General 7d resale vs. t2i enough to consider 7d?

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ycabrera

Active member
So I was at the local camera store and the lady gave me something to think about in my dilemma of getting a 7d or a t2i.

She said that the 7d will hold more value over time vs. the t2i, which in a way is true. If you think about it, the t2i was targeted to the video crowd, but the 7d is for photographers (8fps is a big deal). With canon opening a hdslr market, they probably have a bunch of improvements down the line. Basically, we will buy lenses, but the body is the one that's going to be replaced a lot.

Now one train of thought is, $800 is dirt cheap for what this thing can do (t2i). if something better comes out, either sell it or use it as a b-cam. If selling, since it's more of a consumer product, it's resale will probably be 40-60% of original value in a year.

For the 7d, selling it after something better for video comes out is also a viable option. And it stands to keep most of it's resale value since even if the video crowd won't touch it, sports photographers or people who use aps-c sensors will.

I know the get the tools you need now that you can afford and start shooting argument. And I think this is a good advice. I still shoot with an hv30. :cheesy: but, this is something i wanted to open to discussion for people on the fence.
 
You have no idea what you are talking about.

T1i still sells new for $650 with no lens. Used they sell for $500+. So if I buy the body only for $800

-40% = $480
-60% = $320



You need to rethink your math as that makes no sense at all. The lady is just trying to sell you a Canon 7d. So judging by the T1i that's what you can expect to sell it for when the newer T3i ( or whatever ) comes next



$320 lol, Common Sense is something that is rare these days
 
If you want to talk about resale value, then use dollar estimates, rather than percentages. The original T1i had an MSRP of $799. The median selling price on eBay today is about $550 (~69% MSRP). When I bought the 5D Mark II, I paid almost the MSRP ($2700), and when I sold it several months later, I received around $2450. After eBay, PayPal, and shipping fees, the net revenue was less than $2300. I probably could've gotten more if I had sold on craigslist or through this forum, but whatever. Even though I got about 85% of what I originally paid, the loss was $400. That's half of a T2i right there. I'm selling my 7Ds now, and the best offer that I seem to be able to get, locally, is $1500. $200 is less than 12% of $1700, but it's 25% of $800. So would you care more about the fact that one percentage is way higher/lower than the other, or would you care more about the absolute amount of loss being similar?
 
The 7D will retain a higher percentage of its value but since its cost is already high, the actual dollar amount will be higher too.

For instance, assume a depreciation of 40% of the T2i's $800 is $320
Now assume that the 7D is only half that at 20% of the 7D's $1400 is $340

So in the end, you actually lose more money with the 7D even though its depreciation was only 1/2 as bad as the T2i. And you've also locked up an additional ~$700 into the body.

Ok, so the 7D is really $1400 street price but the same logic applies. I've made up those numbers to show the point. I have no idea if the 7D depreciation will be 20%/year or that it will be half of that of the T2i. Just keep these things in mind.
 
It all depends on when you sell. I kept mine for the same reason (plus some other minor ones ...one which includes Trammel Hudson's efforts). When I sell I won't be pricing it just for the film maker but for the photo enthusiasts also.

Whether or not Trammel is successful....it's all about the timing.

If you are realistic as a 7D owner then you should expect a loss...regardless. But you will still have more money towards newer gear.
 
@ydgmdlu
actually the 40-60% was just a figure i learned in econ. but that was a general goods thing. I was never interested in the t1i to look at its market, i just assumed that being a consumer product, it would lose value faster. that's my fault.

and i said 40-60% OF original value. so 60% actually = $480. 40% is of course way low end if you treat your camera like ****. so $320 isn't so delusional if the body has scuffs/broken hinges.

anyway, this was just friendly question and something i was thinking about. and shaocaholica, thanks for showing me a more concrete idea of how much more money is lost. I guess it would just depend on how much the bells and whistles of the 7d matters to a person.
 
For someone who is just switching to dslr I would not recommend the 7D over the T2i, even though I love my 7D. love love love.

using your logic it would still be better to buy the T2i and spend the extra $800 on a lens that will retain its value guaranteed, and let you shoot more stuff. 3-5 years from now we will all be shooting 24fps RAW on a canon body... and both the 7D and T2i will be relatively worthless. Its seems like any prediction is based on the idea that Canon and everyone else will continue to inch the technology forward so that they can sell cameras every year... but what if thats not true? what if the next full frame camera has RAW 24fps? that would F*&# everything up.
 
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jaydigges said:
For someone who is just switching to dslr I would not recommend the 7D over the T2i, even though I love my 7D. love love love.

using your logic it would still be better to buy the T2i and spend the extra $800 on a lens that will retain its value guaranteed, and let you shoot more stuff. 3-5 years from now we will all be shooting 24fps RAW on a canon body... and both the 7D and T2i will be relatively worthless. Its seems like your knowledge is based on the idea that Canon and everyone else will continue to inch the technology forward so that they can sell cameras every year... but what if thats not true?
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It depends on who you are and what you do. Your statement probably wouldn't go over well with someone who is a strict photographer. The 7D wins in that department. But if this is aimed at those who want these tools strictly for video then I would agree with what you said. For those folks the T2 is the better buy.
 
ycabrera said:
@ydgmdlu
actually the 40-60% was just a figure i learned in econ. but that was a general goods thing. I was never interested in the t1i to look at its market, i just assumed that being a consumer product, it would lose value faster. that's my fault.
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I'm not sure to which points of mine you were responding. But I didn't directly contradict your point about a higher-end product holding its value better than a lower-end product. I was simply introducing another perspective based on actual dollar amounts.

If I mentioned a product whose market value depreciated by 10% after a year of ownership, then anyone would say that it held its value very well. But it means something quite different for, e.g., a $6000 product (such as the EOS 1Ds Mark III) than it does for a $600 product (such as the EOS 400D). 10% for the former is $600, while it's $60 for the latter. The absolute depreciation of the 1Ds would be greater than 99.99% depreciation of the 400D.

My point is that even if a higher-end product held its value much better than a lower-end product, the absolute cost of ownership could be equal or greater, rendering the differences in relative depreciation moot. Some people might prefer to lose the same amount of money while getting to use a better product, while others don't see the point in spending so much more money on something that does the job slightly better, if they're going to be losing just as much money on it in the end.
 
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Those are good points about thinking in dollar amounts and not percentages.

The overall premise seems flawed though. I'm not sure anyone can anticipate where any electronic product will be in a year or two. New price or used. Seems like there are multiple variables from new competing products, new superior products, supply and demand, etc...the T2i may resell way better than the 7D, or vice versa.
 
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