As anyone who's read my blog knows, I collect cameras. A lot of times these cameras are ones that are old and outdated or just ones that are overlooked or tons of them are on the used market for people who upgraded for "better" cameras (like my Nikon D610).
However, a good portion of my cameras are not in "perfect" shape by far. A few have various liveable flaws and still take great photos, and I often got these for half the price of what a "perfect" condition camera would sell for (except for the a99 but that one is a story of itself that I covered in my review of it two years ago.)
Taking in cameras that are "as is" or "flawed" is always going to be a gamble. You might get one that is totally inoperative IE it flashes an error on the screen, shuts itself off, or something like the shutter is jammed. Or you might get one that works for everything but one small feature that is often liveable without having or having to use a "workaround".
Recently I picked up a Canon 90D, one of the last DSLRs Canon ever made for half of what they sell for normally (they are still pretty modern and thus fetch a high price) because it has a broken function button and grips that are expanding off the camera likely because it was left in a hot car at some point in its life.
The shutter count is less then half of its life expectancy (which is never an absolute there are 100k shutter rated cameras out there with half a mil to almost a mil shutter actuation out there) so for its "lifespan" it still has a ways to go even if the previous owner may have been a little rough on it physically. For under $400 its a heck of a deal for an otherwise amazing camera.
Another good example of this which is probably my best deal I've ever gotten was a Canon Rebel T6i for $100. Canon Rebels are still popular as they are small and easy to use and the newer models (T6i-T8i) still sell for $250-500 used as they have their cult following.
The issue? The orientation switch is broken so if you flip out the screen and then close it against the body it's updside down. It still works folded out in the correct orientation and closed inwards so that the screen is "off" just fine. Otherwise the buttons on the camera are brand new and the camera itself had less then 20,000 shutter fires.
I have a number of other "imperfect" cameras: a Sony a99 with a broken IBIS unit (which flashes a message that needs to be cleared constantly) but the images it takes are still just as good as any other Sony a99 as long as you aren't in really low light situations.
Another camera with a broken IBIS is an Olympus Pen E-PL6 that I thought about returning but I haven't been able to tell any difference in the photos I take with it. Its mostly used for candid street shots as its a tiny mirrorless camera with a tilt screen making it a hip-shot wonder cam.
There will be more of the Olympus Pen EPL-6 soon as its my next month's challenge cam, and a definite improvement from what I stuck to this month.
In summary the point of this post is someone's e-waste is another user's treasure. A flaw or defect which might be too much for one photographer may be a perfect fit for someone on a tighter budget or like me looks for the best bargins to feed his camera collecting hobby.
Used cameras have character, and Imperfect cameras have even more. We're in the golden age for used camera equipment and sadly a lot of hobbyists just pass it right by to go out and buy the newest Sony A7 brand new with several thousand dollar lenses when they'd likely be just as happy with say a used first generation Sony A7 and used lenses instead.
Photography doesn't have to be a $5-10k investment. The only reason it is for me is because I can't stop adopting all these misfit cameras no one wants and if you add up the value of my entire collection, yeah we are talking several grand worth of investment minimum. Most individual lenses and cameras however I've spent no more then $400 a piece for.
Maybe I'm the weird one that would rather have my menagerie of "not perfect" or "not the best" cameras then one "of the newest and best" and two lenses. This just be how I roll and I'm helping keep used camera stores in business.
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