Desperately need your advice. Refurbished Nikon D800: I'm seriously looking to purchase refurbished Nikon D800. I know that many of you guys have a strong opinion about this issue. So...

Marek Loc: Jacksonville, Florida

I'm seriously looking to purchase refurbished Nikon D800. I know that many of you guys have a strong opinion about this issue. So far I did not see anything to scare me from doing it. Well, maybe except my wife off course. I wonder, if any of you regret buying refurbished and go with a new one. Any regrets or bad experiences. ????

tramsey Loc: Texas

Many people on the forum buy refurbished rather than new. But there are some things you have to watch out for. Is it a reputable dealer like B&H, Adorama some place like that? Than you have to make sure they have a decent return policy. I can't think of anything else right off. Good Luck

Marek Loc: Jacksonville, Florida

Thank you. I was looking on those two companies. Return policies and guarantees are similar. I looks legit but there is always a bit of doubts.. what if.... ?

JR1 Loc: Tavistock, Devon, UK

Do you always buy a new car, house, why then camera, lens

OddJobber Loc: Portland, OR

One thing that may or may not matter is that a refurb may have a shorter warranty period.

OddJobber Loc: Portland, OR

Just looked. Adorama has a 90-day warranty on refurb, but they offer an additional year for about 10 bucks.

Danilo Loc: Las Vegas

My only regret in purchasing a D5100 refurbished is I didn't get the full instruction manual with it, just a condensed version. But even that hasn't really been much of an issue, so I'll count it as a minor regret.
A refurbished camera can actually be better than new, in that they are thoroughly tested and checked by trained technicians, not just factory "line workers".
All in all, I would not hesitate to purchase refurbished again. I got mine from B&H, and would use them again in a heartbeat. :thumbup: :thumbup:

CurreyPhoto Loc: Reddick, Florida

Danilo wrote:

My only regret in purchasing a D5100 refurbished i... (show quote)

I could not agree with you more. I've bought several lenses and recently a D3s refurbished from Adorama. All have been great. You can down load the manual for your D5100 from the Nikon site. It is better than the original because it is on your hard drive and you can find things with a word search. Another place to buy refurbished Nikon stuff is from the Nikon USA site.

dooragdragon Loc: Alma , Arkansas

Marek wrote:

I'm seriously looking to purchase refurbished Nikon D800. I know that many of you guys have a strong opinion about this issue. So far I did not see anything to scare me from doing it. Well, maybe except my wife off course. I wonder, if any of you regret buying refurbished and go with a new one. Any regrets or bad experiences. ????

nikon outlet has a refurbished d-800 listed for just under 2400.00

DaveHam Loc: Reading UK

Sometimes the best way to buy is refurbished. Only one thing; check the prices you can get new and if the refurb is less than 10% cheaper then go with new and get the benefit of full warranty etc.

Good luck, it's a great camera.

brucewells Loc: Central Kentucky

Marek wrote:

I'm seriously looking to purchase refurbished Nikon D800. I know that many of you guys have a strong opinion about this issue. So far I did not see anything to scare me from doing it. Well, maybe except my wife off course. I wonder, if any of you regret buying refurbished and go with a new one. Any regrets or bad experiences. ????

The only thing I'd want to ensure is that it was refurbished by Nikon.

Pepper Loc: Planet Earth Country USA

I bought a refurbished D800 from Adorama and I have had no issues at all. I know several photographers who always buy refurbished equipment if it's available. Just be certain as stated above that you're buying "factory" refurbished and the best way to be certain of that is by sticking with reputable suppliers like Adorama or B&H, there are other but these are the two I deal with mostly.

strikerazde Loc: Phoenix, AZ

Danilo wrote:

My only regret in purchasing a D5100 refurbished i... (show quote)

Refurb by reputable company / manufacturer is no issue. Wouldn't even worry if it came with no manual since you can download them from the manufacturer site. I find manuals more convenient to carry on my iPad in PDF form anyway.

ZappaMan Loc: Williamsport, MD

Buying new is no guarantee. I had to return my brand new D800 due to the LCD info display on top dropping out exposure data. Now that it has been gone over by the techs I feel confident it will hold up well. If you think of why it was refurbished you might conclude someone returned it for whatever reason and then it can no longer be sold as new. If you still get the factory support and if there is anything wrong it can be easily corrected. I admit there was some separation anxiety while mine was out for repair, but the reunion was that much sweeter.

OddJobber Loc: Portland, OR

Danilo wrote:

A refurbished camera can actually be better than new, in that they are thoroughly tested and checked by trained technicians, not just factory "line workers".

Don't know if this is directly relevant, but I worked a couple of years in electronics manufacturing (defibrillators that had to work first time every time). Any product that failed quality control was personally rebuilt by the line supervisor. Kept them aware of any problems that might be going on "on their line".