Sunday, January 12, 2014

Is it better to buy a used or a refurbished camera lens?

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Matt


I'm buying a new camera lens in a few day, and its cheaper to buy used or refurbished than it is to buy a new lens. I just don't know the difference between the two?


Answer
Here is my 2c of information. What it all comes down to is warranty protection and pricing.

Refurbished lenses should be as good as new, but they are refurbished because something wasn't right in the first place and the factory had to "repair/refurbish" it to make it like new. Yes, they can be a bit cheaper in price, but the warranty attached to it is far less than a new lens.

I use (USA) Nikon & Tamron lenses on my D90. Nikon has a 1 yr warranty with an additional 4 free years to the original purchaser only. Tamron has a 7 year warranty to the original purchaser. Both of them have 90 day factory warranties on refurbished lenses, so far as I know. I won't save a few $$$ to cheat myself out of 5-7 years of warranty protection. I am spending the little extra money as an "insurance policy" in case something does go wrong.

Used lenses have NO warranty. As for both Nikon and Tamron, once you buy a used lens, you, the 2nd (or later) purchaser, have NO warranty with the manufacturer. It is non-transferable. It breaks-you pay full repair costs. Now, to be fair, I have purchased used lenses from private parties. I also paid far less than brand-new prices for them, but it is (and always will be) a gamble which I knowingly take. So far, so good-no issues with my used lenses.

Depending on your camera purchase, buy the best body you NEED and invest in the best LENSES you can afford. The lenses will outlast the body overall, as technology and innovation will force the camera makers to produce better cameras that will still use the lenses you have today. I am using Nikon lenses (manual, not digital lenses) that were made in the 1970's with terrific results and I got them used for very little money.

There you go... good luck!

What's the best way to clean a Point and Shoot camera lens while on the go?




Uncle Penn


Preferably, something that can fit into the small camera case the camera usually rides in.
Someone in the family inevitably gets a fingerprint smudge on there while we are doing something and taking pictures.



Answer
My cleaner of choice is a lens pen - even for my expensive DSLR lenses.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00006JN3G/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00006JN3G&linkCode=as2&tag=boatprojcom-20

Especially on the go when you don't have time to get out liquids and cloths. And you can get a small version of a lens pen (lens pen micro) that will fit into about any camera case.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007G620ZE/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B007G620ZE&linkCode=as2&tag=boatprojcom-20

Of if you prefer the wet method, then a few disposable packs of these should work:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000LC5V9M/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000LC5V9M&linkCode=as2&tag=boatprojcom-20




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