buying a used DSLR...what should i be aware of?

[Raven]

i'll be getting a pentax k-x, my first dslr from craigslist.
since i'm a noob, i'm wondering what do i have to be aware of to make sure everything is functioning properly?

yes, take a picture, take a video would help, but are there any other things that i should be aware of?

i've heard that if you point a dslr camera at the sun, it can burn the filter...is that true? and how would i know if the filter is burnt?

according the to guy, the camera has barley been used with about 2000 pictures. the kit lens hasn't been used as the owner had a few other lenses that were being used with the camera.

the camera comes with all the case candies like cd program, manuals, strap, memory card and bunch of other stuff....

 

[PASM]

Who's guy and what's a barley been?

 

[PASM]

As a noob, you have no hope of knowing whether everything is functioning properly. Take a chance. Hopefully you'll get lucky.

 

[Raven]

the body has barley been used with only 2000 clicks.
and the guy as in the person i'm buying the camera from....

 

[PASM]

Seriously unless you can handle the goods before buying, just get a plausible assurance it all works. It's true that a sensor exposed to concentrated solar energy could be damaged. I've never burnt a sensor by taking shots into the sun nor known anyone who has.

Confirm that:

The battery holds a full charge. The charger works.
The body is undamaged.
The lens is undamaged (functional AF, free from scratches or dents).

What else (?) Can you pay via a secure method?

 

[Raven]

well i'll be seeing the camera in person, so i will go over all that
and payment in cash.

 

[PASM]

Ok. Sorry I misunderstood. Well.. take shot, test the AF (auto-focus). Turn the camera power off and on a few times, make sure it powers-up ok. Hopefully the seller is courteous enough to fully charge the battery, to show it can hold a full charge. Take the lens off. Look at the mirror. Check the lens mates OK with the body. Ask the seller to lock-up the mirror (sensor-cleaning mode) so you can inspect the sensor for marks or scratches (it should be pristine). Check all controls feel fitted properly..no loose buttons or switches. Pop-up the flash. Take a picture with the flash. Check the memory card slot (and door). The door needs to be closing normally. All sockets and connectors should look complete, without any bent or missing pins etc.

 

[Raven]

yeah, i told the seller to show me how some pictures turn out with the camera along with a video to test out the sound quality and the visual quality and make sure there are no scratches, black spots, or dust specs visible anywhere.

really excited about this, so hope everything turns out fine.

the seller apparently wants to upgrade to a pentax k7, so yeah...

 

[PASM]

I hope it's fine and you're totally happy with it. Good luck.

 

[Raven]

thank you for your help man! really appreciate it!

 

[PASM]

You're welcome. Post some of you new pictures soon .

 

[Raven]

i just picked up the camera
everything seems to function perfectly.
haven't tried out the video yet, but all pictures work great. no loose buttons or switches, no scratches or anything.

first impression: the body is VERY impressive! it really feels like a much more expensive camera due to the alloy body. unlike others in the market now that are entirly plastic and feel a bit toy like. the pentax has a great weight to it too.

cant say much on picture quality yet as i'm still trying to figure it out.

and unfortunetly, i wont be be able to do much of that for the next few weeks. going to wait until my exams are done, then read the manual to figure out what everything does...

 

[Tim N]

Congrats on the purchase.. I had reservations about buying a D70 from eBay but everything worked out very well with the purchase. You have to trust mankind now and then and my guess is if someone can afford something nice, then there's a much better chance it's been taken care of. Happy shooting!

 

[Ajlista]

i just picked up the camera
everything seems to function perfectly.
haven't tried out the video yet, but all pictures work great. no loose buttons or switches, no scratches or anything.

first impression: the body is VERY impressive! it really feels like a much more expensive camera due to the alloy body. unlike others in the market now that are entirly plastic and feel a bit toy like. the pentax has a great weight to it too.

cant say much on picture quality yet as i'm still trying to figure it out.

and unfortunetly, i wont be be able to do much of that for the next few weeks. going to wait until my exams are done, then read the manual to figure out what everything does...

Congrats
Post some pictures sometime
Glad everything works out good

 

[Raven]

well, i did say taht i wasn't going to touch my camera till after exams...but i was too excited!

so i just snapped some random things. still getting used to the iso settings. i really liked how the bird pictures turned out as i didn't open the cage, just shot through it. so you get a bit of the blur from the cage

and i shot a few videos. however, when i tried viewing them on the computer, my computer just crashed, its colors and icon sizes were distorted. and i could only hear the volume, but no video. it was just a blank dark screen...that may be my computers fault though. but video, i am SUPER impressed! a video in 720p is actually very neat! though it drains the battery, which isn't that big a deal...

but anyways, onto the pics:

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