I've purchased a Fujifilm 100-400 and a 1973 Nikkor 500mm f8 through them and it matches up to their rating system. Love both lens so cannot speak to any returns/issues. I will probably end up selling my D200 to them.

The gear rating is close to what was described. I only purchased two items from the used gear selection, neither were bodies. I’ve sold to them as well, sometimes you get a fair price other times not. I believe they have a warranty of sorts on the items they sell. You might be able to score something off local classifieds, just make sure you test at time of purchase. Good luck.

If anything they underrate things, but I haven't ordered anything from them since 2010.

I've ordered a couple "Bargain" things from the 70s, and if they were in local shops they would have been "Good".

I've never bought from KEH. I've bought loads of used camera gear, all from the fred miranda forums, where they place a maniacal priority on correctly stating condition of gear and also on seller rating.

I assume that KEH is on the up and up and that they've got mechanisms in place if you get a dud.

---

Eliot
blog thing - strava thing

welp, I just ordered a "well-used" Nikon D300 from mpb.com. USD 90 plus shipping.

I should get marginally better low light performance, but I mainly wanted the better autofocus than my d80 has. 12MP vs 10, but 10 was more than sufficient.

I think its missing the eyecup, and I don't have any CF cards. shipping and accessories are going to cost me more than the camera body itself.

Once that arrives, I'll figure out my lens situation. I was looking at a 70-210 f/4 to upgrade my 70-210 f/4-5.6, but I also only have the 18-55 kit lens for a general wideangle zoom. But, I have a 35 1.8 and a 50 1.8, which cover most of the 18-55 need, and I rarely need the wide end.

I'll probably gift the 18-55 and my old Nikon d3000 to my 8 year old, he's expressed a little bit of interest and it's really easy to use. basically a point and shoot that lets you switch lenses, but you can learn the basics if you are so inclined.

---

Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly

cool!

I've owned both of those bodies, D300 is a big step up from D80. and as long as you're shooting RAW, image quality will still be fine. D300 made great images 15 years ago, and what it produces today isn't any worse than it was then.

since you spent less than expected on your body, put that savings into the nicest glass you can afford.

---

Eliot
blog thing - strava thing

I also just found a Nikkor 50mm f/2 manual lens on my Nikomat (it needs work, and film is $$$). I took a couple of test shots, and it's seriously good, it adds a different flavour than my 50mm AFS lens. Just have to practice my manual focus and metering skills now.

It also feels really nice to use. Metal instead of plastic.

---

Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly

I still have a Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 manual lens from the late 70's. One of the best Nikkor I've owned, in addition to a 500mm f/8. These manual lens still takes wonderful pictures 50 years later.

I used to be a big fan of them during my film days. I had a few OM1 bodies and lenses some of which I purchased from them. Prolly have not been on their site in a dozen or so years. I would 100% trust them back in the day. Glad to hear they are still around. From what I have heard from friends a few of the New York City shops of similar merchandise were a little sketchy.

My "well used" Nikon D300 just arrived about an hour ago via FedEx, unboxed it and had a look:

Yeah, I know I'm behind the times, but this was a $2k plus camera body here in Canada back when it came out. I can't afford that. Everything works, at least as far as I can tell.

For "well used" - I see a couple of scratches on the bottom and a mark next to the camera strap eyelet, and the eye cup was missing as I suspected. I ordered a replacement earlier this week, just in case, which arrived yesterday. I can't complain about that.

The focus tracking is a HUGE step up. Just did a couple of test shots with my dog coming toward me and its like magic.

battery was flat, but fortunately it uses the same battery as my D80. the battery that came with the D300 is charging up fine right now.

After work I think I'll head to the park and see if I can find some ducks or squirrels and see how it does with the telephoto lens.

---

Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly

I just broke out my OM-2n and ran a roll of B&W through it. Heading out to pick up some fresh developer and fixer, the last roll I shot and developed was in 2017.

I forgot how nice that camera is to use. (I also have a broken OM-1, but that will be more to fix than the camera is worth. I only keep it for sentimental reasons, it was my mom's).

---

Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly

I sold my FM-2n and picked up a D200 years ago. I've spent countless hours in the darkroom, but I don't really miss it.

As for lenses, older isn't always better. I shot quite a bit of slide film with an old mf Nikkor 200mm macro, and it produced images that were quite sharp. When I mounted it on the D200, the resolution just wasn't there. I replaced it with a Sigma 150/2.8 macro, and it was night and day a better lens.

Oh, I agree, the new stuff is technically far superior. The images out of my D300 are fantastic. But for the 1-2 rolls per month that I’m going to be shooting, i do like film. I was going through my binder of negatives and contact sheets from the last time I used film, and there are definitely more keepers (as a %age of total), probably because I’m forced to slow down.

---

Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly