New to cameras with a

Hello everybody, my name's RJ. I have a better half who's interested in photography. Never saw myself looking at DSLR's, but here we are. She takes great pictures with her IPhone so hopefully she has a knack for it. Anyhow, I have a set up I'm looking at and I have 2 days to decide on. So, hopefully this isn't improper in an introduction.

I'm looking at a used D7100 with the following:

*SB-910 speedlight flash
*Nikkor 18-105 Vr with hood, cover, case and 67mm polarinzing lens filter
*Sigma dg 70-300 with cover and 58mm polarizing filter
*nikon mh-25 charger
*en-el 15 battery and kastar battery
*Remote
*2 64gb cards
*manfrotto tripod

I haven't seen it yet but I don't want to go into the deal uneducated and I have no idea how to inspect a camera. I've read to check shutter count, for dead pixels, auto focus ability, dust on sensor and viewfinder, lens mount, as well as overall cosmetic condition.

My question is what is a good price on this setup with say, 25k shutter count theoretically? With all else being in good condition. The dude sounds to be a real stand up guy. He's local and seems trustworthy. This is pretty much going to be my old lady's only Christmas present aside from the usual smalls I get her so I want to be sure I get her something to last her a couple years with moderate use. I appreciate the help in advance and hopefully soon she'll be on her for some tips. Y'all take it easy.

RJ

Nice first kit. I am sure somebody will be along to help you out.

Welcome aboard. Enjoy the ride.
We look forward to seeing more posts and samples of your work.

Unless you have a friend with DSLR experience, or can have it looked at by a dealer, I would be very, very careful. You stand a chance of getting either a great deal, or an expensive paper weight. If you knew nothing about cars and didn't even know how to drive, would you buy a used car off a stranger on the street?

Search ebay for the individual items, filter your search for 'sold' items. You will get a good feel for the prices. Consider the camera, 1 battery and charger as one item. It sounds like a good kit with useful accessories, but like Brent said, it might be best to bring a friend.

I'd probably jump on it at $1,000 unseen.
Then again I love a bargain.

But I'm thinking the package deal is worth 20 or 30% more (if shutter count under 50K of course).

Avoid second hand equipment if you have no idea of what and how to look for. Stick to new equipment at this stage, unless you have an experienced DSLR shooter to guide you.

Shooting with DSLR is completely different experience compared to iPhone. You may be excellent shot with a phone but may not like lugging a DSLR and a few lenses around. Unless you use the DSLR as a Point & Shoot, getting images comparable to phones will take some skill, especially when images are taken in broad daylight and compared. I shot film cameras for nearly 30 years before I started using phones for my job related photos. I have shot a few hundred thousand images of roads and buildings, with various phones in a ten year period. After I retired I got a DSLR. There are still situations where a phone is a much better option, as it is quite discrete and small.

So I would suggest that you get a kit consisting of D3300/D3400 with a kit lens a 32GB card and a bag. This kit is available at quite a reasonable cost. Try it out and if you do not like the DSLR experience sell the kit. You will not loose more that $100. If you like the DSLR and its images, then after some time, upgrade to better lenses first and a better body after a year or so. As there is no end to new equipment you will desire once you are hooked, better use what you have for at least six months and then evaluate what you need, before buying.

One thing that you must be cognizant of is that, to get the best out of modern Digital Images, you shoot in RAW and then post process the images to get the best of the Dynamic Range and Exposure Latitude (not to mention colour correction, noise suppression and a host of other operations). So along with DSLR you have to invest in Computer Hardware as well as RAW processing software, and most important - TIME.

Hi RJ, Bought on EBay, a used D7100 with a relatively low shutter count (25K is good) would cost you about $500-550 or so. Expect to pay about $200-300 for the two lenses together, about $250 for the speedlight, a little for everything else, so yep, $1000 sounds pretty attractive if everything is in good order. I would not shy away from buying used per se, but unless you trust the guy enough to walk you through everything and demonstrate it works fine, I would take someone along who knows how to handle a Nikon camera and can check out the gear for you. If you share your location, maybe there's even a Nikonites member in your area who would be willing to help?

Checking the shutter count is a good idea. The easiest way to do so is to take a JPEG picture and then run it by some software that extracts the shutter count info. There are even websites where you can easily do this, such as this one.

Welcome to the forum. Sounds like you are a good guy supporting your wife. My wife was the same when I wanted a real camera. She still offers great support and is very encouraging. This hobby can get pricey at times.

If you have a friend with some experience that could inspect the camera I would suggest you take them with you. But if not I would look at new or refurbished. Amazon has some kits that are reasonably priced. There is one that sounds like the one you are looking at with a cheap tripod instead of the Manfrotto for just under $1100.

I do like starting with the 7100 if you can afford it. I started with a 3200 and I jumped to a 7200 a couple years later and I really like the added flexibility and it is very similar to the 7100.

Chances are that the kit is fine, but since you both know very little about it you might want to consider new. There is a learning curve with a DSLR, but once you get familiar with the camera they are great fun.

Thank you all for the welcome and the advice. I was pretty confident after the reading I had done but I guess I never thought that those buying tips could be for a seasoned user who knows how to check for those issues. I'm in Fredericksburg, VA. We only have one camera shop in the area so maybe I'll give them a call and see if they offer an inspection service or something of the like. Anytime I go into a deal with a decent sum of money and not alot of experience I get about as nervous as a long tail cat in a room full of rocking chairs. I'd like to reply to some of your responses directly but duty calls so maybe after work. Y'all have a good one.

