Is this a good deal?

[redessa]

$200 for a canon xt with 2 kit lenses (which I'd probably turn around and sell off). It's advertised as being used very litle and in "great condition." I haven't seen it though and would have to send my mother in law to pick it up for me. So, really, I'd be buying it sight unseen.

It would be for my 14 yr old who is interested in photography and is on her school yearbook staff. She's currently using a bridge camera that's not quite cutting it when she has to do assignments in the gym or auditorium. We've got a deal in the works to get her an older model Nikon but since I shoot Canon, I think it would be easier if she and I could share lenses.

Worth the gamble?

 

[tirediron]

Is this a Craig's List item, eBay, or ??? If it's one that you can 'try before you buy' then I would say it sounds okay (But I'm not an expert on prices for used Canon gear).

 

[redessa]

It's the local classifieds. Kind of like Craigslist.

If I were picking it up myself, I would totally check it out before accepting & paying for it. But the seller lives over an hour away - close to where my mother-in-law lives. So I can send her to get it for me (then I'll just get it from her next time I see her), but she doesn't really know anything about cameras beyond point and shoot. Now, if my father-in-law were still living, he would have been able to vet it for me but clearly that's not an option.

This model starts around $300, body only, used on Amazon so I think it's a good price. I'm just nervous about not being able to check it out for myself.

 

[Joey_Ricard]

Go on B&H or Adorama and check out the used equip department and see what used XT and XTI's are going for and that should give you an idea.

 

[sm4him]

Yes, look at B&H, Adorama, KEH.com and see if their used Canon XTs are listed at. Go to Ebay and do an Advanced Search, where you can choose to search the Completed Listings instead of the active auctions. That will give you an idea of what people are actually GETTING for the camera, not just what they're asking.

Check the prices on the lenses as well.

IF it were Me, after I'd checked prices for similar items, the final analysis would be this bit of wisdom from my father: If you can't afford to lose the money, don't take the chance.
When you buy something sight unseen and without any return options, it's a risk. You may get a great deal...or you may get taken.
Can you afford to lose the $200? What would happen, financially, if you bought it and it was a complete fail--broken camera, messed up lenses. Would it mean months and months before you could get your daughter something else? Or would it just be a great annoyance, but nothing that would really set you back that much?

If you can afford to take the hit, and all your research says it's a good deal, then go for it!
If you can't afford the risk, don't do it unless you can guarantee it's what you need.

And that's MY 1.75 cents' worth.

 

[DiskoJoe]

That is an outdated camera. If you dont plan to use it much it might be an okay deal but for camera motors I would not suggest buying them used from someone you dont know personally.

 

[Sonoma]

Here is one that is just the body for $225.00, so if the one you found is in good shape I would say that's a fair price.

Canon Digital REBEL XT SILVER 8 MEGAPIXEL WITH BATTERY & CHARGER (CF CARD ) DIGITAL SLR INTERCHANGEABLE LENS CAMERA - KEH.com

 

[Railphotog]

If you should actually buy the camera, don't count in the kit lenses on getting shots without flash in the gym. You'd need better, faster ($$) lenses.

 

[redessa]

Yes, look at B&H, Adorama, KEH.com and see if their used Canon XTs are listed at. Go to Ebay and do an Advanced Search, where you can choose to search the Completed Listings instead of the active auctions. That will give you an idea of what people are actually GETTING for the camera, not just what they're asking.

Check the prices on the lenses as well.

IF it were Me, after I'd checked prices for similar items, the final analysis would be this bit of wisdom from my father: If you can't afford to lose the money, don't take the chance.
When you buy something sight unseen and without any return options, it's a risk. You may get a great deal...or you may get taken.
Can you afford to lose the $200? What would happen, financially, if you bought it and it was a complete fail--broken camera, messed up lenses. Would it mean months and months before you could get your daughter something else? Or would it just be a great annoyance, but nothing that would really set you back that much?

If you can afford to take the hit, and all your research says it's a good deal, then go for it!
If you can't afford the risk, don't do it unless you can guarantee it's what you need.

And that's MY 1.75 cents' worth.

Well, she already has a camera that she's been using. And she'll be getting the Nikon setup in a few weeks either way - someone my dad works with upgraded and we've worked out a trade that's not costing me anything for that guy's older camera. So no, $200 isn't going to kill us or make it so my daughter has no camera. I just think it would be easier if she and I could share lenses as opposed to having to buy both Canon and Nikon versions of everything we want.

I think I'm going to go for it. My thought is that once she gets the Nikon system, she can decide which one she likes better - or at least see which one is in better shape and we'll sell off the other one. So I really don't have much to lose by getting this little Canon. Heck, worst case scenario - the camera is crapped out and I sell of the lenses that are coming with it. And I will tell my mother-in-law to have him show her that it at least works before taking posession of it.

 

[redessa]

If you should actually buy the camera, don't count in the kit lenses on getting shots without flash in the gym. You'd need better, faster ($$) lenses.

Oh no, I don't even plan on keeping those lenses unless my daughter just really wants them for some reason. I still have the kit lenses that came with my camera. I don't see why we'd need 2 sets of those. She can use the 50mm 1.8 when she needs something for low light conditions. And when I upgrade to 24-70 L she can have my Tamron...

 

[zcar21]

I think it's a great deal if everything is working as it should. You can probably get around $80 from the lenses.
Somebody offered to buy my old xt. I could get what a paid for it a year ago. I just can't let it go.