Beginner Buying a 2nd hand camera

Evening all!

So I'm going to grab a cheap little 2nd hand Sony A390 as I ready a thread today and it seems pretty ok for the beginner I am..
Only thing is, what do I look out for? How do I know if it's in good enough condition to pick up?

Maybe it's just a case of trusting someone?

Thanks!

If you purchase from a dealer such as Wex, MPB or a shop you will usually get some sort of warranty, maybe 6 months or a year. Alternatively if you buy off a long time member in here the likelihood is their description will be accurate so you should be reasonably safe that they might refund you if it broke the next day but there would really be no guarantee as such.

As well as offering warranties, dealers also often accept credit cards which adds a certain level of security also. Ebay also often sides towards the buyer.

Where are you based Sam? Maybe ask a local member here to go and have a look with you. You need to test a camera really to see if all the functions work.
The real issue is some faults may only appear occasionally, you'd only find those with time. Thats why a warranty is important. EG a mate had a camera that would randomly produce odd colours. 99% of the time it was fine, then every few weeks he'd get way out colours, totally bonkers, 10 minutes later it was back to normal.

I've bought mainly for mpb and camera jungle, I've never had a problem. I've also bought a couple of items from this forum and also never had a problem, as @MatBin said, if it's a well established member you should be ok.

samphoto-ldn said:

Evening all!

So I'm going to grab a cheap little 2nd hand Sony A390 as I ready a thread today and it seems pretty ok for the beginner I am..
Only thing is, what do I look out for? How do I know if it's in good enough condition to pick up?

Maybe it's just a case of trusting someone?

Thanks!

Click to expand...

Trust yourself. You have to believe in yourself. Just pick it up, look at it, and if you feel something wrong, like the hairs on the back of your neck standing up, or if you're a woman (sorry Sam, I know you're a male, but this is in case anyone, even women, would be reading this posting and find it of interest), go with your women's intuition. If you feel something is not right, then don't buy, but if you're sure it is okay, then buy. Just like with anything else, buying a used car, buying second hand stuff from charity shops, car boot sales, etc.

Just see if the lens is firmly attached, not shaking lose, press any buttons and see if they seems to be pressed okay, turn any control knobs or wheels, see if they click as they turn, not spin. Check viewfinder and see if it looks like a clear view, not showing cracks or anything.

If you say something like "Hang on, this is a USB port for transferring the photos to the computer, right? But why is it not covered up? What happened to the cover flap?" then you'll decided on the condition, and decided if you want to buy or not.

I'm not a car mechanic, yet I managed to get myself a second hand Land Rover Freelander, that seems to be in good working order. During full services or MOT, I have not had a garage telling me "Sorry it's only fit for the scrap yard!" and no major repairs either. I really would not be able to spot a "chop and shut" car, I would not know if a car's in good condition or not, I had to like, trust myself. I looked under the wheel arches, under the car, in the engine, and if I said "I don't like the look of this!" I would have decided not to buy.