A few upgrade questions

[aleman56]

I have had my Nikon d3000 for over a year now. I am still unable to commit to one type of photography and have been working only with the kit lens, 18-55mm. I am interested in upgrading the lens and am looking at the 70-300mm but know that I would lose some perks with that.
I currently photograph nature (landscapes, and macro photos of its various elements, and rarely animals) and child portraits. Is there a lens I should be looking at that will work fairly well for both even though not specifically designed? I really don't achieve the zoom I want for either field. I would like to keep my auto focus, and I am toying with lens that do not have VR however I'd like it if possible as I do have a shaky hand though it has much improved.

Also, I have seen used lens for as low as 100.00 on adorama.com. Is this something I should avoid or is used ok? I would like it to have a lot of life. I am not yet prepared for frequent upgrades or replacements.

Thanks so much.

[Almond.Butterscotch]

Adorama is generally an alright place to buy used, but make sure that the lens you get will (a) AF on your D3000 if that's important to you (sounds like it is, so look for AF-S lenses), (b) meter on your body, and (c) will mount on a Nikon!

That said, why not get the 70-300mm and keep the 18-55 as well? Do you not want to change lenses?

[Sterling]

The AF-S 55-200 VR is pretty inexpensive (about $200) and would give you some extra reach, has VR, and will autofocus on your D3000.

[aleman56]

Thanks to both of you.

Whatever lens I buy, I do plan to keep the 18-55. I have read its better for close range macro and I have no issues when I use it for just that.

As far as I am reading the AF-S VR Zoom-NIKKOR 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED Telephoto Zoom Lens should focus and mount to my d3000. It costs about 500 new with a 5 year warranty. Adorama also has it REFERBISHED by Nikon, for about 400 with a 90 day warranty.

If someone with more purchasing experience were to buy this lens would they go for the new or referb? I am scared the referb will break after warranty as I have no experience with anything refurbished.


Oh, and Bestbuy has a 55-300. only 300 bucks. Would this be worse or better? They seem to have the same amount of stars (rating) as the 70-300.

Thanks again

[ravncat]

refurbished units, tend to be re-calibrated by hand and have the parts checked out. The biggest difference is that it is possible someone owned it before, and it may or may not have some blemishes on the outside plastic casing.

It will function like new and should come with a warantee as well. I would not mind saving 100$ purchasing a refurbished lens.

[aleman56]

Originally Posted by ravncat

refurbished units, tend to be re-calibrated by hand and have the parts checked out. The biggest difference is that it is possible someone owned it before, and it may or may not have some blemishes on the outside plastic casing.

It will function like new and should come with a warantee as well. I would not mind saving 100$ purchasing a refurbished lens.

I have read this. The refurbished unit has a 90 day warranty VRS the 5yr on the new. Is it worth the 100 to have the 5yr. I have no warranty on my 18-55, they offered none when I purchased. It is beginning to have trouble focusing at both far and close range. Not sure if it was mistreatment on my end(that i didn't notice at time?) or the lens is at fault.

This makes me worry that I should have the 5 year. But within five years, I should have progressed and purchased lens accordingly. I'm thinking I will go with the refurbished but don't want to regret it later I guess.

[ravncat]

If you treat it well it should be fine, if rough an extra hundred for 5 years piece of mind is not bad.

[OsmosisStudios]

Originally Posted by aleman56

I have read this. The refurbished unit has a 90 day warranty VRS the 5yr on the new. Is it worth the 100 to have the 5yr. I have no warranty on my 18-55, they offered none when I purchased. It is beginning to have trouble focusing at both far and close range. Not sure if it was mistreatment on my end(that i didn't notice at time?) or the lens is at fault.

This makes me worry that I should have the 5 year. But within five years, I should have progressed and purchased lens accordingly. I'm thinking I will go with the refurbished but don't want to regret it later I guess.

Products come with a warranty. It's in the box. You don't pay extra for it unless you're buying from a really crappy retailer or a really crappy manufacturer. The warranty is automatically 2 years for a body adn 5 years for a lens unless you get the refurbs.

[HelenOster]

Originally Posted by aleman56

I have read this. The refurbished unit has a 90 day warranty VRS the 5yr on the new. Is it worth the 100 to have the 5yr.

All refurbished units sold by Adorama Camera are factory refurbished by the manufacturer;
they can have simply been pulled from the production line if something appears faulty, or if it hasn't passed the final inspection. Most of the time it is a very minor issue that needs correcting, nevertheless, once it is pulled from the normal flow of production, it gets flagged as a refurbished model, so you may get a unit straight from the factory that has never been used.

A refurb may also be an ex-store demo, possibly used in field tests or sales displays, or it may have been ordered in error and returned to the retailer (who can't then sell it as 'new' so it has to be sent back to the manufacturer for refurbishment).

All refurbished items will have been checked over by the manufacturer by hand, inspected very thoroughly, diagnosed, and calibrated by experienced technicians, and could therefore turn out to be more dependable than a new item - which will only have been checked by a process of systematic quality control protocol (ie by random sampling as it comes off the conveyor belt).

As you noted, all Nikon refurbs sold by Adorama come with a 90-day return-to-manufacturer warranty.
In addition, refurbs come into us with the firmware updates and latest fixes which were carried out at whatever stage it was at when we took delivery.

I'm a big believer in refurbs, myself. My personal recommendation would be to consider purchasing an extended warranty; you then get the benefit of a hand-checked unit, with a longer warranty - and you will still make a saving.

If you need any more advice please don't hesitate to drop me an email.

[Almond.Butterscotch]

I was wondering when Helen'd come in.