I have been getting quite a few queries from friends asking me on what to check when buying second hand cameras. I decide to write a guide for them and for my own blog.
I am sharing my thoughts here in Clubsnap as well (as a form of pay forward to what I have recieved from the forum). Feel free to include what I have missed.
Before we begin, just in case the title isn't clear, this guide is tailored for digital cameras and not film cameras. Although most part of the guide is generally accurate regardless of which major city you are in, it is tailored for Singapore.
Why buy used cameras?
There are many reasons why one will consider the purchase of used camera.
1) Budget constraints - Moore Law states that "the number of transistor doubles every two years". I would say the law loosely applies to used camera price as well - inversely that is - "used camera price depreciate 50% every two years. The deprecation is closely tied in with the product cycle of the series, some series get updated with a new model every 1 year while for some pro level camera the update is every 2-3 years. Usually, once an updated model is due, the price of the current model will drop drastically in price, be it new or used sets.
2) Cost effective - Buying new camera would mean exposure to a drastic depreciation of its value especially in the first 1 year. Whereas, a used camera usually experience a less drastic drop.
3) Low-cost entry point into Photography - A lot of people wanted to get into photography but find the cost prohibitive. A used camera is frequently sold in good condition for less and provide a good entry point for beginners. If one decide that the hobby is no longer for him, he could easily sell the camera which was bought used for slightly lesser value and in some cases the same or more value.
4) Camera no longer in production - If one is after limited edition digital cameras (Leica being a good example, Ricoh GR Green / GR II Silver, Fujifilm X100 Black) which are no longer in production for the purpose of collection.
Homeworks and what to check for
1) Google for known issue with the camera - some recent example of camera issue Fujifilm X100 sticky aperture issue, Nikon D600 sensor dust/oil spot issue, Leica M9 Sensor corrosion issue, Ricoh GR Sensor dust issue etc. Unless you are interested in the free lifetime sensor change benefit of the Leica M9 or the free sensor cleaning for Nikon D600 due to these production issues, I will avoid these models.
2) Watch Unboxing Videos - this will give you a sense of what is included in the original box.
3) Check exterior condition - exterior condition is always a tell tale sign of how a camera was treated. I will personally avoid cameras which are in bad exterior condition. This could be sign that the camera is handled roughly or dropped.
From my own experience, there are people who claim to be selling camera in perfect condition but on closer scrutiny, the camera base metal tripod mount was indented into the camera body or camera whose battery latch that was broken off (battery latch broke off usually due to drops).
Excessive dust and sticky camera exterior could mean that camera wasn't properly cleaned or store in Dry boxes after use. This could be a problem in Singapore's high humility.
Also check for water damage, for example, if there is condensation in LCD displays.
Check that there are no obvious scratches of the sensor.
4) Check serial number - serial numbers will sometime tell you when a certain equipment is manufactured. This can be checked against seller's claim especially when seller does not have warranty card or receipt. We are dealing with electronics, failure rate does go up as equipment ages. Serial number will also indicate if equipment is manufactured after a certain initial release problem was fixed
5) check current price in retailer - sometimes sellers attempt to sell camera for more than what you can get new
6) Get a friend to help - If this is your first camera and you do not know what to check, then get a friend who is into photography to go along with you to help check the equipment.
7) Check shutter count - some cameras allows you to check the shutter count via analyzing the jpeg file and some have inbuilt shutter count display in the menu.
8) Make sure all button are working
9) Deal face to face, cash on delivery - there are many scams involving the transfer of money online. Only deal in person and on cash terms.
10) When a deal is too good to be true it usually is - so walk away from the deal or at the very least check properly.
11) Check if there is manufacturer warranty - be it original manufacturer warranty or shop warranty (for export sets). Check to make sure warranty is applicable to your locale. Some time for warranty to be effective, both warranty certificate and the receipt stating the date of purchase is required.
12) Ask for 1-week seller warranty if the set is out of manufacturer warranty window - this is to make sure that you can find someone if there is any issue. This is where the rating of the seller is important. Highly rated seller will most likely honor their words.
