I am currently shopping for a nice used digital camera on the interwebs. My trusty DSLR packed up a few weeks ago. Like Humpty Dumpty, it is broken beyond repair. With our severely depreciated undervalued currency being what it is, a brand new one is out of reach. I could scrape together the readies but I cannot justify spending over R15K on a toy in these tough financial times.
Having stated that I am in the market for a used camera, some of you might be reaching for the mouse to send me a private message. Before my inbox gets flooded with unsolicited offers, let me state what I am looking for: a Pentax K7, K5 or K3. Nothing else. Maybe a K10, K20 or K200 if the price is really good, but more about that later. So don't tell me about any great deals on a Canon or a Nikon, I am have no interest whatsoever. I have a lot of Pentax glass (photographer talk for lenses) and changing brands is not on the cards. And don't tell me about adapters to mount Pentax lenses on Canon cameras either. They are available but there is no auto focus, auto exposure or even auto aperture - stop down metering only. You can even get a Pentax to Nikon adapter but that is even worse. It requires an extra lens element so that you can focus to infinity. As one can imagine, a cheap adapter between an expensive camera and an expensive lens is not going to take award winning pictures. Nikon is also out. And I may be a Pentax fanatic but the first generation *istD cameras do not float my boat. Neither do any six megapixel Pentax such as the K100 or K110.
In the interest of full disclosure: I do have a K200 to tide me over until the right camera comes my way. That makes me what estate agents call an unmotivated buyer. I can still take pictures to my heart's content. It is handy to have two cameras at times but I can make do with just one for now. Another factor is that Pentax is about to release a new model to replace the current K3 II. The internet rumour mill has been saying so all year. When it comes out, there will be lots of special offers on the outgoing model. That in turn will push down prices of all the used stuff in the market. I might as well wait and see how that turns out. I might even be able to afford a K3 II.
In the meantime, I have been shopping on the information super highway for used Pentaxes. There is no shortage of them on the international market, but things are not straightforward. The obvious choice is ebay. One is spoiled for choice but it is like Forest Gump's box of chocolates. You never know what you are going to get. One can go by the seller reputation and hopefully a good deal can be done. However, lots of ebay sellers do not ship to South Africa. Those that do almost invariably uses their own post office. Iabsolutely kind of dread getting SAPO in on the deal. Some say that the tracking number becomes useless once the parcel reaches our shores.
Next stop, international online retailers. Once again things are not straight forward. Some online shops will only ship brand new items and not used ones, it seems. Others have good products at good prices and use good (read expensive) couriers. This is probably the route I will go. As an aside, the UX (user experience) on Amazon seems to require a lot of knowledge on this side of the keyboard. It is not easy to figure out what can be shipped to South Africa and what not. They use a lot of third parties and it all depends.
That leaves local sellers, but all that is local is not lekker. The local ebay - bidorbuy - is quite good. I have bought a number of items there :be:nd it has worked out well so far. If the right camera turns up there, I would buy it in a heartbeat. There is currently a K30 on bidorbuy at a nice price, but this model has a bit of a reputation for failures.
Online auctions are a bit of hit or miss thing. Ebay is getting notorious for the practise of sniping. Bids are being made at the absolute last moment, sometimes one or two seconds before the auction closes. There are even sites who will submit such bids on your behalf for a fee. The poor old punter with a wonky ADSL connection in South Africa does not stand a chance. The powers that be at ebay does not care. Their attitude is that if you don't like it, you can stay away. At least bidorbuy extends the auction when there are last moment bids.
Now we come to the last resort and that is the local classifieds. The market is dominated by Junkmail, Gumtree and OLX. Gumtree seems to be on to a winner with their Shepherd payment and shipment service. If the right deal turns up here I would take it. Junkmail is not too bad but you are on your own regarding the details of the deal. OLX is trying to be all about people in its UX but I'm not so sure that it works for me. They assume that one would want to buy from a local seller and for that they want to know where you are. Shipping a camera across the country with Postnet is no big deal. Very good service from them, by the way. My local branch actually takes the trouble to call me in person to collect my parcels.
