Would you buy a refurbished camera?

[Shadowman]

I've seen a few deals on the manufacturer's website which also includes a lens. To a first time buyer this would be an added bonus, to a current user it could be just another kit lens, which are pretty good lenses, but one you already own.

[rpcrowe]

I would suspect the best warranty you would get purchasing used would be 3 months if you are lucky.

The warranty if the refurbished camera is purchased directly from Canon is 90 days. IMO, many of the problems we have with DSLR cameras pop up within the first 90-days.

Some retailers (such as Adorama in New York City) add their own warranty to the Canon 90-days bring the total warranty up to 12-months. Make sure this is a genuine Canon refurbished model.

Some credit cards double the warranty period on equipment purchased with the cards. This is quite handy.

You can also purchase an extended warranty such as the one that Mack offers. I don't usually purchase this type of warranty.

Calumet Camera has a warranty available which will protect against accidents as well as manufacturer's faults. However, Calumet often charges a higher price for their cameras than does either Adorama or B&H of NYC.

[Shadowman]

The warranty if the refurbished camera is purchased directly from Canon is 90 days. IMO, many of the problems we have with DSLR cameras pop up within the first 90-days.

Some retailers (such as Adorama in New York City) add their own warranty to the Canon 90-days bring the total warranty up to 12-months. Make sure this is a genuine Canon refurbished model.

Some credit cards double the warranty period on equipment purchased with the cards. This is quite handy.

You can also purchase an extended warranty such as the one that Mack offers. I don't usually purchase this type of warranty.

Calumet Camera has a warranty available which will protect against accidents as well as manufacturer's faults. However, Calumet often charges a higher price for their cameras than does either Adorama or B&H of NYC.

I checked out the Calumet Camera website and it looks like they actually have a brick and mortar store. I like the option of being able to handle the equipment beforehand.

[Wirefox]

In a flash. Last time I bought a camera was used from MPB Photographic with a 6 month warranty. So refurbished should be even better in my opinion. My used camera has worked like a dream. In theory refurb should be like buying new without the teething troubles. To be honest I am the same with cars you can buy a 3 year old jag for less than half the price of new...and its only new for a day in reality. The day I care about what the Jone's think about my 3 year old car (or camera) will be the day you find me wiping down the manufacturers plastic seat covers of my Honda Pensionpass with Dettol.

[HelenOster]

Some retailers (such as Adorama in New York City) add their own warranty to the Canon 90-days bring the total warranty up to 12-months. Make sure this is a genuine Canon refurbished model.

All refurbished units sold by Adorama Camera are factory refurbished by the manufacturer, for example, Canon cameras are refurbished at their manufacturing plant in Newport News, VA.; the room that houses Canon’s entire refurb process is said to be completely dust-free, and with every employee working in there being required to wear special booties!

They can have simply been pulled from the production line if something appears faulty, or if it hasn't passed the final inspection. Most of the time it is a very minor issue that needs correcting, nevertheless, once it is pulled from the normal flow of production, it gets flagged as a refurbished model, so you may get a unit straight from the factory that has never been used.

A refurb may also be an ex-store demo, possibly used in field tests or sales displays, or it may have been ordered in error and returned to the retailer (who can't then sell it as 'new' so it has to be sent back to the manufacturer for refurbishment).

All refurbished items will have been checked over by the manufacturer by hand, inspected very thoroughly, diagnosed, and calibrated by experienced technicians, and could therefore turn out to be more dependable than a new item - which will only have been checked by a process of systematic quality control protocol (ie by random sampling as it comes off the conveyor belt).

All Canon refurbished products from Adorama come with a 1 year return-to-Adorama warranty; the warranty we give covers anything the manufacturers warranty covers for a new unit, including shutter defects.
All other refurbs sold by Adorama come with a 90-day return-to-manufacturer warranty.
In addition, Refurbs come into us with the firmware updates and latest fixes which were carried out at whatever stage it was at when we took delivery.

If you need additional firmware updates you can download them, but for any hardware fixes the unit would have to be sent to Canon.
[By the way, if you send a camera (any camera) to Canon for any hardware work, they will always update the firmware].


As to the individual history of a single item, the honest answer is we have no way of knowing. Refurbished equipment is not like new inventory; the manufacturers contact us when they have a batch to sell, and the availability is unpredictable. However, if you were to ask my personal opinion on whether the equipment that Adorama offers as refurbished is typically less than a year old, based on the regularity with which we receive batches, I'd be inclined to think it is all relatively new.

I hope this helps, but you are most welcome to email me directly: Helen@adorama.com if you need additional information or advice

[Shadowman]

All Canon refurbs sold by Adorama are refurbished by Canon themselves in their own factory.

All refurbished units sold by Adorama Camera are factory refurbished by the manufacturer, for example, Canon cameras are refurbished at their manufacturing plant in Newport News, VA.; the room that houses Canon’s entire refurb process is said to be completely dust-free, and with every employee working in there being required to wear special booties!

They can have simply been pulled from the production line if something appears faulty, or if it hasn't passed the final inspection. Most of the time it is a very minor issue that needs correcting, nevertheless, once it is pulled from the normal flow of production, it gets flagged as a refurbished model, so you may get a unit straight from the factory that has never been used.

A refurb may also be an ex-store demo, possibly used in field tests or sales displays, or it may have been ordered in error and returned to the retailer (who can't then sell it as 'new' so it has to be sent back to the manufacturer for refurbishment).

All refurbished items will have been checked over by the manufacturer by hand, inspected very thoroughly, diagnosed, and calibrated by experienced technicians, and could therefore turn out to be more dependable than a new item - which will only have been checked by a process of systematic quality control protocol (ie by random sampling as it comes off the conveyor belt).

