members who purchased used cameras in tokyo

Thinking about purchasing a second hand Sony Rx100 camera at one of the shops in Shinjuku. When looking at the cameras will the salesperson point out any flaws of the camera or will it be entirely up to me to find any flaws? mostly worried about unseen things (dust inside the lens, lens coating rubbing off, etc) that might affect the photo or movie as these may not be noticed until after purchase. Basically are they honest about any flaws on a camera or will they try to sell me something with a hidden defect since I cant read japanese? Any tips before the purchase would be appreciated. thanks

Any flaws or missing items will be listed with the camera albeit in Japanese. If the salesperson speaks English then they'll probably point out the details to you if you ask. Generally though you don't need to worry when buying used gear from reputable dealers. They'll let you handle the item and try it out before purchase and many include a store warranty on the items that they sell. Any flaws like the things that you mentioned that you are worried about should be obvious with a cursory inspection of the camera.

Thanks for the reply. Good to know they will point out most of the imperfections. I guess it's best to write down some translations ahead of time to fully understand any comments on the paperwork. Things like cracks, scratches, or anything with the lens. Hopefully everything will work out ok. I will visit map camera and kitamura to name a few.

Map Camera are very reputable, but not the cheapest. Kitamura are also similar.

However, if you are after very reputable & cheaper, go to Fujiya Camera at Nakano (Catch JR Chuo Rapid one stop west of Shinjuku).

Get out of the northern exit, and walk past the KFC, down the lane, then first lane on the right. It's about 20m on the left.


So for example, I was looking for a second hand Canon M to convert to infra-red, in Map Camera it's about 19,000yen, in SofMap (Akihabara second hand shop) about 17,000yen, and at Fujiya it's 15,000 yen.




A second hand Sony RX100 can be found for a about 33,000-35,000 yen, but you can find them new around 38,000 yen on kakaku.com

By the way, and IMPORTANT POINT..... any domestic Sony camera will be JAPANESE language ONLY.

Thanks for the info. Yes I was going to stop by fujiya also since I hear good things about them. I been looking online for some reference and seems a second hand camera can be bought for 34,000 or less now for an A grade quality. Even less if bought duty free. I'm willing to deal with the Japanese menu to save a couple hundred dollars as I already made a cheat sheet of the menu system into English. Just need to find one when I go next month. Thanks again.