Shutter count on SD15

I am about to list my SD15 for sale and have 3 questions.

1) Is it possible to find out how many shutter activations my SD15 has had?

2) Any idea how much I should be asking?  Camera is in really great shape, and has had very little use. It comes with an older 70-300mm zoom and a much newer 18-55mm zoom + charger.

3) How easy will this be to sell?

Thanks

It will be super easy to sell for $100, but very difficult to sell for $1,000 . . . in fact, it will probably never sell for $1,000.

I'd try selling the lenses separately and sell the body for $200. Then if it doesn't sell in 1 or 2 months drop the price to $150.

There are people out there who have put crazy prices on their SD15 bodies, but pay no attention. Some of them are asking the same price as a used SD1 Merrill, which is totally absurd. The SD1 Merrill has so much the SD15 doesn't have, like weather seals, a better viewfinder, micro-focus adjustment for lenses, and a larger, higher-resolution sensor, the ability to shoot at 5 fps rather than just 3 fps, etc.

You could try to sell your SD15 for $250 or $300, and it might sell at that price. The SD14 might sell at $200. I do believe the SD15 is probably worth at least $50 more than the SD14, because of its better reputation for reliability and its bigger review screen. I think it operates slightly faster too.

Every now and then you can find an SD15 or SD14 at KEH - http://www.keh.com

Since these cameras are starting to get sort of rare, my prices might be a bit low. They COULD be getting more expensive. Certainly the DP Merrill bodies seem to be holding their value very well . . . better than just about any other digital camera I have ever seen. If your SD15 is in exceptional condition, it may become a collector's item. Do you have the original box and accessories? You might be able to sell it as a collector's item for $350 or even $400, but it will be more difficult to sell it at such a high price. If you have time and market it that way though, you could get a hundred dollars or more extra vs. selling it as a normal old digital camera. Remember that you're selling it in competition with old Nikon D300 bodies, which are about $250 now. That camera shoots faster, focuses better, lasts longer on a battery charge, has a better review screen, can shoot at higher ISO settings with much better image quality, and is compatible with all the old Nikon lenses and accessories, so for the same price I am absolutely certain that the vast majority of people will pick the name-brand Nikon D300 over the Sigma SD15. Many people might choose the 10 MP Nikon D200 over the Sigma SD15. It has all the same advantages of the 12 MP Nikon D300, but it a little older and normally sells for about $200. This is why I suggest selling your SD15 for $200 and then dropping the price to $150, if it doesn't sell fast enough for you.

The prices for Sigma cameras vary wildly. Take lots of good photos and sell it through the "For Sale and Wanted" forum here on DPreview. Post a link in this forum to your listing. If you put it on ebay it might sell faster, but I guess it would cost a significant portion of your listing/sales price.

Good luck!

Scottiebs3 wrote:

What about finding the shutter actuation count on it...even possible?

No Sigma cameras can show the shutter actuation count, sorry to say.

Instead, they show an image count per DCIM which will only equal the shutter count if:

a) the camera has never been reset to factory defaults.

b) the image count has never been selected to auto-reset to '0001' when an empty card is put into the camera.

And, as far as I can tell, you would also need to look at the current DCIM folder name, e.g.

'Sigma104' with SDIM0500 as the last file means (4x9,999)+500 images recorded.

Usually I quote the current image 4-digit number with the caveat that it may not be the shutter count.

Scottiebs3 wrote:

I am about to list my SD15 for sale and have 3 questions.

1) Is it possible to find out how many shutter activations my SD15 has had?

2) Any idea how much I should be asking? Camera is in really great shape, and has had very little use. It comes with an older 70-300mm zoom and a much newer 18-55mm zoom + charger.

3) How easy will this be to sell?

Thanks

The body usually sells in the $350 range and the lenses, because they're not considered very high quality, maybe $50 each. You can either set a fixed price or put it on ebay and see what it brings.

Scottiebs3 wrote:

I am about to list my SD15 for sale and have 3 questions.

1) Is it possible to find out how many shutter activations my SD15 has had?

2) Any idea how much I should be asking? Camera is in really great shape, and has had very little use. It comes with an older 70-300mm zoom and a much newer 18-55mm zoom + charger.

3) How easy will this be to sell?

Thanks

Regarding how much:

One body sold on eBay in September for $298 and another in October for $295.  That seems like the right price area, around $300.  They were both sold from Japan and added shipping of $49 and $41 respectively.

Good Luck, and

Best Regards,

BT