Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM

Methodical wrote in post #7943178
My PEACE OF MIND rules for buying used: If I can't save at least $200 or more I will buy new because If there's something wrong with the lens there goes your savings and now you have a used lens that need repair for the same price of a new lens that has a warranty, plus $200 or more savings would cover Canon's minimum repair charge if the lens need repairing.

When buying used try to buy from someone who's bought/sold before. There is a "positive feedback" thread you can check out.

Ask for sample pictures. I bought a used Sigma lens once and got tiny sample pictures. Sure enough, it was a bit soft at f/2.8 at 200mm. I ended up reselling it to someone who used it for video purposes. As long as the sample pictures are nice and large and look good, the lens should be fine.

And finally make sure the lens is insured for shipping. If something isn't right with it, you can possibly file a claim against the postage company to have it fixed.

Very good and sharp for air-to-ground shooting.

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I have heard people say that their copy of a so and so lens produces pictures that are soft at the edges. Can this happen with brand new lenses? How can I be aware of this when buying from a POTN member??

rambusanna wrote in post #7944345
I have heard people say that their copy of a so and so lens produces pictures that are soft at the edges. Can this happen with brand new lenses? How can I be aware of this when buying from a POTN member??

That's it...you really don't know until you get your hands on it. That's one of the reason for MY Peace of Mind Rule method for buying used lens. But I guess it is a bit better to buy from here than from Ebay though. I bought my lens from a gentleman in person so I was able to see the lens and test it on the spot.

What's the average price for a used one?

Methodical wrote in post #7944392
That's it...you really don't know until you get your hands on it. That's one of the reason for MY Peace of Mind Rule method for buying used lens. But I guess it is a bit better to buy from here than from Ebay though. I bought my lens from a gentleman in person so I was able to see the lens and test it on the spot.

What's the average price for a used one?

Used: $500-$520
New: $600 at B&H

Should I go with the F4 L IS or the F2.8 L non-IS??

I find many used ones for $450.

Although I love the 70-200L f/4, I'm not so keen on the f/4 part. Mind you I knew what I was getting into when I bought it, but I would love to have the options that a 2.8 would open up.

rambusanna wrote in post #7945183
Should I go with the F4 L IS or the F2.8 L non-IS??

Depends on the usage. See if you need 2.8 and if you have a stable hand

The 2.8 is twice as heavy as the 4.0. So, from 4.0 downwards your chances of steadiness is about half. IS almost doubles the price.

It all boils down to your inner IS and wallet....

I would personally go for the 2.8 over IS. You can use a tripod to get around needing IS, but there's not a lot you can do to replace lower light. You can up the ISO and lower the shutter speed, but those both have limits that I unfortunately find myself hitting often with the f/4.

That is the only thing that I wish was different about the f/4 that I bought. It is sharp, and the pictures look beautiful, but you need a lot of light to get reasonably fast shutter speeds without going to a super high ISO. When I have the money, I'm definitely upgrading to the 2.8.

Another thing, how do you search for someone in the feedback section?? Don't tell me I have go through 100 pages looking for a user name? That doesn't sound right. I tried going to search, but it takes me to the entire thread instead of a single post.

rambusanna wrote in post #7944834
Used: $500-$520
New: $600 at B&H

Buy it new. Don't waste your time. You will have a new lens with a warranty. By the way,there's a $40 rebate on the lens - here it is for $560, plus I think you get free shipping too. They seem to be moving fast though.

http://www.jr.com …pe/CAN_70_hy_20​0MM_SL_F4/

Also, if it were me and I purchased the 2.8, I'd definitely go with the IS version without a doubt and it's only few bucks more.

http://www.jr.com/cano​n/pe/CAN_70_hy_200USM/
http://www.jr.com …ns/pe/CAN_70_hy​_200USMIS/

rambusanna wrote in post #7946962
Another thing, how do you search for someone in the feedback section?? Don't tell me I have go through 100 pages looking for a user name? That doesn't sound right. I tried going to search, but it takes me to the entire thread instead of a single post.

Not sure about the feedback section but I would think it works the same; go to advance search and on the right side type in the user name and it will bring up just that person.

Here are some photos taken by a Canon EF 70-200mm F4 L (non-IS). I am thinking about buying it from someone used. He sent me pictures taken with it. Here they are. What do you guys think?

70mm

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Looks pretty good to my untrained eyes.