Where should you get second-hand camera
1) Clubsnap - This is the biggest photography forum in Singapore. The buy/sell section is an excellent way to sell your camera equipment. You could do a search for recent price the equipment you are after is sold for and used that as a benchmark for your purchase. If the deal is good, grab it. Competition is high in the forum a good deal will sometimes be reserved in a matter of minutes.
2) Carousell - This is an online classified which has a mobile app on android and iOS. Photography equipment is listed every few minutes. Price listed on Carousell is usually slightly higher than Clubsnap. Do your homework and ask for appropriate discounts. Check seller's review to make sure the seller is reliable. Camera re-sellers sometime have a shop in Carousell, you usually do not get good deals from them. Some time these resellers have value added service in making sure the item is in good operating condition. But these sets are not guaranteed to be problem free.
3) New export sets - Yes these are not second-hand cameras. But due to the low price of export sets from Korea or some other region, it might make sense to get these sets as compared to used sets with no warranties. Places to check for export sets are Qoo10, Technogadget, 7DaysDeals. Sometimes these export sets come with shop warranty which makes it a better deals than second-hand sets which have NO WARRANTY.
4) New heavily discount sets (via various means) - Sometimes camera manufacturer tend to clear stocks of outdated models or models that is at the end of its product cycle for very attractive price. For example, Fujifilm once sold The Fujifilm XE-1 body with 27mm F2 and 18mm F2 lens for SGD 599 at IT fair Mar 2016. Months before that Fujifilm X-pro 1 with 18mm F2 and 35mm F1.4 is sold for SGD 1000. This are very good deals consider that the camera body is basically free or almost free.
Where should you not get second-hand camera
1) Second camera shops (be it a physical or digital store) - these shops need to pay for rent. Rent is not exactly cheap in Singapore. So these shops have to take in cameras at rock bottom price from seller and reselling them. Unless the shop provides assurance that the item is in good condition, or maybe limited form of warranty (usually 1-2 weeks). There is frankly little reason why you should get from these shops. There is even less reason to sell equipment to them especially when there are excellent platforms such as Carousell.
I am sharing my thoughts here in Clubsnap as well (as a form of pay forward to what I have recieved from the forum). Feel free to include what I have missed.
Before we begin, just in case the title isn't clear, this guide is tailored for digital cameras and not film cameras. Although most part of the guide is generally accurate regardless of which major city you are in, it is tailored for Singapore.
Why buy used cameras?
There are many reasons why one will consider the purchase of used camera.
1) Budget constraints - Moore Law states that "the number of transistor doubles every two years". I would say the law loosely applies to used camera price as well - inversely that is - "used camera price depreciate 50% every two years. The deprecation is closely tied in with the product cycle of the series, some series get updated with a new model every 1 year while for some pro level camera the update is every 2-3 years. Usually, once an updated model is due, the price of the current model will drop drastically in price, be it new or used sets.
2) Cost effective - Buying new camera would mean exposure to a drastic depreciation of its value especially in the first 1 year. Whereas, a used camera usually experience a less drastic drop.
3) Low-cost entry point into Photography - A lot of people wanted to get into photography but find the cost prohibitive. A used camera is frequently sold in good condition for less and provide a good entry point for beginners. If one decide that the hobby is no longer for him, he could easily sell the camera which was bought used for slightly lesser value and in some cases the same or more value.
4) Camera no longer in production - If one is after limited edition digital cameras (Leica being a good example, Ricoh GR Green / GR II Silver, Fujifilm X100 Black) which are no longer in production for the purpose of collection.
Homeworks and what to check for
1) Google for known issue with the camera - some recent example of camera issue Fujifilm X100 sticky aperture issue, Nikon D600 sensor dust/oil spot issue, Leica M9 Sensor corrosion issue, Ricoh GR Sensor dust issue etc. Unless you are interested in the free lifetime sensor change benefit of the Leica M9 or the free sensor cleaning for Nikon D600 due to these production issues, I will avoid these models.
2) Watch Unboxing Videos - this will give you a sense of what is included in the original box.
