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Are there any risks involved? Is it a good idea to buy second hand?
There are always risks - there can be faults with new lenses that might not be apparent straightaway. Life itself is a pretty risky business!Are there any risks involved? Is it a good idea to buy second hand?
30 days and 25 posts.I cant use the forum yet as I have to wait 60 days,
I've bought lenses from here and ebay without any problems and yet some years ago I bought a Canon 100-400 L from mpb and it had a faulty focusing system so it went back and I had a wait 2 weeks for it to be repaired as they didn't have anymore in stock.
I've since sold gear to them and the transactions have all been quick and smooth.
I've also seen recent posts about people receiving faulty lenses.
Don't let that bother you as it will only be a minority but it does question theirs QA.
You just need to be a bit savvy and ask for more photos and the right question with Ebay sellers.
I had a couple of not so great items shipped to me from MPB and Camera Jungle too, but that's where the benefit of buying from the better known sites kicks in. They both made up for it in quick-time, and I continue to use them because they did look after me for my troubles. Just bought a lens from MPB last week and it was in better condition than I expected, especially as I got a fair sized chunk off the price in a flash sale.
Bought a lens from Camera Jungle, described as excellent, but had a whopping great hair in it.
Got a refund in good time, just ordered another lens from them described as mint, we shall see.
Funnily enough it was one your posts I was refering to.
I bought my XH1 from them when they had a 10% sale on, camera was in excellent nick but the flash was missing, and lugs to attach the strap. I had also paid for next day delivery but it took 5 days to arrive with no tracking info - so I did have to wait in a couple of those days. After complaining, they not only sent those items on, but threw in an extra strap and an extra official Fuji battery too. I also bought a Canon 85mm 1.8 from them, took a chance on it described as well used and going for £159 - lens arrived [quicker this time] in what I would deem to be in very good condition, bargain! You got unlucky with your lens I reckon, they seem to be good at making up for any cock-ups.
Where do you buy grey imports from?
Currently my three most expensive lenses were bought used (Canon 100-400 Mk2, Canon 300 F2.8 L IS and Canon 800 F5.6 L IS). That lot was £3k (or more) less than the 800 alone! All work perfectly and have done so for 5+ years. My Canon 100 F2.8 macro was bought used more than a decade ago - still happy!
My 1DX, 7D2 and 24-70 F2.8 L Mk2 were all "Grey" imports - all doing fine, just had to teach the 1DX to speak English!
I think you can get my opinion on the subject. There is simply no way I could have gear like this (on my ridiculously low income) without searching the used and "Grey" market.
I've never bought a second hand lens.
Even if it looks good there's no telling what the previous owner has done to it.
I'm not sure what anyone could possibly do to a lens that would turn me off
I don't see the problem personallyI'm not sure what anyone could possibly do to a lens that would turn me off bar scratching it up or giving it a bath.
I'm not sure what anyone could possibly do to a lens that would turn me off bar scratching it up or giving it a bath. You appear to have sold one at least on here, thankfully the buyer wasn't as paranoid.
Glad to see you've researched my history.
There must be dozens of things people can do to lenses that no amount of promotional pictures will reveal.
The old classic is self dis-assembly to remove dust/crap and then screw back together as best as can be.
Also, short of testing all stops, how does anyone know if the aperture mechanism is working as per normal.
Not to mention if a lens has been bumped against something as the damage that could cause may not necessarily cosmetic.
Whilst I'm absolutely sure nobody on this forum would ever dream of selling a lemon to another member, I still prefer paranoia.
Glad to see you've researched my history.
There must be dozens of things people can do to lenses that no amount of promotional pictures will reveal.
The old classic is self dis-assembly to remove dust/crap and then screw back together as best as can be.
Also, short of testing all stops, how does anyone know if the aperture mechanism is working as per normal.
Not to mention if a lens has been bumped against something as the damage that could cause may not necessarily cosmetic.
Whilst I'm absolutely sure nobody on this forum would ever dream of selling a lemon to another member, I still prefer paranoia.
In both cases if it was faulty no doubt you would return it, so I fail to see the difference.
If you have bought it off a business, you have 14 days from receipt to return it regardless of reason. If they object, the credit card (or Paypal) you used to pay for it will help.It can be more difficult returning a used lens than a new one.
It can be more difficult returning a used lens than a new one.
It's funny how different gear grabs different people's attention, but if it's the original 100mm 2.8 macro, non-L, how's the MF on that? and how is she wide open say for portraits?
Some great gear you have their, but that's the only one I could afford and I would be adapting it so AF isn't all that important, though it will be using an AF adapter - would obviously mostly use it for actual macro where I always MF
Th Canon 100 F2.8 Macro - non L- has pretty good manual focusing, perhaps not as good as some dedicated MF macro lenses but certainly adequate. IQ is on a par with my other L lenses though my 24-70 F2.8 L Mk2 does seem to give a little more life to my images. This is very unscientific but the files (straight from the camera) just seem a little (very little) nicer. AF performance is definitely slower than Canon's non Macro lenses, but this is to be expected. The focus limiter helps here, however AF is accurate/very accurate. I haven't done portraits with this lens (or any lens!) but it performs nicely wide open.
Hope some of this helps.