Nikon D5000 First SLR!!

[Cobras7]

Hello,
I have recently been wanting to buy a DSLR and it would be my first. I was thinking of the Nikon D5000 and was wondering should I buy it used from Adorama? The Adorama is $539 Nikon D5000 DX-Format with 12.3 Megapixels. Refurbished - by Nikon U.S.A. with Nikon 18mm - 55mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-S DX (VR) Vibration Reduction Wide Angle Autofocus Zoom Lens. What do you think? I would be taking pictures of landscapes, kids, and sports as well as family events but nothing professional. I want to buy used or refurbished because of budget. Has anyone bout used from Adorama? Or do you have any other recommendations? Any help is appreciated!
-Cobras7

 

[WhiteSoul8]

I've dealt with Adorama, Calumet, and B&H. I feel they are all reputable, and that they all have outstanding customer service. If you're buying used, it may be wise to ask a sales person how many times the shutter has been clicked, what type of warranty is offered with the camera (or available). Also - with used - let's face it - you don't know what you're buying all the time! If you have a 30 day return policy, and a method to have your investment checked out (by yourself, a friend, local camera shop, etc) - then that should pretty much resolve any concerns.

Ok - now for what you want to photograph. I'd try to get one of Nikon's 17-200 zoom lens. It's VR, and it's a DX lens. It'll cover landscapes, kids, and sports events. Tamron may also have a decent lens in a similar category now.

I suggest this lens because it'll cover all of your bases "for the time being" - and will save you from having to buy a variety of lenses -- which becomes very pricey!

Cheers,


Matt

 

[Cobras7]

WhiteSoul8- They have a 14 day full refund policy and it is covered by a 90 day warranty. I will be sure to ask how many times the shutter has been clicked...hopefully i get a good answer! Thanks for the tip on the lens...i'll check it out.

 

[SwiftTone]

WhiteSoul8- They have a 14 day full refund policy and it is covered by a 90 day warranty. I will be sure to ask how many times the shutter has been clicked...hopefully i get a good answer! Thanks for the tip on the lens...i'll check it out.

I very highly doubt that they will be able to tell you. It's not that they don't want to, but its a lot of trouble to have the sale person go to the warehouse, pull a unit off the shelf, unwrap everything, take a picture, upload the picture, read the exif data, re-wrap everything so it looks like it came from the factory, and then make sure the same unit gets to your house. Remember, at this point, he still has no guarantee that you will buy that unit.

That being said, I bought my refurbed from Adorama, and my unit had about 400 clicks on it. I have been very happy so far.

I started it with a 18-55mm and 55-200mm, and sold them within a month. If you can cough up the money, I would also recommend the 18-200mm. Great lens for everything. I do a wide range of photography, casually not professional, and I carry my 18-200mm and my 35mm prime. Allows me to travel light and not miss opportunities.

Good luck to you.

 

[Cobras7]

SwiftTone- That's true...i can't believe i didn't think about that! How many clicks would still be considered okay? I mean i know that some with more clicks can still last awhile but what would be a good number? How much do you think i could get a 18-200mm or around that for?

 

[SwiftTone]

The shutters for D5000 are rated for 100,000 clicks I believe. Same goes to a D200. I spoke to a professional photographer, and his D200 has more than 200,000 clicks on it. I'm not sure how relavent this info is because the D200 is also a much more professional camera.

I wanna add though, the 18-200mm is a good lens for everything, but its not great at anything. The kit 18-55 and 55-200mm are sharper, but you don't have the flexibility. I was willing to make that compromise.

I picked up mine for CHEAP money because the girl that was selling it was moving to Asia in 2 days and needed it gone. Generally they go for $480-$600

 

[HelenOster]

SwiftTone- That's true...i can't believe i didn't think about that! How many clicks would still be considered okay? I mean i know that some with more clicks can still last awhile but what would be a good number? How much do you think i could get a 18-200mm or around that for?

We are more than happy to provide the actuation count on any used unit - provided we have the software; we can also send you a set of photographs upon request.
All used items come with a 14-day returns guarantee, plus a 90-day warranty.

Refurbs come into us directly from the manufacturer in sealed boxes so we can't give you a shutter count or pictures - but again, if you are unhappy, you can return it within the first 14 days.
Nikon refurbs come with a 90-day return-to-Nikon warranty, (and Canon refurbs with a 12-month return-to-Adorama warranty).

I hope that helps, but please don't hesitate to contact me directly: [email protected] if you need anything else.

 

[WhiteSoul8]

Cobras7 - I think you're in the safe zone. I mentioned the shutter actuations because it is similar to an odometer for a car. I mentioned that lens because, as swift said - it's a good lens for everything. Seeing that you are on a budget, it's easy to spend between $600 and $1500 per lens that is great at everything (a macro, 2.8 zooms, etc..) - so that lens is a great starter lens that will let you photography just about everything - as you save up for lenses that are more specific to your needs.

