Refurbished DSLRs

<p>Of late there have been several sales promotions for refurbished Nikon DSLRs. For instance, right now I am tempted by a refurbished D3200 + 18-55 VR DX being offered for $400 by a familiar online retailer.<br>

What is the downside of buying a 'refurbished' camera? Or am I better off paying 30% more and getting a mint model?</p>

<p>Of the last four Nikons I've bought, three were refurbs. I've had no problems. All of the cameras are still working today.</p>

<p>Kent in SD</p>

<p>The generally accepted definition of "Refurbishing" is to bring a product to a fully functional factory state. The unit could have been a demonstrator, used, or anything other than new, and generally does not refer to its cosmetic condition. </p>

<p>There isn't much to refurbish in a camera, to be honest, other than a verification that it's fully functional or with its defects repaired usually at a service center. </p>

<p>The confidence in buying a refurbished camera rests with the reputation of the vendor as anyone can claim that a camera is refurbished, which is different from Nikon certified even though they are also referred to as refurbished: <br>

<a href="http://shop.nikonusa.com/store/nikonusa/en_US/list/ThemeID.27720500/categoryID.43896500">http://shop.nikonusa.com/store/nikonusa/en_US/list/ThemeID.27720500/categoryID.43896500</a></p>

<p>I bought my D800 and D300s refurbished. Downside - very limited warranty. 90 days on both my D800 and D300s seller warranty compare to Nikon's 5 years. Also, you may end up with high actuation. My D800 had 10k clicks but no worries for me since the D800 is rated with 200k. My D300s only had 200 clicks though, had it for more than 3 years now and still working great. As long as you are buying from a reputable dealer then you shouldn't worry of returning or exchanging it. </p>

<p>Most people seem to have good experience with refurbished Nikon products, but I am one of the exceptions with two refurbished 70-300mm AF-S VR purchases: http://www.photo.net/nikon-camera-forum/00Y8dY</p>

<p>As long as you can return any problematic item for exchange or refund, your risk is very small. I would check any items you purchase carefully, regardless of whether that is new, refurbished, or used. I have some questions about Nikon's QC with refurb, but of course, if they do a poor job, they will get a lot of returns, which will cost Nikon a lot of money. It is in Nikon's own interest to keep quality high.</p>

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<p>I bought my D800 and D300s refurbished. Downside - very limited warranty. 90 days on both my D800 and D300s seller warranty compare to Nikon's 5 years.</p>

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<p>Actually, for Nikon USA, warranty for new DSLR bodies is only one year. For lenses, Nikon USA provides an extended 5-year warranty. However, since 1990, I have yet to have one new Nikon lens fail within the first 5 years, after buying some 30 new lenses in that period.</p>

<p>Since most failures happen in the first few months, 90 days is fine. Your main concern is that the refurb is not done thoroughly. That is why you want to check your new item.</p>

Consider buying refurbished from Adorama if they have what you need. If you purchase a VIP membership for only $7.95

they will extend the warranty to one year. Pretty good deal.

<p>I have purchased one refurbished camera from Nikon. It showed up DOA. Well not really DOA when you put a battery in it the camera was on. Didn't matter what position the power switch was in the camera was on. Since at the time the only D300s I could find was a refurb and the only people who had them was Nikon USA I was stuck. Sent it in to have it repaired. It is now working fine but the experience turned me off to buying refurbished items.</p>

<p>I purchased refurb nikon body once. It developed (showed up?) shutter problem after about 2 months. Nikon repaired it according to 90 days warranty. I have been buying brand new since.</p>

<p>Folks, thanks very much indeed for the great responses. Considering returning merchandise is always a pain, I am having serious second thoughts - though the extended warranty option of Adorama (thanks @Jonathan) deserves checking into.<br>

Can one draw a conclusion that equipment made in Thailand are more susceptible to problems down the road?</p>

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<p>Can one draw a conclusion that equipment made in Thailand are more susceptible to problems down the road?</p>

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<p>I have quite a few Nikon DSLRs made in Thailand: D200, D300, D7000, and D7100. All of them are working flawlessly to date. I bought the D200 and D300 back in 2007. I also have various Nikon lenses made in Thailand and in China; all of them are fine. It is not in Nikon's interest to produce really low-quality products, because they are still responsible for warranty repairs, which are costly.</p>

<p>I wouldn't stereotype things based on country of assembly. A "made in Japan" camera body can have parts from all over the place.</p>

<p>I only buy refurbished, two D300s, Mac computers, printers, never had a problem with any. I actually bought a new Mac laptop 15 years ago that had a bad video card right out of the box.</p>

<p>I have purchased 4 Nikon DSLRs as refurbs from Cameta Camera. All worked flawlessly, same for several refurb lenses and a Nikon 1J1.</p>

