 BetterPhoto Member |
What to avoid in purchasing used equipment I recently purchased a Minolta XG2 and three lenses at an auction for $100. Lense sizes are 50mm, 35-70mm, 135mm. I also got a second camera, Yashica Minister-D and two other lenses and a flash. Did I get a good deal?? I think I did. I have film in both cameras at present and they seem to work OK, the proof will be in the photo"s.Sincerely, Jacqueline Knapp
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Melissa L. Zavadil |
Here is one way that you can find out. Check ebay for listings of that particular camera that have already sold recently. You should find out real quick!!
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John P. Sandstedt |
I think the Minolta XG2 was one of the auto-exposure [aperture priority] cameras introduced by the company to replace it's workhorse SRT's [I have the SRT-201.] thus, one can say it's old, perhaps vintage - the late 1980's. $100 for a 20+ year old camera and three lenses is probably not a bad price. Remeber, however, that there's esentially no market for used digital cameras. According to a friend who owns a camera exchange, few people want "last year's model" because it's missing certain "bells and whistles." However, the market for used film cameras remains vibrant, even though the cost of new film cameras seems to be dropping. The proof will be in the results you get, obviously. However, for me - the selection of lenses you bought will be restricting. I purchased a 28 mm [wide angle] and a 135 mm tele, in addition to the normal 50 mm on my SRT, but after a trip to Holland and Denmark, saved for zoom lenses. Bought Vivatar's Series 1 lenses [28-90 and 70-210 mm] and never looked back. When I bought my first EOS [the 20] the only short zoom I could afford had a range of 28-70 mm. I founf it very confining and I think the fact that the zoom you bought is very close to the normal 50 mm lens will cause you some agita. [You didn't say whether the lenses are Minolta's or after-market. No matter, however, what you bought will allow you to learn - and, that's the most important thing. Try this: Go out on your shoots for several weeks and only use the normal lens. Don't even bring the tele along. Critically assess your results. Then, do the same thing using only the tele, leaving the normal lens at home. This exercise will teach you a lot about these lenses, what they're good for and what you need to consider to get the best results. If you can retrace your route when you switch to the tele, it'll be even better.
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