Buying 2nd-hand DSLR . . .?

lilly03

Hi all,

I'm looking for some advice! I've read your stickies re how to choose a digital camera and scanned the DPR/amazon websites and I've finally decided to buy a second-hand DSLR . . . was thinking Canon 350/450d (?) I'm just dipping my toe into world of DSLR so don't wanna spend too much.

Thing is I really don't know what to watch out for when buying camera gear second-hand. Are there any obvious things I should be checking for . . ?

Thanks a mil

AnCatDubh

For starters, general condition and Shutter actuations (the number of pictures that has been taken on the camera). But really, the shutter actuations is down to accepting whatever the person selling it says on many DSLR's as many DSLR's can do a soft reset on the file number or may not have the actuations stored on non volitile memory in the camera. Some cameras embed this info in the image's exif information so could be checked.

General condition is a good indication of how well the camera has been loved. Your selection of a s/h dslr is good and you should have lots of choice so don't jump into bed with the first shabby canon that comes along :eek: - there literally will be plenty more fish in the sea.

Good luck with it.

Ghost Train

lilly03 wrote: »

Hi all,

I'm looking for some advice! I've read your stickies re how to choose a digital camera and scanned the DPR/amazon websites and I've finally decided to buy a second-hand DSLR . . . was thinking Canon 350/450d (?) I'm just dipping my toe into world of DSLR so don't wanna spend too much.

Thing is I really don't know what to watch out for when buying camera gear second-hand. Are there any obvious things I should be checking for . . ?

Thanks a mil

Only thing I've ever really done buying second hand is take a few shots, see that there is nothing obvious wrong with the picture quality

One thing you might be able to check out if you contact the seller is the amount of shutter actions the camera has had. A lot of dslrs will tag this info to the photo, and it can be seen with a exif tool program eg. http://freeweb.siol.net/hrastni3/foto/exif/exiftoolgui.htm

edit: AnCatDubh seems to have got there before me

lilly03

Thats great advice - thank you.
Having had a cmera stolen before I'd hate to end up buying one from a cowboy that's just lifted it from somebody and wants to pass it on - I guess just asking for a box/receipt would be the only way to prevent this!

Cheers

CabanSail

None of mine are stolen, but I do not have the boxes or receipts any more.

duffarama

I keep all the boxes from my cameras and lenses

mrmac

duffarama wrote: »

I keep all the boxes from my cameras and lenses

Me too!

Fredrick

Yeah the condition is a good pointer look for any marks or scratches as this could mean it was dropped or thrown around, take some shots with it or get the seller to and show you if possible and ask questions. How many shots roughly, how old is it and is there any warranty left?

Keep an eye here : http://www.photographyireland.net/viewforum.php?f=17

and obviously on adverts, i bought 2 dslr's from different guys on adverts and both were and are fine

Patrick

lilly03

Thanks for all the advice folks . . . much appreciated

pixbyjohn

Regardless of how good the camera looks DSLR cameras suffer from dust on the sensor. If you take some photos with f22 setting of the sky or some plain scene you can see if there are any dust spots on the photo when viewed on your computer screen. A sensor clean by the professionals could cost between 60 and 100 euro. Good luck with your purchase.
Adverts.ie is a great place to buy.

AnCatDubh

lilly03 wrote: »

Thats great advice - thank you.
Having had a cmera stolen before I'd hate to end up buying one from a cowboy that's just lifted it from somebody and wants to pass it on - I guess just asking for a box/receipt would be the only way to prevent this!

Cheers

That reminds me of something.

/off to the ideas thread. A good idea there that could be actioned very easily wrt stolen equipment and serial numbers.