does the word "refurbished" mean "crap"

agnatha · Jul 18, 2012

so, alright, as i've said before, i think that a blind monkey could take better pictures with it's butt than i can. those are just the facts. but, i have so much pent up cool looking stuff at the animal rescue that i work at, you know alligators and deer and owls, fun stuff, and i really wanna capture it.
now, i'm not saying i've NEVER taken a good picture. but i wanna be professional.
i've got THE worst camera in the world right now. it doesn't let you do anything manually. no fstop. no shutter speed. the nikon makes all your choices for you. and it sucks at doing so.
so i wanna buy a nice one, and i saw a fuji av130 on amazon, and it's concerningly cheap bc it's "REFURBISHED" (dun dun dun)
that means "broken and fixed again"? it's twelve mp and it has fivex zoom, and most importantly, it'll let ME decide what i wanna do with the light, which is what i need.
the question is, am i going to get screwed. i have never bought anything refurbished except my phone and it just didn't work out good at all (as it sits at the bottom of my pool). so what do i do?
does anybody have any other suggestions on a nice digital camera that isn't all automatic.
i want the nissan skyline of cameras, nothing automatic. as many opportunities to mess stuff up and learn in the process.
can you very nice people help me out here?

480sparky · Jul 18, 2012

New In Box = maybe the factory checked it, maybe they didn't.... who knows.... it's the luck of the draw.

Refurbished = it WAS checked by the factory.

bhop · Jul 18, 2012

It's the opposite IMO, for the reasons 480sparky mentioned. I'd probably choose refurbished over new if I had the option and the warranty was the same because I know it's been checked over... plus it'd be cheaper.

agnatha · Jul 18, 2012

ok. ok, that makes me feel better. what do you think of the camera though. for just a beginner. is it good to learn on?

unpopular · Jul 18, 2012

just be aware of "merchant" or "seller" refurbished. This means that the seller took an alcohol swab to clean it up a bit and put it back into the box.

bhop · Jul 18, 2012

unpopular said:
just be aware of "merchant" or "seller" refurbished. This means that the seller took an alcohol swab to clean it up a bit and put it back into the box.

Good point.

IByte · Jul 18, 2012

agnatha said:
so, alright, as i've said before, i think that a blind monkey could take better pictures with it's butt than i can. those are just the facts. but, i have so much pent up cool looking stuff at the animal rescue that i work at, you know alligators and deer and owls, fun stuff, and i really wanna capture it.
now, i'm not saying i've NEVER taken a good picture. but i wanna be professional.
i've got THE worst camera in the world right now. it doesn't let you do anything manually. no fstop. no shutter speed. the nikon makes all your choices for you. and it sucks at doing so.
so i wanna buy a nice one, and i saw a fuji av130 on amazon, and it's concerningly cheap bc it's "REFURBISHED" (dun dun dun)
that means "broken and fixed again"? it's twelve mp and it has fivex zoom, and most importantly, it'll let ME decide what i wanna do with the light, which is what i need.
the question is, am i going to get screwed. i have never bought anything refurbished except my phone and it just didn't work out good at all (as it sits at the bottom of my pool). so what do i do?
does anybody have any other suggestions on a nice digital camera that isn't all automatic.
i want the nissan skyline of cameras, nothing automatic. as many opportunities to mess stuff up and learn in the process.
can you very nice people help me out here?

Hmmm no most reputable places like B&H Adorama are Keh are great places to look. Refurbish has a bad stigma even with better standards. If you know what you're looking for, good sources, and common sense less likely you will end up with a lemon.

unpopular · Jul 18, 2012

I'd only get refurbished gear from a verified, authorized retailer, otherwise you may end up paying for a factory refurbished product that is actually merchant refurbished. Merchant refurbished isn't necessarily a bad thing, no worse than a used item, but it's good to know what you're getting.

Don't factory refurbished products usually come with a warranty from the manufacturer?

slackercruster · Jul 18, 2012

I would rather buy Amazon open box returns. But refurb may be OK? Just a gamble.

Sw1tchFX · Jul 18, 2012

That is a terrible camera, i'd rather shoot with my cell phone. If you want something better than a cell phone, you need to get an SLR.

$77, great camera, great lens, send the film off to Richard Photo Lab and it will look amazing: Nikon Autofocus N8008 WITH 35-135 F3.5-4.5 MACRO (62) 35MM SLR AUTO FOCUS CAMERA OUTFIT - KEH.com

agnatha · Jul 18, 2012

see now that's what i needed was a link. that helps. that really helps. bc i'm basically not capable of deciding myself. my lack of knowledge would be laughable to you, so it's likely that whatever somebody with better pictures says is good is what i'm going to do. okay, i'm going to just get it then. i mean, why the hell not?
(i hope this isn't the part where somebody else says that this other one is better, and now i'm all confused. i'll wait though, just in case)

JaneAndCharlotte · Jul 18, 2012

Great question. I would have never known that refurbished could actually be a better deal since it means it has actually been factory checked! Thanks. :3

usayit · Jul 18, 2012

All of the items I have purchased refurbished are direct from the manufacturer. Never had a problem.

"refurb" is like "used" YMMV depending on where you are purchasing from... don't generalize.

coastalconn · Jul 18, 2012

If you are looking at a refurbished Nikon Dslr, Cameta Camera in Long Island is the place to buy from as they have the 90 day Nikon warranty plus include an extra 9 month warranty, so a year total on all Nikon Refurb cameras. Also free shipping and no tax outside of NY. D3100 for example Nikon D3100 Digital SLR Camera & 18-55mm G VR DX AF-S Zoom Lens - Factory Demo includes Full 1 Year Warranty I have purchased 2 refurb bodies from them and have had a terrific experience

brandolsx · Jul 18, 2012

IMO Fuji is a terrible brand to go with. I bought a waterproof Fuji, because it was cheap, for a cruise I was going on. I got it home and couldn't take a clear photo of anything anywhere. I couldn't believe it. I took that camera back the next day and picked up a Nikon AW100 which was $200 more but worth it. Refurbished means that the camera broke at one point. The company took it back, fixed that part and is now going to sell it. Usually still has a warranty with it because it is "basically" new, but make sure it's someone reputable trying to sell this camera and not some person off the street. Hope that helps.