Purchase Opportunity, Please tell me if this sounds OK

[ChrisN]

Opinions again :oops: :oops:

I saw an ad in the paper for the following

Canon Rebel XS Film Body (with Eyepiece, Remote, Grip w/Tripod)
35-50MM lens (no other detail, can't find anything online about this lens)
75-300MM F/4-5.6 III lens (Don't know if USM, IS or whatever)
2 Lens hoods
Extender
UV filter
Skylight filter

Price: $325 CAD

Whatcha think... should I do it? You may recall, I am in the market for a 75-300mm lens for an upcoming trip.

I know you guys will pull through for me :lol:



edit: will these lenses be autofocus, do you think? I suck at focusing so I need all the help I can get at this stage in my photography

[mdude85]

The 75-300 is autofocus, I almost bought one ...

[eastcoast909]

This one is not USM or IS.

You can buy it new at Cameracanada for CAD $241.00

http://www.cameracanada.com/eNet-cart/Default.asp?whichpage=5&pagesize=10&sqlQuery=SELEC T+%2A+FROM+Products+WHERE+item%5Ftype+LIKE+%27%253 %25%27+AND+item%5Fbrand+Like+%27%25%25%25%25%27+AN D+item%5Fcat+IN+%28%27LEN%27%29+ORDER+BY+item%5Fbr and%2Citem%5Fname&cat=LEN&type=3&mkt=&brand=&pr=

The USM version is $30 dollars more.

Like you, I cannot find anything on that 35-50mm one.

If you are also in the market for a film camera this might be ok.

[Jon]

The one reference to a 35-50 zoom I turned up via a Google search was clearly, from context, a typo for a 35-80 zoom. Alternatively, the seller could have 35, 50 and 75-300 lenses. If it was phoned in (or hand-written on the submission form) to the paper, it could be either. A call to the seller might be in order, to clarify exactly which 75-300 (when they're paying ad rates per word, people sometimes skimp too much), sort out the other lens situation, get an idea about the equipment condition, and to see if he's willing to sell things separately.

[ron chappel]

Yep,probably a typo.
The 35-80 zoom some people seem to like but in my (way too long) experience it is total sh*t :x
Some bad lenses work better on film or digital but these seem to be utter garbage no matter what.For the record i've used about 7 different examples

The 75-300 is a decent budget telezoom.Definitely the best of the cheapies

http://members.dodo.net.au/~l8r_ron/

The later versions are worth slightly more and the USM versions bring a definite premium (but even with usm focus they are very slow still)

The extender is worth a few $.See what they bring on ebay-even cheap brand 2X extenders bring at least us$70* if they fit EOS

The rebel Xs (eos500) was the first of the tiny film bodies series that were made for so many years with small upgrades(currently the rebel G or somsuch).They are seriously usefull bodies,having built in flash and focus assist light.Unfortunately the Xs had three focus points but no way of switching between them.One of it's few faults.



*From memory-havent double checked

[ChrisN]

Thanks Everone. As always your experience has been helpful.

However, it still leaves me with a few questions.

1) You say the Rebel Xs has a smaller body, does this mean that these lenses will not fit on my DigiReb or am I just reading too far into what has been said?

2) So based on what everyone is saying, I should avoid this deal? I still don't know if this is something that I should just pass up or jump on..


I am on a budget which is $250 (as other things came up that tapped my allowance (I am not getting an allowance from mom and dad by the way, just an allowance I give myself for monthly play money, so no funny business :D ) and I thought that this package might pad up the gear to help me explore the hobby a little further. (I will be able to swing the extra $75 by taking it out of my son's education fund... just kidding)

So, come on... what would you do in this situation?

Thanks again.... One day I will not be a newbie and will be answering questions, not asking them.

BTW, the condition of the gear is excellent. He took good care of it, no scratches, no worn out spots, etc. Everything has its original documents and are in separate lowepro storage cases.

[Jon]

No - smaller body just means the outside dimensions. It's still an EF lens mount, which means that everything except EF-S lenses will fit on it. And all the lenses will fit the DR.

My take would be - call the person and get a little more information. You've got questions about what a "35-50" is, and exactly which model 75-300 he has, not to mention the condition of the equipment. Will they let you test the gear?

