I found a 5d with 90 day warranty for $1,499 (rebfurbished by Canon), 90 day warranty and MACK warranty 3 years for an additional $99.
Is this a good deal?
I'm moving from a Pentax k20d system. I shoot photojournalism and need full frame/decent AF and high ISO performance. I can't justify getting a 5D MkII.
The 90-day warranty is nice, but you should be able to find a 5D in great shape with low mileage for about $1,100 on the buy & sell board. Only you can decide whether a 90-day warranty is worth $400. (There's no way I'd pay an additional $99 for the MACK warranty.)
Russ Isabella wrote:
The 90-day warranty is nice, but you should be able to find a 5D in great shape with low mileage for about $1,100 on the buy & sell board. Only you can decide whether a 90-day warranty is worth $400. (There's no way I'd pay an additional $99 for the MACK warranty.)
Why not? I've never had a MACK warranty, are they no good?
I bought a Mack Warrant when I bought a refurbished lens from Adorama and when it came time to fix the IS on my 70-200 2.8, it was repaired with no worries by Mack folks. YMMV.
jeremy_clay wrote:
Why not? I've never had a MACK warranty, are they no good?
Not saying they're no good, just saying there's no way I'd pay $1500 for a refurb with a 90-day warranty and then another$99 for an extended warranty. In my experience, Canon equipment is built to last and if there's a problem, you'll know it within 90 days. But that's me. If I wanted a 5D, i'd buy one used from the Buy & Sell. Once you talk about spending $1600 for a 5D, I think you have to start asking yourself whether there isn't a better way to spend that much $$ on camera gear. At $1100, a low-mileage 5D would be a ripping good deal in my opinion. I (personally) would not pay an additional $500 for the presumption of peace of mind.
I wouldn't buy a used 5D for over $1100 USD. I am patient and glad to wait until a better deal shows up. There is never any hurry to buy a new piece of equipment unless you absolutely have to have it for upcoming work or some other necessity.
I wouldn't be surprised if the used 5D's (original) were about to increase in price. Adorama has increased the refurbished price several times since I bought mine in February. I paid $1399 (USD) and they are now $1799. No way I'd let mine go for less than $1400. I'd keep it first. BTW, I just got mine back from Canon, (they did the mirror fix) and it still looks brand new.
My whole hang up on this would be what the heck does refurbished really mean? What gets refurbished on one of these? I personally think the single most likely (or feared) failure on the camera would be the shutter. Does Canon reveal the shutter count on their refurbished camera bodies? I think it is safe to assume they aren't going to replace the shutter as part of the refurbishing process, unless that is what failed on it originally. I would be more comfortable buying a used body from someone here on the forums myself.
Mark Zwiesler wrote:
My whole hang up on this would be what the heck does refurbished really mean? What gets refurbished on one of these? I personally think the single most likely (or feared) failure on the camera would be the shutter. Does Canon reveal the shutter count on their refurbished camera bodies...
I was concerned about the same thing. Who knows what the shutter count is on a refurb. So back to square one, or maybe a used one as recommended.
If it was refurbed, I would guess it had a problem with the shutter, so you are getting a camera with a new shutter, which would be a bonus for me personally. Not much else breaks on these things. It will likely come spotless clean and without issues. Just my 2 cents. $1500 is on the high end of what I would pay for one, but I have had good luck with canon refurb stuff.
I picked up a refirb 5D about this time last year for about $1400 from an e-bay reseller. It came in basically "new" condition, plastic on LCD etc, and I have had zero problems with it. I don't know how many shutter acuations it had on it, but the numbering on the pics began at less than 100. If I needed to today I would do it again, or buy used from B&S. I am surprised that the price on referbs hasn't dropped at all in a year though.
