The Second Hand Camera Blog

Aug-26-2008

Why a second hand camera?

IF YOU WANT TO BUY OR SELL A SECOND HAND CAMERA GO HERE

As an indie film maker, I have to be very careful of my budget. The biggest factor in making my next project a reality is how much the gear is going to cost.

Renting is a good idea for the big items that I will only use for the shoot, but there are some things I need to have always at my disposal. Like cameras.

In my humble opinion, buying and KEEPING a camera (be it still or video) is not a good idea for anyone who wants to turn their art into a business.

Here’s why:

Let’s say you have $1000 to spend on an HD camera. (I know, not much at all)

Right now, a Canon HV30 is listing new at Best Buy for $999.

The predecessor to the HV30 is the HV20. It debuted about a year ago for around the same price.The difference between the HV20 and HV30? One additional shooting format and a it’s now black instead of silver. (If you haven’t heard of or seen what the HV20 can do, go here)

Instead, you can get a second hand HV20 on Amazon for around $500. (they sell used stuff too!)

You can literally get two cameras for the price of one. So, you buy two.

In a year, after you have gotten good use out of your investment, you can sell those two cameras for around $700. You essentially spent $300 to use two HD cameras for a year.

The guy who bought the new HV30? Well, remember how a year old HV20 sold for $500, so will his year old HV30. So it works out to be:

One NEW HV30 - one camera, used for one year. Cost to consumer: $500

Two USED HV20’s - two cameras, used for one year. Cost to super savvy consumer: $300

I feel this type of camera management is a no brainer.

And it’s not just with the Canon HV20 that this works. It’s every camera and accessory you can think of.

Yes, there are some things that you do have to watch out for. But if you can figure out f-stop and exposure settings, recognizing a bad deal will be cake. Plus I’ve written down some things I’ve learned here.

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Sep-11-2008

Wanna see what an HV20 can do?

I really can’t believe the footage I see from this little camera. I’ll admit, if you show up at a shoot with one of these, people are gonna look at you funny. But once they see the footage, they’ll never doubt again.

Daylight HV20 Test from HooverDST on Vimeo.

AND

My HV20 Reel from Joseph Fagan on Vimeo.

Technorati Tags: HV20, Second Hand Camera

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Sep-3-2008

Second Hand Camera for sale

If you have gear you want to sell, post a comment here or contact us.

We’ll put up a post for you and even include your pictures. All for free.

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Sep-1-2008

Tips on selling a second hand camera

Like my posting on Tips on buying a Second Hand Camera, the rules are very similar. But in the case of selling, a little simpler.

It makes sense to sell your cameras once a year if not every six months. The reason, of course, is technology. We all know it is improving so fast. A year to six months after you have bought your camera it will begin to decline in value. The quicker you sell it the better. This not only reduces how much money you lose, but increases how much money you can spend on your next camera.

Buy second hand, sell in a year, buy second hand again.

You can still stay in the zone of current technology by operating this way. You can show up to a shoot with a year old camera and still compete with the guy who just bought the newest, greatest, untested gadget.

So how to sell:

1) Know the price of the item new. (Now, not when you paid for it) Know the price of the item selling second hand in your area. Beat that price. Not by much. Either throw in some accesories, or just list it as $50-$100 less than the other guy. If you list it and get flooded with responses, you went to low. Readjust. if your inbox gets cobwebs, it’s too high. Readjust.

2) Be straightforward. Did your camera get a little abused on your last documentary? Adjust the price and let the buyer know. People still want those cameras for all types of reasons. Crash cams, back-ups, doner cams. You name it. An honest seller with a good price will bring results.

3) Take lots of pictures. Especially of any blemishes to the camera. Anything you would want to know about it, document it with your listing. Even if your camera is mint, INCLUDE QUALITY PICTURES. Isn’t it our business anyway? We’re all visual artists. Everyone wants to see pictures, and it makes the difference between selling and keeping.