All Canon refurbished products from Adorama come with a 1 year return-to-Adorama warranty; the warranty we give covers anything the manufacturers warranty covers for a new unit, including shutter defects.
All other refurbs sold by Adorama come with a 90-day return-to-manufacturer warranty.
In addition, Refurbs come into us with the firmware updates and latest fixes which were carried out at whatever stage it was at when we took delivery.

If you need additional firmware updates you can download them, but for any hardware fixes the unit would have to be sent to Canon.
[By the way, if you send a camera (any camera) to Canon for any hardware work, they will always update the firmware].


As to the individual history of a single item, the honest answer is we have no way of knowing. Refurbished equipment is not like new inventory; the manufacturers contact us when they have a batch to sell, and the availability is unpredictable. However, if you were to ask my personal opinion on whether the equipment that Adorama offers as refurbished is typically less than a year old, based on the regularity with which we receive batches, I'd be inclined to think it is all relatively new.

I hope this helps, but you are most welcome to email me directly: Helen@adorama.com if you need additional information or advice

Wow, an Adorama rep amongst us. This should lead to some lively discussions.

[inkista]

Wow, an Adorama rep amongst us. This should lead to some lively discussions.

Only if Henry Posner of B&H shows up, too. Helen Oster and Henry Posner have a presence on most photography boards. You should check out this recent POTN thread, if you want to know how long they've been around. Posner's 'net presence goes back to the days of USENET.

[Shadowman]

Only if Henry Posner of B&H shows up, too. Helen Oster and Henry Posner have a presence on most photography boards. You should check out this recent POTN thread, if you want to know how long they've been around. Posner's 'net presence goes back to the days of USENET.

Interesting website, just perused it but not much talk about cameras.

[MiniChris]

Not to get into great details, but I buy them all the time from B&H (for school) and have yet to regret a purchase.

[Marie Hass]

My first digital camera was my refurbished Canon XSI. It is an incredibly reliable camera.

So, agreed with Chris, I have yet to regret the purchase.

Marie

[MacrOdreams]

Well well well....here's my update. I went with the refurbished Canon EOS 60D through the Canon Loyalty Program (Canon Direct). I have heard fabulous things about Canon's Customer Service. Well...I have had less than good luck.

I ordered the camera last Wednesday. The rep. who took my order spelled my name (Katelyn) wrong, therefore I did not get my confirmation email. When I called to question this, they said they tried calling me several times. They were calling a phone number that I have never heard of before and not even close to my phone number! They also INSISTED on spelling my name with an "I" no matter how many times I corrected their mistake. This delayed the shipment another day, which I could deal with. I called next day to track the shipment and my 60D still had not left the warehouse! They said they did not see an order at all! I spoke with a supervisor who authorized overnight shipping; this would scheduled the camera to arrive on Friday. I was a bit relieved that I would get the camera in time for the weekend.

I called Friday to track the shipment; they STILL had not shipped my camera and they were still spelling my name with an "I!" They assured me they corrected the spelling so that I would get the confirmation emails. Due to the long holiday weekend (in the USA), I would not receive the camera until today. When I called TODAY to track my camera, they said it would arrive TOMORROW!

A week of false promises and leading me on when they promised 2 day shipping! I wouldn't have been so upset if they had just been honest from the beginning! I managed to get a free camera bag and additional battery as an incentive (and a few laughs with some of the supervisors at Canon). Sadly, I missed out on a photo shoot this weekend because of the drama. I was very very surprised at the disorganization at Canon's Loyalty department. I ended up speaking with the corporate office of the president who assured me I should received my camera tomorrow. When I tracked the package myself, it said they had tried to deliver it this morning! Now i have to pick up the package when it arrives at the shipping facility within the next 48 hours. (at least it left Canon's warehouse at this point).

All I wanted was to get my hands on my first SLR! I hope this experience is not indicative of the quality or performance of my refurbished 60D! Praying for better luck!

[Colin Southern]

Hi Katelyn,

Wow - not a good experience

I know how frustrating it is when things like that happen - I remember once I was working through a software audit with one company, on behalf of another -- we had to give them the same information no less than SEVEN times (and they still didn't get it).

Fingers crossed that the new camera is good!

[hoffstriker]

Katelin

Or shall I say Katelyn ,

I'm sure the camera will be wonderful after your trials and tribulations dealing with the shipping. Plus, I've got my fingers crossed for you. Let us know of your enduring struggle to simply take pictures with a refurb Canon 60d. I'm sure I am not alone in wanting to know how this all ends.

Take care and godspeed to you 60d,

[MacrOdreams]

Thanks for the support Colin, I could use it right now! I've been doing lessons on here and gathering a general feel for several topics. Just dabbling for now. I just discovered the work of Hernri Cartier-Bresson (thanks to user: Letrow/Peter). I'm amazed by his work! Its his ability to capture drama and authenticity that I'm after! (that and macro - which may go on the back burner for now). Drama comes more natural to me. I'm inspired all over again

[Shadowman]

It is a little late now but whenever you expect deliveries that need a signature, best have it delivered to your work address as all deliveries seem to arrive around 10:00AM. And when you decide to take the day off o wait for the package the delivery time is mysteriously moved to 4:00PM. Good luck with the purchase and don't let shoddy shipping practices spoil your enjoyment.

[Gary Whitcutt]

In my opinion a "refurbished" camera purchased directly from the manufacturer (or a well-known and trusted retailer) is not a problem providing you are also given a warranty card and you are aware of the warranty terms. It is my understanding that factory refurbished equipment undergoes very tight inspections to ensure that everything is checked for any flaws and is working perfectly. A 30% discount on a $500 camera means you may be able to purchase a brand new model of your dreams for only $350. Just make sure you're up to speed on warranty issue. But, it shouldn't be a problem if you deal directly with the manufacturer.