Now we come to my biggest pain. This is the prices that Safricans want for used stuff, especially cameras. It is just depressing. The answer hit me this morning. People are emotionally attached to their cameras. Buying a camera is not entirely a rational decision. A whole lot of hopes and dreams goes into the process as well. Perhaps there is the expectation of making some money out of an expensive piece of kit. The idea of making memories of a new baby could be a part of it. Or the trip of a lifetime is being planned and a new camera will bring back perfect memories.
Now it is some years down the line and that fancy camera is gathering dust in the corner of the closet. The career in photography did not pan out. There was a painful divorce. The trip turned to be a whistle stop tour of tourist traps. Or perhaps it was mostly a third world pesthole. Perhaps the camera can be turned into some much needed cash. The only trouble is that a whole lot of emotional baggage gets added onto the price. To justify the price, the description gets embellished. That plastic fantastic long out of production camera now becomes a rare collectors item. It was made by themillions hundreds of thousands and it was not highly regarded even when it was new, but that is not relevant. A relatively new DSLR is advertised as a professional camera when it is in fact an entry level model. It may be professional when compared to a camera phone.
Then there is the convoluted deal. They come in lots of variations, like the eleven year old camera is not for sale. It can only be swopped for an S7 Edge. Or, in another case, an i6 plus cash. Good luck with that! Then there is the gent who is selling a camera, two lenses and a laser printer for a considerable amount. The laser printer just needs a bit of cleaning. Yeah right, like the the used car with the aircon that just needs a regas. Why not sell the printer on its own?
My favourite is the very big kit. Camera with lots of lenses and other stuff, only available as a package deal. For a big, big price. Just what you need for any kind of picture taking. Never mind that with one exception, the lenses are not very good. After more than six months, the ad is still on the web. Or perhaps it was sold but the seller can't be bothered. That said, there was one such deal with a top class camera and a bunch of top class lenses but the price was over 50K, way out of my league. I hope the guy came right. It was a good price for what was on offer, but why not sell such expensive and specialised gear one piece at a time? It can't be that hard.
So there you have it. Thanks for reading my rant. I feel better now. Do share your own experiences in this regard.
Having stated that I am in the market for a used camera, some of you might be reaching for the mouse to send me a private message. Before my inbox gets flooded with unsolicited offers, let me state what I am looking for: a Pentax K7, K5 or K3. Nothing else. Maybe a K10, K20 or K200 if the price is really good, but more about that later. So don't tell me about any great deals on a Canon or a Nikon, I am have no interest whatsoever. I have a lot of Pentax glass (photographer talk for lenses) and changing brands is not on the cards. And don't tell me about adapters to mount Pentax lenses on Canon cameras either. They are available but there is no auto focus, auto exposure or even auto aperture - stop down metering only. You can even get a Pentax to Nikon adapter but that is even worse. It requires an extra lens element so that you can focus to infinity. As one can imagine, a cheap adapter between an expensive camera and an expensive lens is not going to take award winning pictures. Nikon is also out. And I may be a Pentax fanatic but the first generation *istD cameras do not float my boat. Neither do any six megapixel Pentax such as the K100 or K110.
In the interest of full disclosure: I do have a K200 to tide me over until the right camera comes my way. That makes me what estate agents call an unmotivated buyer. I can still take pictures to my heart's content. It is handy to have two cameras at times but I can make do with just one for now. Another factor is that Pentax is about to release a new model to replace the current K3 II. The internet rumour mill has been saying so all year. When it comes out, there will be lots of special offers on the outgoing model. That in turn will push down prices of all the used stuff in the market. I might as well wait and see how that turns out. I might even be able to afford a K3 II.
