New or Secondhand Body, which should it be?

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wibbly

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I'm looking at a body after Christmas, I'm still undecided as to whether to go 50d or D300, but talking through it with someone a couple of days ago they suggested I should definitely look at secondhand as the saving that could be made can go towards better/more glass.

I have looked at secondhand, but always been a bit concerned about the actuations listed - I'm really not sure what is classed as high acutations to be honest.

So, new or secondhand. What's the preference or at least the less obvious pro's and cons I may not have considered!
 
I agree with Secondhand, some great savings to be had. I bought all my gear from here secondhand and made quite a saving and everthing has been in excellent condition.
 
I've got no problem with secondhand - shutter should be good for 100k-200k shots so if you find one that's 5k-10k then it's still pretty much new! Obviously check the condition of the rest of the body but even a couple of scuffs aren't anything to worry about really!

My 40D, Sigma 17-70 and Canon 70-200 are all secondhand and my only feeling is being pleased I saved the money versus new!
 
i just picked up a secondhand 50d body for £550 , if you get it from someone like ffords you also get 6 months warranty
 
I'm a big fan of secondhand I have to say. The only camera I've bought new in the last 4 years was my 7D as I wanted it at launch...
 
Buy from a good seller, plenty of 2nd hand bargain bodies out there. They devalue so quickly when new, that it makes total sense to buy used and buy better lenses.
 
grumpybadger said:
I'm a big fan of secondhand I have to say. The only camera I've bought new in the last 4 years was my 7D as I wanted it at launch...
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Why GrumpyB? With no disrespect, I'm genuinely interested to know, coz I can't understand why anybody would buy a camera body at launch, unless you want to pay £200-£400 more than it'll cost new 2 or 3 months down the line.

I recently got a mint 50D for a bargain price secondhand, boxed with bits, 6 month warranty and everything, from MPB Photographic in Brighton, and I'm over the moon with it. Unless you absolutely have to have the latest thing, I just don't see the reason for buying new if the model you want is available used.
 
The only reason I got the 7D at launch is because it is the first crop sensor camera from Canon to offer a "pro spec" AF system and I wanted to play with video. I would have waited a while, but I am leading a trip to Norway in January and I need/want to know how to drive the camera properly by then (and by drive I mean in the dark, with gloves on and under pressure) I got a good price on the new camera (although I could get one now for £200 less I've also got about 6000 shots of experience/practice under my belt).

If it is available used, I would always buy used. I got my first 1DsII used when the 1DsIII came out and another one off here about 3 months ago. The first one was less than half new price and the second one less than a quarter!
 
Nifkin said:
Why GrumpyB? With no disrespect, I'm genuinely interested to know, coz I can't understand why anybody would buy a camera body at launch, unless you want to pay £200-£400 more than it'll cost new 2 or 3 months down the line.
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I bought my 7D at launch from Digital Depot at £300 off the launch price - a special discount to TP members at that time.. I believe Paul got his from the same source or at around the same price anyway.

The 7D was a camera I'd been waiting for Canon to make for ages so it was a more than acceptable price, even acknowledging that the price was bound to drop further in due course.
 
Fair enough, chaps! A 400D-owning work colleague of mine was recently salivating over my 50D, only to promptly go out and buy a 7D, the [PLEASE DON'T TRY TO BYPASS THE SWEAR FILTER] :p Not that I have any complaints about my 50D of course! I think I'lll hang on until we see at least the 7D MkIII! :D
 
why buy a different make ,buy second hand from a shop they will mostly give a warranty of some kind but stick with the model of the len,s that you already have no point in having two different setts
 
Nothing wrong with 2nd hand as has been said above, as long as the price is right and you check it well. :thumbs:
 
Ive bought 2 cameras and a lens second hand from here, all of them have been perfect and as described, my d2hs has a few nicks here and there but i got it for a steal so *shrugs* it works as a camera its not a display piece :D
 
All my 2nd hand stuff was carefully selected, and in as new condition and got it relatively cheap, I could probably sell it all now and make a tidy profit, its just a case of waiting and being in the right place at the right time, you do have to spend a while trawling forums though to get in there first and grab the bargains.
 
Another vote for good second hand gear. Like Paul, I bought a 1DsII second hand over a year ago now. When new it was £6200 and I bought it for just over £2000. You can now pick one up for just over £1000. That's a heck of a lot of camera for the money! I'm glad it's not my depreciation. So I bought at a price point I was comfortable with. I'll keep the camera for 3 years and it will probably cost me about £1200 in depreciation. That's written into my pricing at a rate of £400 a year. That's not bad value for a working pro spec camera. :)

I've also bought 17-40mm and 70-200mm f2.8IS second hand because they were the right lenses at the right price and at the right time for me.

Bought wisely a second hand camera can be an utter bargain.
 
Another vote for second-hand. I moved up from a D70s to a D300 bought here as "mint" - and mint is exactly what it was. I couldn't be happier with it. :love:
 
I bought new when I got my D200 and accessories, but purely to take advantage of WEX's buy now, pay later terms. If I'd have had the cash in hand then I'd probably have gone to a used dealer and bought from there.

Providing something is of a good standard and has been looked after, there's nothing to say a used body won't last as long as a new one. Suppose the only thing about new is a fresh warranty and the like.

I've just bought a D2X off fleabay; 30K actuations, mint condition, boxed, all the gubbins, service history - I'm quite happy
 
Another vote for secondhand, other than the 50mm f/1.8 all the kit I have was bought secondhand as will be the MkIII that I am about to buy. I don't see the point in buying new if I can help it and certainly not at launch prices, and what I saved went on the best lenses I could afford.
 
If it's a brand new camera model which has been released eg 7D, 5Dmk2, then I would buy new. If its an old body which has been around for a few years eg 5D, 1Mk2, then I would buy second hand.
 
i brought my first dslr D40 second hand from here
alot of items here are well looked after by enthusiast hobbist

i'm on the hunt for a second lens as we speak
 
Yep, can't beat secondhand.

If i were to purely buy brand new, i couldn't have afforded another 5D2, so i've bagged a very nicely priced 5D classic in mint condition. :D
 
Thanks for all the comments, secondhand does seem the way forward then :)
 
Definitely the way forward! My first and llast camera new was in 2005 - a Nikon D50. Since then I've had maybe 8 or so DSLRs, all of which were pretty excellent, and at a massive saving.
 
p1tse said:
i brought my first dslr D40 second hand from here
alot of items here are well looked after by enthusiast hobbist

i'm on the hunt for a second lens as we speak
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And I'd add that, in this market, you are far more likely to come across buyers and sellers who are enthusiasts and therefore know what they're talking about in terms of equipment spec, and are far less likely to be pulling the wool over your eyes/having the wool pulled over theirs than in other consumer electronics fields :thumbs:
 
I noticed that theres a flood of 1D Mk2 coming to the second hand market, I might be tempted to purchase one to play with. :D
 
besides my 50D all mine have been second hand, and the only reason the 50D was new is kerso gave me a good price and wasnt alot between new and second hand at the time.
there are always bodies on here for sale and you have the benefit of buying from someone that is normally known to many, and you can check them out before buying.
 
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