State of buying Second Hand 40D

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Hello everybody,

I was planning to buy second hand 40D and I've attempted twice. However both of them ended up with nothing cause the two of the sellers sold the 40D another one. Anyway these two case was as if a warning for me to learn how to examine the body I'll buy. Because if I had bought one of them, it would has been a superficial review of the camera and maybe I had bought a broken one, so I just want to know for the next time about what I have to be careful while buying a 40D, what are the things I have to check to be sure that it works properly and convenient to buy ?

 

[KmH]

I purchased 2 used, Nikon D300's from private sellers. I only saw pictures of the cameras online before I paid $900 for each.

Both sellers were long standing members of one of the other forums I belong to, so I had a good feel for their approach to things like honesty and forthrightness.

I wanted to know the shutter count (not easy to get, and of questionable reliability, for Canon cameras.), that there were no outstanding repairs needed, and that the cameras had been well cared for.

If buying directly from someone I didn't know I would be sure to test the built-in flash, test the shutter and it's shortest duration, make sure any auto bracketing feature works, test that every extrernal button does what it's supposed to do and take the battery out and have a good look at the battery compartment contacts.

I would then remove the lens, raise the mirror, inspect shutter curtains, the cover over the AF module, and the general cleanliness of the mirror box, then lower the mirror and have a look at the focusing screen area.

 

[Ryan L]

Excellent check list