Used Lens

Allmost

Allmost

New member
Hello,
do you guys recommend buying Used lenses online ?

I want to change my macro 100mm f2.8 with a 180 mm f2.8 IS USM lens, the story I bought it from will buy mine back at 1/3 ! so Im gonna sell it on ebay ... but would you guys recommend buying used lenses from Ebay ?

besides dust, what other things should I look for ? I guess it would be best to meet the seller and use the lens to be sure :? take a pic of blanck white sheet and see if any dots ?


any advice is appreciated, I dont want to pay a thousand bucks for a broken or a plasic lens lol
 
I'm not real picky to be honest when I buy off eBay. What I did with the three lenses I've bought off eBay is verify with the seller that they have at least a 7 day return policy if I'm not happy with the condition/performance of the lens.

Dont buy from someone who has bad ratings or very few ratings.

If you avoid those people and deal with someone with a good return policy if you arent happy with the lens then you should be pretty safe. That lets you get the lens in your hands and give it a good test real quick to verify it is functioning how you want.
 
Mildew and scratches are my biggest worry when buying a used lens.

That said, if you can actually meet the person, try the lens, inspect the lens...I see nothing wrong with used equipment.

Buying new, for me, is only about the warranty...and I abuse my gear so I generally void warranty fairly quick anyways. LOL
 
Dont worry, I dont sell anything.

I have had my Rebel XT for a LONG time. And my Sigma 50mm 2.8 macro has tasted mud more than 10 times.
 
One minor correction, Canon doesn't make the 180mm macro with IS. IS is only offered on the 100L Macro.

If someone tries to sell you a 180mm macro with IS make sure they're throwing a tripod in with the lens. :)
 
Well, as long as we are correcting the poor guy, it isnt a f/2.8 either, it's a f/3.5 :)
 
LOL haha

I was looking at this :
http://www.henrys.com/354-CANON-EF-180MM-F3-5L-MACRO-USM.aspx
CANON EF 180MM F3.5L MACRO USM

thought the L meant it has IS !!!

if not, then I want a 100mm IS lens lol

Im glad u guys pointed it out .... with the 180mm, f/3.5 ... the images wont be as sharp as the ones with f/2.8 right ?

hmmm.

I bought a reversing ring and some telephoto lens yesterday ... glad I didnt buy the macro so I can get more help from u guys :)
 
That's a loaded question... but typically the images taken with the 180mm will be sharper than the images taken with the 100mm. It's a superior lens. You'll be able to get a closer picture from farther away too, so if you're taking lots of pictures of corals farther back than six inches from the front of your tank, you'll notice a difference.

L means it's their luxury line of lenses. The professional lenses, or prosumer lenses. It has nothing to do with IS but typically most telephoto lenses in the L line have IS. Very few dont, the macro is one of them. In fact, the second version of the 100mm is the first macro lens from Canon to have IS that I'm aware of.

F stop will affect how much light can come in, so you'll be able to take pictures in a dimmer location with the f/2.8 but just barely, that's not even a full stop of light.

All said and done, if you've got the money to burn, buy the 100mm f/2.8 with IS. If you only want to spend $4-500, buy the non IS version. Almost all your macro shots will be on a tripod and IS does nothing for you. I view IS on a macro lens as almost pointless, unless you just plan on handholding a ton of your macro shots, which is still quite difficult to accomplish.
 
thanks recty :)

lucky I checked with u guys ! I "try" to take pics of bugs, and got better at it, but have to use very fast shutter speeds, so now Im hoping with the IS I can lower the shutter speed to gain more DOF. so I will go with the 100mm IS L lens :)

only thing that made me think 180 mm was the fact that a teleconverter wouldnt work on the 100mm lens ... but after reversing my 18mm lens, I dont think I would want to try teleconverteranymore ... I get something like 5:1 with the reversed 18mm ! but DOF is too small ...
 
Allmost, you should try kijiji. That way you can try the lens on your body with the seller first. Lots of lens for sale in the Toronto area, much more so then London. No shipping charges either. I actually just picked up a used 90 mm 2.8 Tamron macro at a really good price.

On a related note, I have a Canon 400 mm 5.6L that I use primarily for birding - with an "L", you can't go wrong. Top notch stuff.
 
You'll definitely get a better price buying from someone off Ebay, Craig's List, etc., but if you're worried about buying a lens you've never seen from a guy you've never met, Adorama and B&H Photo (along with many others, I'm sure) both have a used equipment department. They have a very nice rating system for the quality of the used lenses (and other camera equipment) they sell. They've also both been very helpful when I've called up with more specific questions on the item. And then if what you feel what you received isn't the quality they advertised, you just send it back for a refund.
 
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