<p>I have bought a reburb Nikon D300, Sigma SD14 and Olympus E-PL2....no problems with any of them. The Nikon I've had for about 3-4 years now, the OLY about 7 months...the Sigma I had about 2 years with no issues either.</p>

<p>When I was a working professional and wearing cameras out on a regular basis, I never bought new. I aways bought refurbished cameras. I did some studio work, but most of it was on location -- and I mean "on location." The gear was ridden hard and put up wet. Nikon service gave us great support and at any time we had about a third of it in the shop for maintenance and calibration. That was back in the film days. But buying refurb gear was how almost every working photographer I knew operated. We would literally wear the paint off of the gear. The fact that some amateur had used it for a year meant nothing. We were pushing gear to the manufacturer's limit and beyond. The gear today I would think can last much longer than the stuff we had back then. Any gear refurbished by the manufacturer is probably a good deal. As someone pointed out earlier, the failure is likely to happen soon after it arrives. Once you get it, test all of the functions and put it through a hard acceptance test. If it passes, it is probably good to go. If not, it is within the warranty period. That warranty is there for you to use and part of the deal is for you to inspect it after you get it.</p>

<p>Not sure Thailand would be different than Japan. </p>

<p>I have generally had good luck with several refirb items. The D800 refirb we got had all AF sensors in calibration, as far as I can tell, which is good, maybe better than some of the new ones in the initial batch.</p>

<p>The 135/2 DC lens that I got as a refirb had the AF calibration out more than I thought it should have been. That lens has something of a reputation for AF calibration issues, anyway. Nikon adjusted it (accurately) under warranty. The 70-200/2.8 VRII that we got new required AF tweaking (done in camera), so new items are not exempt.<br>

I sort of think that there are not any more issues with refirb vs. new, but don't have any statistics to back it up.</p>

<p>As mentioned earlier, carefully test anything you get, new, refirb, or used.</p>

 

<p>My refurb D90 from Adorama has been great.</p>

<p>My D700 is refurbished, great so far. I have had good results generally with refurbed products, including computers. Sometimes they are safer, because they've been through a tech's hands and looked at more closely than the brand new product. Plus you save as well. Just make sure it has a good warranty. Generally they have same or similar as a new one.</p>

<p>I rarely buy "refurbed" equipment, preferring straight-forwardly "used" cameras.</p>

<p>The reason for this was my earlier experience with refurbished laptops, where whatever original problem had led to its being returned to the manufacturer had not, in fact, been completely addressed before the resale. This happened twice, which is why I don't do that anymore. Worst part about it was that the flaws did not turn up until the short warranty had expired.</p>

<p>Many people seem quite happy with their refurbished items, of course; but I have had excellent results with used equipment too.</p>

<p>Bought a couple of refurb Nikon cameras, all 100% perfect.</p>

<p>Bought a D600 last year, it arrived with a serious fault, Amazon replaced it very quickly, courteously, and with absolutely no hassles.</p>

<p>JDM, did you by Apple refurbished? Never had a problem with one and getting a good as new warranty is a good thing and one reason I would tend to buy refurbished over used generally, not always.</p>

<p>Would agree with importance of dealing with a reputable seller. I have had bad experiences with e-bay, where "refurbished" can mean "failed manufacturer's quality controls, should have been scrapped but somehow got hauled out of the dumpster and sold". This applied to a Vax vacuum cleaner, peep to indicate full bag not working, so I kept on using the cleaner until the motor literally melted, and to a McCulloch petrol-engine strimmer - piston was too tight, did not run in as expected, strimmer would run only on full throttle and only for 3 to 4 minutes before seizing.</p>

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<p>JDM, did you by Apple refurbished?</p>

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<p>Yes, although I don't think the problem is (was) unique to Apple, of whom I am a 1984 adopter.<br>

I bought two Apple manufacturer refurbished laptops, some years apart and both had hidden problems after the warranty had expired. I might add that having used Apples since circa 1978, these are the only two failures out of 13+ other Apple computers - the others were all bought new.</p>

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<p>I might add that having used Apples since circa 1978, these are the only two failures out of 13+ other Apple computers - the others were all bought new.</p>

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<p>That's interesting, I've had just the opposite experience, with one "genius" telling me they were often more thoroughly gone through than new. Anyways, the Nikon refurbished have all been great in my experience, costing less, yet having the same warranty as new.</p>

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<p>Can one draw a conclusion that equipment made in Thailand are more susceptible to problems down the road?</p>

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<p>Not in my opinion. I find Nikon's quality control to be good in both Thailand and Japan.</p>

<p>For the record I have bought both refurbished bodies and lenses and had no problem at all. Go with Adorama as was said and get the VIP extended warranty.</p>