New or Refurb Nikon d40?

[seedster2]

I am looking to purchase my first DSLR and have decided to purchase the Nikon D40. Since it's my first I have set a budget of $500 and will just shoot as much as I can with the included lens.

I will be purchasing from Adorama or B&H here in NYC. I noticed that Adorama sells refurbished models: http://www.adorama.com/INKD40KR.html. Is the refurbished a good deal or should I just opt for a new one for 75 bucks more. There is a warranty difference between the two as well.

 

[ChrisA]

Is the refurbished a good deal or should I just opt for a new one for 75 bucks more. There is a warranty difference between the two as well.

To me a warranty is just an insurance contract. It does nothing to the camera except to lower the risk of ownership. So in this case you pay $75 for a longer insurance contract.
Is it work it? Many people would advise to only buy insurance for losses you absolutely can not afford. In the long run this is good advice.

The bet is that the camera will or will not fail during a period of a few months. After those few months the camera has no waranty at all even if you paid full price.

If you are going to buy a camera without the 1 year Nikon warranty ou may be better off taking your $500 and buying a used D50. If they could give you a 30 or 90 day warranty for the D50 then it really would be a deal.

 

[seedster2]

To me a warranty is just an insurance contract. It does nothing to the camera except to lower the risk of ownership. So in this case you pay $75 for a longer insurance contract.
Is it work it? Many people would advise to only buy insurance for losses you absolutely can not afford. In the long run this is good advice.

The bet is that the camera will or will not fail during a period of a few months. After those few months the camera has no waranty at all even if you paid full price.

If you are going to buy a camera without the 1 year Nikon warranty ou may be better off taking your $500 and buying a used D50. If they could give you a 30 or 90 day warranty for the D50 then it really would be a deal.

Thanks for the advice Chris. I think I should head over in person and see what warranty is offered with the refurbs.

Is the D50 a better buy than the D40? I was encouraged to buy the d40 over the d50 by the sales people at J&R

 

[pdxflint]

Do they have the D50s in stock anyway? I think they're getting harder to find new, or refurbed. The difference is that the D50 is a bit bigger, more solid - more on the order of the D70/D80 build-wise. Also, it has a screw-drive AF motor built-in and a function lcd display up top, which the D40 series lack. Both are 6.1 megapixel sensor, and probably indistinguishable image quality between them.

I bought a D50 refurbished with kit lens (18-55 Nikkor) from a local dealer. It came with a 90 day warranty, but I added a three year aftermarket warranty which my retailer honors. It was less than $40. I've had the camera now for 18 months, and shot over 7000 photos - and it works perfectly. So, I'd go for the refurbished (as long as it's an official Nikon factory refurbished product, including the lens - I stress this point.) You will not be able to tell the difference between it and a brand new product, other than the box will be brown.

A Nikon rep told me that most refurbs are either rep demos, or cameras that initially failed some quality check/test during first run manufacturing, and were taken off the line, sent back through to correct the issue, which could be something rather minor. These cameras automatically become classified as refurbs, even though they're basically brand new. I'm not sure if this is true, but I gave my purchase a thorough inspection in the store, and was assured that if I didn't like it I had a couple of weeks to just bring it back for full credit. Needless to say, I still have my D50.