Buying a used 5D Mk2, 24-70L, 580EX: What to check??

Hello folks,

really need some quick-ish advice here. I'm buying a second hand Canon 5D Mk 2, Canon 24 - 70mm f2.8 lens, and Canon Speedlight 580 EX 2 on tuesday. I currently have 450D but I'm not familiar with the far more sophisticated items I'm about to buy. The camera has a shutter count of 22,000 and it is all about a year old, with boxes and receipts from new, etc. I am meeting to buy this for cash, face to face, and he seems a decent sounding guy on the phone.

What are the essential things I need to check in the limited time I'll have before handing over the vast quantities of hard-earned money? Given that I won't be familiar with arcane menu settings and features, and will be generally a 'bit overwhelmed' - What are the real deal breakers?

Thanks!

Anyone have any suggestions before I go to collect it all in the morning?

These threads seems to cover some basic things from a quick search:

1. http://www.canonrumors​.com/forum/index.php?t​opic=4726.0
2. https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=903621
3. https://photography-on-the.net …/showthread.php​?t=1162388

Personally I'd take a picture at a white wall or blue sky and go over it (zoom in) quickly to see that the sensor isn't producing any weird stuff or has "black spots" etc.

Check inside the lens for fungus etc. Expect some dust specs inside the lens, that's ok, it happens and won't affect picture quality. Check filter thread to see that it's not broken.

For the 580 II, check as well as you can that there's no black inside the flash head. Some 580's "burn out", but most likely the 580 wouldn't work at all in that case. Test fire the flash both off and on camera (set it to E-TTL, default usually when turned on).

Other than that I think the other threads will cover you well. If you have a laptop with you - you might want to confirm the shutter count via software.

brilliant list, thank you. I'll read through the other threads too.