I picked up a 300D (original Rebel) for $30...

Wayne Larmon wrote:

bridge77 wrote:

yep, those old dslr cameras make great 'beater' cameras for when you may not want to risk bringing the good stuff.

plenty to be had on ebay or other used sites.

the great thing is that they are built like tanks, that $30 camera may have been $500 or more back in the day which equates to much more today.

same with the old kit lenses, which come with stabilization.

fun stuff for messing around with, if someone is so inclined.

My results buying vintage cameras recently has been mixed. Over the past few months I bought five Canon cameras on eBay.

1. 40D. This one works!
2. S45. Works but the sliding lens cover/power switch seems flaky (compared to my own S45)
3. S50. Has missing horizontal lines. The camera had a card with images from 2004-2006. Some of the 2006 images had the same skipping lines problem.
4. G3. Zoom control only zooms out. The only way to zoom back in is to power cycle. The dial in front of the shutter doesn't do anything (i.e., can't adjust aperture in A/V mode, etc.)
5. A590. Showed evidence of severe battery leakage (uses AA cells) Focus is intermittent. Cross compared with my own S45 and my S45 nailed all the same scenes.
6. A570. No battery leakage and works but the battery life is less than 10 shots. I think. Needs more testing. But it nailed the same shots the A590 couldn't focus.

The 40D was about $90. The smaller cameras were in the $10-18 range with shipping in the $9 range. I didn't complain about the S45 because all I really wanted was the wrist strap. Ditto with the S50. I complained about the G3 and, because shipping is high compared to the value, I accepted a 50% refund, and didn't need to return it.

I complained about the A590 and demanded a postage paid return and refund. Got a response saying that the seller was sorry I was displeased. Didn't follow through--low priority. I haven't finished testing the A570--low priority.

All the cameras were well packed and were shipped promptly.

I suspect that the reason why all the defective cameras were sold was because the sellers seem to be dealers and are not the original owners. I think they fire them up and snap a few shots. If the shots look good on the LCD then they are considered to be "tested". On this basis, I can see why they all passed.

FWIW, S45 images are sublime. If you do everything right you can get a sharp 8x10. Neither of the A models produced images that are in the same league.

I got a good 40D. That pairs nicely with a EF 24-85 f/3.5-4.5 I already had.

Wayne

wow, an ebay adventure for sure.  glad the 40D still works, and what a great savings for the newer Canon D cameras.  i use a Canon T3i and a Canon XS and both are no troubles.  even the batteries can be bought third party off from amazon for cheap with a charger.

my cameras were bought from canon refurbished and another from office depot as a demo model. when i wanted a video camera that came from canon as a refurb.

ebay is a gamble, it may be best to trade with dealers who have a 30 day return policy like roberts camera or keh.  i got an old tamron lens tele that didn't work to well with my t3i and roberts sent me a return label and refunded.  older non canon lenses just may not work to well with canon bodies.

i don't have much need for bodies or lenses generally so not an issue. eventually it would be nice to get a bridge camera for birding or not having to change lenses.  the canon sx 40 and sx 50 seem to be affordable in used.

my canon xs isn't worth too much and does everything well, except for the lower iso. why not just keep it as a beater camera or when the t3i gives up?

on days we don't wanna haul around the dslr, our nikon coolpix are a good alternative for video/pix.  for me this is mostly the joy of family memories, so no high end equipment needed.

Wayne, how is your 40D doing?  would that be your best camera and would it be worth upgrading from a T3i to a 40D

thanks.