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Should I buy this used D-300? Advice please.


cc_chang2

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<p>I currently own a D-80. I love to photograph my one-yr old who is now very "active," if you know what I mean, and I like to capture him in action. Well he is "in action" almost all the time so there is no other way of taking pictures of him. Most of the photos are taken indoors with available light. Even though I have several outstanding fast lenses: Nikon 35/1.8 and Sigma 50/1.4, the D-80 seems unable to AF track anything that moves, and I frequently need to shoot at ISO 1000 - 1600, which is over the comfort zone of D-80. </p>

<p>For these reasons, I have decided to get a D-300, used preferably, because I do not want to spend too much now and am expecting to buy a new pro level camera that has a variangle screen. "Pro" means that a camera can AF without the need of owning a lot of AFS lenses and this rules out D5000. I saw on a local ad that someone is selling one, a USA model not a grey one, with 9,000 clicks for $1,250. If I shop around on the Internet, I can find brand new grey market D-300 for $1,329. The difference of $100 is not meaningful for me financially, but I worry getting a grey market model may make it difficult to get help from Nikon USA (for firmware update, repair, recall, etc), and for selling it in the future. However, it is nonetheless a new one. What would by do then? </p>

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<p>you are much better off buying used over Grey Market, now someone more knowledgeable might correct me but I believe Nikon USA Will not even look at a grey market camera let alone fix it. I bought my D300 used from Samy's camera for only $1250 dollars and I was amazed to find that it had 900 actuations only when I checked. In my opinion a low mileage used is the way to go remember it's only new once.<br>

Steve</p>

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<p>I have a second hand D300 that has been trouble free. Just FYI (Steve, too) there's really no way to know how many actuations a camera has had; sometimes when you send them in for service the counter gets reset, sometimes the shutter is replaced (which isn't a bad thing, but you could buy a very beat up camera with 0 shutter actuations and have problems elsewhere), etc.</p>
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<p>You guys are right about Adorama in terms of the refurbished D-300. For $200 more, I will get 90 days warranty from Nikon and get a camera in like new conditions. Do think the price will go down more? Does Adorama sell refurbished D-300 on a regular basis?</p>
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<p>I purchased a Nikon-refurbished D300 through B&H about a month ago. It arrived with the body and all packaging appearing as new, and only a few hundred actuations. The cost was $1,350 and it came with Nikon's 90-day warranty. That makes it eligible for a Mack 3-year or 5-year extended warranty, at about $90 or $130, respectively. I purchased one, as I'd been able to use the Mack warranty I had with my first digicam - a Fuji S2 - when it went "black" to cover the $550 repair cost. I would recommend the D300 for photographing children - the 6-frames-per-second mode has already provided images I would not have been able to obtain otherwise. The camera is a bit heftier than the D80 which it replaced, but I like its solid feel.</p>
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