Buying new vs used gear??

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I have some targets for the next 2 years of how I want to upgrade my kit. Im sure all of us on here aspire to improve on our photography aswell as improving on what is in our kitbag.

I have been looking at the classified section for a few weeks and been scratching my head at certain things.

I want to know how many of you would buy used stuff instead of new? Example A lens costing £400 new e.g sigma 10-20, can be had at about £230 used on here. which is a fair deal. But something like a nikkor 70-200 VRii are going for £1350, when you can have new for £1600 with warranty.. Or to make it easier £1635 from jessops with 10 months interest free, also nikkor 24-70 @ £950 new fro £1200. Are the savings really worth it, instead of having some brand new with that lovely new smell and peace of mind :suspect:.
 
That lovely new smell and 'peace of mind' costs you in depreciation as soon as you leave the shop! Ask yourself, if you buy a new lens, unless you drop it, is it going to be any less the lens in 6 or possibly 12 months time?
Using members here it has been my experience that kit is generally well looked after and as described, that is like a guarantee of sorts. Okay, if you've got the cash buy new but you are not necessarily going to be buying a better piece of equipment.
Alternatively using one of the good S/H dealers like Ffordes, MPB, Mifsuds etc will get you a little bit of warranty and Grays a full 12 months.
 
I bought used and used and used until I got to a point where I needed to spend thousands on a lens.. then I bought new... I reached my level .the level my peace of mind and confidence or risk levels takes a hit..

Some people reach there level spending 20 quid.. some never reach theres... each to his own.. its how confident you feel buying used and we are all different :)
 
Just bought a 500 F4 secondhand from MPB, the lens is like new and is a helluva saving on new.
 
I would hesitate to buy 3rd party lenses second hand but have no such qualms with OEM. I've had first hand experience of two Sigma lenses that I bought s/h failing. One I managed to repair, the other was a write off. But to date, apart from a couple of lemons bought on ebay that had sticky diaphrams, none of my OEM lenses have failed. Some of them are over 20 years old and still as good as new.
 
gramps said:
That lovely new smell and 'peace of mind' costs you in depreciation as soon as you leave the shop! Ask yourself, if you buy a new lens, unless you drop it, is it going to be any less the lens in 6 or possibly 12 months time?
Using members here it has been my experience that kit is generally well looked after and as described, that is like a guarantee of sorts. Okay, if you've got the cash buy new but you are not necessarily going to be buying a better piece of equipment.
Alternatively using one of the good S/H dealers like Ffordes, MPB, Mifsuds etc will get you a little bit of warranty and Grays a full 12 months.
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I understand where your coming from, and you've clarified it a little for me. Bit like buying a car. But I dont think I would have the bottle to pay £1350 for a few year old glass, when for less than £300 more you can have it new and interest free to make buying slightly less painfull.
 
KIPAX said:
I bought used and used and used until I got to a point where I needed to spend thousands on a lens.. then I bought new... I reached my level .the level my peace of mind and confidence or risk levels takes a hit..

Some people reach there level spending 20 quid.. some never reach theres... each to his own.. its how confident you feel buying used and we are all different :)
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Exactly. Anything for me around pro glass price range and I dont think I am confident enough. :(

fracster said:
Just bought a 500 F4 secondhand from MPB, the lens is like new and is a helluva saving on new.
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Agreed, I brought a Nikkor 17-55, just like new with warranty for nearly £400 less than it was new, To me thats viable. ;)

eccles said:
I would hesitate to buy 3rd party lenses second hand but have no such qualms with OEM. I've had first hand experience of two Sigma lenses that I bought s/h failing. One I managed to repair, the other was a write off. But to date, apart from a couple of lemons bought on ebay that had sticky diaphrams, none of my OEM lenses have failed. Some of them are over 20 years old and still as good as new.
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Usefull info there, thanks :)
 
I tend to buy imported goods with warranty. The higher quality/priced lenses/cameras (which is what I tend to buy) hold their value pretty well and buying imports gives you close to second hand prices whilst remaining under warranty.
 
All my stuff is second hand and to be honest you wouldn't know it. I haven't regretted not buying new for even one second. On the contrary, buying used has enabled be to buy more :)

As already mentioned, MPB are very good and I can say I am a happy repeat customer.
 
Rare elements that are no longer commercially available or tighter health and safety rules sometimes mean that old glass might no longer be available in modern form.
I have a 20 year old Minolta 200mm F2.8 HS 'G' that has been rated as one of the top ten lenses ever made. By current standards it is a stunning piece of glass that some would say is peerless (photozone.de for instance). For whatever reason, perhaps that already mentioned, Sony has not taken over this lens for production, so to own one, the only choice is second hand.
Of course you might say that with a Nikon you have a much wider range of choice than us Alpha mount users, and you'll be right. But for me there is still something intrinsically satisfying in using beautiful old classic glass on a modern DSLR and getting great images from it.
 
