Used gear

[ScottWood]

The topic of used gear was brought up on another thread. I thought I would give my take on it.

I have bought and sold a lot of used gear over the years. I have no problem at all buying used camera bodies. I tend to stick with new lenses though.

The long term investment is in the lenses, and if taken care of can last you a lifetime, while a camera body will probably be replaced every 5 years or so. Since there is a faster turn around on the body, might as well save money there.

I don't buy used gear just anywhere though. I always look at B&H first, they have a great used department. After that I go to keh.com. Being a Nikon shooter, I also belong to a very large Nikon forum, and that forum has a really good for sale area also.

[Saknika]

I haven't had the chance to buy any used gear, but I'm planning on it someday because I really want to eventually have a camera dedicated just to IR photography. One that doesn't require 30sec to expose.

If I were to look though, I'd check both Adorama and B+H, because each have their own deals and sometimes you can play one against the other for an even better deal. Either way, it's good for the comparison.

But I don't have the money at the moment, so it's all just a dream.

[ScottWood]

Good to know about Adorama, I have never bought anything from them. Not really sure why.

[Saknika]

I don't even remember how I found them honestly. I think it was in a photography magazine at one time. But they're really good quality, just like B+H. The only difference is that they're not closed on the weekend for religious observances as far as I can tell.