Canon Refurbished Equipment

[IPBrian]

I have been considering buying a 5D mark II and since it looks like the Mark III is put off till the end of this year or the beginning of next it may be time to pull the trigger. I am wondering what people's experiences are in the Canon USA store in regards to refurbished equipment. Thoughts?

 

[bvukich]

You should check out the Canon Loyalty Program. Canon just recently changed the CLP to include the 5DMkII.

Basically how it works is, you call Canon with an out of warranty Canon camera that is broken, they will offer you the loyalty program which gets you a refurbished camera at a huge discount. I believe the current price for a 5DMkII is $1679. Way less than used price, and I'd buy a Canon certified refurb before a used any day. Only drawback is the warranty is only 90 days, but I guess it's still better than the 0 days you'd get with used.

Some reading about the program to get you started: http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=912532

You can check the current in-stock refurbs here: http://shop.usa.canon.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/subCategorySort_10051_10051_-1_29252_highPrice_list Ignore the prices though, the loyalty program prices are significantly lower then those listed.

 

[Grendel]

Friend of mine tried that last week -- Canon removed the 5DII from the CLP.

 

[IPBrian]

I just called they have the 7D, but the 5D Mark II was taken off the list back in November. No telling if it will come back...UGH! New dilemma...anyone know about this programs history of moving cameras on and off the list? Apparently they were prepared to trade in my old EOS Rebel X film camera.

 

[bvukich]

Oops, sorry to give you bunk information. I didn't realize they removed the 5DII.

Out of curiosity, what's the current CLP price on the 7d? Last time I checked it was about $1100.

 

[IPBrian]

I called back a second time and the rep on the phone said once they pull the camera they usually don't put them back on, however she also said she it is based on older models or models they have a surplus of currently in stock. The 7D is still on the list @ $1119.20, but out of stock currently. Looks like the refurbished model may be my best bet after all.

 

[IPBrian]

No worries bvukich, I actually really appreciate it as I was previously unaware of this program and it might come in handy in the future. I still have that Rebel X.

If anyone else is interested the direct number is 866-443-8002 opt. 2. I found this number on another website but didn't want to call. Canon verified it as legit.

 

[erwinrm]

Is there a CLP website that shows you the items in stock, and what the CLP prices are?

 

[crasher7]

I have purchased two lenses and a 7D from the CLP and Canon Store refurb program. Just like new. On a similar note I have bought 4 Mac's from Apple refurbed. Every one has been flawless. I have come to believe that buying refurbs from reputable companies CAN mean your item goes through a more stringent round of QC checks.

 

[kdsand]

Sounds like your mainly talking straight from canon USA. Adorama offers a full 1 year warranty with canon referbished. I think it's across the board canon products I've several great lenses this way.

 

[unfocused]

Another vote for refurbished.

I bought the 100-400 zoom in December from the Canon store. Perfect condition and had a manufacturing date code of March, 2011, so it was essentially new. I also bought a 430 EX refurbished through Adorama. It arrived in a "refurbished by Canon" box. Again, perfect condition. My understanding is that all refurbished from Adorama and B&H are refurbished by the manufacturer unless otherwise stated.

I do find the selections confusing and seemingly random. They don't seem to follow any logic than I can deduce.

For example: I have never seen a single G series on the site, some lenses that have been in production for years are never listed (such as the 200 f2.8 "L" prime, or the 400 f 5.6 "L" prime), sometimes new products show up quite quickly, other times they never seem to make the list (The 7D and the 100 "L" Macro both showed up less than a year after announcement, but I keep waiting for the 70-300 "L"), there seems to be no relationship between the popularity of the lens and the listing (the 50mm f1.8 is on the list, but so is the 14mm f2.8 "L").

I also wonder where they get some of these lenses. I can understand why popular lenses would show up, but again, I wonder how they happen to have some of these high-end "L" lenses consistently in stock. Are there that many people who buy the 14mm f2.8 "L" lens and then return it? It's all a mystery to me.

 

[rpt]

Another vote for refurbished.

I bought the 100-400 zoom in December from the Canon store. Perfect condition and had a manufacturing date code of March, 2011, so it was essentially new. I also bought a 430 EX refurbished through Adorama. It arrived in a "refurbished by Canon" box. Again, perfect condition. My understanding is that all refurbished from Adorama and B&H are refurbished by the manufacturer unless otherwise stated.

I do find the selections confusing and seemingly random. They don't seem to follow any logic than I can deduce.

For example: I have never seen a single G series on the site, some lenses that have been in production for years are never listed (such as the 200 f2.8 "L" prime, or the 400 f 5.6 "L" prime), sometimes new products show up quite quickly, other times they never seem to make the list (The 7D and the 100 "L" Macro both showed up less than a year after announcement, but I keep waiting for the 70-300 "L"), there seems to be no relationship between the popularity of the lens and the listing (the 50mm f1.8 is on the list, but so is the 14mm f2.8 "L").

I also wonder where they get some of these lenses. I can understand why popular lenses would show up, but again, I wonder how they happen to have some of these high-end "L" lenses consistently in stock. Are there that many people who buy the 14mm f2.8 "L" lens and then return it? It's all a mystery to me.

May be some of the older stuff does not breakdown often enough to make it economical to put it into this category. I am not saying that their new stuff breaks down often. It does work well. But may be the "factor of safety" built into older designs was more than what it is today...

Wild guess... (cynical too... been 18 for quite some time now!)

My Canon AE1 lasted 26 years before it started leaking light. All else works...
My Rebel (300D) died last week - 8 years
And I do not have $4500 to spare (I cant work with just the 5D3 body - need non EFS glass too and need to pay taxes )

 

[phemark]

Has anyone bought refurbished Canon in UK?

 

[stageshoot]

Yes, had 2 5DIIs from the Canon Ebay UK outlet that were superb (Both very new bodies with 400 clicks on one and 70 clicks on the second), both cleaned and repacked with all new accesories

BUT I also bought a Canon Refurb 1DIV and that was a real dog, 70k clicks on it, and still had another photographers details in the user info, called him to ask about it, he said he had also bought it as a refurb from Canon 6 months before and had returned it due to high clicks and yet another pervious owners details on it, he spoke to them and they advised of a fault on the AF, on checking the second owner returned it due to the fault, and when I checked the fault was still there, so it had been through refurb at least twice before and still had the fault. So that was one real lemon

Would I buy from them again. Yes without a doubt as if you are not happy with what you get you can just sling it back...

 

[drmikeinpdx]

I got my 7D through the loyalty program about a year ago. I think it's a great program. Just two things to suggest.

1. Canon charges sales tax (not sure what state gets it) but it does not charge shipping. They do send you a free shipping label to send in your old POS Canon.

2. If your new camera body acts in the least bit strange, send it in to Canon service for calibration during the 90 day warranty. Lots of bodies need focus calibration, mine did and I did not realize it until after the warranty period.

 

[crasher7]

It comes and goes off the list and many have found it isn't on this list yet if you ask they might have one. And as for sales tax….you should be paying that anyway either up front or at the end of the year.
I'm an IRS auditor and I'll be looking into drmikeinpdx's finances asap.