second hand market?

[azn137]

hey guys,

 

i currently am having a nikon d40 (and having great fun with it), but iam (for sure) upgrading to the d80 within

the next couple of weeks. after that, iam planning to get some nice glass for the new toy, but the budget will be

running a lil low. i was wondering if you guys can suggest a couple of places where i can buy second hand lenses.

 

iam from north california (sacramento), but i would much rather get stuff online (if possible, obviously). i will

be mostly taking pictures of landscapes, scenes, objects, maybe events here and there; although, iam planning to

improve my skills on people's photos.

 

iam in love with the 50mm f1.8, therefore i will definitely wanna get it once i get my hands on the d80 (for i

can AF with it).

 

any input would be much appreciated.

 

tam.

[leicaglow]

The 50mm f/1.8 is so inexpensive, I doubt you'll find it used much cheaper. I personally haven't purchased much second hand Nikon glass, but I would look for a local pro shop. I'm not a huge fan of buying on the web, but I did get lucky with my 300mm f/4 IF-ED AF on fleabay.

[mars790]

KEH.com is a trusted source.

 

Cameta Camera (i live 2 miles away) is also highly regarded - www.cameta.com.

[azn137]

i wouldnt expect much of a deal for the 50mm f1.8 actually, but i was hoping if i can find good places to get other glasses such as the micro's (macro photography always amazes me btw) and the zooms.

 

i forgot to mention, i also have the 55-200mm VR, but i barely use it because its just a lil bulky. any good deal on the "more friendly and practical" zoom, i.e. 18mm-however-long-it-may-be???

 

thx for you guys' comments so far.

[walterh]

Tam if you want a macro lens KEH usually offers the 55mm set (older to later editions) of Micro Nikkors. The f3.5

ones are often cheaper than the f2.8 ones but for macro these are actually better. These lenses are not inferior

to modern glass even though these are made up to 30+ years ago. On the D40 I believe you can even mount pre AI

lenses but perhaps someone can verify that. The pre AI versions of most lenses are usually cheaper than the AI

versions because these cannot be mounted on most other digital bodies.

 

Think about the restrictions of AI lenses on the D40 - no light metering and obviously no AF :-) Missing AF may

not be important as AF is seldom used for macro.

[elliot1]

I also highly recommend KEH.

 

I also will make a possibly unpopular suggestion. Keep your D40, at least for now, and get the lenses you want. I make this recommendation for several reasons. The price of the D80 will likely be dropping a lot more in the near future making it more affordable to you.

 

If you do decide to keep your D40, consider investing in a battery grip. They cost under $50 and make the D40 feel totally different camera.

 

Also, consider Sigma's 30mm lens rather than than the 50mm (I suggest you try them both before making a decision). The 50mm is a little long on DX and you may find you can use the 30mm more more often.

 

Good luck!

[elliot1]

Ooopps - forgot to add that although the D80 has more features and has better lens compatibility than the D40, IQ will be the same between the two cameras.

[edwin_mendoza]

A) KEH

b) Adorama

C) B&H photo.

 

All sell second hand on internet, my favorite in Adorama.

[Two23]

I've been buying used stuff from eBay for years and never had a problem. I do carefully check the buyer feedback though. If you wait until when the Nikon D90 is announced (possibly next month,) you will be able to get a pretty deal on a used D80. There is some image quality difference between the D40 and D80, especially if you tend to crop a lot. The D40x has the same sensor as the D80 where the D40 has the older/smaller sensor of the D50. The D80 also has a motor in the body to drive non-AFS lenses. Nikon is also coming out with a new 18-105mm VR lens but that likely won't be all that inexpensive. Another thought would be a used Nikon 18-70mm, a decent lens. I have the Nikon 50mm f1.8 and am not that impressed with it. I'm selling off all my old lenses like that.

 

 

Kent in SD

[Peter_in_PA]

Wait for a possible 18-105 if you can. If not, the 18-70, used, would be nice and small and great. (16-85 would be my pick

today, but might be out of your price range, I don't know.) Avoid the 18-200 (Yes, I said that) only because between the 16-

85 and a possible 18-105, (and the 70-300 VR at the long end) it has simply been overshadowed today. It's a great lens,

and was a great choice to buy two years ago... today, not so much (although it is still a GREAT amateur vacation photo

lens, and I'm still glad I have it and it's still probably a good choice for some people.)

 

Kent, I think you meant that the older sensor was smaller in megapixels, not just "smaller". For the record. The physical

size of the sensor is the same in every Nikon DSLR except for the D3 and D700.

[azn137]

looks like KEH is a good place to start shopping around, since i've seen at least 3-4 of you guys suggested.

 

iam upgrading to the d80 because 1) i can trade my d40 in and get the original price i bought it with, which was $550 and 2) rumor has it that the d90 is coming out (well, its been confirmed), so the price of the d80 will most likely drop.

 

the problem is, i can ONLY go to staples.com and order the kit (with 18-55mm VR). atm (at the moment) its $950. iam waiting for it to drop to $850 and iam buying.

 

another conclusion i came up with after reading you guys' post is to get the 16-85 or 18-70 (or 105). those 2 were the ones i actually had in mind, so thats awesome!

 

thx a lot for your thoughts guys :)

[robert_hooper1]

Another vote for KEH. Their grading system is conservative and when they rate something as Excellent it is usually

Excellent + or better, in my very fussy opinion.. Call and talk to Jeannie Cox. She is a real gem.

 

As much as I love B&H Photo, their used gear rating is not accurate. In my experience, their Excellent grading is more like

KEH's Bargain rating or even Ugly rating. Forgive me Henry Posner, but I am very picky and this is my honest opinion.

[donald_king1]

I just bought a used D200 ($710) and an 18-200mm IF ED VR ($555) on ebay,and both seem to be in excellent condition. I

bought them from private individuals rather than a company.

 

I'd suggest you look into ebay's prices before buying locally or other places online. If you are not familiar with ebay (can

this be possible in 2008?), I'd suggest you use the Advanced Search, with the "Search including" - "Completed listings"

checked to see what the items you are interested in are selling for. Then you can compare the prices with other places

where you are looking.

 

 

-- Don

[photo5]

I would do business with KEH before ebay. You never know what you're getting on ebay, and you will get burned, trust me. Now, I've gotten some amazing bargains on ebay, don't get me wrong, but I've also been burned too. KEH is so well known and trusted, you really can't go wrong with them.

[jon_de_la_cruz]

Craig$list is a great source too. It is an online classifieds. Best rip off i've done was $150 for an SB-800.

 

The thing with Criag$list is that you can check out the merchandise beforehand and haggle the price. Be wary of

stolen goods.

 

BTW make sure you type craig$list with an 's' craiglist seems to be a porn site.

 

Just replace the dollar symbol with an 's' as photo.net seems to be block the site.