Black Friday camera deals: what to check before you buy a camera or lens

Black Friday lands on Friday 27 November this year, and many camera retailers start their offers a week or so before. The short answer to “should I buy now?” is yes, if you already know which camera or lens you want, you have checked what it normally sells for, and you are buying UK stock from a seller who will deal with you if it develops a fault. If any of those three is missing, a discount does very little for you.

This piece is about the checks we would run on any reduced camera, lens or accessory between now and Cyber Monday on 30 November. It is not a list of deals, and we do not recommend particular shops.

Decide what you need before the countdown clocks start

Sale pages are built to make you browse, and browsing is how people end up with a body they did not plan for and no money left for the lens that makes it useful. Write down the two or three things you actually want to photograph this winter. Children indoors under lamps, a dog on a beach, the view from a hill at dusk. Each of those points to different priorities, and our guide to buying a first mirrorless camera walks through which specifications matter for each.

Then set a ceiling for the whole kit, not just the camera. A realistic first outfit includes a spare battery, a memory card fast enough for video if you shoot it, a strap you will tolerate and a bag. Those extras often come to a noticeable chunk of the total, and they are rarely the items with the biggest reductions.

Check the “was” price against what the item really sold for

A struck-through price tells you what the seller wants you to compare against, not what you would have paid last month. Before the sales start, note the current price of your shortlisted models at two or three retailers. A screenshot with the date in it is enough. When the offer appears, you can see whether it is a genuine drop or a return to a level that was available in October.

Bundles need the same treatment. A camera sold with a lens, a bag and a card can be good value, or it can be a way of moving an older lens that you would not choose on its own. Price the parts separately and see what you are really saving.

UK stock, imports and the warranty question

Camera makers usually attach their warranty and repair service to the region where the item was first sold. Some online listings, especially on marketplaces, are for stock intended for another country. They can be cheaper, but if the manufacturer will not repair them under its UK warranty you may be relying entirely on the seller if something fails.

Look for wording on the product page that says the item is UK stock or supplied by the official UK distributor. If the listing does not say, ask the seller in writing before you pay. Also look at the manual and charger: a different plug, or a manual that does not cover English, is a clue that the box was meant for another market.

Extended warranties offered at the checkout deserve a careful read. Check who provides the cover, whether it duplicates the manufacturer's own warranty for the first year or two, and what it excludes. Accidental damage, which is what tends to happen to cameras, is often a separate product.

Your rights if it turns out to be faulty

A manufacturer's warranty is extra. Your main legal rights are against the business that sold you the item. According to Which?'s summary of the Consumer Rights Act, you have 30 days from taking ownership of a product to reject it as faulty and claim a full refund. After that, the retailer normally gets one chance to repair or replace it, and if that fails you can ask for a refund. Within the first six months it is generally up to the retailer to show the fault was not there when you bought it; after six months the burden moves to you.

Those rights apply whether or not the item was reduced, as long as the fault was not pointed out to you at the time of sale. They are one reason to buy from a seller with a UK address that you can contact, rather than a marketplace trader you cannot trace.

If a dispute goes nowhere, the government's consumer protection rights page lists the free advice lines: Citizens Advice for England and Wales, Advice Direct Scotland and Consumerline in Northern Ireland. For a large purchase that has gone badly wrong, speaking to one of them before you escalate is sensible.

Test it properly in the first fortnight

The clock on the 30-day right starts when the camera is yours, so do not leave it in the box until Christmas morning if it is a gift for yourself. If it is a present for someone else, ask the retailer whether they extend returns for gifts and keep the proof of purchase somewhere you will find it.

A practical first-day check list:

• Charge the battery fully and see that it holds the charge overnight with the camera switched off.
• Shoot a plain wall or a clear sky at a small aperture such as f/11 and look at the result full size for dust spots or dead pixels.
• Turn every dial and press every button. Sticky controls are easier to argue about now than in March.
• Shoot a short video with sound to check the microphone and card speed.
• Check that the serial number on the body matches the one on the box.

If something is wrong, contact the seller in writing straight away and keep copies of what you send.

Lenses, memory cards and the things nobody discounts

Lenses usually hold their value longer than bodies, so a reduction on a good lens can be a better use of a sale than a new camera. If your current camera is only a few years old, a brighter prime lens may change your pictures more than an upgrade would. The article on aperture, shutter speed and ISO explains why a lens with a wider maximum aperture helps so much in winter light.

Memory cards and batteries are where counterfeit stock tends to appear, and Black Friday listings on large marketplaces are no exception. A fake card may report a larger capacity than it really has and then lose files once it fills. Buy these from the camera retailer or a seller you know, and be suspicious of prices far below everyone else's.

Second-hand and refurbished alternatives

Many camera retailers sell used and manufacturer-refurbished equipment with their own warranty, and some mark it down for the sales as well. A refurbished body from a reputable dealer can be a sensible way into a better system for the same money as a new entry-level model. Check how long the dealer's warranty runs, whether a grading system describes the condition, and how many shutter actuations the camera has, where the dealer lists it.

Buying privately is cheaper again but you have far fewer legal rights, because the Consumer Rights Act protections described above apply to traders. Meet in person, test the camera on the spot, and pay in a way that leaves a record.

A calm way to shop the week

Make your shortlist and baseline prices by the weekend before. Decide on your limit. Check stock source and seller details before adding anything to a basket. Keep every confirmation email. If you miss a deal, prices on cameras often come down again in January sales, and a model you chose carefully will still be the right one then.