8 Things You Need To Check Before Buying A Used DSLR Camera

Some people like cameras, and some people like photography. A lucky few, a small minority, are said to understand both. If you like taking pictures with your phone or a compact camera and want to start playing with different lenses, or if you have an old DSLR and are looking for an upgrade that won't break the bank, you might have taken a look at some used cameras. But with great prices (half of a new model or less!) comes great responsibility.

And there's the rub. You take pictures, you don't build cameras! You don't know if a shutter count of 50,000 is really "not a big deal," or which used DSLR cameras you should look for. How should you know when it's safe to clean the sensor yourself if you've never held a camera in your life? And how in the world do you pick out a great deal on a camera that just needs a bit of extra care from a sea of actual scams? We can't promise to find you a nice used DSLR camera, but we can teach you a few tests and things to check before buying anything.

Buying from a highly rated website or private reseller isn't enough to make sure that your used camera will be in great condition, but it does minimize the risk of buying used. You still need to go through every other check to ensure the camera works properly and doesn't need to be cleaned or repaired, but if you do find a problem, it's good to know that the person or business you're buying from is willing to work with you, if need be. If you think you found a potential issue, being able to ask the seller to visit a camera store together is invaluable.

If you have access to buyer reviews, try to look for ones that mention having a problem and fixing it with the help of the seller. This is doubly important if you're buying online and can't check the product firsthand before making the purchase. Regardless, finding a reliable store or private reseller comes with some extra perks. Many camera enthusiasts know how to clean dust off a sensor and might offer to do it for you, or lower the price so you can have it cleaned by a professional if it helps them speed up the deal.

In the wide world of used electronics, "refurbished" can mean a lot of things, but when it comes to affordable cameras, it often stands for "checked and cleaned." Occasionally, usually for more expensive products, refurbishing can include performing actual repairs. If you've never owned a camera and you find a good offer on a refurbished tech website, go for it. Alternatively, if you know how to do those things yourself or ensure that the camera is well-maintained, you can safely buy used. The only thing you'll miss is the warranty, but even then, with a bit of extra work, you can find a used camera that is still covered.

As with every expensive purchase, make sure you can actually trust the vendor. See if they're named as a trusted reseller on camera enthusiast forums and websites or ask them yourself. Above all, if you're paying extra for a refurbished DSLR, make sure to buy from a business that offers a long and inclusive warranty, and then run some tests yourself. If the website promises a low shutter count, check that the number is actually correct. If they offer a third-party battery, as they often do, make sure that it lasts as long as the manufacturer claims it does.

Some dead pixels on a DSLR camera are to be expected, and in the vast majority of cases, no one will notice them. Even if they go into double digits, you still have tens of millions that work just fine. However, if you see a whole bunch of dead pixels in a single column or row, or a cluster with more than a handful, you might want to rethink your purchase. Unlike the pixels that get stuck on your monitor, there's no way to revive those dead pixels, but stuck and hot pixels can sometimes be fixed. Some cameras allow you to ignore those spots when composing the picture, but this trick won't work if there are too many of them in a small area.

To check for dead pixels, aim your camera at a bright, homogeneous area and take a few pictures. Make sure to disable every noise reduction option in the camera menu beforehand. Carefully inspect the pictures, preferably on a wide monitor. If you see a pixel that is always much darker than the rest, that pixel is dead. A stuck pixel is similar, but it appears as a single solid color instead of being black. Finally, a hot pixel is nothing like the rest, and only appears when the sensor is under stress. To find them, you need to take two pictures: one at low ISO and a very long exposure time, and another at high ISO and a very short exposure time. Keep the lens cap on when taking those shots. If you see any small points of light, those are hot pixels.

The first thing to know about camera dust is that it's not a major issue. Pretty much any camera, new or old, is easy and possibly quite cheap to clean up. You could even try to clean it yourself, but if you don't know what you're doing, you might end up with a damaged camera. Most major camera brands offer to clean the sensor of your used camera, assuming the model isn't too old. Price varies based on location, model, and manufacturer, but it's usually a little below $100.

