Here's what you should check when you're buying a camera.

READ UP ON THE CAMERA YOU ARE CONSIDERING.
The most important thing you can do is understand how the camera is supposed to look, feel, and work. If you know how a camera is supposed to operate, you will be able to tell if something is not working right. Click here to go to Michael Butkus' extremely useful instruction manual page.

BRING BATTERIES, CARDS, AND FILM.
If a film camera needs batteries, find out what they are and bring them along. Bring a roll of test film to make sure the camera can wind and rewind it. If a digital camera needs a memory card, bring a suitable memory card with you.

CHECK THE CONDITION.
Look over the body for deep scrapes, dents, deformation, or corrosion. Make sure there are no signs of impact or water damage. On a film camera, open up the battery compartment and check that the battery hasn't leaked: battery contacts should be clean and shiny, so if you find flaky, crystalline deposits or corrosion, don't buy that camera. On a digital camera, make sure the batteries are not swollen or damaged.

CHECK BASIC FUNCTIONS.
Be sure that a camera turns on and fires. For a film camera, be sure that it advances and rewinds film. For a digital camera, be sure that it can read and write to a memory card. Be sure that the camera is not displaying any error codes or behaving unpredictably. Be sure that buttons and controls respond reliably.
 
BE AWARE THAT CAMERAS SHOULD FEEL & SOUND NICE.
If a camera sounds shrill, crunchy, or scrapey, something is wrong. If parts are loose, gritty, or move irregularly, something is wrong. This is subjective, but remember that cameras are precision-made mass market devices, and they should feel & sound that way.
 
CHECK THE SHUTTER.
It is most common for shutters to fail at higher speeds. With a film camera, here is how you check a shutter:

  • Open the back
  • Take off the lens
  • Hold the camera up to a bright light and fire the shutter at its highest speeds while looking through the back.
You want to make sure that you can see light flash through the ENTIRE shutter opening as it fires. When shutters fail at high speed, some of the shutter will not let light through. If you only see light through part of the shutter, there is something wrong. This won't tell you if a shutter is operating perfectly, but it will let you know if it's definitely broken.

CHECK THE ELECTRICS.
A camera’s electrical systems should not be glitchy. LEDs and displays should operate smoothly. If LEDs are flickering or blinking, or if an LCD is not displaying all the information it should, the camera is not working right.

BE SURE THAT EVERYTHING YOU NEED IS INCLUDED.
It is difficult to find batteries and chargers for older digital cameras. Sometimes, these can cost more than the camera. Batteries and chargers are not accessories or extras for digital cameras, they are necessary parts of the camera.

BE SURE THAT FILM AND MEMORY CARDS ARE AVAILABLE.
If you are buying a film camera, make sure you can still buy film for it. Polaroid peel-apart and Spectra films are no longer made. Kodak instant film is no longer made. APS and 126 film are no longer made. If you are buying a digital camera, make sure you can source cards for it. Some early memory cards- like xD, Smartmedia, or Memory Sticks- are no longer made, and some early cameras require low-capacity SD cards that aren't available new. If the camera needs a weird memory card, be sure at least one is included. You will not enjoy tracking this stuff down.

REPAIRS ARE NOT CHEAP OR EASY.
Repairs are expensive & often impractical. If someone tells you that a camera “just needs a CLA,” you should ask yourself why the seller didn’t simply have the camera serviced before selling it. I will tell you why: it is because the repair costs more than the camera.

ASK US IF YOU ARE NOT SURE.
If you’re looking at a camera and you want some advice, please don’t hesitate to ask us about it before you make the purchase. We have seen too many broken cameras, please let us help you not waste your money. Thank you.