Buying new vs. used?

[Two23]

<p>I would have no qualms about buying a used DSLR if the price was right.</p>

<p>Kent in SD</p>

[george_peng1]

<p>I think the issue with DSLRs is less about wear and more about how they are treated as pieces of consumer electronics, which means they are subject to and marketed along the same constraints as other consumer electronics. For the most part, this means that they are expected to be obsolete fairly quickly and therefore life cycles are short.</p>

<p>That said, I'm not sure what your options are - in my case I waited until I thought the technology had reached a point to where the effective life cycle had lengthened so that I wouldn't feel like there were so many quality compromises that could be obviated by waiting another year. So after making the F100 my last purchase in 2000, I forked over for the D90 in November, and have been fairly pleased. That said, also been buying used analog equipment, knowing that it probably won't depreciate much further and has few if any technological obsolescence issues.</p>

[phyliss_crowe]

<p>Walmart - $899 no lens - free site-to-store shipping (ships to your local store, pick it up there)</p>

<p>Amazon - $898 no lens, "free Super Saver shipping" <strong>but</strong> it says "ships in 1 to 2 months".</p>

<p>B&H - $939 no lens (only new items ship free)</p>

<p>Adorama - $939 no lens - ships free</p>

<p> </p>

[stephen_asprey2]

<p>Even in Australia, I still buy a lot of my camera gear from Adorama or B&H. The argument that the D90 is too new to have the secondhand values drop a lot, is true.</p>

<p>But the other argument about warranty and grey market is false. Nikon will honour the 12 month warranty worldwide so long as you have proof of purchase. So if you buy one used over eBay, then ask for a copy of the sellers original purchase invoice. Then you are sweet. Dealers get a handling fee out of warranty returns to Nikon, so they don't care where you bought it. They just ship it off. Honoring warranty is up to the manufacturer not the dealer.<br>

I had a mirror jamb on my D300 that I bought from a big Hong Kong eBay dealer. I called Nikon and they just told me where to ship it. I got it back in two weeks all fixed and cleaned. No problem.</p>

<p>For the price of a new D90 you can get a used D300. Thats what I did. But the learning curve is steeper. Personally, if its your first DSLR, I'd get the D5000 (same sensor as the D90/D300) and put the difference into a good lens.</p>

[avery1]

<p>I second always checking resellerratings.com. If I find one customer complaining about bait and switches or products never arriving or continuously being out of stock, I move on. This eliminates the issue of companies posting a bunch of false good ratings (unless you're really unlucky). The reality is that I am almost always moving on to the names I know: B&H, J&R, Amazon, Adorama, etc</p>

[cc_chang2]

<p>Kristy, </p>

<p>I just received my D90, which was ordered from Amazon.com for $898 (body only). Unfortunately the price has gone back to $928. Amazon has a one month return policy so it is great if you are not sure whether you will like the camera. Another factor I consider to be important is whether the camera is a USA model or an "import" model (or the so called grey market product). The later is usually cheaper and frequently sold on the Internet by various shops that are not Nikon authorized dealers. The reason they are called "import" is because they are not intended to be sold in the USA and are imported by other channels. While these "import" models should be as reliable as the USA models, because they were made in the same plant, Nikon USA will not touch it if it needs repair in the future. For these import models, make sure that they are covered by some kind of warranty. Personally if a used D90 is no more than $200 cheaper than a new model, I will go with a new one with a one year warranty for the peace of mind. The second best choice would be a refurbished model with a 90-day warranty from Nikon. Nikon cameras are very robust and reliable. However since this is your first dSLR, it may be a good idea to pay a little more and not taking any risk to spoil the fun.</p>

<p>BTW, I upgraded from D80 to D90. What a change! I know you said that you do not want to use the video. Think again once you receive the D90. The video quality captured using a good lens with a shallow DOF is just so intoxicatingly beautiful. Despite the fact that the video is not as easy to use as a camcorder, the movies quality is soooo much better and worth all the trouble. I will never use a camcorder again. The still pictures captured at low light have no noise, it is just unbelievable!</p>

[ty_mickan]

<p>i always buy second hand if possible, but i do buy film cameras. digital cameras don't last long enough to warrant a secondhand purchase imo, unless you aren't worried about have a camera that isn't the latest and greatest.</p>

[mizore]

<p>I buy used from Penn Camera which has a 14 day no questions asked exchange period and a three month warranty. I like being able to return something used that isn't working satisfactorily easily. Their prices are in line with Keh or a bit higher, but they're local to me. My D300 was under $1200 and had under 500 shutter actualizations on it. I gather that someone traded it in for a D700. I don't mind being a generation behind the curve.<br>

Being able to see the camera or lens and try it out over a couple of days is worth paying a bit more money for me.</p>

[ivan_j._eberle1]

<p>Personally, I don't like the idea of buying refurbed from a big box store that has numerous cameras on display for months, frequently until they're abused and broken (and far too often, on display long beyond that!)<br>

Even if a store has it's own internal return and repair policy, you need to be aware that "grey market" Nikons will not be serviced by Nikon USA, period.<br>

I've also received exemplary customer service from Cameta, and highly recommend them (Cameta only offers Nikon USA gear new and demo'd, no grey).</p>

 

[kristy_ketterman]

<p>What are your all's opinions on buying from say, Amazon vs. buying from a local camera store?</p>

[ShunCheung]

<p>Kristy, if you have gone to your local camera and check out different options, I think you should give them your business. Just make sure that they match Amazon or B&H's price. And IMO don't buy any extended warranties. Otherwise, if they give you a good deal on the camera and then soak you with some expensive warranty, you won't save any money at all.</p>

