sarge69 Loc: Ft Myers, FL

I have a Nikon D5300 refurbished and it's fantastic.

Sarge69

n3eg Loc: West coast USA

Refurbished Olympus E-PL5 from Cameta in June 2013 - has had no problems at all.

MikeMck Loc: Southern Maryland on the Bay

I have a refurbished Canon 70D purchased from Canon. It is good as brand new and carries a year warranty, you can't beat that. The NYC photo shops also carry refurbished equipment. Make sure it was refurbished by the manufacturer. Good luck.

GeneinChi Loc: Chicago, IL

I just got a d7100 refurbished from Adorama for $479 with 4 actuations. Its basically a brand new camera.
No complaints dealing with that company.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

"Refurbished" is a bad term for these cameras. It suggests that they have been worn out and rebuilt. In reality, they are virtually new cameras that have, hopefully, been gone over by the manufacturer and are sold in excellent condition. I have bought some with shutter counts below 50.

I always look for refurbs when I buy.

RKL349 Loc: Connecticut

Well put, the key here is "manufacturer refurbished". And, most that are sold, if not all, have a USA warranty, which is critical should you ever need repair. I always look at refurbished first, they are shipped looking and performing as new, and in my experience, I have not had any problems.

Kuzano

Why is everybody on this post leaving out the key word "Factory" refurbished. There are plenty of camera shops and techs out in the world selling simply "refurbished" cameras. Many refurbed in their own shops to their own standard.

Technically it would not be illegal for a camera shop or tech with some skills to label camera's they have repaired or CLA'd as refurbished.

Careful on the terminology there. Most of us hawking refurbished should use the correct term to include only "factory refurbished" by the manufacturer, even if sold by Amazon, KEH, B&H and other vendors.

Consider the source. If it's a Nikon Refurb, is the source actually Nikon refurb outlet. KEH for instance has a service department, but their refurbs in the sense we are using the term here in this post are factory serviced refurbished camera bodies and/or lenses from the Nikon factory outlet.

Seems a small terminology difference, but personally I want my refurbs to come from the manufacturer, or show evidence of service by the camera manufacturer only.

Keep this in mind. A large portion of refurbished equipment actually never had a problem. Returned equipment that has been sold and returned by the seller as "buyer remorse" or complexity beyond the ability of the buyer, cannot be repackaged and sold as new merchandise. Once the SN is registered through purchase at a retailer, by FCC must be listed as new or refurbished. Other FR are repaired and run through a operational checklist and repackaged in plain packaging or clearly marked refurbished.

So, it's possible to get refurbished equipment that has never failed, or has been repaired (no clear option on which) BY THE original manufacturer. In that case the clearest terminology is "Factory Refurbished", and with some short warranty.

I buy FACTORY refurbs, clearly marked as such, no matter what the vendor. But on Olympus for instance, the best source is the Olympus Outlet site where the camera's are marked by them as "reconditioned". Many other manufacturer's distribute their own refurbs, as well as outlet them through larger vendors.

I've rarely seen refurbs that did not look/appear as new, but had a big blue refurbished sticker on the box that said "refurbished by (mfr)".

As new models age to discontinued, the incidence of inventory rises on refurbs.

I will always buy FACTORY refurbs when available. Chances are they have seen more factory handling and testing than NEW in the store camera's. They have certainly been run and tested against an extensive checklist. :thumbup:

JTann Loc: North East, MD

At one point I was skeptical but when talking to someone who worked at Nikon I was told that before a camera is submitted to the 'refurbished' list it is completely gone over by the tech dept. In fact more so than new coming off assembly line. I don't know if that's really true but since then I've bought 2 Nikon cameras and both appeared to be brand new by looks/packaging and performance. If there's a downside it's that they come with only 90 day warranties though in my case at least, the warranties weren't needed. As someone else posted, 'reputable dealer' or from manufacturer. Both of mine were factory refurbs. and yes, they were significantly less expensive.

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

If I may I would like to suggest that you buy your refurbished camera from Cameta. They are not only a very reliable and reputable dealer but also will give you a one year warranty on your purchase.
In general refurbed cameras are dealer's samples or open boxes returned to the distributor who puts them through some tests and calibrations when needed to bring them back to specs. Some of them could have minor imperfections but in general it is like buying new.
My experience with Cameta has been a very pleasant one.

ralphc4176 Loc: Conyers, GA

Before you buy refurb, compare the price to the cost of the same camera new from a reputable dealer, like B&H. You may decide that the difference in price justifies getting new. Also, B&H often sells packages, with a kit lens and an appropriate card and sometimes other goodies, at very reasonable combo prices. If you don't want a kit lens, you should consider the cost of a new body vs. the refurb. B&H also has lenses and other accessories available for most, probably all, of the DSLR and mirrorless bodies they sell.

mymike Loc: Tucson, AZ

I agree. I have used Cameta for my camera and two lenses.

Stash Loc: South Central Massachusetts

I purchased a refurbished Nikon Coolpix S9500. A small camera to carry in my pocket. That was at least two years ago and haven't had a problem with it.

MtnMan Loc: ID

IMHO Nikon refurbs are better than new. I have had four snd each came in new condition and the three I still have still work fine.

They come with 90-day Nikon warranty and Cameta adds a year of theirs for free. Adorama for a few bucks.

wdfbpf Loc: Huntsville, AL

The reason I say get Manufacturer Refurbished (synonymous with Factory Refurbished) rather than Dealer refurbished is that the dealer often does not do a complete refurbishment.

Sometimes they just clean the item and call it refurbished. I've read ads that said the dealer had refurbished the camera or lens, but there were still a couple minor problems with the item. A manufacturer or factory refurbished item should not have a known problem!

brucewells Loc: Central Kentucky

When I received my FR D7100 from Adorama, I put a lens on it and took a picture to ensure it worked, then I uploaded that photo to check the shutter count. The results came back "1". In other words, my refurb had never had a shutter release.

Likely, it had been set out for display at a photography show of some sort. It works great!! :-)