Reckon you should buy new, need to keep the used market well stocked up with fresh sellers of unwanted gear
 
Cheaper items, i wouldnt hesitate at all buying used from here especially if it is a lens or a filter... In fact all but one of my lenses are used.

For more expensive stuff like camera bodies or lenses above 1k, i may still buy used but i like to see it and try it before actually buying. In the end it depends on the price difference as well. I wouldnt buy 5-6 years old lens if im only saving £200...
 
I've bought new and used, if you can get a good deal and it is clean I see no harm in going used.
 
I'd never buy new. BUT, I would also be wary about who I purchase from when it comes to used.

I'd be happy to buy on here and from MPB, but eBay is a crapshoot, so unless the deal was too good to be true (and we all know about those) I'd think twice and want to open some dialogue with the seller before parting with any cash.

Cheers,
James
 
eccles said:
Rare elements that are no longer commercially available or tighter health and safety rules sometimes mean that old glass might no longer be available in modern form.
I have a 20 year old Minolta 200mm F2.8 HS 'G' that has been rated as one of the top ten lenses ever made. By current standards it is a stunning piece of glass that some would say is peerless (photozone.de for instance). For whatever reason, perhaps that already mentioned, Sony has not taken over this lens for production, so to own one, the only choice is second hand.
Of course you might say that with a Nikon you have a much wider range of choice than us Alpha mount users, and you'll be right. But for me there is still something intrinsically satisfying in using beautiful old classic glass on a modern DSLR and getting great images from it.
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A perfect example Mike, the sort of lens which you cannot buy any more. The worst thing which people have to say about it, is that the white paint falls off a bit too easily;)
 
Buying used is a great way of increasing your kitbag. As already stated it is personal choice, but for me i could not have afforded the equipment i have by only buying new.

Just looked at my kit:
Canon EOS 400D + Grip - bought used from LCE
Canon 100-400mm f/5.6 L IS USM - bought used from TP member
Canon EF 70-200mm f/4 L - bought used from LCE
Sigma 10-20mm EX DC HSM - bought used from LCE
Canon EF 50mm 1:1.8 - inherited from family member
Canon EF 35-100mm - inherited from family member


The only item i have bought new, apart from filters etc, was my spare body EOS 300D and the kit lens that i have not used in about 4 years!


You may have to take some time to find the item you want or the deal to suit your budget but i will certainly buy used items in the future.
 
Most of my kit is s/h. Either bought on forums or MPB who I have dealt with several times and will do again.
 
I have a mixture of new and used. Brought my first dslr brand new as I wasn't sure what to look for second hand but few years down the line I am happy to buy used. Though I did have a recent moment of madness and buy a new lens but the saving of buying used would of only been about £40 so I am not too worried.
 
Depends on the kit in question! I think some second hand kit is quite expensive....I bought a brand new 70-200VRII for £1450 at the beginning of the year...I remember seeing one sell in the classifieds for £1400 around the same time which to my mind is madness. A 50 quid discount for a second hand lens with no warranty?!?! Admittedly my lens was a grey import from a UK retailer (HDEW) but that makes no difference on lenses. I am also amazed by the amount of kit that gets advertised in the classifieds on here as still being in warranty and how many buyers ask if equipment has one....it's pretty clear unless you have a receipt in your name you don't have a warranty.

Having said that I've bought some mint and virtually brand equipment on here at a decent discount to the new price.

I'd always look in the classifieds here for kit but also check out the new and better known second hand retailers too. Before I bought my 70-200 I missed out on a 3 month old ex demo with manufacturers warranty for 1200 from Robert White by a day...that was very cheap.
 
Depends on the item.
If buying expensive equipment you can often get an extended warranty.

The other option is to claim on your insurance if it breaks.
 
Beardy said:
it's pretty clear unless you have a receipt in your name you don't have a warranty.
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I have had a Canon fixed under warranty. Not only was the name different, but the address was hundreds of miles away from where I live. As far as I can tell, all Canon UK care about is whether the equipment is bought in the UK. Either that or I was lucky....
 
I bought my 70-200 off ebay, and my 100-400 off here. 40d bought new, 5d bought off here.