In the meantime, I have been shopping on the information super highway for used Pentaxes. There is no shortage of them on the international market, but things are not straightforward. The obvious choice is ebay. One is spoiled for choice but it is like Forest Gump's box of chocolates. You never know what you are going to get. One can go by the seller reputation and hopefully a good deal can be done. However, lots of ebay sellers do not ship to South Africa. Those that do almost invariably uses their own post office. I
Next stop, international online retailers. Once again things are not straight forward. Some online shops will only ship brand new items and not used ones, it seems. Others have good products at good prices and use good (read expensive) couriers. This is probably the route I will go. As an aside, the UX (user experience) on Amazon seems to require a lot of knowledge on this side of the keyboard. It is not easy to figure out what can be shipped to South Africa and what not. They use a lot of third parties and it all depends.
That leaves local sellers, but all that is local is not lekker. The local ebay - bidorbuy - is quite good. I have bought a number of items there :be:nd it has worked out well so far. If the right camera turns up there, I would buy it in a heartbeat. There is currently a K30 on bidorbuy at a nice price, but this model has a bit of a reputation for failures.
Online auctions are a bit of hit or miss thing. Ebay is getting notorious for the practise of sniping. Bids are being made at the absolute last moment, sometimes one or two seconds before the auction closes. There are even sites who will submit such bids on your behalf for a fee. The poor old punter with a wonky ADSL connection in South Africa does not stand a chance. The powers that be at ebay does not care. Their attitude is that if you don't like it, you can stay away. At least bidorbuy extends the auction when there are last moment bids.
Now we come to the last resort and that is the local classifieds. The market is dominated by Junkmail, Gumtree and OLX. Gumtree seems to be on to a winner with their Shepherd payment and shipment service. If the right deal turns up here I would take it. Junkmail is not too bad but you are on your own regarding the details of the deal. OLX is trying to be all about people in its UX but I'm not so sure that it works for me. They assume that one would want to buy from a local seller and for that they want to know where you are. Shipping a camera across the country with Postnet is no big deal. Very good service from them, by the way. My local branch actually takes the trouble to call me in person to collect my parcels.
Now we come to my biggest pain. This is the prices that Safricans want for used stuff, especially cameras. It is just depressing. The answer hit me this morning. People are emotionally attached to their cameras. Buying a camera is not entirely a rational decision. A whole lot of hopes and dreams goes into the process as well. Perhaps there is the expectation of making some money out of an expensive piece of kit. The idea of making memories of a new baby could be a part of it. Or the trip of a lifetime is being planned and a new camera will bring back perfect memories.
Now it is some years down the line and that fancy camera is gathering dust in the corner of the closet. The career in photography did not pan out. There was a painful divorce. The trip turned to be a whistle stop tour of tourist traps. Or perhaps it was mostly a third world pesthole. Perhaps the camera can be turned into some much needed cash. The only trouble is that a whole lot of emotional baggage gets added onto the price. To justify the price, the description gets embellished. That plastic fantastic long out of production camera now becomes a rare collectors item. It was made by the
Then there is the convoluted deal. They come in lots of variations, like the eleven year old camera is not for sale. It can only be swopped for an S7 Edge. Or, in another case, an i6 plus cash. Good luck with that! Then there is the gent who is selling a camera, two lenses and a laser printer for a considerable amount. The laser printer just needs a bit of cleaning. Yeah right, like the the used car with the aircon that just needs a regas. Why not sell the printer on its own?
My favourite is the very big kit. Camera with lots of lenses and other stuff, only available as a package deal. For a big, big price. Just what you need for any kind of picture taking. Never mind that with one exception, the lenses are not very good. After more than six months, the ad is still on the web. Or perhaps it was sold but the seller can't be bothered. That said, there was one such deal with a top class camera and a bunch of top class lenses but the price was over 50K, way out of my league. I hope the guy came right. It was a good price for what was on offer, but why not sell such expensive and specialised gear one piece at a time? It can't be that hard.
So there you have it. Thanks for reading my rant. I feel better now. Do share your own experiences in this regard.
