D90 body.... $700???

[ladysith]

Hi guys!

I need a bit of advice.... my cousin wants to sell me his D90 body for $700.
He's only had it for 3 months, I do recall him saying he paid $700 for it online and he bought the lens extra.

Question...
1 - is $700 for a 3-month old (2nd hand) camera w/o lens good value?
2 - If not, how much should I ask for it, perhaps $500-600?

If it is a good price, what lens should I get for it?

I was after some night photography and also macro photography - along with regular photography.

Your advice will be greatly appreciated. ^_^ :efelant:

[RaoulIsidro]

Online prices tend not to include the Postage costs, some of which are around $100 just to send it across town!

http://www.shopbot.com.au/pp-nikon-d90-price-124009.html

I know of an online dealer with a real shopfront in North Sydney where they sell if off the shelf for $935.00.

If your relative is not a professional, the camera may still be "as new" so the price seems reasonable. Check how many shots it has taken (if it has not been reset from new) by looking at the image file name and the numbering. It would usually indicate how many shots have been fired. Less than a 1000 would be nice.

[RaoulIsidro]

(double post)

[maccaroneski]

Sounds fairly reasonable, however it sounds like that the camera was purchased from a grey market seller. Not a bad thing in and of itself, however you should base your price on what YOU could buy it brand new for from a grey market seller. A quick look at my go-to site shows $752 + postage ($60 from memory) so your baseline should be $812, which is what you can buy it brand new for. If the saving of $112 makes it worthwhile for you, then go for it. If it were me I'd want to save at least $150-$200 by going second hand, so maybe $650 would be the price that I would pay. But I am me and you are you....

In terms of "what lens", the question is "what do you want to shoot?" If you're not quite sure yet, then maybe something like a 50mm 1.8 or the 18-105 would be the go. Bear in mind that buying the lens separately will lose you the advantage of buying them in a kit, costing you an extra few dollars on buying the lens alone.

I guess the question remains "Why does he want to sell?"

[ladysith]

Yeah apparently he wants to sell it because he wants to upgrade to a D7000.

I didn't want to pay the same price he paid for when he bought it brand new, I was also thinking $600-650 is reasonable.

What's a gray market seller??

[maccaroneski]

"Grey market" means that it has been purchased from overseas, or purchased locally but overseas stock.

Rather than hash out all of the pros and cons, check out this thread (http://www.ausphotography.net.au/forum/showthread.php?t=39556&highlight=grey+market+body).

Basically the issues are (1) the price is cheaper; but (2) you might have warranty issues, and it's tough to walk in to the seller's shop and if there are any problems.

[DigitalRev]

This is for your reference - Our price is at AU$839.99 with GST on D90

[jay019]

my nikon was well past 80,000 shutter actuations and going strong. they are tough cameras and built to last.

[bugshutter]

hi there,
i bought my d90 from a nikon dealer in sydney for $750-
it only had taken 167 photos and in perfect condition, so i thought it a good deal,
this was at the start of this year when the prices were a little higher for a new one.
since the d7000 and the price of the d90 has fallen i would offer say $600 especially if its only 3 months old.
cheers.

[arthurking83]

Yep! $600 sounds like a fair price, then. tell your cousin that digital camera really do not hold their value very well, and the minute he walked out the door(or took delivery they instantly lost a few hundred dollars in their investment).. that's just the way life is.

if cousin paid $700 for it 3 months ago, then the chances are that they purchased a grey market items then.. yeah?(receipt?)

of so, it has the same warranty issue that any brand new grey market body will have... caveat emptor they say.

You did your research, you've been advised(with decent and sound advice).. so offer $600. If cousin thinks they can extract more, they may have to take their chances on fleabay.

either way for not much more than the $700 cousin is offering, you can get a new one instead.

18-105VR is a great starting point lens.. at least until you get to a point where you know more about what it is that YOU want to do.

[ladysith]

Hi King Arthur,

Sound advice... truly appreciated.