[Perfect_10]

Opinions again :oops: :oops:

I saw an ad in the paper for the following

Canon Rebel XS Film Body (with Eyepiece, Remote, Grip w/Tripod)
35-50MM lens (no other detail, can't find anything online about this lens)
75-300MM F/4-5.6 III lens (Don't know if USM, IS or whatever)
2 Lens hoods
Extender
UV filter
Skylight filter

Price: $325 CAD

Whatcha think... should I do it? You may recall, I am in the market for a 75-300mm lens for an upcoming trip.

.....

Chris
The EOS XS is an EOS 500 (the S in XS stood for built-in flash/strobe)

"EOS 500 (EOS REBEL XS) [EOS KISS] introduced 1993/discontinued 1996
No really new features, but in 1993 was the world's smallest and lightest AF SLR with built-in flash".

It's not a bad little film camera (my daughter has one). The little grip/tripod is nice (GR-T8 I think) .. but will only fit certain models .. RebelG, X, XS ..
The 35-50 is a typo .. should be a 35-80 (that's the lens that came with the camera) .. NOT a good lens at all. The 75-300MM F/4-5.6 III lens is a very useful lens .. albeit the barrel extends out a lot in zooming. My guess would be the extender is a basic crappy one .. hoods, who knows.

You'd be dumping the very slow 35-80 .. replace with a 22-55 USM or 28-90 almost right away.

I'm sure if you're in the market for a film camera it would do .. but check out ebay first. I feel it's a little pricey .. considering it's age

[ChrisN]

Thanks for the input.

I was actually not even considering the camera in the purchase at all.
I was thinking more along the lines of using all the stuff for my DigiReb and then selling the body and the 35-80 lens and putting that money into another lens or putting the money back into the "allowance".

So what I am hearing then is that this package is a bit steep considering all that I will be getting is the lens and a few hoods as the other lens is no better than the 18-55 I have now.

:cry:

[mpoole]

Chris, you have PM

[Perfect_10]

Just remember Canon hoods are specific to certain lenses.
Cheap extenders (TCs) are not worth having .. period. You'd have to find out what this item actually is .. I would guess with the rest of the kit it won't be Canon or Sigma.
The 70-300 .. whether USM or not is a useful item .. but I guess you'd maybe trade up sometime.
Unless you want the camera I'd stay away .. it isn't a deal of the century.

[ChrisN]

Chris, you have PM

Thank you. Replied 8)

[ron chappel]

Sorry,i would have given an opinion but wasn't sure of $ conversion rates,etc.

Ok,if you just want to buy the kit to resell some items....
Make sure of a few things.Firstly that all items work ok.
Check the lenses for fungus (miniature spiderweb shapes usually,sometimes white cottonwool shape) and also haze (looks like microscopic water droplets).Hold the lenses towards a strong light to check this.
If the camera seems to work well there's only one other thing to check on it.Look at the shutter blades and make sure there is no black goo on them.This is a sign that the shutter bump rubber is degrading.It happens alot to older EOS bodies but i've rarely seen it on the eos500/Xs.
That's about it.
I'm not sure what those items are worth there but going by past ebay sales prices is a sure way of getting a reliable value.
Going from recent ebay sales here (in australia) they are worth about: (All in us$)
Rebel Xs body-$60
EF 35-80 lens-$35 (usm version-$45)
EF 75-300-highly variable-$110-250 depending on how many lunatics are bidding.Usm versions allways get more than non usm
Hoods-if genuine canon these will help you get good prices when selling the lenses
Extender-people pay silly prices for these on ebay!(good for you)
i'f seen them go for over us$140 sometimes :shock: -that's 2nd hand.
Brand or quality doesn't seem to matter alot either :lol: :oops:
Best to check ebay yourself on that one because it might not be that same there.

[ron chappel]

Just looked up extender/teleconverter prices on us ebay.
There are lots of sellers offering them new for us$50 so that puts a dampener on things.
Oddly i notice a similar thing happening with those new ones that happens here-2nd hand items sell better than those offered by the new sellers!
Weird huh? :?
Figure on it being worth about us$40 if it's in good condition