[kristy_ketterman]

<p>Shun- Well, I talked to the local place yesterday and they said they'd price-match to any store that had a "brick and morter" business in this state. (Indiana) I found prices at a place in Indianapolis (Roberts something or other) that actually had better prices than B&H, but not Amazon. The local place stated that they would either price-match, or do a bundle type deal on the other items I'd need (bag, filter).<br>

<br /> Anywho, I'd obviously save more $$ with Amazon but I'd obviously get more support from this local place in terms of help with my camera and such.</p>

[ShunCheung]

<p>That is exactly what I am afraid off: they'll give you "a good price" on the camera and then hit you with some overpriced warranty, filter, bag, lens ....</p>

<p>Robert's seems to be a good store also. Once I negotiated with B&H and they were willing to match Robert's price.</p>

<p>If I were you, I would tell them you only want the camera body and maybe a lens today, and see what kind of price they are willing to give you. Don't bundle with filters, bags, etc. to confuse the picture. Again, extended warranties generate huge profits for the seller. There was once a discussion that something well less than 10% of the cost for the warranty actually goes towards the cost for honoring those warranties. If they sell you a warranty, they'll likely make more money from that than the camera itself.</p>

[kristy_ketterman]

<p>If they match Roberts it'll be like $1180 I think for the D90 with kit lens, as opposed to $1140 on Amazon...so no huge difference plus I'd have to pay shipping with amazon. BUT...I'd probably actually get the item(s) faster with Amazon. Argh, I dunno! lol<br>

I'm wanting to call the place back soon with some questions to see if I should go with them over Amazon...but I'm not sure what would be the best questions to ask?</p>

[batovision]

<p>for large ticket items you want to buy from someone certified to exist, be in regular professional sales, factory certified, have humans in this country doing their sales, be "sue-able" and "find-able" for when a empty box shows up on your doorstep. for the savings, the risk and hassles are waaay tooooo much. maybe you get lucky, get a real deal and good equipment.... maybe you're not so lucky.... I shopped around, found B&H has really polite and very helpful near geniuses working with them and they had reasonably good prices and spent the wind..... most camera places TEAR APART and sell individually what comes with the camera manufacturer's package, so buying the manufacturer's NEW product from a certified good place like B&H actually saves in the long run. buy your D90 a Zeiss prime, learn to focus manual. the camera is just the "foot in the door" but don't go crazy. buy a training DVD for it, a couple of books other than the manual. B&H and most of the better places have packages that include a lens for savings off both.... two decent lenses, the kit zoom lens, usually a 15-110 kind of range, plus a 50/1.4 zeiss prime, and you're good for 99.2% of all photography. Ritz camera (<a href="http://www.ritzcam.com">www.ritzcam.com</a>) has exquisite quality used lenses after you have the main two lenses, and any specialty stuff comes after that - lensbaby, pinhole lens, fisheye, etc......<br>

don't get tied down on nickels and dimes, would you buy a cheap scalpel if you were going into surgery???? with a bent handle??? dull edges? discolored? figure it like this, with this camera you MIGHT multiply your investment by a factor of a million.... or likely eat the cost as an expensive hobby.... either should be enjoyable...... the clue: what you DO with your photos..... I like to merch mine - greeting cards, calendars, photobooks, t-shirts and all that: <a href="http://www.cafepress.com/batovisioncards">www.cafepress.com/batovisioncards</a>. I blow some up for art gallery exhibitions, large photos of smallish flowers do amazing well..... my kit repays for itself every month.... and I do low volume sales as I like having a low work load, lets me meditate and play music, do other things. buy the book "photographers market 2009"..... 'nuff said.... concentrate on MAKING money with your photography, not spending it.... one last one: www.aipress.com for the freelance photog's organization who has a magazine dedicated to making cash with a camera. enjoy your reading, new edumacation, lifetime of learning, and may you get to do photos at the Olympics!</p>

 

[helen_oster]

<p><em>".......Adorama, ......would also be reliable but I do not know how long their warranty would be for used items"</em><br>

It is 90 days<br>

<em>"You are unlikely to find honest prices much lower than Adorama ..."</em><br>

<em>"Even in Australia, I still buy a lot of my camera gear from Adorama ..."</em><br>

Thank you<br>

Sincerely<br>

<strong>Helen Oster<br />Adorama Camera Customer Service Ambassador</strong><br>

helen.oster@adoramacamera.com<br>

www.adorama.com<br>

 

 

</p>

[kludge]

<p>The D90 is too new to have good deals on used. Pay reasonable retail and cope. Where I love scoring used is lenses. Then again, I love shooting manual with AI/AIS lenses, which are generally better build quality than what's made today and MUCH lighter, not to mention a gazillion times cheaper. But this requires a certain comfort level with manual focus and manual camera operation.</p>

[jeff_guthrie]

<p>As someone else mentioned, I would forget about a new D90 and get a clean, used D300. The price should be more or less in the same range. There aren't a lot of technical differences between the D90 and the D300, other than the construction. The D300 is like a tank, the D90 feels like a toy. But that is not the main reason I got the D300, I prefer the D300 because it can meter with older AI-s manual focus lenses which are cheap and plentiful.<br>

Once you get your new camera, you are going to want to get some lenses for it. The garden-variety kit lenses which usually come with digital cameras are good quality, and inexpensive. But you are going to find pretty much every other type of lens to be outrageously expensive. Many lenses (if not most) cost more than a new D90, and some cost several times as much.</p>