Buying a second hand zoom lens

[shep1001]

Hi all first post here, usually found lurking round the TVR section but here goes.


I would like to buy myself a zoom lens for wild life photography & for when I go on safari later this year. I have my heart set on canon’s 100-400mm lens with the image stabiliser function. I have been using a friends lens on his Canon 40D camera (same as mine) and I am impressed with the pictures it produces. The only down side is the lens is a little heavy but this is not too much of an issue.


My question is are there many pitfalls to buying a second hand lens of this type or should I just buy new? There are several on fleebay all three to four years old that are selling for only a few hundred pounds less than a new lens.

Whilst money is not a problem I don’t want to waste it (it could buy me a new flash gun!). Am I asking for more trouble than its worth going down the second hand route

[Super Slo Mo]

I think I've only ever bought one lens new, all the rest are 2nd hand, so no, it's not a particularly big issue.

I'd suggest buying from a 2nd hand dealer rather than ebay, but that's partly because of my natural suspicion of ebay (and I have bought successfully from ebay before).

You just need to study the condition of a used lens, make sure there's no internal fungus etc, and it isn't damaged (too much) on the outside.

In my experience, a lot of 2nd hand lenses are pretty much as new anyway, as it's the kind of thing us amateurs trade in for new kit, after hardly using it.

[gmilton]

I have sold and bought just less than 15 "L" lenses via ebay over the past 3 years and no problems yet!

1. Make sure there are decent pictures of the item so you can see what kind of nick it is in.

2. Ask the seller for the date code to find out exactly how old it is. (If you don't know what the date code is or how to find it check out this link http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Canon-Lenses/Ca...

3. Don't worry if there is dust in the lens. The 100-400 is infamous for getting lots of dust inside the lens elements due to the zooming action, unless there is lots of large pieces in the lens then don't worry. It does nothing to image quality as the light is bent so much when passing through the elements. Some people still don't understand the physics of light rays and will worry alot about dust so the lens may go cheaper than expected. This is a positive as it will be as good as any other lens.

Hope this helps

Graeme

[Gemm]

Personally, I'd also avoid buying a 2nd lens from ebay. I'd only buy one once I've seen the condition and totally satisfied with it. Many people complain about this lens pumping dust in, so this is definitely something to consider if you are going on a safari.

[Hunky Dory]

gmilton said:

I have sold and bought just less than 15 "L" lenses via ebay over the past 3 years and no problems yet!

1. Make sure there are decent pictures of the item so you can see what kind of nick it is in.

2. Ask the seller for the date code to find out exactly how old it is. (If you don't know what the date code is or how to find it check out this link http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Canon-Lenses/Ca...

This is good advice - I bought a 100-400 off Ebay, but I did spend about 2 months "watching" loads of them to check prices vs. age vs. condition that the seller claimed the lens was in. After doing that for a few weeks, you soon spot the suspect ones that are too good to be true, or sellers that come back with a duff lens date code etc.

Ask for example pics taken with the lens if you're nervous and also take a look on the TalkPhotography website classifieds - there's usually a couple on there, where you just "feel" that the sellers are more genuine than Ebay.

If money isn't a problem, there's a guy on the TP website (Ian I think?) who has an Ebay page but will sell direct through TP. He quoted me a price on a 100-400 that was cheaper than anywhere else on the net that i could find at the time, but it was still just a bit too much for me, so I went the Ebay route and got lucky with a good one.

[S47]

Consider buying a New Sigma 150-500 IS.
This lens is an ultramodern lens design and IMO easliy superior to the Ancient Canon 100-400.
You can buy it new for around £700 so much cheaper than a used Canon 100-400 too
Undoubtably many will dis-agree but I love my Sigma 150-500 IS
You won't be dis-appointed.

[shep1001]

Thanks for the info everybody. In the end I decided the potential risks were greater than the additional 2-300 quid the lens cost. Most lens were around the 4 year mark as dated by the lens code, it just didn't seem good value

Got a new lens in the end with a 3yr (extended) warenty for £1200 delivered.

Now off to Whipsnade to play with my new toy....


Shep

[B16JUS]

Ive bought 2 second hand lenses of ebay, perfect and good value.

only buy from a high numbered feedback seller with good pics and good description

J