Refurbished cameras?

[JustJazzie]

I am looking on the canon and nikon websites and noticing the major price breaks for buying refurbished. I hear used cameras recommended all the time, but I haven't seen much talk of refurbished. Is there a downside I'm unaware of?

 

[SnappingShark]

You really can't make your mind up can you?

Is it a case of not WANTING to spend so much, yet wanting one of the best cameras?
Or you just can't decide on which model?

 

[robbins.photo]

I am looking on the canon and nikon websites and noticing the major price breaks for buying refurbished. I hear used cameras recommended all the time, but I haven't seen much talk of refurbished. Is there a downside I'm unaware of?

Well other than the fact that the warranty period is not usually as long as a new one, I don't really see a lot of downsides to a refurb. My second D5200 was a refurb, it's worked flawlessly since the day I got it and I really would have been hard pressed to tell the difference between it and new.

 

[TCampbell]

I know several people who bought refurbs. I think it's all upside. Once upon a time, the warranty for a refurb was not as long as the warranty for new -- but that's changed. Canon now offers the very same warranty on a refurb that they offer on "new" retail gear (for Canon that's 1 year) and while I don't know the nuances of Nikon warranties, I suspect they do the same (but check).

The difference between "used" and "refurb" is that when you get "used" gear, you may be buying from a private seller who may or may not be disclosing all known issues (or may not even be knowledgeable enough to know that they're gear has a problem.) You can buy from an established seller (Adorma, B&H Photo, KEH, all have "used" departments) but as those businesses are in business to make money, they take trade-ins and then re-sell them at a profit... so they're not as good of a bargain as if you buy from a private seller. But they do eliminate some of the risk because they are qualified to evaluate the condition of the used gear and will accurately represent its condition to you when you're buying it.

But "refurb" is typically inspected by the manufacturer. It's defects will be corrected -- if indeed it even had any. Lots of gear is returned because someone changed their mind or the consumer was expecting something different. Some gear is returned due to a problem the manufacturer can easily correct. Regardless... the manufacturer makes sure the gear is returned to like-new condition when they sell it as refurbished. You get a substantial reduction in price. The warranty is the same so you don't need to fear there is some lingering problem waiting to surprise you.

Some people feel that "refurb" gear may even be better than "new" only because every piece of refurb gear has to be quality tested whereas "new" gear only has lot samples tested. They suspect it is less likely to find a refurb camera that has a defect out-of-the-box.

 

[Msteelio91]

There's a stigma around the word "refurb", I feel it myself. I think it's no longer the same as 5+ years ago when refurbs were a little sketchy and not warrantied as well, like TCampbell said.

I might be picking up a refurb soon as a second body/starter camera for the gf.

So I say, go for it!

 

[Braineack]

all of my equipment listed in my sig is either used or refurb'd.

 

[TheNevadanStig]

I'd buy a refurb over used personally. Most all refurb's carry a decent warranty, were serviced by the manufacturer itself, and honestly you probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference from new.

 

[CuriosityHouse]

I haven't noticed any substantial price differences from new to refurbished. In fact, often times a refurbished unit from the manufacturer is more expensive than a new unit from somewhere like Amazon, BestBuy etc... the Nikon D7100 is a perfect example. 2,100 for a refurbished kit with 2 lenses. The same kit new from Best Buy is 1,649.00

Which ones are you looking at that offer substantial discounts?

 

[oldhippy]

Bought my D600 referb. It came with a shutter count of 2, also with a brand new condition 24/85mm referb. Nikon even replaced the shutter after 6 months, even though the camera had no issues. Later. Ed

 

[IzzieK]

Thanks for the info Tim...that helped me too...as my mind also have the wrong connotation on "refurbs"...

 

[JustJazzie]

Thanks for all the replies so quick! Looks like this might be the way to go.

You really can't make your mind up can you? Is it a case of not WANTING to spend so much, yet wanting one of the best cameras? Or you just can't decide on which model?

It's a mixture really. Model shopping is giving me a headache, but (you may have missed my other post) my toddler pulled my camera to the floor last night and now it's glitchy. The fall was enough to split my lens hood! And screen went black in the middle of use, I re inserted the battery and it started up, only to have the AF not work, then work with another restart.

Anyways, yesterday I decided I had time to wait to save up for a FF. Now I'm not sure how long that will actually be, so I'm trying to explore different options. I swear I'm not trying to annoy you lovely people with my schizophrenic thought process. Once this is all over, I promise to annoy you with terrible pictures instead. ;-)

I despise shopping in general. It took me 2 weeks of online shopping and 10 hours of store shopping to pick out 2 pairs of jeans. It's no wonder I can't choose a camera. (I returned one of those pairs of jeans a week later.)

 

[JustJazzie]

I haven't noticed any substantial price differences from new to refurbished. In fact, often times a refurbished unit from the manufacturer is more expensive than a new unit from somewhere like Amazon, BestBuy etc... the Nikon D7100 is a perfect example. 2,100 for a refurbished kit with 2 lenses. The same kit new from Best Buy is 1,649.00 Which ones are you looking at that offer substantial discounts?

Canon has a 5dmkiii for 2800 amazon lists for 3400. Nikon has a d800 listed for 2400 (maybe it was 2500) amazon retails for 3000 I believe.

 

[bentcountershaft]

Check Adorama and B&H for refurbs. I'm still shooting the Rebel refurb I bought five years ago, so I can attest to their durability.

 

[CuriosityHouse]

I haven't noticed any substantial price differences from new to refurbished. In fact, often times a refurbished unit from the manufacturer is more expensive than a new unit from somewhere like Amazon, BestBuy etc... the Nikon D7100 is a perfect example. 2,100 for a refurbished kit with 2 lenses. The same kit new from Best Buy is 1,649.00 Which ones are you looking at that offer substantial discounts?

Canon has a 5dmkiii for 2800 amazon lists for 3400. Nikon has a d800 listed for 2400 (maybe it was 2500) amazon retails for 3000 I believe.

Weird how that works...maybe its due to them being full frame, more room for discounts? Or maybe its just that the camera gods know what I'm looking at (70D Canon and D7100 Nikon) and are cursing me with no deals.

Those are some nice discounts on the full frames.

 

[DarkShadow]

Just a suggestion but if you really want full frame why not look @ the 6D its way cheaper and the sensor is fantastic. It is Entry level full frame but if you don't need the pro feature of the 5D3 I can't see spending the kinda of money. You can find the 6D New on eBay for around $1500 and use the difference on Glass. If your not set just on canon maybe take a hard look @ Nikon D610 another fantastic FF. Refurbished is another great option save money on a like new camera and save more money.Many of them have low shutter counts.

For me the 60D Crop is more then enough and I am getting as good of photos on the 60D as I am on my 6D. In good light its hard to tell them apart, its in the low light that the 6D shines with high ISO and of course the DOF on FF and the nice big bright view finder.