Too good to be true?

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akamarcus

New member
I just purchased a Nikon d5100 on amazon during a black friday sale, and have been looking into purchasing a 35mm f/1.8 to go with it. I came across a d90 in the local classifieds but I'm skeptical about the advertisement.

It's listed as a Nikon D90, Nikon battery grip, 35mm AF-S prime lens, and camera bag, all for $400. The guy said he just upgraded to an MK5 (I don't know what this is) and just wants to get some money for the D90. Is this way too good to be true?

I know a D90 body sells for about $400 minimum used, and the 35mm prime is at least $150, then there's the battery grip that isn't cheap.
 
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fotojack

Senior Member
Well.....depends where you're from. That's why I always ask people to complete their profiles. It really helps us when answering questions. Where I'm from, D90's are going for between $400 and $600. The lower priced ones usually have a higher actuation count (number of pictures taken). Anything under 10,000 actuations is good for a D90. If I were you, I'd be grabbin' 'that puppy at that price! The MK5 he's referring to is a Canon. It's not unusual for people to switch brands. Happens all the time.
 
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TedG954

Senior Member
Your D5100 is a fine camera. The D90 isn't going to do anything more for you than cause you to spend more money for non-motorized lenses. But, it's your money, not mine. Good luck either way.
 
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stmv

Senior Member
sometimes the battery grips are aftermarket, which are cheap,, if it is local, go look at it, heck, you can just keep the lens, and sell the D90 on ebay. He might have gotten the camera 4 years ago or so, and considers that a fair price. He is switching to Canon! so,, dumping his Nikon.
 
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fotojack

Senior Member
Yup...everything stmv said......some guys just don't care what they sell their gear for. They just want to get rid of it and move on to another brand, or they're getting a new lens or whatever. If it's a local sale, go look at it. If it looks like it's in decent shape, no damage, everything works, then this might be just the camera you're looking for.

Tell you what........if you can get the serial number off that D90 (it's on the bottom of the camera, NOT the grip!), I'll look it up for you and see if it's a grey market camera or if it's stolen.....in which case steer clear of it. :)
 
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Robert Mitchell

Senior Member
TedG954 said:
Your D5100 is a fine camera. The D90 isn't going to do anything more for you than cause you to spend more money for non-motorized lenses. But, it's your money, not mine. Good luck either way.
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I agree with this completely. I do realize that there is a slightly different feature set and body size is also different but to me, a new D5100 with warranty and peace of mind is a better choice than a great deal on a used D90 with extras.

The D5100 is a really nice camera and it takes surprisingly brilliant images. If you're into post processing you'll also find that the D5100 raw files hold a lot of detail that can be pulled out in any good image editing application.

Having said that, if the ergonomics, body size and grip and slightly different feature set are more appealing on the D90 then it might be the better choice, but from an IQ stand point I think the D5100 surpasses the D90.

Don't you have trying to figure these things out? I do. :)
 
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akamarcus

New member
Thanks for the quick responses, everyone. I've spoken with him a bit more and found out that he has proof of purchase that he can show me. The battery grip is nikon branded.

@Robert Mitchell - I have an extremely difficult time deciding on things like this. It took me 30 hours of research to decide on the d5100 and I ever since the I have struggled to decide whether to swith to a used & 90 or equivalent.


I'm on vacation away from home right now, but I want to secure the sale. Any suggestions on how to go about that? Also, I'm not very familiar with the lenses without an auto focus motor inside of them, but I thought they are cheaper than the AF-S lenses?
 
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akamarcus

New member
My original plan was to buy the set for $400as advertised because I want that 35mm prime and then sell the d90 with grip for $400 and get a free lens out of it
 
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stmv

Senior Member
akamarcus said:
My original plan was to buy the set for $400as advertised because I want that 35mm prime and then sell the d90 with grip for $400 and get a free lens out of it
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Exactly! Sometimes the best way to get a great lens is buy a camera with a lens included.
 
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