refurbished??

[bama-mom]

Would you buy a factory refurbished Nikon d50? I ordered a d50 over a month ago from Wolf/Ritz camera, there was something wrong with some chip, making a black spot on the images. I sent it back for an exchange and now there is a national back-order on these cameras. I can find one with the better lens, but don't want to pay the $150 more (as I am not even sure I need a camera like this, ). So..there is only a 90-day warranty on the refurbished one as opposed to a year warranty with the other one. I think I know what everyone's answer will be

Also, if I decide not to go with the digital slr, my next choice is a Canon S3, any opinions on this camera? I could not get the forum search to work to see other threads on this.

Thanks

 

[ndelaware]

Personally no, I would not take a refurb instead of new. Especially if they are taking 3/4 of the warranty away. I would just take my money back. It is possible that only Wolf/Ritz doesn't have any D50s but Costco has a big table full of them where I live. I think they are selling them for $600 or $700. Sorry I didn't look closer, I am a Canon user so I don't really stop to look closely.

The S3 is a great camera, probably the best of it's class. Here are some reviews for you to read:
http://www.steves-digicams.com/2006_reviews/s3is.html
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canons3is/


EDIT: I just checked and B&H Photo, Amazon, Best Buy, and Circuit City all list the D50 as in stock and shipping in 24 hours. Perhaps you should buy somewhere other than Wolf/Ritz.

 

[Anewman]

I have purchased Dozens of Refubished items over the years.

Ipod
Camcorder
Phones
Dvd Players
TVs(50 inch)
Printers
Alarm clock radio
Video Card
Scanner
AND MORE

Only once did I have an issue with an item, and the Sony Outlet happily exchanged it and gave me a $20 gift credit for my troubles.

If I were you I would not SETTLE for anything less than what you really want, even it means waiting a little.

 

[handicap18]

I have a Nikon referbished 18-70mm AF-S DX f/3.5-4.5G IF-ED Zoom Lens. Got it on ebay for about $230 compared to $399 brand new. No problems thus far. All is in great working order. It also came with a 1 year warranty from Nikon.

From what I've read from others that I have bought a reburbished Nikon camera, the 90 day warranty is from Nikon.

Here is a quote from someone on another board about refurbished equipment. It makes sense to me. But obviously the final decision is yours. Me, I think I would buy a factory refurbished one.
"Often a refurbished piece of equipment is better than new because it has been more thoroughly tested than the standard production models. That is because it went through more extensive testing to ascertain the root cause of the problem, repair it and verify the repair before making it available for reselling. A company is already sinking money into this product. They do not want to see it again at a greater loss."

Beach Camera has a pretty good deal on one with the 18-55mm lens for $549 and free shipping and you can add a 5 year warranty for $90.

Again, final decision is yours.