I have a look as who is selling and make a judgement call based on that. I'd have much more confidence buying off here than ebay, though in some ways you have less protection as most deals are BT m(though if you do the appropriate checks you of course reduce your chances of being ripped off).
 
eccles said:
I would hesitate to buy 3rd party lenses second hand but have no such qualms with OEM. I've had first hand experience of two Sigma lenses that I bought s/h failing. One I managed to repair, the other was a write off. But to date, apart from a couple of lemons bought on ebay that had sticky diaphrams, none of my OEM lenses have failed. Some of them are over 20 years old and still as good as new.
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Sorry, but I don't follow this arguement. You've had two faulty 3rd party lenses and two faulty oem lenses. Well, unless you've bought significantly more oem lenses than 3rd party there's not much difference ... or am I missing something?
 
I often buy used lenses as I like to try things out and see how I get on with them - testing in a shop can only tell you so much, I find I only know how I get on with a lens after using it in the field. By buying secondhand I can buy, try and not loose out if I then decide it's not for me and sell it on.
 
The only things I buy new these days are accessories like memory cards and consumables.

All of my gear (bar an SB-800) has been bought used and it's saved me a fortune compared to new (probably paid out about £3500 in total against £6000 or new prices). Buying new just hasn't been an option when I've needed things fast - I'd rather take the saving on used kit than go new and use an interest-free option that will just not get paid off.

So far I've not had any major issues and I rely on my gear everyday for professional use. The only problems I have had are an SB-28 that fell over on its stand and broke (not the SB's fault) and an SB-800 (the one I bought new) that got wet and fried its circuitry. One of my bodies got dropped and knocked around and needed a few replacement parts but nothing the same camera, if bought new, would have required.

You've quoted some prices and I can quickly see there are 20-25 per cent savings buying used, and sometimes it's even more depending on the product; my first D2x cost me under £600, when a new one was well over £2,000*

Use a good dealer - MPB, ApertureUK, Ffordes, Mifsuds, Carmarthen Cameras - and you have good selection, proper camerashop service, comeback and reputations :)

*(albeit a the D2x had ben superceded by the D3 at this point so new D2x bodies were rare)
 
The good thing about buying used is you can generally sell on for pretty much what you paid, thus getting a free long term rental - with lenses anyway. :)

MBP are great IMO and you still get warranty with them.
 
I've bought used cameras off ebay and every single one was either faulty or damage or wrongly described in some way and I now have zero confidence in ebay.

I've bought used items from the likes of Ffordes and I've always been very pleased and I've bought things from the classifieds here and been very happy too and everything I've sold here has been correctly and accurately described so my own experience tells me that as long as I avoid ebay buying used is ok :D
 
woof woof said:
I've bought used cameras off ebay and every single one was either faulty or damage or wrongly described in some way and I now have zero confidence in ebay.
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You must be extremely unlucky, because I have yet to buy anything off the Bay, which was not described adequately, and I have been happy to give 100% feedback every time.
This covers around a dozen cameras and a couple of dozen lenses. In fact a couple of the items which I purchased were not faulty as described, so that was a bonus:)
 
Bristolian said:
Sorry, but I don't follow this arguement. You've had two faulty 3rd party lenses and two faulty oem lenses. Well, unless you've bought significantly more oem lenses than 3rd party there's not much difference ... or am I missing something?
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Yes.

The OEM lenses were poorly handled/stored. For instance, keep a lens on the back seat of a car in direct sunlight and the chances are the oil in it will run or evaporate. The result could be oil in the diaphragm causing it to stick. This is not a fault of the lens but of the previous owner being careless.

One of the sigmas was a 105mm F2.8 EX macro. The AF ring gear stripped after about six months careful use. I stripped the lens down, removed the ring gear and contacted Sigma UK who sold me a replacement for about £8. The replacement was as cheap looking as the one I took out, poor quality thermoplastic. I installed the replacement ring gear, tested the lens was working properly, then sold it on ebay.
The other Sigma was a 400mm Telemacro. This was a beautiful lens while it lasted, but it broke when I tried using it with a Sigma EX teleconverter. A partial stripdown found a pinion support peg which had snapped. The TC is geared which put additional strain on an already overstressed component and the peg had sheared with an obvious crystalline break pattern. I'm an ex-design engineer and immediately recognised the break being the result of a component that had been overhardened making it brittle.
 
arad85 said:
I have had a Canon fixed under warranty. Not only was the name different, but the address was hundreds of miles away from where I live. As far as I can tell, all Canon UK care about is whether the equipment is bought in the UK. Either that or I was lucky....
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To be honest I have no idea what the warranty situation is for Canon equipment but that is definitely the case for Nikon equipment. Nikon's lenses have an Intl Warranty so lenses bought outside the UK are covered.....that's why I was happy to buy a grey market 70-200. Absolutely no difference in warranty but about £200 cheaper...people are either made of money or not prepared to do a little leg work!
 
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