Advice Needing: Buying 5d Mark II Used

[toonie]

Hello everyone,

I've been lurking on this site for awhile, but finally registered. I am looking for some advice from you knowledgeable folks at Canon Rumors, I just got into photography and have decided to get a used Canon 5d Mark II body for $1,300 off of craigslist. It has a pretty low shutter count (under 5000), and looks in pretty good shape.

What are some things or warning signs I should look out for or check over when buying a camera used?

Also, I am looking for recommendations for a good overall first lens.

Any other general comments/recommendations?

Thanks

 

[TexPhoto]

Physical appearance of the camera. All control work. Pop a memory cad it not it and shoot some photos. Examine those photos at 100%.

$1300 is a great price, if it's in good shape. i sold my 3 year old 160K actuation 5D III for $1650.

24-105mm f4 IS is the best first lens choice.

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

Hello everyone,

I've been lurking on this site for awhile, but finally registered. I am looking for some advice from you knowledgeable folks at Canon Rumors, I just got into photography and have decided to get a used Canon 5d Mark II body for $1,300 off of craigslist. It has a pretty low shutter count (under 5000), and looks in pretty good shape.

What are some things or warning signs I should look out for or check over when buying a camera used?

Also, I am looking for recommendations for a good overall first lens.

Any other general comments/recommendations?

Thanks

Lots of scammers on Craigslist. Legitimate owners know what a used 5D MK II is worth. It may be a typo and actuually a 5D classic, etc.

I'd be very careful, and only meet the seller in a public place like your bank.

A legitimate body at that price will be sold in a hour or less.

 

[nocojoe]

I agree with the previous posters about being cautious about anything bought off Craigslist. There are unsavory people everywhere, especially Craigslist.

With that being said, I looked on Ebay last week for 5d2 prices and they were going for about $1700-1800 dollars. $1300 is significantly lower, but if someone really needed the cash in a day or two it wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility that they would lower the price that much to make a very quick sale.

The price does send up some red flags to me. If you test it out in a public park during the day, and know what a 5d2 looks like and can take some sample pictures, etc (due dilligence) then maybe it is a legitimate deal.

 

[DJL329]

As Mt Spokane said, the price sounds too low for a used 5D Mark II, especially with fewer than 5000 actuations. A new one costs about $2200. You should check around on ebay and the "Buy & Sell" forum on fredmiranda.com to compare prices to see what a legitimate used one costs.

When buying a camera body, bring a lens that you know works with you so you can test it; do the reverse when buying a lens. You'd probably also want to bring a Compact Flash card (neither the 5D classic nor the Mark II take SD cards). And make sure the person charges the battery before going! Turn the camera on (press the lever on the back so that it goes from Off, past On, to the Line pointing up to the rear wheel). Make sure the buttons and menus work. Download and study the manual on Canon's website, so you know what you're doing beforehand.

If you don't yet know how to set exposure, turn the Dial on top to either CA or the Green box and take some test pictures. Test the shutter on the 5D Mark II by doing the following:

• Turn the Dial on top to Tv.
• You should see now see Tv on along the left side of the rear display. If not, press the Info button (to the left of the rear display) until you do.
• Press the AF-Drive button on top, select Continuous shooting on the rear display by turning the rear wheel, then press AF-Drive again.
• Turn the wheel on top to the right until the number in the upper left corner of the rear display reads 1/8000.
• Press and hold down the shutter button (it should fire off a series until you release the button) to ensure the shutter responds quickly and doesn't get stuck.

As for choice of lens, that depends on what type of photography you want to do. A fast prime lens is a good choice if you want to learn exposure and depth of field (DOF). The 85mm f/1.8 is a good portrait lens, the 28mm f/1.8 is a good wide angle lens for landscapes, while the 35mm f/2.0 and 50mm (f/1.4 or f/1.8 ) are good for general walking around, street and low-light photography.

 

[prestonpalmer]

Check the serial number against the stolen camera database on photo.net.

 

[toonie]

Thank you all for being so helpful! It is definitely worrisome not knowing the past history of the camera and whether it was stolen or damaged in the past. I have decided to try to find a used body from a legitimate retailer.

Thank you for the lens suggestions! Hopefully I can pick one or two up this weekend.

Cheers.

 

[prestonpalmer]

Buying from a legit retailer is probably a really great move... As a professional wedding photographer, I am always SELLING old equipment, and its amazing how uneducated buyers are. I could have sold malfunctioning equipment to a bunch of them and they would have never known... Glad you asked for advice on here. Buying used is pretty sketchy at times. always always ALWAYS make sure people provide you with the ORIGINAL USA warranty card, and make sure the SN on the card matches the SN on the bottom, and in the Metadata of the photos. I would do this even if buying from a reseller.

 

[unkbob]

$1300 is a great price, if it's in good shape. i sold my 3 year old 160K actuation 5D III for $1650.

Well I sold my ten year old 5d IV for $3000 so I win the time travelling wars.