To check for camera dust, start by setting the ISO to 100 or as close to 100 as possible. Enable manual focus and set the aperture as high as it will go. Point the camera at something bright and take a picture. Repeat the process with multiple bright subjects. Inspect those pictures carefully, either on a large monitor or by zooming in on the camera screen. The clusters of dust look like dark, blurry spots and will mostly stay in the same place from picture to picture. Be on the lookout for visible dust particles and tiny pieces of hair as well, since those are also the result of a dirty sensor.

If you want a quantitative indication of how much life is left in a DSLR camera, you can count on the shutter counter, more or less. Pretty much every device from a major camera manufacturer comes with a life expectancy indicated in shutter activations. For example, the classic cheap Canon DSLR, the 100D, has a shutter life expectancy of 100,000 clicks, meaning that on average, it takes this many pictures before it starts dying. This is only an average, so you might want to take 10-20% off that number, just to be safe.

Still, if you take 200 pictures every week, or 10,000 a year, even a well-used camera with 50,000 shutter actuations will last you at least three or four years. Another thing to consider is that the manufacturer's "average" seems to be lower than the actual average shutter life. Anecdotal evidence says that there are many more cameras that massively outlive this average than die early. And while a low shutter counter is generally better, it can also be an indication that the camera wasn't used at all and that it might have been treated poorly or have other problems. The shutter counter is saved as metadata in every picture, so checking it is as simple as taking a new picture and opening it on any of the many apps and websites that can display shutter counter.

Some external defects like scratches and discoloration are purely aesthetic, but you might want to take a good look at them anyway. For one, they might indicate that the camera wasn't kept in the best of conditions and might have other issues. They can also be a deciding factor in whether you will manage to resell the camera yourself in a few years, should you want to. At the same time, problems like glue coming off some parts or knobs and switches that are hard to operate should be viewed as structural defects akin to those that affect picture quality. A good camera is, first of all, a sturdy object that you can carry with you almost everywhere. Being unable to hold it comfortably will make your pictures worse — just like a defective sensor would.

While you're at it, make sure the battery is in good condition, too. It's hard to take good pictures with a digital camera that won't stay on. The best way to check the battery is to measure how long it lasts and how long it takes to charge, but you probably won't be able to perform this test without buying the camera first. Still, the worst of problems can be found by simply inspecting the battery. If it's bulkier than it should be or leaking anything at all, you will have to change it. If the battery chamber was altered by the defective battery, that might indicate even bigger problems.

Checking the autofocus on a DSLR camera is as simple as it sounds. Just run through all the available autofocus options and point at a few clear subjects that stand out from their surroundings. Make sure to take pictures at various distances, some closer and some further away. Of course, you will need to use a lens that is compatible with the autofocus of your camera to perform this test. If the autofocus works but isn't always very responsive, there's a good chance you're holding a camera with bad autofocus.

If you're shopping for cheap, used DSLRs, you're not going to get the best autofocus. But don't worry, there are a lot of ways to work around limited AF, like focusing on another object at the same distance and locking focus, or simply using MF. If the autofocus just won't work, there might be a problem with the sensor. It might need to be cleaned, or it might be something worse. Either way, you should ask the vendor to get it checked before you consider buying the camera. Unless you get a very good discount and you know you won't use AF, we can't suggest you buy a camera in these conditions.

The viewfinder, that little peephole that shows you what is in frame and whether things are blurry or sharp, is a big part of what distinguishes DSLRs and mirrorless cameras. It goes without saying that, even if the dust that accumulates in the viewfinder doesn't affect picture quality, it can be a real problem. Plus, it makes it harder to identify other, worse issues. As with every other problem involving dust, cleaning it isn't hard, but you might want to have a more experienced photographer do it. Worse are the issues related to the viewfinder's exposure meter or the diopter not working, since they can be harder to repair and strongly limit the usefulness of the camera.

Checking for issues with the screen and viewfinder isn't hard: Just take aim at a white wall or a piece of paper. Take a picture and compare the result. If the cracks and dark spots aren't there, you have a dirty viewfinder. Then, take a few pictures with autofocus on. Assuming the AF works fine, the preview in the viewfinder should be as sharp as the picture on the screen. Don't forget to adjust the diopter, especially if you don't have great eyesight. Finally, make sure to check if the camera screen works. It's fine if it doesn't look great — it's only an integrated screen, after all. Just make sure it doesn't have too many dead or stuck pixels and that it isn't cracked. If it is, it's time to ask for a discount.