Buying a used dvx100b ?

L

lofabo

Member
Hi.

About a week ago, i started a thread about buying from ebay ... I wanted to buy a new camera and find the best deal available, but since ebay, for new cameras, is not the most reliable place i changed my mind, and i am going to buy a used dvx100b.

I was wondering what specific things should i check when buying a used dvx100b. For example i know people selling used dvx100b specify the hours of playback. I found an offer of a used dvx100b in wich there is less then 100 hours of playback. How much does that affect the quality of the images or the longevity of the camera ?

If someone has good advices about buying a used dvx100b please feel free to share.

Thanks.
 
im also interested in this.

like a guide to buyin used. what to look out for what to avoid.

how many hours is good.

im sure there has been one before. jsut havnt had luck in finding it.
 
Bump for another future DVX owner :)

Or post a link if there is a previous thread on what to look for on used dvx's. Thanks.
 
I just purchased a new dvx after many hours of research. I too looked at the option of purchasing used but in the end decided to purchased new for the waranty etc.. however from what I have read the 100 head hours is a fairly low number and the longevity of the head hours will have much more to do with where the camera was used (ex. sandy, dusty environment) and if it has been cleaned properly and at appropriate intervals..
here's a link about typical head life: http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=66857&highlight=tape+head+life

here is a link to head cleaning thread which contains recomended cleaning intervals and explains the process :
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=6888&highlight=head+hours

happy hunting!
 
I just bought a used dvx100b from a board member here for $2,100. It has 200 hours on the heads and the body is not all beat-up. It came with about 5 batteries, a light kit, a bag, and the barry green book/dvd. It didn't come with a manual which kind of sucks. Anyway, i don't know if it was a good deal or not, but I'm loving the camera.

Good luck.
 
Hey,

I was in the same position as you a couple of weeks ago when I was looking for a DVX100.

If your buying from ebay, make sure your covered by PayPal. Your only covered 100% by Paypal if you have a PayPal credit card AND/OR the Ebay seller has a good rating. If the Ebay seller has a good rating (98% and above), PayPal will cover you for a max amount of 2000.00. To see what your covered under PayPal, check underneath the sellers rating. There's a box there that says how much PayPal is going to cover your purchase. I advise you not to buy from a buyer who doesn't have 2000.00 Paypal coverage or a rating not higher then 98% (just my opinion).

If your buying from Craigslist or any other classified, make sure you get a receipt for you purchase. And ask for some sort of ID to verify the seller. This is in case, you buy a lemon and have to go to court. You'll want to know the sellers name and address.

If your buying from an online shop. First check the sellers reputation and rating. You can get a good idea about the sellers business practices by looking them at BBB and/or reseller.com

Things to Check For:

1) Check to see if the lens is scratched.
2) Turn the camera on and off. When you turn it off you should hear a click. That clicking noise means the OIS IS WORKING.
3) Check the zooms. There's two zoom functions. The first zoom is on the handle (there's three speeds 1,2, and 3, check all of them), the second zoom is above the tape deck. Check manual zoom, the button to turn the manual zoom on and off is underneath the lens.
4) Check if the audio is working, usually you'll see in the LCD menu a sound meter, snap your finger near the mic and see if the meter responds.
5) Check the audio, bring a pair of earphones and test the quality of the sound.
6) Check the LCD menu for any warning signs. Most warning signs are in red.
7) Pop in a tape and record something. Also, if you have a laptop with firewire bring it and check if the camera's firewire is working. Also, connect the camera to a TV using video cables and look at the image.
8) Check the focus. Manual and Automatic focus.
9) Make sure the LCD screen is working.
10) Regarding the image, if you view it on a TV, make sure the image isn't jumpy/shaky and that there is no dead pixels.

Before you buy a camera, I suggest, you go and rent one for a day. I think it only cost 100.00 at the most, some non-for-profit art centers rent it for as low as 40.00 bucks a day. Play around with the camera, get familiar with it. That way when you go and check out a camera you want to buy you'll be confident in your purchase.

If you can't rent one, or don't have access to one, bring someone along with you that has some knowledge regarding DV cameras. That way, their trained eye can catch something that you might have missed.

If you buy your camera from a shady character (there's many of them on Craigslist), and your not confident in your purchase, get your DVX100, to a Pansonic Service Center. I think they charge 150.00 to do a complete diagnostic check. This will let you know, from a professional technician, if there is anything wrong with the camera.

Regarding hours, most used DVX100 camera's will have 100+ hours. What is more important then the hours is how well the tape head has been cared for. Ask the seller if they used different kind of tapes (if they say yes, it usually means that they didn't put to much thought into maintaining the camera), ask what kind of tapes they used (brand name and model of tape), ask how often they had the heads cleaned, ask if they get a lot of dropped frames. You'll have to take the sellers word, because there is no really way of knowing the truth to the above questions.

As a guide line, if the camera has 500+ hours, its a safe bet that down the road, you will have to have the heads cleaned professionally or have it replaced.

All the best,

P.s

I'm a newbee myself, so take my suggestions with a grain of salt. Ask around for some more information and search the forums, I bet you'll find other good info.
 
Last edited:
manymoosh said:
Hey,

I was in the same position as you a couple of weeks ago when I was looking for a DVX100.

