Second-hand DSLR query

the heathen

Hi folks,

Looking for a little advice please,

I'm buying a second hand DSLR - my first.

I'm working off a budget of circa €300 and have my eye on either a Canon 400d or an Olympus E510 - both include the standard lens and a 70-300mm zoom lens.

I realise both cameras are 5/6 years old - is it a bad idea to buy older technology like that and if not then which camera would folks recommend?

(humblest apologies mods - I posted this in another part of the forum before spotting this section - wont happen again )

dirtyghettokid

age shouldn't matter IMO. shutter count is what you want to look for. dslr's have a life on the shutter. pro cameras allow way more actuations than a consumer level dslr.
i still use my 5 year old nikon D80. still has loads of life left in it.
when buying second hand, ask the seller how many actuations the body has on it.

from what i've heard, the 400D's shutter would have an average lifespan of 50,000-100,000 actuations. if you can find a body with a low number, IE sub 20,000, then you are on to a winner!

the heathen

Cheers for that. Just did a wee Google search - there's no way of checking actuations prior to buying add far as u can see. Presume you're just taking a chance?

dirtyghettokid wrote: »

age shouldn't matter IMO. shutter count is what you want to look for. dslr's have a life on the shutter. pro cameras allow way more actuations than a consumer level dslr.
i still use my 5 year old nikon D80. still has loads of life left in it.
when buying second hand, ask the seller how many actuations the body has on it.

from what i've heard, the 400D's shutter would have an average lifespan of 50,000-100,000 actuations. if you can find a body with a low number, IE sub 20,000, then you are on to a winner!

dirtyghettokid

you kind of are. there is software that can check the actuations... so if you bring a laptop, you could ask the seller to plug the camera in to show actuations. if he/she refuses....walk away!

i bought a camera off harvey norman that was "NEW" got it home to find there was 400 something actuations on it already. pissed me off, so i went right back to the store and got a bit of a discount then.

the heathen

Thanks for that - I've had a look online for the software you speak of but I don't think it works on the 400d.

I suspect the Olympus E510 that I'm also looking at has had less use though I was leaning towards the Canon. Any opinion on the Olympus?

mayo.mick

If you could take a photo with your own sd card in the camera, upload the photo here and it will tell you the shutter count on the camera.

the heathen

Fair play to you Mick - if I get a chance to do that I will...cheers

vic20

This should work for you (as long as you're running a windows machine) http://www.astrojargon.net/EOSInfo.aspx

the heathen wrote: »

Thanks for that - I've had a look online for the software you speak of but I don't think it works on the 400d.

I suspect the Olympus E510 that I'm also looking at has had less use though I was leaning towards the Canon. Any opinion on the Olympus?

the heathen

Cheers Vic20 - it appears that the 400d is in the list of cameras that that program doesn't support too - thanks anyway

vic20

Oops On a second *proper* reading of the page I see that. Sorry.

the heathen wrote: »

Cheers Vic20 - it appears that the 400d is in the list of cameras that that program doesn't support too - thanks anyway

Corkbah

mayo.mick wrote: »

If you could take a photo with your own sd card in the camera, upload the photo here and it will tell you the shutter count on the camera.

does not work with all cameras !!

Some cameras the shutter count cannot be read without sending it back to the manufacturer and I would have to disagree with your advice of walk away if the person selling the camera doesn't know how to check the shutter count.

I had 2 cameras (both Canon 1D mkII) sent off for a service two years ago - they checked the shutter count for me and I don't know how to do it and don't want to learn how to do it.
One of them was over 400,000 and the other was just over 100,000 ..... the one with a little over 100,000 was first to go when I got the cameras back from their service, the 400,000 one is still going - so its not always the best advice to tell someone walk away if the shutter count is high - the 1D mkII which had 400,000ish on the counter is well over 500,000 and still works - its not used as much as I have 2 5d mkIII's (studio) and a 1D mkIV (outside studio) that get most of the work now.

cost of a new shutter on a 1D mkII is less than the value of the camera (approx £500) ...so I keep my mkII as a backup to a backup .... it'll probably be dumped in a year or two.....or thrown in to a shop for part payment in an upgrade....would probably be happy if they give me €300-400 value for it

dirtyghettokid

Corkbah wrote: »

I would have to disagree with your advice of walk away if the person selling the camera doesn't know how to check the shutter count.

my advice was to walk away if the seller didn't want you to check the shutter count!
if there is a high shutter count, you could bargain a better price for the camera.

Corkbah

dirtyghettokid wrote: »

my advice was to walk away if the seller didn't want you to check the shutter count!
if there is a high shutter count, you could bargain a better price for the camera.

and if the seller knows you cant check the shutter count without sending it to the manufacturer or does not know how to check the shutter count....should the person buying walk away then?

dirtyghettokid

Corkbah wrote: »

and if the seller knows you cant check the shutter count without sending it to the manufacturer or does not know how to check the shutter count....should the person buying walk away then?

i feel as if you are picking holes in my opinion. if a camera cannot be checked for shutter actuations, that's a different situation. if you read my original post, you will see the context in it.

Corkbah

dirtyghettokid wrote: »

i feel as if you are picking holes in my opinion. if a camera cannot be checked for shutter actuations, that's a different situation. if you read my original post, you will see the context in it.

I hope the discount you received was substantial enough - because the shop in which you purchased should not be selling stuff claiming its new when it was either a floor model or it was loaned out to someone.

there is a difference between the shop blatantly false advertising a product as new and a seller of a secondhand camera trying to sell off his camera, the shutter count is only good to give an indication of usage - a camera can survive long after its expected shutter life (if its maintained properly and regularly serviced...like mine !) .... so just because it has a high shutter activation (or the seller doesn't know or doesn't want you checking it) does not mean you should walk away, if you want the camera at the price ...buy it, if you want to keep searching in hope of finding that illusive bargain - keep your money and keep flicking through adverts, you could be waiting 6months only for the camera company to release a newer model and hence lowering the value of the one you originally wanted.

nucker

Shutter click count is the most important factor when buying second hand dSLRs, you can have ones that have hardly been used, compared to ones that either had a new shutter put in or on the verge of passing the MTBF mark, it is essential that you ask the owner or previous as the case maybe to how much the shutter clicks are. If you doubt the sincerity of the person you are buying it off, I would pull out of buying it

Corkbah

shutter count is important ...BUT a shutter can go at any stage.

you could get a secondhand camera with 20,000 actuations - but that camera could have been sitting idle for 2 or 3 yrs ...shutter could go in the next 5000 or may last 50,000 or 150,000 more, like I said I have a camera with over 450,000 actuations and it still works perfectly (I checked)

- I wouldnt try to sell it because of the many people who consider it ready to die - I would value it more than what people would offer ...you always get poor offers when selling secondhand gear (shutter should only last 200,000 or 250,000 on a 1D mkII) ...but because it was used daily and serviced regularly .... cleaned regularly and generally well taken care of....it repaid me kindly.