BUYINGUSED
THE SMART WAY TO BUY
If you want to save the maximum amount of money, a private sale from eBay or social media might seem like a good idea. But usually the item is ‘sold as seen’, which is a pain if you discover a fault. The internet is awash with horror stories about buying online, so pick up the camera in person to be sure of the condition, see it working and get an idea of whether the seller seems legitimate. It’s best to use a service such as PayPal, because this will cover you against fraud. To take a lot of the worry out of buying used, and to ensure the camera comes as described, a reputable dealer will offer some guarantee, will have checked the kit for faults and usually there is a cooling-off period, during which you can return the kit. The leader in used video and stills kit is MPB, with an easy-to-use website where you can not only buy kit, but also sell your old gear to part fund your purchase. Other specialist pro video firms like CVP andWex have lots of used kit in stock, including cameras, lenses and video accessories. All- round camera retailers like CameraWorld, Park Cameras, The Flash Centre and Wilkinson Cameras often have second- hand pro video kit in stock, and are often an obvious choice for DSLR and mirrorless cameras and lenses. If money is no object and cash is flowing, then buying the latest kit brand new can seem like the obvious option. But then your business will be faced with the very large depreciation of a sizeable part of capital expenditure. The benefits of new are the warranty and, of course, if you are VAT registered, you get that 20% back within three months. There are also leasing options, or sometimes 0% offers. Your accountant is the best bet for financial advice on major purchases. Another option is ordering from overseas, as the prices often appear to be lower. However, you’ll find you need to pay import duty and VAT, and this can add to the purchase cost significantly. The kit might not be UK spec, there may be warranty issues and, of course, you are not supporting the UK importers or dealers who you might rely on in case of any problems.
Some Reds have interchangeable lens mounts, for example, but often come as a basic brain that requires a lens mount, handgrip, V-Lock battery and its own RedMag SSDmedia. That’s before you even think about the condition of the camera, whichmay have had a hard life – especially as most cinema cameras are used by professionals rather than amateurs who baby their kit. Cinema cameras have an hour meter so you can see how long it has been used for. But DSLR andmirrorless cameras don’t. A record of howmany shutter actuations the camera has done is often available, but it won’t be a guide to how long it’s been used to shoot video for. But as shooting video means there are nomoving parts – unlike a stills shooter with a mechanical shutter – this may be less of an issue. So, what would be a great used camera to buy today and why? We’ll discount the very latest cameras, although these can sometimes be bought slightly used. The effect of brand-newmodels often means there is an instant impact on the older versions of the camera, which become ever-greater value for money. So we name our pick of the usedmarket of interchangeable-lens cameras and lenses that may not be very latest bits of kit, but canmake loads of sense for the filmmaker on a budget.
While lenses have changed very little, camera tech has moved on. Many cameras might not be able to record in 4K, for example. When it comes tomaking a sound business decision based on cash flow, you need to ask yourself what your kit absolutely must do, and stick to it. Youmight not need 4K if all your work is delivered in HD (at best) for web use. And very few filmmakers right now really can’t manage without a HLG camera for HDR workflow. The same goes for Raw output and streaming capabilities. Shooting in 4Kmeans you are future- proofing your content for when 4K is the norm and you can crop in far easier without losing quality if you are editing in 1080p, so that could affect your decision. And remember, it’s not just the cost of the camera alone that dictates the overall financial strain on your budget. 4K and Raw take up lots of memory cards, hard disk space and youmay end up having to upgrade your computer to edit the footage. A used camera might have batteries that run out quicker than the newest generation, and the batteries themselves might be worn out after lots of charging cycles. But if you’re already a Canon user investing in a Cinema EOS camera, or a Panasonic EVA1, Blackmagic Ursa, Kinefinity or even a Red, youmight already have a set of lenses you can use.
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AUTUMN 2019 PRO MOVIEMAKER
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