Refurbished Cameras

[Tones7McA]

Hi folks,

Im really a new comer to photography, I have a bog standard Pentax digi camera that cost me only £100, it is rubbish, but I try hard.

So to cut to the chase I am upgrading. I want to purchase a Canon Powershot S5 IS.

I can see that "Canon Outlet" have some great deals on "Refurbished" cameras. Has anyone any experience regarding refurbished cameras? Are they as canon say, virtualy new models which have only been used for display or at trade shows, or which have simply had the box damaged... If this is the case I can see no reason not to purchase?

I would be very grateful for your advice or views, thank you in advance.

[BBPhoto]

There was a thread about this not that long ago. The consensus was that refurbished products are fine. I have had great luck with refurbished products in the past - including a piece of camera gear or two. Good luck.

[AdamW]

I've bought refurbished products from Canon, Epson, Apple, and Nikon. Never had a problem. Go for it.

[SpecialK]

Refurbished does not mean a damaged box, or just "demo" use. It means the camera itself has been repaired/parts replaced in some fashion to bring it to as new condition as reasonably possibly. Not necessarily a bad thing if the price is right and includes some type of warranty (minumim is usually 90 days).

Perhaps Canon's description of condition, or your interpretation of it, is a bit generous.

[Glasstream15]

I have bought refurbs before. From Palm and some puter stuff from Tiger Direct. I have always been very happy with all of it.

However, I don't know what the price is for the refurb, but Amazon has the S5IS for $319 and you can get free shipping.

BTW, I love my S5IS. But I was an early adoptor and paid a good bit more than that.

[Tones7McA]

:confused:

Ok well I am thinking of purchasing from an ebay seller that has good feedback and is a power seller. They state they are an official canon distrobuter and that they are run by a company called Digital River. The ebay seller is called "Canon Outlet". The price the camera (S5IS) is going for is around £160-200... I think. Here in the UK you cannot buy from a shop for less than about £350, so its a big saving.

I have e-mailed the Canon HQ here in the UK to check if the seller is indeed official, but have yet to receive a reply.

I must admit I am unsure, and would rather a new model, but I have other priorities, I am going travelling for a year (expensive) and the camera is primarily to capture the wonderfull sights on my journey, thats why I want a good one that is still portable!

Thank you all for your views so far...

[fotogmarc]

You might want to check out Amazon.UK. They have the S5 for 240 as well as some other excellent choices (Pansonic, Olympus, Fuji) in the 200-300 range.
popphoto has a review of some superzooms:
http://www.popphoto.com/cameras/4836/shootout-18x-evf-superzooms.html


Remember to figure in the cost of memory cards if you'll be travelling for a year.