new vs used dslr

im close to buying my first dslr and the idea of buying used and saving a few hundred bucks sounds very appealing however i'm kind of concerned with reliability.

Has any one got any horror stories about used dslr's ?

anything specific to look for when buying used dslr's ?

ps:​ in case it matters the models would be either canon 60d or nikon d7000

 

The safest place to buy a used dslr is on ebay, using paypal, from someone with a 7 day return policy. That gives u enough time to ensure there are no problems, and if u need to return it u have a third party (ebay and paypal) that will guarantee the seller honors the return and even pay u back themselves if the seller tries to rip u off.

 

The only reason i'd buy a new camera is if the prices for used are close to new, or if (like when I bought my X100) it's impossible to find.

 

New DSLR = warranty and latest tech. Used DSLR = GFL (it might even still operate), purchase of expensive battery (if even still available), old less desireable tech. In both cases, 95% of DSLR users run the thing in full auto mode anyway. No focusing, no exposure tweeking etc.... Put your money into a nice FILM camera.

 

I've done both but, for your 1st I would recommend new.

 

The current camera I had was bought used. (Local craigslist ads). The seller even gave me the invoice where he bought it from (B&H). And it showed the camera was only 3 months old.

Anyway, of course, there is a chance that the camera has issue, even if it is brand new from the store. Buying used can save you some money, but you just need to take the chance.

There is another route to save money is buying the refurbished camera. They usually comes with 90 days warranty. And I believe Adorama offer 1 year warranty for refurbished Canon camera. (I believe the warranty is in house type warranty). Someone from the other forum said the camera he bought from them had issue (maybe around 6 months after he purchased it). And Adorama do not have the same model refurbished camera to replace it, so they gave that person refund.

If you have a old broken Canon camera (or know someone has one, bought one from ebay really cheap), you maybe able to buy a refurbished camera from Canon directly under their Royalty program. It is usually 20% off their refurbished price. I believe currently it is around $640 +tax and shipping after 20% discount (Edit: for the 60D camera).

See the following link for more details
Canon Digital Photography Forums

 

Are you joking? I can't really tell... The D7000 and 60D are both current DSLR's. Why would they want to shoot film if they're only considering digital?

 

Adorama and b&h photo have fantastic used departments. They are very accurate how they grade the equipment and have good return policies. Everything I have bought from Adorama looked and acted like new.....I rarely buy new if I can get it from one of those companies.

I got a 70-200 2.8 from Adorama and realized a month later ( after the return policy ended) that it had a back focus issue. They were fantastic! They took it back, gave me full credit and I purchased another used one immediately that works great and is a fantastic piece of glass.

It's a good way to save $ yet not risky like eBay or Craig's list.

 

I bought 5 of my 6 Pentax dslr's used. One had a little issue, but no big deal. I buy them for $140 to $280 used for 6-12 mp bodies. All low shutter counts 600 - 5000.

I like em for disposable cameras as well as they use 4 AA batts. No AA's...no deal.