Refurbished DSLRs

[john122hump]

I want to upgrade to a DSLR camera from my current point and shoot. I don’t want to spend over $500.00 and I found a refurbished Nikon D40, the factory refurbished it. Are refurbished cameras as good of as new ones or would I be better off saving a bit longer and purchasing a new one? Is a D40 a decent camera for a beginner?

[Chip]

A D40 is a very nice dSLR. But, since new ones, with a kit lens, go for about $450.00 at good on-line retailers like B&H, I'm not sure that buying a refurbished one for about the same price is a good idea.

[Doug Pardee]

Originally Posted by john122hump

I found a refurbished Nikon D40, the factory refurbished it. Are refurbished cameras as good of as new ones

The general feeling is that factory refurbished cameras like that one are better than new ones. The reason is that each factory refurb has been thoroughly tested by the manufacturer. With new cameras, only some basic testing is usually done, with an occasional unit selected at random for thorough testing.

[dcclark]

Originally Posted by Chip

A D40 is a very nice dSLR. But, since new ones, with a kit lens, go for about $450.00 at good on-line retailers like B&H, I'm not sure that buying a refurbished one for about the same price is a good idea.

This is good advice. D40s are going for much less than $500 nowadays. Unless you're getting a nice lens along with it (more than just the kit 18-55mm VR), I'd seriously question that offer.

[OsmosisStudios]

Originally Posted by john122hump

I don’t want to spend over $500.00 and I found a refurbished Nikon D40,

Hell, where I work you can get a new D60 for 549+tax, and that's CAD.

[fstopMike]

What Doug has said about refurbished products is generally true. The factories have repaired whatever was wrong and then they have been thoroughly tested, not spot checked like a new factory unit, so in general, they are probably better than a new unit. I bought a refurbished D40X body in December for $329 from Adorama. I also had in mind that I wanted something more than a kit lens, so with it being a 10 megapixel unit, it made a lot of sense for me. The camera has worked flawlessly so far. About 2 weeks after I bought mine, they had refurbished D60 for $299! Oh well....what can you do?

Right now, Adorama has refurbished D40s with an 18-55 kit lens for $375. The refurbished unit will come with a 90 day warranty as opposed to the standard Nikon one year warranty. With a price for a new unit at $450, I think the question for John is, "is the $75 I save worth the tradeoff of losing an extra 9 months of warranty coverage? If you're one that normally purchases extended warranties, then I think even that question is moot.