Not to throw a wrench into your thread, but Nikon is offering a refurbished D7100 at a sale price of $499.96. https://www.nikonusa.com/en/nikon-products/product/refurbished-dslr-cameras/d7100-refurbished.html

I can't remember how long of a warranty their refurbished bodies come with. My D7100 was purchased directly through Nikon as a refurbished body. It was in like-new condition with a low shutter count.

As for lenses, I am not prone to buying a refurbished lens...but that's just me. Too many get dropped, and sometimes these repaired lenses don't always zoom properly--some might stick or be stiff.

Good luck with whatever you decide. Check with some of your friends and see if any of them are knowledgeable about camera gear. If so, take them along.

Welcome from another new member!

Nice kit for the wife... or anyone else for that matter.
Like Hark said, refurbished from Nikon might be an option, SD card is a must have, the rest of the items are great but I had to "grow" into them based upon my needs.

I bought some gear for my other half... she still uses the cell phone... wadda you gonna do...
It really bothers me when she gets a better shot with her cell than I do dragging all my gear!

Best of luck!

I paid $550 for my refurb D7100 a few months ago. 800 clicks on it.
Can't tell it from brand new.

lokatz said:

Hi RJ, Bought on EBay, a used D7100 with a relatively low shutter count (25K is good) would cost you about $500-550 or so. Expect to pay about $200-300 for the two lenses together, about $250 for the speedlight, a little for everything else, so yep, $1000 sounds pretty attractive if everything is in good order. ...

Click to expand...

@Fastfirstgen

I would agree with this assessment except I see used SB-910's going for something more like $350-$400. If your seller is willing to let everything go for $1,000 then by all means, unburden the man, posthaste. That being said, I'd be willing to go higher to seal the deal, assuming everything is in good condition/working order. I'm not thrilled, personally, at the lens selection and the off-brand battery, but some of the specific accessories you mention, like the tripod and 64GB SD cards (about $30, $35 each right there), are definitely worth having and can add up quickly.

The speed light is worth as much as the body and the lenses are $150-200 each so if it is in good condition and the price was $1000 I would think it was a good deal. Find out the shutter count. It is easy to do since that data in embedded into every jpg photo.
Take a photo with it, set of JPG small and then load the memory card into a card reader or use the camera interface USB cable supplied with the camera to load it on your computer. Then go to this web site:
Nikon Shutter Count


And the count should display.
There are other items she will need such as post processing software. If you do not mind a monthly automatic payment for $9.99 you can get a very good combination of Adobe Lightroom for most basic editing and adjustment plus Photoshop CC that is the industry standard for more complex pixel level editing.

There are other ways of getting a good camera to start. The Nikon refurbished camera is a a good deal for a camera with a 3-6 month warranty(depending on the offer) for $499. A general purpose lens like the 18-105 is good to learn on and there are a lot of them for sale because they were the kit lens supplied with cameras dating back to 2008 when the D90 was introduced with that lens. They might go for $150 or less.
If she wants a higher quality lens that is good generally for walking around plus in low light, a 50mm f/1.8G is a very impressive lens, small, light and with great light gathering due to a wide f/1.8 aperture. It would be better in low light and sharper than the zoom lens 18-105.

Cheap Class 10 memory cards are, ,well, cheap and you only need 8-32mb cards. Larger than 16 temps her to keep photos on the card and that is a habit that only adds risk of losing them all. Cards do fail so only use cards that will last a full day of shooting, 16mb is but 8mb for $4 are large enough to shoot all day in large fine JPG format. When done, transfer to the computer as soon as you get home and reformat the card in the camera. Losing a whole week or 3 months of shooting because a 64mb card failed is a lot more of a problem than a day's shooting lost on smaller cards.

She will have other accessory needs depending on her subject matter. If portraiture, the 18-105 zoomed to 105 is pretty good. for really good shots in low light, the 50mm 1.8G would be much better.
Cameras are replaced often as new features come out.....however it is usually not needed. If she is a photographer instead of a camera hobbyist, she might never need another camera because that one is easy to learn on but high enough quality that any image she wants to capture will be fine. Lenses are different, they are investments and last a long time. Good lenses are not cheap, few good ones are less than$500 but most good ones are in the $1000-2500 range and every advanced hobbyist has quite an investment in lenses. They last a long time so getting used ones is a common preference.
Speedlights are great tools and one of the most creative aspects of photography but introducing a new photographer to both a DSLR and flash might be a big step to learn both at the same time. A good one from China with similar specs to the SB 910 is about $100, 1/6th the price of a new SB910.

Howdy RJ and welcome to Nikonites!!!


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Welcome to the forum RJ

Good evening y'all, I ended up buying the set up. I did not discount the advice you folks gave me, so don't think that. I got a good feeling about the guy and felt I could trust him. We spent about 2 hours at his place going through everything and he gave me a signed bill of sale stating that I have 14 days to get the camera inspected by a camera shop with a full refund should there be an issue. From your responses and my research, I just couldn't pass up the deal he gave it to me for. I'll be taking it to the only shop in town tomorrow for a full inspection which they said would take 2 days and hopefully all is good. Oh, and the shutter count from a picture he took this morning was 4924, which he said the sb-910 might have a third of that on it. It ended up coming with only one new SD card, so he threw in two tripods. The manfrotto compact action and the compact advanced.

Congratulations. Hope all comes out well. I does sound like the seller is a straight forward guy and the kit is a great starter one.

Congrats, mighty good dealing.