Buying used lens - tips and was I too picky?

Greetings. My first post here (it is hard to find something new to post about!). I met a gentleman to buy a used 17-55 lens today; I am getting ready to travel to Puerto Rico. He advertised on Craigslist and was asking $850 firm which included a hood and filter. I opened the lens and saw that the filter was scratched (hmmm...). I removed the filter and saw that there was quite a bit of dust in the glass. He said that he had used it for only two months and that the dust does not affect the picture. My 28-135 has on spec of visible dust in it and I have had it for about four years. I did not try the lens on my camera and declined the sale. Was I being too picky? Should I expect dust in a used lens?

Any tips on buying a used lens when in a face-to-face situation?

Thank you in advance.

You will probably find a bit of dust inside that particular lens if you purchase used. As he said and has been shown here many times it has no effect on image quality. As for the scratched filter, who knows he might have put an old filter on there to make it seem like a complete package... As for being too picky, you have to satisfy yourself. I tend to be an impulse buyer and generally once I make a decision I'm good with it. My best friend agonizes over every purchase and invariably he has buyers remorse and months of retroactive indecison. If you are like him, hold out for one that you feel comfortable with as you are the one that has to live with it.

complete wrote in post #14901082
Greetings. My first post here (it is hard to find something new to post about!). I met a gentleman to buy a used 17-55 lens today; I am getting ready to travel to Puerto Rico. He advertised on Craigslist and was asking $850 firm which included a hood and filter. I opened the lens and saw that the filter was scratched (hmmm...). I removed the filter and saw that there was quite a bit of dust in the glass. He said that he had used it for only two months and that the dust does not affect the picture. My 28-135 has on spec of visible dust in it and I have had it for about four years. I did not try the lens on my camera and declined the sale. Was I being too picky? Should I expect dust in a used lens?

Any tips on buying a used lens when in a face-to-face situation?

Thank you in advance.

I suppose it depends on "quite a bit" but for a two month old lens I wouldn't expect much dust. Next time, bring your camera, laptop, etc. to take some pics and see the effect on any dust in the lens

The 17-55mm is dusty most people say. Don't hurt it and you can clean it. If you like used you can always buy new if you need that peace of mind.

The 17-55mm gets real dusty under the front element, that's normal. As long as the glass isn't scratched or anything like that, and there's no fungus, I wouldnt' worry about it. You can pop the front element off and blow it out if it concerns you (but there would need to be an unbelievably high amount of dust for it to effect anything). But yeah, on the 17-55mm, expect dust, it's normal. And irrelevant. And 850 is a very fair price for that lens, too--especially if hte hood was the real Canon one.

for 850, I'de expect a super prestine copy... there's a copy on my local CL for 750 right now...

dust won't show up in any pics you take...

If there's a lot of dust, it can effect your pics.... Not that you'll see the specks, it mostly causes more and stronger flare effects, some loss of contrast and color saturation. But it takes a lot more dust and effects images less than you'd think, even when there's quite a bit.

The 17-55 has been reknowned for it's ability to gather dust under the front element in the past, but the past year or two these concerns have shown up a lot less frequently. So I can't help but wonder if Canon made some changes (such as simply adding a gasket somewhere in the lens) to help keep dust out. Which leads me to wonder if the lens you looked at really is just two months old. You can tell when it was built, there should be a date code on the rear.

It is reportedly easy to clean... I just don't know if there is anything you can do yourself to help keep dust out of the lens in the future.

The scratched filter wouldn't bother me much... since I quite likely wouldn't use it anyway. It just doesn't add value to the lens, since it's scratched. The hood costs $40 or less, adding a little value to the lens.

I haven't been shopping for one, so can't say for certain.... But a quick look here in the POTN classifieds, when this lens is offered for around $750, it seems to sell quickly. But when listed for $825, $850, $900, it doesn't seem to find much interest. So, your Craigslist sellers "firm" price seems a little high to me.... Plus you have a couple things you could use negotiate about (the dust and the scratch) to maybe get him to agree on a little lower price. Or just wait for a better deal.

Thanks for the replies. I should have done a little more research on the issues surrounding the lens. Nonetheless, the feedback has certainly provided assurance to my decision. It appears that I will be buying new and adding my own dust.

It's your money, if you want to be picky you can. Lots of those lenses around, keep looking and you find the one you want.

I've bought 2 used L lenses on ebay. My first criteria was 10 or more very crisp, clear pictures of the lens, especially the front and back lenses, and a shot looking through the lens. Dings, dents, scratches, it's NO SALE in my book. Yes, lenses get used, lenses get dings and scratches. But if I'm buying based on the sellers rating and sales history, I want as close to brand new as I can get without paying more than 75-80% of full retail.

I also carefully look at the condition of the rear contacts in the pictures. If they show anything more than "light use", I'll pass on the lens as well...especially if the seller states 'used very little', etc.

For newer lenses, I want full packaging, with everything that belongs in there. White box from a kit, I don't mind. If the seller is willing to send a copy of their sales receipt, even better.

I purchased a very-close-to-new EF 200 f2.8L and a looked-like-new EF 80-200 f2.8 L from a dealer in Japan this way, and I'm 100%+ satisfied with both transactions.

Similarly, I sold my 6 month old EF 24-70 f2.8L the same way...pristine appearing, full package and contents, and per request of the buyer, a copy of the receipt from B&H. My only complaint on the transaction was the 'delayed hit' on my bank account for 9% ebay 'commission'. Should be called "ripoff', rather than 'sellers fees'. Paypal got their piece of the pie, as well!

Bottom line, it's your money. Spend it wisely.

I recently bought (almost stole) a Σ 70-200 2.8 OS for $750. The guy showed up with very dirty filter and a dusty front element. I took the filter off and handed it back to him. I used a brush on the front element and then proceeded to take several dozen pictures at various settings. And then - this was important to me - I loaded them into LR on my laptop and examined them thoroughly. I would never spend that kind of money on untested equipment. I did warn the seller ahead of time that I would be doing this. The entire transaction took 30 minutes. If he thought I was being too picky, he never let on. That is a lot of money, to me. Be as picky as you want; it IS your money.