Have I been ripped off?

dcphotographic

dcphotographic

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Duncan
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Hi All,

I have just bought the 5D MKII....foolishly or not I bought it from eBay for about £1800. The thing is, it was sold as brand new....but I have noticed when I started using the camera, the file numbering started at 3000+
Being a new camera, shouldn't the file numbering have started from 0001?

If so, would this be a refurb potentially? I emailed him and he is asking whether I have used a brand new memory card with it or not. I sorry to say I feel like this is a load of rubbish he is spinning me.

The camera works great and I am really happy with it....I am just worried of might become of the camera later on down the line.

Any advice would be gratefully received. :)

Duncan
 
if you have used a memory card that had been used before and not formatted before using it in your new camera it could pick up the file number and start from that number, only true way to get the shutter count, which currently cant be done on digic 3 or 4 processors, is a trip to a service centre.
 
Here is the details of the sale:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&item=150347366483
The other thing was it turned up Chinese. The manual the camera...everything was in Chinese. He said he was in the UK but then all the contact info was chinese and then the camera too!!
The memory card may have not been formatted....but I am pretty sure it was....but in any case, it was used in a 1DS MKII prior to use in this camera and the file numbering is different. It doesn't start img_3000 like the 5D MKII does. It is something like XY9D3163

Does this make a difference?
 
If you had read the first section of the warranty info on that add it says "As an independent trade agency, the goods we sell origin from different countries/regions"

Thats why i guess it was in Chinese
 
you seen this bit for warranty?

All product sold through Rayfocus are brand new products come with 12 month manufacture guarantee. As an independent trade agency, the goods we sell origin from different countries/regions. It is possible that in some cases, customers can not get their local manufacture guarantee service, hereby, we provide 12 months seller guarantee for all products we sold within EU.

and this bit
Where will my order been dispatched from?

As a trade agency for our UK and overseas business partners, normally, the goods will be directly sent to you directly from our business partners. We reserve the rights to choose the nearest available vendor (either in UK or outside UK) to dispatch your order.
 
It doesnt matter if the card came from a 1dsmk2 as the numbering you see is not the actual serial number of the file, its just a generated number with the last 4 digits of the files serial number in it. If it come with chinese documents then its an import and not a UK sourced camera, the auction states the camera is in the UK, not that it is a uk sourced camera.

I wouldnt worry about it, just start to use it and enjoy it.
 
Have you used an Exif reader to see the total number of actuations ?
 
dcphotographic said:
Here is the details of the sale:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&item=150347366483
The other thing was it turned up Chinese. The manual the camera...everything was in Chinese. He said he was in the UK but then all the contact info was chinese and then the camera too!!
The memory card may have not been formatted....but I am pretty sure it was....but in any case, it was used in a 1DS MKII prior to use in this camera and the file numbering is different. It doesn't start img_3000 like the 5D MKII does. It is something like XY9D3163

Does this make a difference?
Click to expand...


Just by looking at the listing you can tell they'll be grey imports, I'd imagine it'll be new though, rather than used. Why not buy a new card and try that in it and see what the file numbering shows up on that as?
 
Flash In The Pan said:
Just by looking at the listing you can tell they'll be grey imports, I'd imagine it'll be new though, rather than used. Why not buy a new card and try that in it and see what the file numbering shows up on that as?
Click to expand...

A new card would continue at the higher of the two potential numbers

a) last file shot +1
b) highest number on this card +1
 
Yeah I wasn't too bothered it was a Chinese camera as I just changed the settings so it was in english. A bit annoyed the manual wasn't in english...but I found that online. So that's that.
I was more worried about it not being new really....and if by what you are telling me about the memory card having some sort of influence on the numbering, then I am happy that is new. The camera is great....I was just wondering whether I should sting him with some negative feedback or not. Ha ha!
 
Thank you all for your help!! You have been great!!!
Now I have found this site I will definitely be back.... :)
 
Yep I can confirm a card from my 40d wasn't formatted but taken out of a 40d and put in 5d mark II and the file numbering continued from the 40d shutter count, but as soon as I put a recently purchased an 8GB UDMA card, it gave the true shutter count of the 5d II so far...
 
You may wish to however get evidence from the seller that the import duty has been paid.
This way, you will have evidence to show customs if they chase you.
(and if you are concerned about the camera, and they cannot provide evidence, then you would have grounds for returning it I think)
 
dcphotographic said:
Yeah I wasn't too bothered it was a Chinese camera as I just changed the settings so it was in english. A bit annoyed the manual wasn't in english...but I found that online. So that's that.
I was more worried about it not being new really....and if by what you are telling me about the memory card having some sort of influence on the numbering, then I am happy that is new. The camera is great....I was just wondering whether I should sting him with some negative feedback or not. Ha ha!
Click to expand...

I found this book magic to learn the D90
 
The camera will pick up the numbering system from the card if there are any pictures on it so if you have used an old card then this will reflect it. I have recently done the same with my 50d.

There is a software out than can be used to accuratly find teh shuuter count of teh camera, use that and see what it says.
 
Does anyone know whether, being a grey import, if the owner went on holiday and upon returning was stopped by ustoms - would he be clobbered for import duty and VAT?
 
@lensflare

Well, there was a thread on this recently, which is why I was asking to check. In theory, the customs people could impound any item which they thought duty had not been paid on, and ask the owner for proof of tax.
Even if the item was not in the original box. However, if stopped, I would ask for the officers to give a good reason for suspicion that the item was not duty paid. I am not sure how much reason they would require.
 
Here is a link for obtaining the shutter count on some Canon bodies including yours http://astrojargon.net/40DShutterCount.aspx

Not sure it will work on 5D II as it states:

"This works on any of the Canon DIGIC III/IV DSLRs except the 1D* series. This means it will work for the 40D, the 50D, the 450D, and the 1000D. I'm still not sure about the 5DMkII, as I'm getting conflicting reports. If you have one, please give it a shot and let me know. Thanks!

It will not work on the 1D*, 5D, 10D, 20D, 30D, 300D, 350D, and 400D. It's not that I have anything against the owners of those cameras, but simply that the Canon SDK does not support retrieving the shutter count for them."
 
Lensflare said:
Does anyone know whether, being a grey import, if the owner went on holiday and upon returning was stopped by ustoms - would he be clobbered for import duty and VAT?
Click to expand...

If you are unable to provide evidence that VAT has been paid on import, yes you will have to pay it (digital cameras are exempt from duty).
 
MisterE said:
If you are unable to provide evidence that VAT has been paid on import, yes you will have to pay it (digital cameras are exempt from duty).
Click to expand...

In reality it aint going to happen, but if you do get caught, you may have to pay 3 times the duty due and also risk confiscation (yes they can make you pay and also take it off you), but lets face it it just aint going to happen.
 
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