I really want the best high ISO performance I can get with a Nikon DSLR that is not $5000, and I keep coming back to the D780.    Would be used for Friday night high school football games, where the lighting for the most part is bad to horrible.

Ebay (6th Avenue) has grey market open box D780's for about $540 less than thru B&H, Adorama, etc.    That's a big chunk of money to me.    6th Avenue also has a 30 day money back guarantee......how hard it would be to return the camera could be a challenge in and all of itself.   From what I understand, they are the same camera as non grey market........just no warranty to speak of.   Rolling the dice, for sure.

So anyway, am I fricken' dum for even looking at grey market?    High school football is gonna be here before you know it, and our team this year (they went to Ford Field last year) is gonna be even better than last year, as most of the key starters are coming back.    

I'm comfortable and pretty happy with my D750 and Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 G2, but want to try and up my gear a notch before the season starts.

Thanks for any thoughts.

Pretty sure it would be safer to flush your wallet down the toilet.


https://www.consumeraffairs.com/home_electronics/6th_avenue_electronics.html


https://www.resellerratings.com/store/Sixth_Avenue_Electronics_6th_Ave

anybody else?      

Thanks for that.    Their ebay (manipulated?) feedback makes them look like saints.

I have purchased a gray market lens in the past, but it was a fully mechanical lens, and sold by a reputable dealer who represented it as gray market.  It was fine.

But nowadays, everything is electronic, and one POTENTIAL problem is software updates.  I don't know of any specific cases, but I've read (or heard somewhere) that future software updates from Nikon USA, may not work on gray market cameras/lenses.  I don't know if there is any truth to that, but like they say in the mob...."why take the chance".

I guess the best way to cut the purchase cost, is to buy used from some reputable like KEH, or to buy one of the refurbished models from Nikon USA.  Other than that, I suspect "there ain't no free lunch".  

vmax84: I would buy a refurbished one from B&H, Adorama etc. I have bought refurb'd D7500 & D500, they have a 90 day Nikon factory warranty.  I've never had a problem with factory Nikon refurbs, unfortunately I haven't seen many refurbs recently, possibly because of the CVD-19 pandemic.

I would get a new camera and take it out and practice with it, because it may handle a bit differently from your old camera, as you don't want to practicing and learning when you are taking serious photos in the fall.

Life is funny.   I got an email from B&H this morning, saying there is a $300 instant rebate on the D780, right now.  

I personally wouldn’t buy grey market anything…

Ha!!!  What luck??!.......$300 off??!    It's fo time!!!

Anybody have any luck with the payboo card?

Nice rebates going on

Dang! Nice sale going on actually. I was all set to buy the 100-400mm Sigma from my local guy literally yesterday on the way home but got in the vicinity too late (they’d closed)… Wake up and check B&H and it’s on sale for $100 off, woohoo!

I bought a grey market SB-910 and it still works just fine 9 years later.

Did you buy it?

D850 is pretty reasonable now.

A couple have sold used locally with only 3,000 or so clicks and warranty remaining, for around the $2k mark.