Screamin Scott Loc: Marshfield Wi, Baltimore Md, now Dallas Ga

Except when the item being sold/bought is a larger item that cannot be easily transported. Like a non-running car for instance or a sofa...

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

If you are buying a camera to use it, I'd recommend going through one of the dealers... KEH, B&H, Adorama, etc. They check out the gear, rate it fairly and offer a store war

ranty. It's much riskier buying off eBay.... even the best and most honest seller may have little knowledge of the gear and most offer little, if any, warranty. (Of course, KEH and the other s also sometimes sll on eBay).

Between the two,I'd definitely recommend the D300 over the D200. The D200 was one of Nikon's last DSLRs to use a CD sensor. The D300 and all subsequent Nikon DSLRs use a CMOS sensor, which h make for much less "noise" at higher ISOs, so are usable in lower lighting conditions.

A friend of mine used a pair of D200 which were really nice cameras... except she was reluctant to use them above ISO 400. My less expensive and lower resolution Canon 30Ds were able to make usable imag at two stops higher ISO 1600 when we were both shooting the same subjects in the same conditions, thanks to Canon's use of CMOS sensors of their own making in all their DSLRs from 2001 onward. Pretty much all DSLRs now use CMOS... In recent years even medium format makers have been abandoning CCD in favor of CMOS. Some camera phones and many compact point-n-shoots, too.

My friend was one of the first people in line to upgrade from D200s to D300.... Much as she liked the controls, build, speed, autofocus, layout and everything else about the D200, the high ISO performance she wanted just wasn't there for her. She was much happier with her D300s.

By the way, there's also D300"S", which is a mild upgrade with a few more features. But enough that Nikon didn't replace with the D500 until the D300/300S models had seen almost an eight year run. That's an exceptionally long lifespan for a model in the digital age! https://cameradecision.com/compare/Nikon-D300-vs-Nikon-D300S

It appears D300 in good condition sell for around $250 and D300S for a bit over $400. For only a little more money you might want to consider a D7100 or used D7200... twice the resolution, better low light capabilities and various other improvements. https://cameradecision.com/compare/Nikon-D7100-vs-Nikon-D300S and https://cameradecision.com/compare/Nikon-D7200-vs-Nikon-D300S

One Rude Dawg Loc: Athol, ID

tiphareth51 Loc: Somewhere near North Pole, Alaska

Interesting topic. I have received a quote from KEH and in the process of dealing with them for the first time. I am selling a Canon AE-1, a Canon AE-1, a Vivitar 75 to 205 close Focus Zoom , several Canon lenses and several speedlights. All are in excellent or excellent plus condition. Does anyone know the demand for these?

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

After shooting with a D200 for many years, I updated to a D300 and D300s a couple of years ago. If you are not into low light photography, the CCD sensor in the D200 will provide beautiful results. And it actually will shoot in low light, just not at really high ISOs. I have a number of beautiful images captured in the Chihuly museum at the Space Needle and in other museums where light was limited. I just had to manage some fairly slow shutter speeds. My D300 would have been easier to shoot with, but I do not think the final images would have been any better (except for a very small increase in resolution from 10 to 12 MP). The D300s also shoots video, limited to 5 minute segments.

I now have a D810 and a D850, but still use the D300 & D300s a lot. My brother now has my D200, but I'd really like to have it back for certain applications.

I believe that any of these could be good choices for you, depending on what you want to do with them. But keep in mind that support from Nikon has ended for all of them. Parts are no longer available. So my local camera store, which offers a warranty on used equipment, no longer buys or sells any of them, because they have no way to fix a problem that develops. A few online stores have a few parts available (at pretty high prices), but not all are genuine Nikon parts. In particular, the genuine rubber grip pads are no longer available. These have to be replaced any time the body is disassembled, because they cover screws that have to be removed to get it apart, and once removed, they don't go back on gracefully.

Good luck on your search. At the prices quoted in earlier posts, you could buy one of each of all three models and not spend $1,000.

ballsafire Loc: Lafayette, Louisiana

Blair Shaw Jr Loc: Dunnellon,Florida

I have purchased many used cameras on E Bay as well as some lens and have had great success with them all. You do have to be very careful when doing this and read all the descriptions in the lower portion of their page as well as insure that the item in the photo is In Fact the Item you are purchasing because there are folks out there that take advantage of you if they can. The larger Camera stores are a Safer bet but the cost will go up of course.

PAR4DCR Loc: A Sunny Place

Check UHH.

