Second hand 350d with 30-85 lens.

[naz1996]

Hi all, the hubby's friend is selling his camera of about 2 yrs old for £130. It's had very little use he says and is selling it as he's lost interest. The hubby wants to have a go with dslr. For this price I think it's a bargain but not liking that lens that comes with it. Any advice? Thanks everyone.
Naz.

 

[redhed17]

Never heard of a 30-85mm lens. If it was an Canon 15-85mm lens, then I think the £130 would be worth it just for the lens.

With any 2nd hand camera you need to check the number of shutter actuations to actually confirm how much the camera has been used. The 350D is now 7 years old, and even with moderate use, could have racked up some shots.

£130 doesn't seem that much, but if something was to go wrong once it was bought, it could ruin a friendship. :shrug: A very good reason to make sure it's all in good working order.

Being 7 years old, the 350D will be pretty poor in low light at high ISO settings compared to what is available now, so if there is an expectation of using the camera in low light situations, you may want to look for something newer. :shrug:

 

[naz1996]

Ah sorry it's 35-80. Thanks I did not know the camera itself came out 7 yrs ago I know it's only 8 mp. He does just want to have a go. I looked around to try get a price but could not find a fixed price for this set up. Thanks for the advice!

 

[woof woof]

Ffordes have a couple of 350D's priced at £99 and they have a 18-55mm lens for £59.

I think that'd be a better deal to be honest and at least with Ffordes you'll get a warranty.

 

[Gazamonk]

Hi all, the hubby's friend is selling his camera of about 2 yrs old for £130.

Production of the 350D ceased in 2005 so anyone claiming it was 2 years old (friend or not) would put me off buying it with that statement alone. The lens also pre dates the digital EOS cameras and was originally from the film camera era. It may be cheap but is likely quite old. You pay your money you take your chance as they say.

I would go with Woof Woofs suggestion and get the more useable kit lens (18-55) the 35-80 on a crop body would be very restrictive. I also have a 35-80 I got thrown in with a recent body I purchased and it is an absolutely awful piece of glass to be honest. I am going to take off the front element on it and use it as an infinity focus only macro lens just for fun.

 

[redhed17]

Production of the 350D ceased in 2005 so anyone claiming it was 2 years old (friend or not) would put me off buying it with that statement alone.

The friend may have bought it 2nd hand themselves 2 years ago. As in this case, not everyone buys new.

That said, if it were bought 2nd hand by the seller, the original buyer may have racked up loads of shutter actuations. :shrug:

 

[Gazamonk]

The friend may have bought it 2nd hand themselves 2 years ago.

That was my point really, claiming its 2 years old or bought 2 years ago used are two entirely different statements. They may well have said it was bought used by them 2 years ago but we can only answer on the text of the original post which suggests the former.

 

[weybourne]

Production of the 350D ceased in 2005 so anyone claiming it was 2 years old (friend or not) would put me off buying it with that statement alone.

I'm not so sure about that - I bought mine brand new from Jessops in March 2007 - and they were being sold brand new a considerable time after that too. The wikipedia page says that production ceased in 2005 but the linked source is a dead link. The replacement page on Canon's website says it was marketed March 2005 (link) but does not say when production ceased. It's replacement, the 400D, according to Canon's website wasn't marketed until September 2006 and the 450D after that in March 2008.

Would argue that it being only 2 years old is rather fanciful though

 

[Gazamonk]

Would argue that it being only 2 years old is rather fanciful though

Lol agreed.

 

[j37r]

I bought my 350D in October 2006 and I am still using it now, it has been solid and dependable for all that time, never let me down once, I have to date only taken around 12,000 pictures with it, using it alongside my film cameras I do not waste frames.

I have pretty well permanantly had the ISO set to 400 since I bought it, couple of weeks after I got it I photographed the local bonfire celebrations.

I was impressed in how well the camera handled the situation.
More recently I have taken to photographing a local shop window display which changes with the time of year, this was taken last Christmas 1/30 @F5, ISO 400.

I have never needed to go higher than ISO 400 yet, but I'm sure the camera will rise to the occasion.


John