Buying used???

Looking to buy a used DSLR but a bit hesitant since it's easy to drop and mess up the insides.

Am I being too paranoid?

Thanks!

I'm not sure how much you are looking to spend but the www.fredmiranda.com buy/sell forum is pretty amazing (usually have higher end products). I have bought many items used (Canon L series lens, Tripod, ballhead, filters, etc.) from there and have been very happy. That said, I don't think I would buy the actual SLR body used unless I knew the person and their usage. But I am willing to pay for the peace of mind. I think B & H photo has used products which would have been tested and I would trust. Ebay is probably fine but pay close attention to the descriptions and ask questions if need be. If the SLR has dust in the sensor, you can get that cleaned pretty cheap, if it was dropped and has flaws the seller should definitely be up front about that.

Thomas

How much are you really looking to save? If its only a few hundred bucks I would just wait a few weeks to get the extra cash for a new body.

Sensor dust is not big deal (40 bucks to get it removed at pictureline) but a scratched sensor is game over.

I have had excellent results buying DSLRs and lenses on Ebay. The real reason to buy used, of course, is to stay out of that whole dumb game of planned and perceived obsolescence, and buy something that was the bomb five years ago but is $300 now. I know that it's hard to avoid the lure of "big numbers" like 12MP, but it's a race you can't win. Many of my best images were made with a humble 6MP sensor, and look just spectacular at poster-size.

At work, I bought a Nikon/Kodak DCS760 last year for less than $300. It was $8000 retail in 2001. The image quality that everyone was paying that absurd fortune for back then is still in there. I shoot magazine stuff with it, and it looks great.

http://richardbarron.net/cameras/

Something to think about. -R