anishjoy Loc: India(currently in Kuwait for make living)

i am very much new to this form.and also very new to DSLR photography..before that i was using a Sony cyber short camera..currently i purchased Nikon d 90 with kit lens..i am happy about the final result of my photos..i want to upgrade my lens..once i checked the Nikon's lens range i was disappoint with the cost.. i checked eBay and local second market there are plenty of second hand lenses i can afford...can i buy some second hand stuffs..if i buy which all the thinks i want to cross check.. the second hand lens will do any harm to my camera body ?..i except guidelines from experience handed s....kindly help me

jwegge11 Loc: Stillwater, MN

When you say "Second Hand" are you simply referring to gently used or Off Brand lenses? I do my research and then once I know what I want, try posting ads on this site or other forums you belong to--most have Classifieds. I bought my Canon 70-200mm f/4L IS from a guy on Craigslist and I pretty much knew upon meeting him the lens would be in great shape. He had a ton of great equipment and has been a great resource to share his ideas with me. I also bought a used Tamron 17-50mm that I found at my local National Camera they had just taken in.

Good luck!! Jeff

JimH Loc: Western South Jersey, USA

eBay is a very good source for used lenses, especially if you buy from an established seller with better than 99.5% positive feedback, and utilize eBay and PayPal return policies if you do not receive what is promised. Make sure the lens you want is described as "in working condition" or words to that effect, and not as "for parts or not working". If there's any doubt, just wait for a better one. So many used lenses come on the market that, like buses and women, there's always another one down the road.

Used lenses, especially those by the manufacturer of your camera body, will not hurt your camera at all.

krigby

I found this site when I was looking for information about lens compatibility for a Nikon D70.

It will tell you, in a general sense, what Nikkor lenses are compatible with a Nikon DSLR body.
http://www.nikonians.org/nikon/slr-lens.html

And this may help you determine what lenses by other manufacturers are compatible with your camera body.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nikon_F-mount_lenses_with_integrated_autofocus_motors

bobmielke Loc: Portland, OR

Check out this website for deals. Laurie is a professional nature & wildlife photographer who also runs a photographic sales business. All items must be in top shape before She'll sell them. I've done business with her personally so I trust her & her reputation. http://www.equipmentlady.com/

billybob40

I use a Canon and have bouth 4 lenes in the last two month all used, and saved big time and in great working order. Take your camera to a camera shop and act like your going to buy a lens, try it out. Then say your going to think on it. Go home, look around on ebay and buy what you need. I have bough $16,000 worth of photography stuff on ebay in two years, it works for me. I'm 71 and it something to do.

ecophotog

Re: Billybob's suggestion to "use" your local store without any compensation, then shop on eBay instead.


Do NOT do this. #1) it's not fair to the local shop, whom you are abusing by doing this to; they have overhead to pay and if you truly need them and want them to stay in business, then you should support them by shopping there #2) they will know what you are doing, and though they may be civil, they'll recognize and remember you... then when you really need help, you won't be taken seriously.

The better alternative, if you need to try a lens out before buying it, is to rent one and put it through the paces for a weekend before making a permanent purchase decision. For big lenses or specialty items that you may only use on rare occasions, you may decide to only rent it when you need it.

There are many lens rental outlets. If you are in a metropolitan area, you may even have a local trade/exchange, such as http://www.borrowlenses.com

Enjoy your shooting... but don't abuse local vendors.

Cheers,
JD

http://www.ecology.org

billybob40

YOUR RIGHT ABOUT THAT.

jwegge11 Loc: Stillwater, MN

JD--I could NOT agree more

sinatraman Loc: Vero Beach Florida, Earth,alpha quaudrant

the three most trusted names by professional photographers (boy if i got a commission for evry time i type this) are adorama.com b+h.com andKeh.com. The first two sell new and used the last only used. all three will check and rate the cameras and lenses they sell, adorama puts a guarentee on their stuff don't know about the other two all three havve excellant ratings from the better business bureau

user2071 Loc: New England

Ebay is still, seller protection measures and all that notwithstanding, a crap shoot. I spent a lot of time and money on ebay when it was a primary source for my antique shop, but you really have to know what you are looking at, what prices are and should be, which sellers are which and how to tell which are good and which are not ... and if you don't know this stuff thoroughly, the odds of you getting ripped off are very high.

There are, if you don't have a local shop, a good selection of legitimate sellers on the internet.

Ebay is for NOT for a neophyte buyer!

gessman Loc: Colorado

If you go ebay hunting and you come to an advert for a used lens and the sellers has anything that sounds like what I'm about to share with you, run, don't walk, but run away fast. If the seller says, "I don't know nuthin' about cameras. My aunt Jessica died and left it to me and I don't have no use for it, but I think it's nearly new." What you're gonna get 99 times out of 100 is a broken piece of equipment. Ebay might stand behind it but you're gonna tie up your money for awhile.

user2071 Loc: New England

Oh yeah. I used to specialize in old dolls and the "my aunt/ grandmother/ other female relative left me this here doll collection and I don't know nuthin about nuthin" means that you are about to get screwed.

But there are other cool ways. Sometimes, you send money and get something completely different than what was listed and good luck getting your money back ... you should only live long enough. Or what you get isn't what was pictured: you get something 100 years old, NOT what you supposedly bought.

There are so many ways you can get screwed on Ebay ... the ways are more than I can list and I have been through every one of them at least once. LOTS of crooked people out there, LOTS of counterfeit items (LOTS), huge numbers of misleading advertisements and lots of people who leave town (and Ebay) before you ever have a chance to get your money or your refund. Oh, and fraudulent accounts, too.

Even when you do know what you are doing, you can STILL get nailed. And on Ebay, eventually, you will.

gessman Loc: Colorado

Much earlier, I felt an urge to start an old folder camera collection so I started buying them up, naturally hoping that some of them might be good enough to run a roll of film through. I bought around 100 over a period of a year or so. Invariably, the seller would say, "I'm not sure what this is. Somebody said it was an old camera but you couldn't prove it by me. It came out of my grandpa's attic when he died and it looks brand new." Not a single one of those old folders I bought were functional, not a single one - frozen shutters, pinholes in the bellows, etc. I restored the ones that I could and have indeed run some film through them. The nicest one I bought was a Moscva 5 made in Russia, a copy of a Ziess camera that was real hot at the same time. The Moscva takes 120/220 and shoots 6x9 and with 6x7 and 2 1/4 square film masks. It is a tank and made at a time when the best thing we could turn out in this country was a piece of plastic or Bakelite.

All those old cameras do make a nice collection and I'm glad to have them. ebay is an interesting place and it seems to bring out the worst in a con artist.

user2071 Loc: New England

To Gessman:

I have an old Zeiss folding camera that is, as far as I can tell, not broken. It does need TLC. I paid $5 for it at a flea market and if you want it, send me a private message and I'll send it to you for the price of shipping. It's just sitting on a shelf gathering dust and I would love to see someone fix it up. The shutter does not seem to be frozen and there are no holes that I can see in the bellows ... but it's dirty and very stiff from lack of use and needs lubrication, cleaning ... everything. Then MAYBE it'll work. But the price is right. I can't tell whether or not the lens is in decent condition of not.