URGENT: Suggestion needed on used D610

[Raj_55555]

A reputed wedding photographer in my area put up a D610 for sale, it's 1.5 years old with 59000 actuations, priced at about 1250$.
We had a chat and I told him I'll meet him tomorrow, but was wondering if the shutter count was too high. It's a big investment, and it goes without saying that if the shutter fails it'd be a big blow for me.
This site says on an average, the shutter dies at 56,788 actuations.

Another thing I was wondering is, although I desperately want an FF, I don't exactly have many FF lens in my collection other than the 70-300 VR, and it'll be a while before I can acquire any (at least a year). Does it make more sense to just get an APSC for now?

 

[Jasii]

I never was a fan of buying 2nd hand and buying from a Pro would be a 'No No' unless, you know the gent personally and know for sure that he looks after his equipment like a baby. Having said that, the 57K actuation would not account for the countless hours of video.
I was able to locate one on snapdeal for 90K and would strongly urge you to consider that.
I have my heart set on the D750 and am saving for it......

 

[Usul]

I have the same choice to stick with my D7100 or sell all my DX gear and buy used D600/D610. For myself I've decided that it doesn't worth especialy if you have no budget for a lens. It's better to have a full kit of cheap eqipment than even a very good body and no lens to uncover its potential. Moreover I guess 57k is too many for the price but it depends on how close a service center to the place you live in. I live in a quite small town and to fix a problem with camera I need to wait at least couple weeks and isn't cheap because they send it to Moscow for repair.

 

[Raj_55555]

Hmm.. interesting point of view Jasii ji, I think you are right and now I'm officially confused!
I think I'll pass on the opportunity, let me think it over a while and see if anyone else has anything to add.

Moreover I guess 57k is too many for the price but it depends on how close a service center to the place you live in.

That is not even a think to consider for me, I won't be able to afford to send it for repair.

 

[Jasii]

Cheers mate! Will also wait and see what others have to say, would make for a nice learning curve.
Do keep us posted on how it pans out?

 

[PaulWog]

Those stats aren't really worth looking at as far as I see it. It's a small sample-size, and it's a voluntary sample-stat upload system based on the honor system.

$1250 seems somewhat overpriced for a D610 with 57k actuations.

New it's $1500 American, or $1700 Canadian. New, you get a proper warranty, 0 actuations, no dust or wear and tear, no prior video usage, and next to no risk of undisclosed damage.

Over 1/3 of the shutter has been used up, and potentially 100% of the warranty will be 'used up'. It's not a bad idea to buy it used, just not at that price in my opinion.

 

[Raj_55555]

All right, that settles it then. Thanks guys, this is the second time I was stopped from making an impulse purchase here.

 

[sm4him]

I'm glad to see you passed this one up, Raj, because I agree it seemed a bit overpriced.
However, I do think buying used is a good plan. I bought my first digital camera, the D5100 new. Other than that, I think every camera body and lens I've purchased have been used.

I do suggest that you either know the owner well, or at least be able to get your hands on the camera, and know what to look for. It's similar to buying a used car; make a list of things to check (does it look well taken care of? Put one of your lenses on and test it out, try all the various buttons, check the insides for bad dust, etc...)--that won't guarantee you don't have a problem, but it will minimize.
Still, since buying used IS a risk, the price should reflect that.

You might even want to check into the cost of replacing the shutter and ADD that into your consideration before buying--for instance, if the camera is being sold for $1000, tack on another ($200? $250? no idea what it cost to replace a shutter!) and then ask yourself if that is STILL a good deal.

Is there anywhere local or internet-based you could buy from? I don't have a local store that sells used gear, but I tend to like to buy from places like keh.com, and B&H. I know shipping is always problematic for you, but again, maybe you can find something cheap enough to make it worth it even with the shipping.

Now that I said all that--I don't know Raj, I think maybe you ought to concentrate on switching over to FF lenses first, which you can still use on the crop bodies. Then when you've got lenses that cover the range you'd want, start looking for your FF camera. That way, the body doesn't end up restricting what you can shoot.

 

[Ron Smith]

I agree with the others on this - wait for a better oppty to come along, that one is too much and too used. FYI - I just got a Nikon refurb 610 from B&H for under $1K with only 2.3K actuations and has been gone through by Nikon and came with a 3mo warranty. On the lens front - I feel your pain, but I had some OLD manual lenses to get me started that are taking some beautiful images (50mm 1.8, 70-150 3.5 E), and I'm picking up some G kit lenses for dirt cheap (28-80 G for $45, and a 70-300 G for $100) to tide me over with some AF convenience as I work on building out my collection with nice glass. Sure they are not the best lens, but the improvement in the FF from my 6YO crop Oly has been amazing.

 

[acparsons]

Don't buy it.

 

[Braineack]

that's an incredibly low shutter life is that's true. That site also has a sample size of 12 they are using for the average based on random, unvalidated, submissions on the internet.

My coworker went out and picked up a D600 for $800 last night that has already received the shutter replacement and only even had 6,000 clicks. $800 on a D605, with a lifetime guarantee on the shutter, is a freaking steal.

The old 28-105 makes an awesome general lens on that body. Budget conscience or not.

 

[Raj_55555]

Now that I said all that--I don't know Raj, I think maybe you ought to concentrate on switching over to FF lenses first, which you can still use on the crop bodies. Then when you've got lenses that cover the range you'd want, start looking for your FF camera. That way, the body doesn't end up restricting what you can shoot.

This removed whatever little doubt I had about passing on the opportunity. I not only decided not to get this one, I'll stay away from FF for a while and get a good aps-c for now. Maybe a used D7000, and start collecting FF lens.
Thanks a lot guys, everyone!

 

[Ron Smith]

The old 28-105 makes an awesome general lens on that body. Budget conscience or not.

This is what I love about Nikon - long live the F mount.

 

[sashbar]

Now that I said all that--I don't know Raj, I think maybe you ought to concentrate on switching over to FF lenses first, which you can still use on the crop bodies. Then when you've got lenses that cover the range you'd want, start looking for your FF camera. That way, the body doesn't end up restricting what you can shoot.

This removed whatever little doubt I had about passing on the opportunity. I not only decided not to get this one, I'll stay away from FF for a while and get a good aps-c for now. Maybe a used D7000, and start collecting FF lens.
Thanks a lot guys, everyone!

Good decision.

 

[KmH]

FWIW - When shooting video the shutter opens, the image sensor is turned on/off at the frame rate the camera is set to until the end of the video, and then the shutter closes. That is counted as 1 shutter actuation, regardless how long the video clip was.

The D600/610 is a D7000 body with a full frame image sensor in it.

The D610 max shutter burst mode rate is 6 fps. Video is at least 25 fps, which is why they just leave the shutter open and turn the sensor on and off.