Opinion on Cameta Camera's Olympus factory demos mint. Used as display or "Salesman

Sample", never owned by consumer....Thanks

Better than a store-display,as those reps might have had a strong eye on the people they allowed to handle it-and as far as I understand it, the cams have been looked over by Oly .

A seldomly used one by a user who was careful might be a better choice none the less.

I was never forgiving to the cameras I was allowed to play with-even by other brands and handed by reps-let's see how strong the hinges on that mirror are-rattle rattle.....

My 14-55 lens was a "demo" looks perfect. Not even a scratch. Who knows if it is actually a demo or refurb? Bottom line, good price, looks new and has a warranty. Yes it's a Cameta warranty. Let's hope I don't need to use it.

I not only got an Olympus Warranty, but an extended one my Cameta. All indications were that my camera had about 400 exposures on it. Not a scratch or flaw--except for the microscratch marks on the LCD cover it was just like new. With the 14-54 (refurb) lens, I was able to save over $400.

I have no problem buying a refurb because it's gone through QC to a much higher standard than first-runs.

Years ago, I bought an OM-1md that had been remanufactured and at the time the process involved partial dissassembly of the camera and a higher than normal attention to tolerances. It was smoother and quieter than any other OM-1 I ever handled.

I'll gladly do it again with Cameta. I'll wait a while after the new E-x is introduced and buy a refurb. It'll probably save me $1000 over what you "gotta have it now" types will spend.

I've got an E-1 and 14~54 that was purchased a year ago in Feb. It's been faultless. Their service was as good as you could ask for. I'd do it again.
--
BJM

kayakrazy said:

Sample", never owned by consumer....Thanks

Click to expand...

There are too many "demo" cameras going through Cameta for them to all be display or salesmen samples. I don't know the exact numbers, but Olympus America can't have more than about 50-60 employees who would be consigned sample E-1s at any given time.

I know half a dozen Olympus sales reps, and when I was a Nikon sales rep (for San Francisco), I got a reasonable feel for how Olympus America divides up the U.S. I'd guess they have roughly 30 field sales reps with specific geographic territories, maybe 3 to 5 sales reps for the mass market accounts (Best Buy etc.), and 5-10 technical reps for marketing and training support.

Obviously, they also set aside cameras for trade show display etc. but still, there just aren't enough cameras in that category to support the volumes that Cameta is clearly doing.

Finally, I believe that Olympus labels the cameras that Cameta is selling as "refurbished" and Cameta calls them "demo". Clearly, many of them are defective returns that Olympus America has fixed and put back into the market. All the camera manufacturers do this.

I actually actively seek out refurbished merchandise; most of the time it represents a good deal on equipment that has every likelihood of being just as reliable as unopened stuff.

peripheralfocus said:

I actually actively seek out refurbished merchandise; most of the
time it represents a good deal on equipment that has every
likelihood of being just as reliable as unopened stuff.

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That depends on which manufacturer.

I was working for Sony, and their refurbished stuff is mostly cr@p. I tried it a couple times (because I could get even deeper discounts), but decided that it wasn't worth my money or time (since I got good discount with the new stuff).

So it really depends.

I also got a "demo" e300, I would say they were customer returns as there wasnt a scratch on it. Probably sold and returned when the original buyer couldnt work it out.

For what it's worth, I recently bought a Nikon F5 and some AF Nikkors from Cameta and they looked brand new. They came boxed in "Nikon Refurbished Product" branded boxes and I can find no signs of usage on them (no dust on glass, scratches, or dings). I imagine their Olympus gear is of similar quality. Hopes this helps and best of luck. -b

e-1 was pristine, with a feww hundred clicks on it. 14-54 was a dog, and i had to return it to cametta for another lens.. (which has been very good). they were very good about this. For such a large operation, i would rate customer service as very good. it was a good deal, and would do it again.
regards,
nacha

I'd say they're fine, I got an E-1 and 14-54 from them -- couple of things were annoying the first time through:

1. No USB cable. Not a big deal, I had an equivalent one, and generally use card readers anyway -- and they sent me one when I pointed out it was missing, so I think this was just a glitch on this auction. It could have been annoying if I was relying on getting one, though.

2. No hood on the lens. The auction didn't say there was a hood, so fair enough, I got myself a new one and that worked just fine, but it took a while to get the replacement hood or even to find a local store that would acknowledge that such hoods could be bought.

3. The lens itself went wonky after a while:



Again, customer service was great, I sent it back to them and they sent me a replacement which has been great ever since. The body's been perfect, too.

So all in all, no major problems -- mostly just a pain that shipping USPS from them up to Canada takes two to three weeks, so it all took a bit longer than I'd have liked.

after hearing from all of you. Thanks, Rich

E300 and Cameta does not supply hoods. I know I can order from Oly, but it would be cheaper some where else..Any tips?? Cheers, Rich

My first E-1 from Cameta was DOA! (brand new) So, some of you may be getting my bad one (but repaired) if you are buying refurbished.

I just went around the local camera shops until I found one that would order it. The problem is that the standard parts list that Olympus sends out doesn't contain the 14-54 hood; it has the 14-45 hood on it, but that's not what I wanted. Eventually I found a place that knew it existed (Vistek here in Calgary), but it took a bit of persistence on my part.

KEH has a used 14-54 hood (and most of the other ones) in stock at the moment, if that helps at all.

-- dan

n/t at this time