Don

sv3noKin51E

iamimdoc, Great choice for an older body. We bought both a pre-owned D200 and D300 at Adorama and they were both in great shape. Adorama has a good selection of them usually and if you get one rated in very good condition (8 to 9), as long as there's no faults listed under condition, go for it; you can send it back if you're not totally pleased. (I never allow anyone to ship one of these bodies through the mail, UPS does an excellent job for us, not so with the posties). Our D200 usually serves as backup for the D300, as it's slower, but it still has good points; many photographers still love, and use the D300, it's still a prized body. I've personally never received a body from Adorama that doesn't function in grade A condition, no matter how many shutter activations. Adorama tests the bodies thoroughly, repairs and/or cleans them before listing. With a 30-day no quibble return period and 90-day in-house warranty, you may pay a bit more than the sellers on ebay, or other shops, but you get your money's worth from Adorama. I'll set up the D300 when I use it to back up the D700 as the menu/screen/layout is much the same. The D300 isn't FX, and it surely isn't a D700 or D7000, it's more like the older brother. It's a great shooting camera. Ken Rockwell has plenty of tips and info about both bodies on his site, and if you skip through the hype and dated parts, it's worth the read. Happy shooting. sv

Jim Bianco

I just made a trade in for a Nikon 70-300 mm vr ed lens, got the lens today from mpb photo, the lens is like new and works great, I will do business with them again great people to deal with. Jim Bianco

tropics68 Loc: Georgia

I used Craigs list years ago with no problems. I stopped when a guy I knew and his wife were shot to death when they went to pick up a car they had agreed to buy. My next door neighbor once sold a set of wheels/rims on CL and met the "buyers" (there were three of them in the car) at the local police station. He hung around for awhile after the "buyers" left before he decided to head home. He was almost home when he noticed the buyers right behind him following him. He called the cops on his cell and they sent a car out and the "buyers" decided to disappear. I am an old man and don't need any grief from some lowlife thugs and there are lots of em out there.

I like KEH. I bought a Canon 7D with a Canon battery and charger that was rated BGN (bargain) at a very, very low price. I got it in two days and it seems to be in excellent shape and everything works as it should. Takes good pics. If not, they offer a six month warranty on all their items. I bought an expensive Sony about six months ago and was disappointed with its poor image quality. KEH took it back and paid the return freight. I rank them with B&H, Adorama, Roberts, and Cameta. I have bought used from all and no bad experiences from any. My 2cents.

Planefixer

Another place to look is thrift stores. It’s a hit and miss deal but this blind squirrel has found a few nuts. One was a Nikon 60mm 1:2.8D AF micro attached to a N60, $15. Another was a camera bag with a Nikon Pronea outfit. Had three lens, two for the Pronea and the third Nikon lens a 50mm AF 1:1.4D. Price tag on the bag 5.99. Closed the bag up and headed to the check out lane.

papaluv4gd Loc: durham,ct

I have had nothing but good experiences with buying used on ebay.Purchased all my olympus gear used.3 bodies,6 lenses,assorted accessories.Not a single problem.I also regularly buy used fuji hs series cameras.I give them away to any youngster who shows an interest in photography.I now have a dozen or so budding photographers.Couple fellas from church and my self now lead basic photo classes and monthly field trips with the kids and anyone else who wants to come along.Getting so ,that we have to car pool so we don"t look like an invasion force showing up to our destination.On our day to day routines,we may see or hear about a possible photo shoot,so we get together ,discuss the possibilities and put field trips together.Buying used has helped me help a new generation of up and coming photographers.It's cost me some pretty good money,BUT,money well spent.Wife was a bit miffed at first,But I get a blessing out of it.Give it try.

uppics Loc: rockford, il, usa

you damn fool, if you are going to quote me...then quote what i say. i stated that staying away from ebay is my opinion. i really do not care what others do or where others spend their money. thin skinned? no, i despise people like you. i gave my thoughts & opinions...someone asked for an opinion, & i gave mine. if you don't like what i said or have a problem w/ what i said, go somewhere else; everyone on this forum will be better off....

Shutterbug57

I have used Roberts several times and been pleased. I also have bought stuff from eBay knowing that I am assuming some risk that way. I have gotten several lenses and a few bodies off eBay and the only thing that was not 100% up to snuff, as described, was leaking light seals on a Mamiya M645. I got a great deal on that one and did the new light seals myself for $12 and still had a steal of a deal. A couple weeks ago, I got a F100 from Al’s Camera on eBay. The price was competitive and the camera was better than advertised. The thing is in mint condition, Al’s rated it very good.

If you buy off eBay, you assume risk that you don’t have with Roberts, B&H, etc., so you have to read every word. Have a checklist of things to look for in the item that indicate issues. Above all, know the issues to look for like sticky rubber on several older Nikon film bodies or fungus in a lens. If something feels the least bit off, walk.

As for the D200, if you have light, it is a great camera. It is still my backup body to my D500. If you want to go above ISO 800, things get noisy fast. Also, be sure the CF card slot does not have bent or missing pins. Try to get a deal with a card or two thrown in.