35-80 good for anything at all besides the "ghetto macro setup" ?

Someone is selling this lens. Is it good at all, and what's the price to offer then. If it's not bad (about the quality of a current kit) I'd get it for shooting in really crappy conditions. I read about people removing the front element for macro but that's not for me.

based off ebay completed listings...i wouldn't offer more than $40...what kind of conditions would you even use it in though? i can't see any point to use it over what you have...

Seems like a useless focal range on a crop sensor camera!

You would have to stop it down to about f/8.0 to get results as good as the current 18-55 IS kit lens.

I think the older metal mount 35-70mm has better IQ, and the sharpest consumer lens from that era would be the 28-70mm 3.5-4.5 II.

You already cover this range.

I paid $10 for mine and then destroyed the front element immediately.

Amamba wrote in post #14748775
Someone is selling this lens. Is it good at all, and what's the price to offer then. If it's not bad (about the quality of a current kit) I'd get it for shooting in really crappy conditions.

Canon made 5 different 35-80s, one of which is the power zoom model. That one is worth a bit more due to its uniqueness but it isn't super practical.

I'll assume that you are talking about one of the other models. These usually go on Craigslist for $30-50 depending on the model and condition. The original 35-80 at the low end of the scale due to its lack of hood mount and age. The later ones like the USM model or the II or III are slightly smaller. The model III doesn't focus quite as closely but it is the newest and feels very slightly nicer.

These lenses are very small and light weight and there are lots of pictures that can be taken between 35 and 80mm. These lenses don't feel or look like expensive lenses on the camera but if that doesn't bother you, they do work. As noted above, stopping down to f/8 will get them sharp as kit zooms. At wider settings they aren't quite as sharp but may still be enough for most reasonable sized prints or computer monitor sized pictures. Using a lens hood does help them. Presently none of the 35-80s are supported in Canon DPP for automatic distortion and chromatic aberration correction so you would have to do it manually with the Photoshop lens distortion filter if you want to improve these aspects.

If the lens is in good condition, you could offer $40 for the later models, or $30 for an original. For a perfect condition model III maybe a couple dollars more. If you don't like the lens, you could probably resell it for what close to you paid, so there isn't much risk to try it and see if it is useful to you. The tiny size is convenient when trying to fit one in a small space like a motorcycle tank bag or jacket pocket, especially when paired with a wide angle.

msowsun wrote in post #14749199
You would have to stop it down to about f/8.0 to get results as good as the current 18-55 IS kit lens.

I guess I got a good copy! mine is sharp wide open at F4

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com/​photos/alexcorona/7584​133704/

I took my EF 35-80 f/4-5.6 III out with me motorcycle riding on Sunday. The shots at the wide end came out quite sharp, the ones at the long end were slightly soft unless stopped down enough. The pictures all look fine for a print or on my monitor at 1600 pixels wide after some sharpening in post. If you only want to view unsharpened raw files at 100% pixel to pixel on a monitor then there are better lenses for that purpose.

This one was 80mm, ISO 100, f/8, 1/160s from the Rebel XT hand held while sitting on the motorcycle (stopped of course). I did use the ET-54 lens hood and no filter. A polarizer would have helped the sky and the foliage colours but I didn't have one with me.

It may not be the best lens ever but it isn't bad value for the price. If you only have $30-40 for an autofocus lens, then it does give results that are good for the price and the limitations have to be accepted. On the other hand if you only have $30-40, then maybe buying lenses shouldn't be the priority or maybe you will take an amazing picture with it and sell it for a fortune. Lots of expensive photos have been sold that weren't sharp or taken with good lenses.