3) Expect cash only. Or, if you and the buyer are in two different places set up a PayPal account. No checks. Ever. If the buyer doesn’t want to carry a couple grand around and would rather do a cashier’s check, then they get to accompany you to the bank while you deposit it. Then they get their gear. No one has to be rude about it, it’s just business. And if someone DOES get annoyed, expect shadyness.

4) Always speak to the buyer. Like, on the phone. Get a $10 calling card, email them the number and speak to each other. Spending $10 is better than losing a couple thousand.

5) Learn to recognize scams. Like this common one on eBay. But scams are easy to recognize. Remember in grade school when you traded your milk for someone’s desert? Remember how you would both have the item in each of your hands and quickly switch at the exact same time? It’s the same thing here. Except it’s cash and cameras.

Determine how both parites can get the other parties goods as close to the same time as possible, and it will work out fine.

It’s really quite simple as long as humans are involved. Get phone numbers, call them. Have a little bit of a relationship with the buyer. They will trust you and you will know everything is on the up and up.

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Aug-31-2008

Tips for buying a second hand camera

I’m going to be honest. You have to be careful when you buy second hand.

What you are trading is time for money. Spend a little extra time researching what the going price is, ask the seller the right questions and you will save yourself money.

Or you could go right to the store, pick up the newest item and walk right out. Took almost no time, cost much more money.

Spend time = more money

Spend money = more time

I like the former, personally.

So here are some tips. Some may sound obvious, but I’m including them just in case.

1) Research. I love the fact that buying a second hand camera means that the price is not set in stone. (Try telling B&H that you are only willing to give $300 less than what they are asking!)

Cross compare eBay, Craigslist, and Amazon. You can’t go by what any one place is listing the item as. Craigslist is great, but remember that those are regional prices. Meaning, if you are in NY or LA, there are more indie film makers and photographers selling, so the price is going to be lower. If you are in the middle of the country, away from major stores that carry the hard to find items, you will have to pay a bit more.

BUT PLEASE research what the NEW price is of anything you are going to buy. Paying $25 less for a second hand camera is not a deal, and not worth the time.

2) Talk to the seller. You can find out so much with one phone call. More often than not, you actually make a contact in the business.
If the seller is straight forward and doesn’t mind answering questions about how many actuations or hours the camera has, then chances are they are legit. But if they “really don’t know much” about the item, or cop an attitude, look elsewhere.

Sounds simple, but all to often people start dreaming of their next toy and disregard due dillegence. Ask questions. Lots of them. Like: Why are you selling? Anything wrong with it? When did you purchase it? Are you the only owner?

3) Make your offer before you meet. Maybe it’s on the first call or the second, but don’t be afraid to walk away from the sale. Ask them how “X amount sounds” and then BE QUIET. Don’t talk again until after they respond. Let them come back with a counter offer. It’s fine to negotiate. Just be nice and respectful. Remember that they are the ones losing money on this deal.

If you get to a point where neither of you are completely happy with the final price, consider that a fair trade.

If you can’t come up with a price you like, walk away. But let them know that if they change their minds to feel free to call. You wouldn’t believe how many times I’ve gotten a call back the very same day.

4) Deal in cash. Sorry. But them’s the rules. It’s too risky to the seller to not operate this way. If you do your due dillegence you will be fine.

5) Remind the seller to charge the batteries to the camera or bring one. You MUST check to see if the camera is working perfectly. Or if there are any problems with it, the seller has told you about it already. If you notice something that wasn’t brought to light by the seller, you have a choice

A) negotiate a much better price

B) Walk away

That’s it. If the seller is shady in the LEAST, walk away. DO NOT tie emotions up with your money. If you are excited to get the camera home and play, you’ll be pissed when it ends up breaking in a week.

However, and maybe I’m just lucky, but I have operated my entire production company buying second hand and have NEVER had a problem. Really. Never. Did I always get the very best deal. No. But even if the sale went more in the favor of the seller, I still saved hundreds. And when you add up how much gear one needs in this business, dealing in second hand can make the difference between one project a year, or several.

I would love to hear your tips for getting good deals! If you have any more tips I should add, let me know!

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Aug-26-2008