Amateur needs help picking out new camera

[bwana]

How many 2nd hand cameras have you personally bought?

dSLRs? I'd never risk my money that way . . . maybe (that was a big maybe ) if it was from someone I knew well or from a shop like B&H . . . but from a classified ad and without recourse? Never.

I save enough money buying new from reputable dealers overseas.

 

[Pixual]

Well, I've only ever bought 3 DSLR's brand new. First one was the Canon D30, which cost me around R42k back in late 2001. It packed up and I had a big legal tussle with Canon before they eventually agreed to replace it with the D60.

I bought my Nikon D70 in 2005 and I had a single issue with it that Nikon SA fixed for free, even though the camera was out of warranty. The D700 I have had for a few months now and touch wood... no issues.

But, before buying the D700 I bought a D2H sight unseen for R6500 a few years ago and I used that camera without any problems for well over a year. Sold it for R6000. I then also got a used D200 (sight unseen) from ODP for R8000 and shot that camera for over a year without issue. Sold it for more than I paid for it!

What really burned my arse though, was only getting R2,500 for my D70 when I sold it. I guess when I sell the D700 I will take a hit too. But the point I would like the OP to realise is that there is a healthy trade in 2nd hand DSLR's and in my experience (as well as many other people I know) there is nothing to fear. Check out the seller and if they are traceable with good references on a site like ODP, you will save a lot of money.