Best place to buy used cameras.

ecphotoman

I know the best place to sell to is adorama cause they pay out the most. I just sent them a bunch of my equipment.

Now as far as buying used what's better KEH, B&H and Adorama?
What I mean is lowest price and good reliable service.

ziggy53

Those are the 3 best places to purchase used equipment. If you don't explore all three, you do yourself a disservice because you may be missing out on a great deal.

divamum

+1 to what Ziggy said.

I personally have bought most of my used items at KEH simply because they had what I wanted when I needed it (and I can personally vouch for their phenom customer service on used items in the event of any problems), but I wouldn't hesitate to use any of those three for used gear. Adorama gets most of my business when I'm buying new since they usually have exactly what I want at my pricepoint, although I will happily use B&H when they have what I need.

ecphotoman

I'm still debating cause they all have varying selections and great prices. I have till at least Friday to figure it out.

I've purchased used lenses female KEH before and was very pleased with the experience.

ecphotoman

So I'm looking at adorama. I'm looking at the 450D and the 1000D. I'm getting one of these two so I can get a few lenses and a grip as well. I'm planning on upgrading to the 7d around Christmas if all goes well the rest of the year. I could always get a T2i now, but only with the cheap kit lens.

ziggy53

A used 40D is pretty cheap these days and I am still very happy with mine. No, it's not the best low light, high-ISO camera, but through ISO 1600 it's good, the AF is competent and general responsiveness is nice too. Many of my favorite images are with the 40D.

bklein

just go to Asia and buy a gray market camera

best deal I ever had

Bendr

ecphotoman wrote: »

So I'm looking at adorama. I'm looking at the 450D and the 1000D. I'm getting one of these two so I can get a few lenses and a grip as well. I'm planning on upgrading to the 7d around Christmas if all goes well the rest of the year. I could always get a T2i now, but only with the cheap kit lens.

Which few lenses are you looking at?
And what's your budget?
What kind of photography are you going to be doing?

I have the 40d and love it(Got it the week it came out)... hoping to eventually upgrade to a 7d or 5dII

ThatCanonGuy

I find the best deals are at personal sales like Flea market and forums. Just make sure the seller has a good reputation. I also check Amazon. The 40D is an excellent value for what it is. Heck, the 20D is under $200 nowdays, and it's still a great camera. I've gotten many good shots with the 20D and my (higher-end) lenses.

ecphotoman

Bendr wrote: »

Which few lenses are you looking at?
And what's your budget?
What kind of photography are you going to be doing?

I have the 40d and love it(Got it the week it came out)... hoping to eventually upgrade to a 7d or 5dII

I'm looking at these three:

Canon New Ef 35-80 4/5.6 iii |and|
Sigma 70-210 3.5-4.5 Apo Mac F/eos | and |
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Standard AutoFocus Lens.

I can get all three for about $240. The prime is brand new, the other two are rated as like new, but used.

ecphotoman

Bendr wrote: »

Which few lenses are you looking at?
And what's your budget?
What kind of photography are you going to be doing?

I have the 40d and love it(Got it the week it came out)... hoping to eventually upgrade to a 7d or 5dII

ziggy53 wrote: »

A used 40D is pretty cheap these days and I am still very happy with mine. No, it's not the best low light, high-ISO camera, but through ISO 1600 it's good, the AF is competent and general responsiveness is nice too. Many of my favorite images are with the 40D.

These are really great pictures Ziggy, I think I'll look into getting the 40D.

divamum

The 40d is a great choice if $ will stretch to it (the best of the things you've asked about so far, IMO), but just to add I've seen some images from a 30d recently and was REALLY impressed; I'm not sure why I expected them to be noisier/lower rez, but for web-viewing (and presumably reasonable size prints) they look more than fine. FWIW.

ecphotoman

divamum wrote: »

The 40d is a great choice if $ will stretch to it (the best of the things you've asked about so far, IMO), but just to add I've seen some images from a 30d recently and was REALLY impressed; I'm not sure why I expected them to be noisier/lower rez, but for web-viewing (and presumably reasonable size prints) they look more than fine. FWIW.

I hope I can do the 40d. I'm really excited, I also feel naked without a camera. I boxed up and shipped all my gear on Saturday. The wait is killing me lol.

ThatCanonGuy

ecphotoman wrote: »

I'm looking at these three:

Canon New Ef 35-80 4/5.6 iii |and|
Sigma 70-210 3.5-4.5 Apo Mac F/eos | and |
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Standard AutoFocus Lens.

I can get all three for about $240. The prime is brand new, the other two are rated as like new, but used.

Do yourself a favor and skip the 35-80. I've used one and it's really low quality. And it's too light to be used as a doorstop. The 28-80 USM (metal mount) is much better optically, as is the 28-105 3.5-4.5 USM. The Canon 100-300 USM is an excellent value at $150-200. I think the 70-210 USM is supposed to be pretty good too.

The 50mm is the best of the three.

divamum

You can pick up a 50mm 1.8 on the private market for not too much - hunt around here, Fred Miranda and Photography on the net - check sellers' feedback and trust your instincts (if it's too good to be true it is, if people seem weird they probably are, and ensure you establish good email comms and maybe even speak on the phone if you want to confirm everything's above board). No, you can't "guarantee" you'll be ok, but most private sales work out just fine. Similarly, look for local deals where you can meet in person; I picked up a great Tamron 17-50 via Craigslist (met in a public place and had my husband come with me). Most people just want to sell their gear, not rip you off (note: MOST).

Say you get that for $80-90, I'd probably start off with either the kit lens (which really isn't that bad), or the 28-105. The 50mm is optically better, but that will get you started. The other option might be the 28-135+50mm. The zoom isn't brilliant, but it's a lot better than people give it credit for and it covers a very useful focal length. Again, search for private used sales and you can probably find one at a price that you can manage.

ALSO, don't be afraid of "bgn" rated gear at KEH. It may be ugly, but it will work ... and if it doesn't? They'll take good care of you. One of my best lenses EVER was a 100 f2 BGN rating from them - it had some dings and coating rubs, but it was sharp enough to cut a steak and just plain WORKED.

ecphotoman

divamum wrote: »

You can pick up a 50mm 1.8 on the private market for not too much - hunt around here, Fred Miranda and Photography on the net - check sellers' feedback and trust your instincts (if it's too good to be true it is, if people seem weird they probably are, and ensure you establish good email comms and maybe even speak on the phone if you want to confirm everything's above board). No, you can't "guarantee" you'll be ok, but most private sales work out just fine. Similarly, look for local deals where you can meet in person; I picked up a great Tamron 17-50 via Craigslist (met in a public place and had my husband come with me). Most people just want to sell their gear, not rip you off (note: MOST).

Say you get that for $80-90, I'd probably start off with either the kit lens (which really isn't that bad), or the 28-105. The 50mm is optically better, but that will get you started. The other option might be the 28-135+50mm. The zoom isn't brilliant, but it's a lot better than people give it credit for and it covers a very useful focal length. Again, search for private used sales and you can probably find one at a price that you can manage.

ALSO, don't be afraid of "bgn" rated gear at KEH. It may be ugly, but it will work ... and if it doesn't? They'll take good care of you. One of my best lenses EVER was a 100 f2 BGN rating from them - it had some dings and coating rubs, but it was sharp enough to cut a steak and just plain WORKED.

Thanks a lot Divamum, your advice and Ziggy's has helped me out a ton. I got a sweet 70-210 zoom from KEH a while ago for 20 bucks. It was a push pull so the creeping would irritate me, but quality non the less.