How much for a used Nikon D100 & assorted gear?

March 14, 2009 7:41 PM

Photographers: what's a fair price for the following Nikon setup, bought used?

I'm interested in buying a friend's old camera and gear. What's a fair price for the following used equipment? Ballpark range perfectly acceptable.

* Nikon D100 body, slightly prone to the shutter sticking, otherwise OK, bought new in 2001
* battery and charger
* Nikkor 24-85 mm AF-S
* SanDisk 1GB Compact Flash Memory Card

posted by Jennifer S. to grab bag (9 comments total)

I'd pay no more than $400, maybe less, given the sticky shutter.
posted by jrchaplin at 7:48 PM on March 14

jrchaplin nailed it. I'd say $350. As a reference here are some used bodies sold on KEH.
posted by sanka at 8:02 PM on March 14

As a Professional Photographer, a "Shutter Sticking" is not a good sign. Yes the camera will continue to take good pictures however when a shutter starts to stick on one of our studio camera's, we send it to the shop for repair. Sometimes you can get lucky and a cleaning will have it up and running like new, however replacing a shutter on a camera is not cheap.
posted by blast at 8:37 PM on March 14

As a recreational photographer, a sticking shutter is a deal breaker. There are plenty of D70(s) and D100s on the market, you shouldn't need to buy a marginal example to get a good deal.
posted by b1tr0t at 9:23 PM on March 14

Hmmm. I'd be nervous about buying this. $350 sounds about right. How many actuations on the camera?
posted by swilkerson at 10:45 PM on March 14

Are you just getting into photography?

If so, forget about this and just get a D40 kit. For the same kind of money as a fair price on this setup, you can get a brand-new 6MP body, 18-55mm lens, and a warranty (we're talking $400-450ish.)

If not... well, about the only advantage the D100 has over the D40 is a dedicated switch for the focus point selection mode (that was probably my biggest peeve against my D40, which I used for a year and a half before moving on to a D90... which still lacks the damn switch, d'oh)

I'd like to have a D100 in my collection--but mostly only because I'm missing a Nikon digital body on my bookshelf. Really, for shooting recreational or professionally, a D100 (especially one with issues) is obsolete.
posted by bhayes82 at 11:20 PM on March 14

I fully agree with bhayes82. Get a new or almost new D40 kit. You'll have way better image quality and ease and speed of operation out of the gate.

I wouldn't buy a DSLR body that old for any any reason; especially one that has a known issue like the sticky shutter.
posted by imjustsaying at 1:14 AM on March 15

I wouldn't buy a used DSLR body. It's not like a film body: the technology has improved so much in such a short period of time.
posted by chunking express at 9:15 AM on March 16

2nding KEH comparisons. Not sure about the D40, the mount doesn't allow for full compatibility with some older Nikon lenses (which can be bought in good condition for not much scratch) and in my opinion, out-perform a lot of the newer DX lenses (especially those that don't offer a fixed apeture).
posted by Upal at 10:31 AM on March 16