus many come with a printed operators manual.Also included are all the accessories included with a new unit and a new Canon made battery.I will never buy new again if a Canon refurb is available.Keep a close eye out for special discount sales because the cost savings over new can be substantial.</p>

<p>I bought a refurb and it was fine.</p>

<p>Rob, the 5D Mark IIs on B&H are much more expensive than on Amazon, and there aren't any on Adorama, KEH, or Cameta.</p>

 

<p>Has anybody bought a refurb and then checked the shutter actuations on it? I've been in contact with Canon, and they said when they receive returned camera, they don't check the actuations because they "have no way" of doing it. Which sounds hard to believe, but there it is. So has anybody ever tried this with their refurbs?</p>

<p>[[Rob, the 5D Mark IIs on B&H are much more expensive than on Amazon]]<br>

<br>

Currently there are not any refurbished 5D Mark II's at B&H so I cannot verify exact prices of the 5D Mark II. Regardless, my statement was a general one, not specific to your camera.<br>

<br>

[[Has anybody bought a refurb and then checked the shutter actuations on it?]]</p>

<p>Do you think Canon is taking in cameras with 300,000 shots, dusting them off, and selling them as "refurbished." ? That's not what refurbished means, and Canon could not legally sell such a camera as refurbished. The would be sold as used. </p>

I was told by Canon when considering a refurb recently that the listed shutter life of a camera isn't necessarily how long it will last anyway.

A shutter can die at 10,000 clicks or last for 200,000. You can always go the Craigslist route, take a laptop along to a place with wi-fi,

shoot a pic with the camera for sale and check the shutter count, but then you'll be without a warranty. Or you can go with a Canon refurb

that has a limited one year warranty. Not sure what "limited" means, but you can ask before buying.

<p>The Canon refurbs I've purchased came with a 90 day warranty? Possibly you can purchase a extended warranty beyond 90 days.Nonetheless I've never had a problem after the warranty has run out.</p>

<p>I bought a refurbished Canon 60D. Other than arriving in a white box, I couldn't tell any difference between it and the Canon bodies I purchased new. I have had it five months now and haven't had any problems at all.</p>