take the plunge (used rebel xt)?

pepperell

Hopefully these will be my last purchase related questions (technique ones soon to come):

Found the following for sale for ~$1300

Canon Rebel XT
Canon Battery Grip
Canon 580EX Flash
Tamron 28-75 f2.8 Lens (+hood)
Calumet Tripod http://www.calumetphoto.com/item/CK6261.html?ac.cat.CatTree.detail=y&type=PRDINDEX
Calumet Bag http://www.calumetphoto.com/item/RM2110.html?ac.cat.CatTree.detail=y&type=PRDINDEX


Everything is about 3 months old and very lightly used (he said only like 200 shots). I am concerned with:

1) Warranty... only have remainder of Canon's 1-year on body, flash. Not sure about lens.
2) What should I keep an eye out for (damage wise) when looking at the stuff.

This seems like a great deal as the stuff would be almost $2000 new.

What do you think?

ScottMcLeod

pepperell wrote:

Hopefully these will be my last purchase related questions (technique ones soon to come):

Found the following for sale for ~$1300

Canon Rebel XT
Canon Battery Grip
Canon 580EX Flash
Tamron 28-75 f2.8 Lens (+hood)
Calumet Tripod http://www.calumetphoto.com/item/CK6261.html?ac.cat.CatTree.detail=y&type=PRDINDEX
Calumet Bag http://www.calumetphoto.com/item/RM2110.html?ac.cat.CatTree.detail=y&type=PRDINDEX


Everything is about 3 months old and very lightly used (he said only like 200 shots). I am concerned with:

1) Warranty... only have remainder of Canon's 1-year on body, flash. Not sure about lens.
2) What should I keep an eye out for (damage wise) when looking at the stuff.

This seems like a great deal as the stuff would be almost $2000 new.

What do you think?

Look at the mirror actuation that it's smooth.

Check for AutoFocus grinding or hesitation.

Check that the aperture cycles through from wide open to closed. (Hold DOF preview in Av mode and spin wheel)

Check shutter for mild-wear (some chafing on the shutter blades behind the mirror, carefully lift up the mirror with your finger to see) (Heavy wear might indicate the person is lying about the shutter clicks).

Lesee, what else... Battery life you can't really check, but check it once you get it?

Make sure all shutter speeds work (long exposures and short ones)

Take a 2 second exposure on 100 ISO and on 1600 ISO with the lens cap on and compare noise patterns to try to see potential dead or hot pixels...

Shoot f/16 or f/22 at the sky focused at infinity to see dust/dirt on the sensor.

What have I missed... anyone?

EDIT: 9 months is a good warranty for canon at that price. You'll be fine. My digital rebel died after 18,000 shots in 9 months. Unless you do what I did to your XT, you should be fine.

Tamron has a 3 or 5 year warranty in the US I think... correct me anyone?

pepperell

Going to meet with the guy selling the camera this afternoon. Does total price sound good assuming gear is in good condition?

Looking for any further input before I leave.

HeldDown

Pretty good price, I'd say. The body's worth around $650 used, the flash about $300-350, and the lens the same. About what I'd expect to pay for that kit on FM if I did a little searching.