Have you any experience with such?


Feeling the need for a better cam than my cp for a recent tour, I went to a small, local pawn shop. Walked out with a Sony Cybershot, touchscreen, Carl Ziess lens, for $50. As they accepted my first offer, I paid too much. But, it is a great little cam for touring purposes. Hangs from my neck for quick access.

What are your thoughts about buying a cam from a pawn shop? Would you? Have you?

If you're very knowledgeable about the specific unit or lens, and they let you play with it to see if it's not damaged, both electronically and lens, mirrors and prisms, then there are some very good buys. The other issue, depending on the State or Province you're in, is if you're buying stolen goods, which could come back to bite you later in that it might be confiscated without compensation.

Yeah, sorta like from eBay or Craigslist. Least from a pawn shop you get to test the product, and I bet the chances of it being stolen are less in the pawn shop than on the other two.

Here if you buy from a pawn shop, they are responsible for
determining if it is stolen. Keep your ticket, if there is a
problem, they must give you a refund.

If you know what your are looking for and can judge the
condition, pawn shops are a great place to shop.

Most have a warranty of sorts. On electronics at the
shop I check now and then, it is a 72 hours return
policy. You get store credit only. Better than nothing.
And I have never had a problem with their stuff.

Not so good IME. I've worked at two pawn shops - my experience with electronics and cameras at pawn shops is that they usually are pawned with something broken or otherwise not right. if nothing else, they are tired, last gen stuff.

the good stuff, the loan customer usually picks back up. only when there's a problem does the equipment get left.

at the price of new, cheap digital cameras, there's no good reason to purchase a digital camera at a pawn shop.

the crazy guy on a bike article linked to by the OP suggests 2MP cameras are sufficient !

pawn shops are GREAT places for : hand tools, leather coats, collectibles, jewelery, musical instruments, non digital cameras and accessories.

Pawn shops offer up a lot of stinkers in the electronics, cordless tool, computer and digital camera departments.

35mm film?

That went out with wooden rims....

I still have several of those laying about, also 110 and APS

I have become a digital P&S guy for just about all of my picture taking. I currently run a 5mp Casio Exlim and a Fuji Z85 which is 8mp. They are both small as in shirt pocket size. I did order a newer water proof one that is a bit bigger.

Aaron

Most of the points you made are certainly valid, and respected, as you've worked in pawn shops. That's why I emphasized the need for testing.

I disagree on the idea that 2 megs aren't sufficient for most, likely all, shots that people take while touring. The article notes one of the exception. The ballooning number of megs advertised are just meaningless numbers, designed to impress. 1/2 a meg is plenty for a 4x6 print and a post on CG. Much faster for downloading to a computer too.

If you've got a scene that might be a potential wall hanger, it's easy enough to increase resolution. Nearly any cam you'll find there will offer way more than 2 megs. Lens quality, sensor size, composition are far more important than the number of megs.

None of my thoughts on this are relevant to camera geeks or to professional photographers. Just intended for the average person trying to take a decent picture, and save a bit of money.

I haven't bothered to frequent the pawnshops around here, they have a tendency to run 90% of retail on everything they have that is any good. No thanks if I pay that much I am going new so I can get a proper warranty.

Aaron

Definitely can be an issue. Gotta be a careful shopper, do research, and always haggle. The 'list' price is their wish price. It ain't WM.

I've gotten a few good deals on cameras at pawn shops, but only on point & shoots. Sometimes they seriously undervalue these little cameras, and I can usually get them to knock a few $ off the price. But you have to know what you are looking at. DSLR's are almost always overpriced. I usually ask when I see one, and I'll regularly see something like a Canon Rebel XT (a.k.a. EOS-350D, released in 2005) being offered for $500. You could get a brand new example of the current model for that much. Good camera, but I would not pay over $200 for a Rebel XT now.

Check that the batteries are still available (eg stick to AA) and that it doesnt use any obsolete memory cards

+1. Brand new 12MP Cybershot's are only $80.

I do haggle, I consider a fair starting offer on my part to be 50% of retail, I will go to 70% in rare cases. I was in one pawn shop the other day and the clown had a Kodak Instant Camera in the show case for $45...LMAO...can't even buy film for those anymore.

Aaron

I bought a Canon EOS-IX for $20 a couple of years back, just as a curiosity. They had it marked a lot higher, but the guy knew nobody else would want it. It is a film SLR and uses the short-lived APS film format. Had an EF compatible Sigma lens on it, which would have certainly been worth the 20, but the lens was bad. Kind of an interesting design.

Nice bookend!

OOPS ---> print books are obsolete too

Actually, I use a Canon Photura for that. Another interesting late 20th century design. This one is 35mm and should still work, though I haven't taken any pics with it yet. I remember seeing the ads for this one. Another pawn shop find for a tenner.

Based on your responses, I have made a couple of mods to the article. Thanks for the feedback.

Darned if you aren't right about that BigAura. Just no touchscreen functions, no Carl Ziess lens, and no quick slide on/off. I'd give $30 at the pawn shop.

I'll give you a package deal on a Brownie and Diana.

True. The reality is I wouldn't pay $80 either, nor $50, nor $30. The convenience and quality of my iPhone camera suits me just fine, especially for touring.

My cp cam is good for 95% of the shots I take on tour. After minor exposure adjustments on the puter, can't tell much difference in the two. I call the cp pics my instant post cards. The tiny Sony hangs around my neck, is just as convenient as the cp, and is instantly ready for that rare potential wall hanger.

With the rapid advancements in cp cams, have to wonder when conventional point/shoots will go the way of Kodak film.

I have a Brownie that belonged to my grandmother, IIRC it is a 620 model, I also have a Fuji Film SLR for APS...what was I thinking! I also still have my first digital camera, .5 meg I think.

Aaron

This thread reminded me of my own pawn shop camera buy of a couple years ago, a Panasonic DMC-FZ5 which I believe I paid under $50.00 for. The Panasonic has been a good camera with 5mp, 16x optical zoom, image stabilization and electronic view finder. Effectively a 36-435 equivalent 35mm lens, so it says.

However I use a Canon A1000is as my hiking and touring camera because it is small and light with two AA lithium batteries and has an optical viewfinder.