Second hand TS-E 17mm

I might be in a position to buy a second hand TS-E 17mm L lens for a good price <1000 EUR.

The lens has obvious dents on the body, but the glass appears to be in good shape.

Is this as good as a deal as I think it is?

What are the potential risks?

(I've bought second hand before, but something makes me hesitate this time)

Are you able to physically access the lens, see if the tilt and shift has any backlash, binding, etc?

Ah-keong wrote in post #18690664
Are you able to physically access the lens, see if the tilt and shift has any backlash, binding, etc?

Yes I eventually will test and pick-up the lens in person.

Ah-keong wrote in post #18690664
Are you able to physically access the lens, see if the tilt and shift has any backlash, binding, etc?

whats backlash and binding? Im interested as I have a Tse 17mm and never heard of these terms?

I'd be interested in hearing this as well.

I've bought second hand lenses before with confidence, but a TS-E lens appears to be a bit different.

thijs wrote in post #18691473
I'd be interested in hearing this as well.

I've bought second hand lenses before with confidence, but a TS-E lens appears to be a bit different.

I just looked it up. It appears to be terms used by videographers more than photographers here http://www.hondogarage​.com …know-about-follow-focuses

Given the tilt shift lens gears are not used for follow focus Im not sure how this would be a concern ?....Also The TSE's gears are only used to move the lens in either a tilt or a shift direction and is then locked after moving so even if the gears are slightly stripped it shouldnt be a problem IMO because the lens is locked and motionless at time of shooting. Having said this I better go have another look at my lens now to make sure I have this right ....Maybe if the gears are shot the lock won't hold..........

Thanks for clarifying this!

No update on the potential buy, yet.

thijs wrote in post #18690651
I might be in a position to buy a second hand TS-E 17mm L lens for a good price <1000 EUR.

The lens has obvious dents on the body, but the glass appears to be in good shape.

Is this as good as a deal as I think it is?

What are the potential risks?

(I've bought second hand before, but something makes me hesitate this time)

cant see a lot of risks however these are things to make sure are ok


1.No scratch on rear element. If small fine scratch on front element you wont notice it in the shot but offer them less anyway
2. Chec/look inside lens and try and see if any mould/haze etc
3. Make sure Exposure is ok as is the aperture and shutter. Just take a couple of shots and you iillm know
4. Make sure the tilt and shift work fine and lock
5. Ensure lens rotates ok and then locks also


Im betting all this will be fine as these are one of Canons premium specialty lens especially for IQ i...Sharp in the centre and pretty sharp on the v=corners of frame also. Saves so much time using. 0ne of these as against using aa std 17-35mm and then having to go into Lightroom and using the tool to adjust verticals and horizontals in order to get things straight. And. which ends up also losing some canvas due to straightened objects which then may over edge of canvas.The TilT Shift will do all this that you can do in adobe and more importantly not losing any of the subject especially buildings where they creep out of the canvas quite often due to using LR straightening slider

Also with the Tse17mm you can make a second lens out if you go and get a 1.4mm extender and attach to the 17mm that way you will have approx 25mm TSE also and thats good if the TSE 17 is just too wide for what you want. Price wise $400.00 new for 1.4 extender vs tilt shift 24mm @ $1899! isnt even worth comparing as the extenderMk3 is sharp sharp so will be absolutely fine to have in place of the 24mm if its really not on your agenda to have a second Tse this way you can for a small cost!

http://www.ronscheffle​r.com/techtalk/?page_i​d=37

cheers

clipper_from_oz wrote in post #18690813
whats backlash and binding? Im interested as I have a Tse 17mm and never heard of these terms?

Sorry, my bad. these are terms associated with Mechanical Engineering.

Backlash is when you rotate the knobs (tilt or shift), there is a considerable loss of travel translated to the mechanism from the hand movements.

Binding is when you rotate the knobs (tilt or shift) from one end to the other end, there is a considerable effort required from the hands to translate the movement of the mechanism in the lens.

Another is creep where without movement from the hands, the mechanism fail to lock which resulting the (tilt or shift) mechanism to move with gravity.

Again, thanks for the explaining everybody did!

A quick update about the proces: I went to see the lens yesterday. The the exterior is not flawless, but the lenselements are clean and the test shots I was able to take look really good on my PC.

The seller gave me a few day's to think about it.

I guess it's up to me to decide now.

My main concern is whether this lens will be "too much" for me as an amateur photographer.

To be continued...

its a good and 'specialised' lens for cityscapes and architecture

Last update: I bought the lens!

Haven't had much time to try it out yet, but man this lens is a beast.

Thanks for all your advice!

thijs wrote in post #18702295
Last update: I bought the lens!

Haven't had much time to try it out yet, but man this lens is a beast.

Thanks for all your advice!

Well done...You will really like this lens if your using it for architectural , realestate etc work. Having the ability to be able to adjust the slanting /tilted angles the wide 17mm makes in camera as against using PS is just so much better. Like not losing pixels when straightening in PS which is what pushed me into getting one . You wont be disappointed

Cheers