i can get a great deal for a canon g5 for used from a respectable place.

should i take the chance or is it worth it to get a new camera, even if its gonna be of lesser quality?

thanks

doesnt anyone have a response of any kind?

First question:
I buy used all the time (from Ebay). You can get incredible deals used, and I got cameras that I couldn't afford otherwise.

That said, there are two caveats:
1) Technology is still advancing rapidly in the digicam world, so maybe buying a used G5 instead of the newer G6 isn't such a great deal. Especially with regard to shutter lag and autofocus time, newer cameras, even of a lower class are much better.
2) Buying used you normally don't get a warranty, except against DOA. My first digicam that I bought used (the Oly C-700) broke within a month and I was SOL.

On a related note, what price are you offered on the G5?

380 is the cheapest store price i could find.

thanks for the info. any experience with canon a 95's for macro stuff/low light stuff?

howd your first camera break?

thanks

First off, $380 is not a good price for a used G5, even if complete and in mint condition. Are you getting any accessories with it, like a wide-angle converter, flash, or anything of that sort? I'm assuming there's no warranty on it.

If not, see if you can spare another $100 or so, as you can get a new G6 for less than $500 at a reputable store like beach camera right now.

Unfortunately, I don't have any experience with the A95 (except for playing with it in a store). Maybe someone in the Canon forum can tell you more about it. Generally, I'm a fan of Canons (I own one in the G-series, one in the S-series, and several Elphs), but I don't do much macro, save for Ebay pictures. Generally Nikons are considered good for macro, but I've never owned one. One thing that I suspect might be a hindrance to low-light macro with it is that on none of my Canons does the flash stop down very well. I'm not sure if that's any different on the A-series or if they fixed that on newer Canons (mine are older models), but the flash often washed out the pictures. My Olys used to do a much better job at that.

My first used camera broke when all of a sudden, the lens would no longer extend after I turned it off. Mind you, it worked perfectly for a month after I bought it, and I never dropped it (I'm anal about that kind of stuff) or even bumped it.