Canon shooter here, thinking of dipping my toe into the Nikon pond...
I have had very good luck buying Canon refurbs from the Canon store... picked up my 7D for a less than $950 last year with only 140 clicks on it...
I noticed that the Nikon website also has a store wtih refurbs. Can I expect to have very high quality with Nikon refurbs (Canon refurbs are to my knowledge fully factory checked and essentially good as new)? Or should I just consider new?
Very few bad experiences here with genuine Nikon refurbs. Do a search. A few complaints, but no different than the new complaints!
They also can be bought through the bigger camera stores, it's a matter of searching for the item you want. Because some may have it when the Nikon store doesn't. Or, vice versa. Some stores give (or sell cheap) a better warranty too.
ckcarr wrote:
Very few bad experiences here with genuine Nikon refurbs. Do a search. A few complaints, but no different than the new complaints!
They also can be bought through the bigger camera stores, it's a matter of searching for the item you want. Because some may have it when the Nikon store doesn't. Or, vice versa. Some stores give (or sell cheap) a better warranty too.
I've had a somewhat lukewarm experience with the Nikon Store when I bought I refurbished D700 back in November 2012. Long story short, the camera I purchased had 35000 clicks and evident body wear - I sent it back. To my knowledge, there is no way to obtain a shutter count from the Nikon Store - believe me I tried.
Others on this forum have scored nearly new bodies with low clicks which may be the case with recently introduced bodies (e.g., D600, D800) but not for out-of-production cameras (e.g., D700).
Also, Nikon Store charges sale tax, if that matters.
WThiry wrote:
Ditto, Nikon refurbs are fine, but I think that Canon refurbs have a better warranty, 1 year on glass (Canon), compared to 90 days for Nikon??
Bought a 100-400 Canon Refurb for my wife and it came with 90 day warranty, no box. Was excellent packed, in great condition and gives sharp pictures.
Never bought a refurb body (wonder how many actuations they typically have) but have bought refurb computer frequently (Mac Airbook, Dells in the best, ...)
I have bought a bunch of bodies and lenses and just had my first bad experience. Received a D800 with the eye dioptre adjustment wheel completely missing, all that was was there was a hole. It was a completely frustrating experience to open the box see the part was missing, have to get all the return shipping in order re-box and then ship it back.
I recently bought an 18-200 II refurb from Cameta. Although it was in the normal sealed Nikon refurbished box, with all of the normal documentation, the lens hood and pouch were third-party knockoffs.
The 70-300 VR I bought at the same time had the expected OEM accessories.
I have only bought refurbs from the Canon store. I got my 7D and a 10-22 UWA... both arrived in impeccable condition, the 7D with only 140 clicks on it. I've been eyeing the D800... not sure I want to pay full price for it, that's why I'm looking at the refurbs.
Thanks Rick... Nice to see a familiar name from POTN!
What would be a good first lens that I can get to get my feet wet? Something worthy of the D800 and that will allow it to shine, isn't super expensive and that I can sell later if needed so I can move up to worthier glass? The 28/1.8G seems to get a lot of praise. That plus the 70-200 F4 perhaps?
I purchased several factory refurb nikon items, though I've never got them from the 'nikon outlet' store. its usually through one of the retailers I normally use, BH, adorama, KEH, etc...
I got my D800e from KEH as a factory refurb, it had 17 (yup, seventeen) total actuations on it, testing shows no focus or other issues with it. KEH originally had it listed a few hundred above the Nikon refurb price, but after e-mailing them, they adjusted their price to align with the nikon refurb MSRP.
I got my 70-200VRII from adorama refurbished a while ago, its been great, no issues with it.
got a D90 and the wife's D5000 several years ago as refurbs, both great.
55-300 VR lens refurb from KEH, no problems
MOST of my stuff is used or refurbs, I think there are only 3 things (bodies/lenses) I've purchased new. I wouldn't hesitate to buy a good used or refurb body or lens. and if you go through a place like KEH or cameta somewhere else, most will offer additional warranty on top of nikon's or a return period incase something is awry out of the box.
Bought a Nikon SB700 refurbished flash from National Camera Exchange. Very happy with it, no problems whatsover. Package included all Nikon accessories. Great experience with Nikon refurb and with NCE as a vendor.
Dave
Any recommendations on first lens to get with a D800? 28/1.8 seems to get a lot of love... I need something that I can use the camera with for a while, getting used to it before dropping $s for the serious glass (although the 28/1.8 is no slouch from what I have read). Or maybe the 70-200 F4, something I would get anyway?
Scrumhalf wrote:
Any recommendations on first lens to get with a D800? 28/1.8 seems to get a lot of love... I need something that I can use the camera with for a while, getting used to it before dropping $s for the serious glass (although the 28/1.8 is no slouch from what I have read). Or maybe the 70-200 F4, something I would get anyway?
Check out the AF-S Nikkor 28-300
I like it so much that it is the only lens I have two of.
We use it on everything and one is pretty much dedicated to my D800.
