Fuji Need some used X100 buying advice

E

espionage3

Rookie
So I found a used 12 series serial numbered X100 for only $450. Great price but comes with no receipt or box. According to the current owner it as no signs of SAB and he is selling to fund a DSLR purchase. Do you all feel it is worth the risk buying? Will Fuji fix it if the SAB issue appears? What should I be looking for when I go to test the camera? Sorry for all the questions.
 
I've just read about this "SAB" issue, no direct experience. Regardless, there's a risk that needs mitigation.

How much can you trust the seller? Does he/she have decent selling history on a forum or long-term history on eBay? If there's not a compelling reason to trust the seller, steer clear of the deal with this series number.

If you can trust the seller, be sure that a sales receipt will be included. Fuji is covering parts but not labor, if you have the problem, and have the receipt. Find out what that parts cost is likely to be.

I'm not sure what percentage of the 12-series X100 units develop SAB, nor do I know if the likelihood increases, decreases, or stays the same that a particular X100 will develop SAB over time. Try to find this out. Perhaps it's a situation where if it hasn't had the problem by now, it probably won't - that's of course your lowest risk scenario. The worst scenario would probably be any particular 12-series being more likely to get the problem the longer it's used.

Bottom line - you're asking yourself to accept some risk for the potential benefit of lower cost. You have to know what the likely risk is, and then know your personal tolerance of that risk.

Best of luck should you decide to go for it! Do a bit of "Googling" homework first.
 
+1 to carlb's advice. If the issue develops, and it may - there are reports of cameras developing the issue after less than 500 shutter actuations and also with more than 25,000 actuations, so you can't really ever be sure it WON'T happen - Fuji will want more than the current going rate for a used X100 just to fix the one you already paid $450 for. With that serial number and no original receipt, you're accepting a good deal of risk to save between $200 and $250. But as carlb said, only you can decide if that savings is worth the risk to you.
 
$450 is a suspiciously low price. I'd be wary of a scam. If you're sure it's legit, I would buy any properly working X100 at that price and take my chances with SAB.
 
I think I'm with Amin on this one, but I'm a bit of a risk taker. I would at the very least ask for a one week guarantee to test for the SAB. It's my understanding that it can be sporadic at the start. Perhaps the seller has seen or two instances of the problem and thinks he/she can unload it quick before it becomes an all-the-time problem.
 
here's a simple way to test for SAB. Do the test a few times since it doesn't affect every shot early on. If you can get through this test and have matching exposures every time consistently, your camera is OK (at least for now)

cut and pasted from a post on DPreview....
1. Set your camera steady on a tripod / table in a controllable lightning situation

e.g: inside a room & window close. We don't want external lights to alter the result.

2. Set Auto ISO: off
3. Set ND Filter: off
4. Set DR mode: 100%
5. Turn Exposure compensation dial to 0
6. Turn Aperture dial to 'f/2' and Shutter dial to 'A'

7. Depending on your lightning condition, set appropriate ISO but don't let f/2 go over 1/1000s
8. Set camera on manual focus mode and define a focus by pressing AEL/AFL

9. Now take a shot starting from f/2 all the way to f/16

All images should have the same exposure (noob: same lightness, same darkness)
Baseline is the image from f/2 as it requires no aperture blade
If there's variation it should be very very minimal
The only different you should see is the depth of field (noob: background blur)

Now if any of the images not in the same exposure as f/2, you have a sticky blade issue where aperture blade doesn't close constantly in the right size.
 
450.00 for a used x100 does'nt sound like a good deal. Even if the current owner has'nt had SAB does'nt mean it won't happen. If it does happen to you, repair costs are about $600.00. Why risk the cash when you can put that towards the X100s.
Good luck
steve
 
steve said:
450.00 for a used x100 does'nt sound like a good deal. Even if the current owner has'nt had SAB does'nt mean it won't happen. If it does happen to you, repair costs are about $600.00. Why risk the cash when you can put that towards the X100s.
Good luck
steve
Click to expand...

It may not be worth it to you, but that price is way below market value for X100 cameras of uncertainty SAB potential. The current owner could stick in on Ebay and easily get a LOT more than that.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
 
My point is 450.00 for a used camera with the possibility of another 600.00 to repair it if/when SAB happens. 450.00 is alot of money to put towards something ' not knowing ' how long it'll work, knowing that that serial # range experienced SAB.
Steve
 
every working used camera has the possibility of something going wrong with it. In the absolute worst case scenario, you make the $600 repair and you still have paid $250 less than the new model (probably more as I'm assuming it comes with some accessories as well.
 

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