If your buying from ebay, make sure your covered by PayPal. Your only covered 100% by Paypal if you have a PayPal credit card AND/OR the Ebay seller has a good rating. If the Ebay seller has a good rating (98% and above) PayPal will cover you for a max amount of 2000.00. To see what your covered under PayPal check underneath the sellers rating. There's a box there that says how much PayPal is going to cover your purchase. I advise you not to buy from a buyer who doesn't have 2000.00 Paypal coverage or a rating higher then 98% (just my opinion).

If your buying from Craigslist or any other classified, make sure you get a receipt for you purchase. And ask for some sort of ID to verify the seller. This is in case, you buy a lemon and have to go to court. You'll want to know the sellers name and address.

If your buying from an online shop. First check the sellers reputation and rating. You can get a good idea about the sellers business practices by looking them at BBB and/or reseller.com

Things to Check For:

1) Check to see if the lens is scratched.
2) Turn the camera on and off. When you turn it off you should hear a click. That clicking noise means the OIS IS WORKING.
3) Check the zooms. There's two zoom functions. The first zoom is on the handle (there's three speeds 1,2, and 3, check all of them), the second zoom is above the tape deck. Check manual zoom, the button to turn the manual zoom on and off is underneath the lens.
4) Check if the audio is working, usually you'll see in the LCD menu a sound meter, snap your finger near the mic and see if the meter responds.
5) Check the audio, bring a pair of earphones and test the quality of the sound.
6) Check the LCD menu for any warning signs. Most warning signs are in red.
7) Pop in a tape and record something. Also, if you have a laptop with firewire bring it and check if the camera's firewire is working. Also, connect the camera to a TV using video cables and look at the image.
8) Check the focus. Manual and Automatic focus.
9) Make sure the LCD screen is working.
10) Regarding the image, if you view it on a TV, make sure the image isn't jumpy/shaky and that there is no dead pixels.

Before you buy a camera, I suggest, you go and rent one for a day. I think it only cost 100.00 at the most, some non-for-profit art centers rent it for as low as 40.00 bucks a day. Play around with the camera, get familiar with it. That way when you go and check out a camera you want to buy you'll be confident in your purchase.

If you can't rent one, or don't have access to one, bring someone along with you that has some knowledge regarding DV cameras. That way, their trained eye can catch something that you might have missed.

If you buy your camera from a shady character (there's many of them on Craigslist), and your not confident in your purchase, get your DVX100, to a Pansonic Service Center. I think they charge 150.00 to do a complete diagnostic check. This will let you know, from a professional technician, if there is anything wrong with the camera.

Regarding hours, most used DVX100 camera's will have 100+ hours. What is more important then the hours is how well the tape head has been cared for. Ask the seller if they used different kind of tapes (if they say yes, it usually means that they didn't put to much thought into maintaining the camera), ask what kind of tapes they used (brand name and model of tape), ask how often they had the heads cleaned, ask if they get a lot of dropped frames. You'll have to take the sellers word, because there is no really way of knowing the truth to the above questions.

As a guide line, if the camera has 500+ hours, its a safe bet that down the road, you will have to have the heads cleaned professionally or have it replaced.

All the best,

P.s

I'm a newbee myself, so take my suggestions with a grain of salt. Ask around for some more information and search the forums, I bet you'll find other good info.
Click to expand...
Thanks a lot for all this info.
 
I Have A Dvx 100b And I Bought It Brand New From A Shop , I Say That When You Plan On Buying One , I Say You Should Buy One Brand New . Hint To Those Looking On Ebay , ( Its Easy To Get Scammed By People Selling You A Fake Product So I Think If Cannot Afford To Buy One Brand New , You Need To Be Careful Because I'v Seen This Happen Before.) Or You Can Go And Get One Cheaper , I Got Mine For 1,200 Brand New.
 
EBAY WARNING! ! !

If you are buying from ebay BEWARE of the big electronic companies on that site. Some of them are shady and use upsell tactics. Some will make you call them before you pay to try to upsell you accessories or throw on like a 10 percent insurance option and crap like that. SOOOOO many big electronic dealers are scam artists and scum bags. Watch out for that.

I did a LOT of research before finally buying my DVX100B and I did buy it from Ebay. I bought it from an individual though. Someone who had used it a year or so and was upgrading and wanted to sell it.

A lot of DVX owners upgrade to the HVX so there are a lot of good well taken care of used DVX's out there. Just be careful to stay away from scammy folks,most of which are some form of electronics company. If anyone tries to upsell you or throw some surcharge into the deal, tell them to shove it and move on.

Definitely use Pay Pal for extra protection regardless.

And a double warning to non ebay, non licensed electronic dealers. Most of them are shady scam artists. Some of them will try to get you to call with an incredibly low price but then try to tack on a bunch of accessories and if you say no to the accessories, they won't sell you the camera. Lots of creeps out there so be careful.

That's my advice.
 
jdmoviemaker said:
I Have A Dvx 100b And I Bought It Brand New From A Shop , I Say That When You Plan On Buying One , I Say You Should Buy One Brand New . Hint To Those Looking On Ebay , ( Its Easy To Get Scammed By People Selling You A Fake Product So I Think If Cannot Afford To Buy One Brand New , You Need To Be Careful Because I'v Seen This Happen Before.) Or You Can Go And Get One Cheaper , I Got Mine For 1,200 Brand New.
Click to expand...


Where did you find one for $1,200? The only places I've seen that advertise prices that low are normally bait and switch scams.
 
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