3) Check exterior condition - exterior condition is always a tell tale sign of how a camera was treated. I will personally avoid cameras which are in bad exterior condition. This could be sign that the camera is handled roughly or dropped.
From my own experience, there are people who claim to be selling camera in perfect condition but on closer scrutiny, the camera base metal tripod mount was indented into the camera body or camera whose battery latch that was broken off (battery latch broke off usually due to drops).
Excessive dust and sticky camera exterior could mean that camera wasn't properly cleaned or store in Dry boxes after use. This could be a problem in Singapore's high humility.
Also check for water damage, for example, if there is condensation in LCD displays.
Check that there are no obvious scratches of the sensor.
4) Check serial number - serial numbers will sometime tell you when a certain equipment is manufactured. This can be checked against seller's claim especially when seller does not have warranty card or receipt. We are dealing with electronics, failure rate does go up as equipment ages. Serial number will also indicate if equipment is manufactured after a certain initial release problem was fixed
5) check current price in retailer - sometimes sellers attempt to sell camera for more than what you can get new
6) Get a friend to help - If this is your first camera and you do not know what to check, then get a friend who is into photography to go along with you to help check the equipment.
7) Check shutter count - some cameras allows you to check the shutter count via analyzing the jpeg file and some have inbuilt shutter count display in the menu.
8) Make sure all button are working
9) Deal face to face, cash on delivery - there are many scams involving the transfer of money online. Only deal in person and on cash terms.
10) When a deal is too good to be true it usually is - so walk away from the deal or at the very least check properly.
11) Check if there is manufacturer warranty - be it original manufacturer warranty or shop warranty (for export sets). Check to make sure warranty is applicable to your locale. Some time for warranty to be effective, both warranty certificate and the receipt stating the date of purchase is required.
12) Ask for 1-week seller warranty if the set is out of manufacturer warranty window - this is to make sure that you can find someone if there is any issue. This is where the rating of the seller is important. Highly rated seller will most likely honor their words.
Where should you get second-hand camera
1) Clubsnap - This is the biggest photography forum in Singapore. The buy/sell section is an excellent way to sell your camera equipment. You could do a search for recent price the equipment you are after is sold for and used that as a benchmark for your purchase. If the deal is good, grab it. Competition is high in the forum a good deal will sometimes be reserved in a matter of minutes.
2) Carousell - This is an online classified which has a mobile app on android and iOS. Photography equipment is listed every few minutes. Price listed on Carousell is usually slightly higher than Clubsnap. Do your homework and ask for appropriate discounts. Check seller's review to make sure the seller is reliable. Camera re-sellers sometime have a shop in Carousell, you usually do not get good deals from them. Some time these resellers have value added service in making sure the item is in good operating condition. But these sets are not guaranteed to be problem free.
3) New export sets - Yes these are not second-hand cameras. But due to the low price of export sets from Korea or some other region, it might make sense to get these sets as compared to used sets with no warranties. Places to check for export sets are Qoo10, Technogadget, 7DaysDeals. Sometimes these export sets come with shop warranty which makes it a better deals than second-hand sets which have NO WARRANTY.
4) New heavily discount sets (via various means) - Sometimes camera manufacturer tend to clear stocks of outdated models or models that is at the end of its product cycle for very attractive price. For example, Fujifilm once sold The Fujifilm XE-1 body with 27mm F2 and 18mm F2 lens for SGD 599 at IT fair Mar 2016. Months before that Fujifilm X-pro 1 with 18mm F2 and 35mm F1.4 is sold for SGD 1000. This are very good deals consider that the camera body is basically free or almost free.
Where should you not get second-hand camera
1) Second camera shops (be it a physical or digital store) - these shops need to pay for rent. Rent is not exactly cheap in Singapore. So these shops have to take in cameras at rock bottom price from seller and reselling them. Unless the shop provides assurance that the item is in good condition, or maybe limited form of warranty (usually 1-2 weeks). There is frankly little reason why you should get from these shops. There is even less reason to sell equipment to them especially when there are excellent platforms such as Carousell.
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