Get It Used – Used Photo Pro

Over the last few years, we have seen dozens and dozens of new digital cameras introduced. All of this is great, and it’s probably never been a better time to be a photographer. But, with these new introductions, there is a problem, and that is all of the used cameras that are being left behind as photographers decide to upgrade to new gear.
This presents five scenarios, at least, as to how people end up with used camera gear.

1.   Film photographers want to upgrade to digital photography.
2.   Digital photographers want to try their hands at film photography.
3.  Someone with a new interest in photography needs gear.
4.  An established photographer wants to upgrade to the newest and latest gear.
5.  Someone with no interest in photography finds some old gear around the house and wants to see if there is any interest, or even money, in the gear they found.

 

That’s where UsedPhotoPro comes in. As many of you know if you watch any of our On The Rocks videos, I have a close relationship with Roberts Camera. UsedPhotoPro is an offshoot of Roberts Camera that deals in used photo gear. This is not some little side operation. This is one of the largest used camera services in the country.

I am like a kid in a candy shop every time I go to Roberts Camera. I relate it to how my father must have felt when, on Saturdays, he would take me to the locally owned hardware store to look at hammers, screwdrivers, power saws, and all sorts of other tools that make men of my father’s generation salivate. I remember all the drawers of screws and knickknacks and odds and ends. It was fun to ask for something odd and, the next thing you know, have one of the employees bring it to you.

Well, that is what UsedPhotoPro is all about, as you’ll see in the accompanying video.

After all these years shooting film, you want to jump into digital. You have a few choices. Gather up all your gear and call or walk into UsedPhotoPro and do one of the following:

1. Get cash for the used gear and then go shopping for new gear.

2. Find the new gear you want and apply the used gear you brought in as a trade-in to help pay for the new gear you are going to buy.

3. Rather than buy new gear, you look at late-model used gear and buy that.

It’s pretty amazing how much late-model used gear is available at a fraction of the price of what gear costs new. There are tons of photographers who want the latest gear, and as a result, they trade in one-year-old cameras and lenses so they can buy the latest and greatest. This makes buying used gear a steal. The cameras aren’t outdated, no one will know you are shooting with yesterday’s model, and you are taking photos with a lot less start-up cost than buying gear new.

If you are already into digital photography, and for some reason the analog bug hits you, then you can go to UsedPhotoPro and buy some amazingly famous and great film (analog) gear at super reasonable prices. I bet you won’t keep it long after you get the analog bug out of your system but, if that’s the case, head on back to UsedPhotoPro and let them purchase the gear back.

You have had an iPhone long enough, and you are ready to take the big step into the digital photography world. Seeing how this is your first venture into a larger camera system, it would be prudent to start without making a huge investment into new gear by buying used and seeing just how much you like it. The perfect solution is to stop into UsedPhotoPro. Tell the salesperson what you are trying to do, and they will help you pick the best system. And, best of all, you’ll be able to buy a camera and a few lenses for what you might have paid for only a new camera body elsewhere.

Okay, for all of you with GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) you have found the right place. You are a photographer who buys a camera body and lens and loves that you are shooting. Then, a year and a half after that purchase (or sometimes sooner) your favorite camera manufacturer comes out with a new model.

Now, there is nothing wrong with what you have. Maybe the new camera is a few megapixels or focus points more than what you have, or maybe it has a silent mode (not that you need it) or more frames per second (yep, that will help you shoot those fast-moving landscapes). Either way, you need the new gear so you can show it off at the next camera club meeting.

If that’s the case, time to go to UsedPhotoPro.

You finally get around to the Honey Do List and head to the basement to clean things up. While down there, you stumble upon a few boxes of cameras that were once your dad’s. You think you’ve found a gold mine, as you know this was expensive gear when your dad bought it, and now that it is old, it must be really valuable. So, you pack it all up and visit UsedPhotoPro. Unfortunately, your bubble soon bursts when you find the gear is not as valuable as you thought and not anywhere close to the fortune you thought you would make on it. Do yourself a favor and stop watching Antiques Roadshow. Reality sucks, but at least you got out of finishing the Honey Do List and now have just enough money to stop for a beer on the way home. In my book, that’s a win.

Let me just add a little glimmer of hope. I’m told that once in a while, someone does bring in some old gear that turns out to be a collectors’ camera, and they get more than they could have dreamed. So, it’s always worth going to find out. And, if that’s the case, and you are in the Indianapolis area, give me a call and buy me a beer.

UsedPhotoPro is the place to be. Period. If you are looking for a specialty lens, filter, old flashbulb, or just about any oddball thing you can think of, then they deserve a call. Get your old gear out of the closet and let them give you a price. And, just for the fun of it, negotiate a little bit. You never know.

UsedPhotoPro has been very good to me. I buy gear to review then trade it in for new gear to review. They have always been fair, and they stand behind their products. It’s an amazing business and, as you have seen from the video above, really quite sophisticated. It makes you realize just how big this whole photography thing is.

Go out and have some fun and take a few photos. Don’t worry, you can always trade-in your cameras after.

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If you are interested in seeing more work by Kevin Raber and purchasing his work for your own, please visit RaberEYES.com
Kevin also runs workshops for photographers all over the world at Rockhopper Workshops
Kevin also has. a major website for all photography enthusiasts with articles, forums, tutorials, community and more at photoPXL.com
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