I offered $600 - no response. His initial offer was $700, I think he forgot that he told me he got it for $700. LOL Probably didn't think I'd remember and probably thought he was giving me a good deal.

I think he'd rather sell it for more at ebay *shrug*

No loss, really.

I mean I'd end up having to buy a lens for it anyway.

Now I think I'll just focus on getting an entry-level DSLR while I hone my photography "skills" before investing in something that could be spent on a plane ticket for an overseas holiday. *drools*

Thanks

[reaction]

I think $700 is a fair price for a 3mth body. New greys are a bad idea, because any issues you have to send it around and you may eventually get it back after 1-2mths. You're dealing with a family member whom you can trust, and the body has no issues after 3mths. It's worth as much as a new grey. I don't buy new grey body/lenses cuz you can't test/swap them on the spot. Most shops don't even allow pickup.

It's unlikely he'd got it for $700 3mths ago, and he's not going to take a $200 hit for using it for 3mths. As for the lens, you don't want the kit anyway. So if he's not selling his lens you can tell he's happy with what he's been able to take with it. If it was all crap he'd sell it as a set.

[ladysith]

He bought the body by itself and just bought non-kit lens as extras (for him to use on other bodies when/if he upgrades).

Still waiting to hear from him whether he'll sell it to me for $600... hehehe

[n00g33]

slr body prices drop real quick.. and with the new d7000 out it would've dropped even more. I dun think it was the best idea for him to buy it 3 months before photokina and the new d7000... but I think its an even worse idea for him to sell it just to get something marginally better AND that will definately not make his photography any better.

Whether or not you tell him that is up to you but its gonna be pretty funny when you get photos that are better or the same as his new camera... esp if you invest in a good lens! :)

yeh i'd say $600 is a good deal for you and not really ripping anybody off. depends what lens he got?

[ladysith]

He didn't want to sell me his lens... oh well... no losses there.

I just ended up buying that Canon EOS 1000D kit from *bleep*. It was $799 for twin lens, tripod & camera bag.
I'm quite pleased with the shots, I've only had it for 4 days so far so I'm still getting the hang of using it. I love how it's really light. I tried my cousin's D90 over the weekend and it was pretty heavy for my small hands so I'm kind of glad my camera is light.

Can anyone recommend a lens for it? Canon? Tamron? Sigma?

[n00g33]

congrats on the new camera! heh. yeah the d90 is quite a bit heavier. You'll have to get used to that though. it only gets heavier as you get better and want new (and more exxy) toys!

realistically, if you're just starting out, play around with the twin lens kit for a while.. at least a few thousand clicks until you know what you want to shoot and what focal length you need. I would highly recommend NOT going out and buying anything more just yet. But i'll indulge you with some popular choices.

the tamron 17-55mm 2.8 is good if you want a fast lens for candid, landscape and lets you play around with shallow dof - but won't get you the zoom range say for sports/wildlife.

a lot of people recommened the 30 or 35mm 1.8 prime lens. It's fixed (ie. no zoom). Teaches you to zoom with your feet as people say and how to frame your shots. I'm not too familiar with canon lenses so thats all I got.

hope it helps.

[ladysith]

So, I've been reading around and some people recommended this Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II lens for beginners.
Is this a prime lens?

I also like taking photos in low light and/or without flash.

The price range for this lens is between 100-150. Should be worth it, I think....?

Hmmmm

[maccaroneski]

I can't speak to the Canon versoin of this lens (your fault for going to the dark side :)) but the "nifty fifty" represents in general, great value for money as it has a very wide maximum aperture (in this case 1.8), and is so cheap compared to other lens options.

It will let you take shots in low light, and yes, it is a prime (i.e. is of fixed focal length, not a zoom).

[peterb666]

So, I've been reading around and some people recommended this Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II lens for beginners.
Is this a prime lens?

I also like taking photos in low light and/or without flash.

The price range for this lens is between 100-150. Should be worth it, I think....?

Hmmmm

It is a prime lens and suitable for portrature on most Canon dSLRs. For general use, you want something wider, a 35mm or 28mm lens. These will cost more.