Seller beware

Since I now have three cameras, and only need two, I am selling my Canon 1D Mark III (since I have a 1Ds MkIII and a  7D as well).

Great camera, as new, low shutter, works perfectly, original box, not the “fixed, blue dot” version but a newer version, all good. $2,750, which is great value.

But seller beware. I’ve put this up on Kijiji and Craigslist, and particularly Craigslist is already engendering scammers who want “the item” sent to Nebraska, etc, and they will pay for “the item” with Paypal etc.

I’m afraid it’s cash only for me… Paypal does seem to bring out unpleasantness!

Here’s a pic my colleague Danielle made of me with it the other day (click for large):

That picture also shows that the megapixel thing is silly. The 1D MkIII is an 11 Mp camera.

That image is scaled way down to 1200 pixels long; the original is much more detailed still. 11 Mp is enough for huge prints (smallest prints I ever make are 13″x19″).

Believe me, more megapixels are all very well, but you’ll never need them. And they come at a price. 15 MB for a RAW from this camera; 30 MB for a RAW from my 1Ds. Megapixels are to a large extent marketing.

0 thoughts on “Seller beware

  1. This is the type of email I am receiving…

    ================
    I will like to know if the item is still in Excellent condition item
    then do you still have the original box for it, Because am gonna buy
    it for Fiancee,she is in Nebraska as a birth day gift but since i will
    not be there i need to present some that will be well appreciable like
    this your camera, am offer you $2900 for this item and international
    shipping cost with UPS express mail service and the payment will be
    made via paypal so kindly get back to me with the bellow detail or
    money request direct from paypal so that i can transfer the fund now,

    Name:
    Paypal Mail Address:
    Item Name:

    Thanks…
    ================

  2. So what happens if you provide the info and get the money?

    Can they rescind the payment at a later date?

    Sorry, not a big user of Paypal… havent touched my account in 6+ years hehe.

  3. Too bad I’m a Nikonian. I’ll consider getting a full frame camera one day! I haven’t yet seen a really sharp picture in my library as the one you’ve showed us here. I think it’s cause you’re in a studio and studio pictures are [usually] sharp and it was taken with a full frame camera, and maybe some other details but that’s probably the main reasons am I right?

    I dont use paypal at all. Don’t really trust it and that message you got sounds fishy: really bad use of English language, no proper grammar and he’s offering to pay $2900 instead of $2750. I’d be suspicious if I were you.

  4. Yannick:

    a. Not quite full frame: the 1D is 1.3 crop factor. Yes, 1.3, so *almost* full frame.

    b. Yes, studio. Search on this blog for “Sharp”: I wrote an explanation the other day of exactly why studio pictures are sharper.

    c. Good lens, too.

    d. Indeed, bad English etc. Paypal is OK – I use it in cameratraining.ca – but Paypal cannot be called and has absolute power to take back what they want. This is unfair and is limiting their use, afaic.

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