Hi.

On a very low budget and from ebay i can get one second hand xm2 (gl2) for just over 2000 australian dollars, or brand new for 3.

Is buying second hand cameras a little dodgy? how does the gl2 hold up after a fair bit of use?

but if i got one for 2, i could then spend the money on sending it to canon, getting a checkup/clean and then almost 1000 on mics.

I'm also thinking about waiting for the gl3, but they wont sell for under 3500 Aus dollars will they, so that'll be out of my price range.

So the main question is, do you think a second hand gl2 with $800 worth of accesories would be good for making short films for festivals, or would waiting a while be better?
as i do have a crappy cannon camera which i can make do with....for now probaly.

Buying used gear is always a bit of a crap shoot if it does not come with a warranty, or at least return rights (and full refund) within a reasonable time period. GLs hold up to reasonable use, but if you do not know the full history of the camcorder, ...

Best if you can hands-on for a bit to make sure it all works.

Here are two examples of eBay purchases gone bad from the past week. Personally, I'd avoid it unless the sum is small enough to gamble with...

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=58601
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=58159

I don't disagree that there is some risk (risk normally accompanies reward), but I've never been burned in an eBay transaction. including the purchases of four Sony minDV handicams from four different sellers for my high school video club. The risk can be minimized by buying only from sellers that have virtually 100% positive feedback based upon a significant number of transactions, and who have never changed their eBay identity. Anything less than 100% and I check the actual feedback. Sometimes a good seller runs into a crank buyer.

Sellers in the above category really do care about their eBay reputation. I know I do.

But as Boyd says. before I push the button I always ask myself, "what's the likelihood of this going wrong, and will I be okay if it does?" The GL2 in particular might not pass that test. Are there as many people selling perfectly good GL2s because they're upgrading as there are for Sony TRV Handicams? Probably not. Are there a significant number of people out there with lemon GL2s? Apparently, from these boards, there are. Would it be a lot harder to recover from a $1500 rip-off than a $250 rip-off? Oh, yes. But still, if the ad read right, and seller was reputable, friendly and responsive to questions, and the price was right.....