Refurbished 30D's

Several threads mentioned members recently purchasing these - Any problems or are they working well. Is is worth it to save $150.00. I will need to decide by this Thursday - as I just can't waite any longer - I have been researching and have it down to a 30D and the 17-40mm f4. Great info on this forum!

Sometimes third-party vendors sell refurbished items without a decent warranty. Check the terms and conditions! Then, it's up to you -- refurbish can be hit-or-miss. They've been returned by some customer for whatever reason, possibly no good reason, and they may or may not have gotten a real fix.

This is not a knock on the repair people, it's just that many things get returned and the repair people may not be able to identify the problem, as in if it's intermittent, so they will run it through a basic test/calibration procedure then ship it out. You pay less and take your chances.

Typically refurbs have a 90 day warranty vs. the 1 year warranty on new cameras. For $150 I'd usually rather have the longer warranty.

OTOH, most failures do occur when the camera is young. OTOOH, you can probably get a Mack warranty for less than $150...

-js

CameraBuff wrote in post #5281461
Several threads mentioned members recently purchasing these - Any problems or are they working well. Is is worth it to save $150.00. I will need to decide by this Thursday - as I just can't waite any longer - I have been researching and have it down to a 30D and the 17-40mm f4. Great info on this forum!

i don't know how much you are looking to save but i'd buy a used 30d for about $650-ish if i were in the market.

ed rader

I just bought a Canon refurb 30D from Adorama last week. The camera came in in perfect condition, not even the slightest scratch even on the lens flange. I paid $650.00 for it with a 90 day warranty. Adorama offers a 2 year mack warranty for it for an additional $35.00. I am going to buy that today as well. The cheapest that I could find a new one was $800.00, to me it was worth buying a refurb and saving $150 but to you it may not be. I can say this much so far mine is working flawlessly and is a major step up from my XTi.

I got a refurb 30d some time ago and saved (at the time) about ~300 dollars. Add onto that that my fiance bought it with GPB's when the conversion rate was just about 1.9:1 and I got one heck of a deal. She got my XT and a bunch of lenses (among other things!) in return. The camera has served me well since without any problems. I have never bothered with a mack type warranty, and have lucked out in not needing it.

RRitch wrote in post #5284185
I just bought a Canon refurb 30D from Adorama last week. The camera came in in perfect condition, not even the slightest scratch even on the lens flange. I paid $650.00 for it with a 90 day warranty. Adorama offers a 2 year mack warranty for it for an additional $35.00. I am going to buy that today as well. The cheapest that I could find a new one was $800.00, to me it was worth buying a refurb and saving $150 but to you it may not be. I can say this much so far mine is working flawlessly and is a major step up from my XTi.

that's a very good deal. i bought a 20d refurb from adorama last year but it was not in new condition. in fact i'd rate it a 7 or 8 out of ten.

it wasn't bad but even my well used cameras that i buy new are in better condition. the camera performed well tho, which at the time was all i cared about .

ed rader

tonylong wrote in post #5281522
Sometimes third-party vendors sell refurbished items without a decent warranty. Check the terms and conditions! Then, it's up to you -- refurbish can be hit-or-miss. They've been returned by some customer for whatever reason, possibly no good reason, and they may or may not have gotten a real fix.

This is not a knock on the repair people, it's just that many things get returned and the repair people may not be able to identify the problem, as in if it's intermittent, so they will run it through a basic test/calibration procedure then ship it out. You pay less and take your chances.

Sometimes there is no problem to identify. If you buy a 30D and take it home and decide it is too much or too little camera for your tastes and return it for a different model it cannot then be sold as new to someone else. It becomes a refurb.

Jim

I have been looking at getting a refurbed 30D from adorama myself. For $650 its a pretty good deal and the 30D really does cover all I want from a crop body.

I don't think its a problem, and also u can read my take on 17-40 review here: canon ef 17-40mm f4l usm lens review

Received my Adorama refurb 30D yesterday and it's in perfect condition. Two tiny tiny TINY paint marks on the flash hotshoe. Everything else looks like no one has even touched it. I didn't realize that warranty was only $35. I'm gonna have to go check on that now.

Just barely picked up a refurbished 30d for $570. It comes with a 90 day warranty and I'm going to purchase the optional 3 year. I feel like this is a steal.

Albert Street wrote in post #5286046
Just barely picked up a refurbished 30d for $570. It comes with a 90 day warranty and I'm going to purchase the optional 3 year. I feel like this is a steal.

yeah it is! I bought a 30D refurb from Adorama a year ago and the things was like new. Got the 3yr warrnaty and never looked back unitl I went to the Mark II

Thanks - great comments and nice review of the 17-40 sandro

CameraBuff wrote in post #5281461
Several threads mentioned members recently purchasing these - Any problems or are they working well. Is is worth it to save $150.00. I will need to decide by this Thursday - as I just can't waite any longer - I have been researching and have it down to a 30D and the 17-40mm f4. Great info on this forum!

December 2007 I picked up a brand new in box US Warranty 30D from Cameta Camera for $749.00 (web presence as well as bricks/morter in Amityville, NY).

Two other friends did the same in January and are very happy with their purchases.

Might even be cheaper now.

-rang