 

[iAstonish]

Hello,
I have recently been wanting to buy a DSLR and it would be my first. I was thinking of the Nikon D5000 and was wondering should I buy it used from Adorama? The Adorama is $539 Nikon D5000 DX-Format with 12.3 Megapixels. Refurbished - by Nikon U.S.A. with Nikon 18mm - 55mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-S DX (VR) Vibration Reduction Wide Angle Autofocus Zoom Lens. What do you think? I would be taking pictures of landscapes, kids, and sports as well as family events but nothing professional. I want to buy used or refurbished because of budget. Has anyone bout used from Adorama? Or do you have any other recommendations? Any help is appreciated!
-Cobras7

I'm actually looking to sell my d5000. It is in mint condition with less than 9k shutter clicks. Comes with original box, manuals, charger, battery, strap, and a leather holster. Pm me if interested.

http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/...-d5000-other-stuff-wanted-nikon-d200-d90.html

 

[HelenOster]

This is my own personal opinion, but I don't think the refurbs are worth it. First, you're getting a camera that someone already handled for some reason and returned. The sensor could have had bad pixels, which Nikon mapped out and put the camera for sale as a refurb.

......

While I can't disagree with you regarding the warranty, many refurbs can have simply been pulled from the production line if something appears faulty, or if it hasn't passed the final inspection.
Most of the time it is a very minor issue that needs correcting, nevertheless, once it is pulled from the normal flow of production, it gets flagged as a refurbished model, so you may get a unit straight from the factory that has never been used.

A refurb may also be an ex-store demo, possibly used in field tests or sales displays, or it may have been ordered in error and returned to the retailer (who can't then sell it as 'new' so it has to be sent back to the manufacturer for refurbishment).

All refurbished items will have been checked over by the manufacturer by hand, inspected very thoroughly, diagnosed, and calibrated by experienced technicians, and could therefore turn out to be more dependable than a new item - which will only have been checked by a process of systematic quality control protocol (ie by random sampling as it comes off the conveyor belt).

Many customers use the savings on a refurb to buy an extended warranty, and end up with a longer warranty yet still spend less over all.

 

[NateS]

I just bought a refurb D5000 a couple weeks ago (from B&H, but same principles apply). I had no qualms about it and it has turned out to be a great camera...had 1700ish actuations when I got it which was more than okay with me....much less than most used stuff you see for sale.....

All refurbished items will have been checked over by the manufacturer by hand, inspected very thoroughly, diagnosed, and calibrated by experienced technicians, and could therefore turn out to be more dependable than a new item - which will only have been checked by a process of systematic quality control protocol (ie by random sampling as it comes off the conveyor belt).

And Helen's response above is probably 90% of the reason I bought a refurb over buying used from someone else or buying new (saved about $200 over a new one).

 

[Cobras7]

Helen...thanks so much. You cleared up one of my questions and reiterated my reason for buying a refurb. But i wanted to know if i bought a camera from Adorama...and didn't like something about it. Like for instance in had 80K actuations, could i return it within the 14 days? Or are there specific things that aren't covered by the 14 day return policy?
-Cobras7

 

[PerfectlyFlawed]

I bought my refurb D5000 2 lenses and all refurbed from adorama for less than 700 bucks. Also an additional 2 year warranty on product for less than 40 bucks...I would deffenitly buy an extra warranty its worth it. But the camera was like new...everything was mint condition...glad I went refurbed--i don't regret it.

I'd recommend adorama's refurbs

Good luck!

 

[SwiftTone]

This is my own personal opinion, but I don't think the refurbs are worth it. First, you're getting a camera that someone already handled for some reason and returned. The sensor could have had bad pixels, which Nikon mapped out and put the camera for sale as a refurb.

But more important is the limited warranty. You can get a new D5000 from Amazon for $655 with free shipping. With the refurb you're saving 116 bucks, but you're losing 9 months worth of warranty protection. That doesn't seem like a good trade to me. You think $655 sound expensive now, wait until 9 months from now when your D5000 stops working and you have to pay $655 on top of the $539.

Is your camera going to break 9 months from now? Hey, it's a Nikon, a good camera...probably not. I just don't think the gamble is worth the payoff.

Maybe you can use some of the money you saved to buy a third-party 3-year warranty. I think they're 125 bucks, and you may have better protection than even the factory warranty ("may have"...read the fine print.)

Good luck on your purchase!

I got my extended warranty from Adorama for $40. I haven't had to use it, so I can't speak for the quality of the warranty. But I did read the usual horror stories about 3rd party warranty companies.

I will agree that refurbs can be refurbs for a wide variety of reasons. From faulty units to units pulled off the production line for possible errors, to customer simply returning it because they have buyers remorse. I almost returned my refurb D5000 because i had "holy crap I just spent al ot of money" thought run through my head. I'm glad I kept it though.

 

[HelenOster]

Helen...thanks so much. You cleared up one of my questions and reiterated my reason for buying a refurb. But i wanted to know if i bought a camera from Adorama...and didn't like something about it. Like for instance in had 80K actuations, could i return it within the 14 days? Or are there specific things that aren't covered by the 14 day return policy?
-Cobras7

You can certainly return the unit within the first 14 days if you feel the shutter count is too great or the cosmetic condition isn't good enough!
AND.... you don't have to make a decision re whether to purchase an extended warranty when you order a refurb, you can do that during the 14-days, too!