Want to buy a second-hand 5D3, but don’t know how to tell whether the machine is refurbished or has problems?

The market for second-hand cameras is relatively deep, and since the body is a high-precision electronic device, it is basically impossible for you to disassemble it for inspection.

1. Refurbished machine, it depends on how you define refurbished machine. Generally, second-hand camera merchants will refurbish the machine to some extent, such as refurbishing the skin and repairing some bumps. This is an acceptable refurbishment. Others can adjust the shutter speed, or repair some wearing parts or damaged parts with low-end machines or other methods. This is basically an unacceptable renovation.

2. Since cameras are very precise, it is basically impossible to fake important parts, and it is also very difficult to copy them yourself. Therefore, there are two common situations.

The first one is As mentioned above, a studio machine that has been severely refurbished and has 200,000 shutter cycles. If it is cleaned and replaced, it will cost 95 new. Most businesses do this. Similar to the odometer on a used car.

The second type is machines with major problems. For example, some CMOS have dead pixels, some have faulty focus modules, and some even have reflectors that cannot be retracted, causing the surface of the machine to be damaged. Renovate it, or simply repair it, and then sell it as a second-hand machine. This kind of scam is basically based on deception, and a discerning person will know something is wrong as soon as they try it. Similar to the water-soaked car in a used car.

Cameras have been dropping in price, and the camera body is actually not as important to photography as the lens, so if possible, it is recommended to buy a new camera, or appropriately reduce the budget and buy a 6D or the like.