So You Want To Know The Repair Cost?

Just got the repair estimate for my EF 100-400 4.5-5.6 L IS lens. On hold now at Canon to pay for it. Just as an aside, I recommend you buy your stuff new.

I bought this used and it never did shoot a sharp image. Now I am paying close to another $200 for alignment and adjustment that puts it over the cost of a new lens, to say nothing of the 2 to 3 weeks I don't have the lens. Think about it, why would someone sell a perfectly good lens?

Here's the lowdown;

Examination / Request Details:
CHECK AND ADJUST FOCUS/CHECK ALL FUNCTIONS/MINIMUM LABOR RATE, INCLUDES MINOR PARTS

Summary of Charges

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contact the seller, that is really between you and him.

theres a chance it could have been fine for him and not for you, maybe just needed to be calibrated to your specific camera.

Could have been damaged in transit etc

I've bought almost everyting used, and never had a problem with any of the items listed in my sig. I received a 70-200 2.8 that was suppose to be 4 years old and in good condition, it was 11 years old and in poor condition, so I sent it back to the seller.

Sorry to hear this, new is the way to go

Thats not how it works. It just needs to be calibrated cause someone mishandled it then sluffed it off on an unsuspecting buyer. Canon doesn't need the camera to adjust focus on a lens.

It's not about buying used anyway. I added that cause from now on, I buy new and it's my suggestion others do to. for warrantee if nothing else.

hahahahahaha that's nothing! I sent my 300mm IS L to Canon back on September 11th, they said 2 weeks for estimate and another week for repair. Had to phone them after 5 weeks to get my estimate. The lens needs rechipping and new connectors. Total cost $450 CAD ($420 US) but I got them to go down to $375 CAD because they have to remove the connectors to replace the chip anyways.

All in all I paid $1000 CAD ($900 US) for this lens and when it is done, it will be essentially be brand new with a old body and old glass and cost almost the same as a B&H brand spanking new one.

So it could and CAN be worse. Worst thing, my gut told me NOT to buy this lens and I ignored it. My gut is almost always right when buying used yet I rushed into buying this because the seller was within Canada. So because I was cheap and wanted to save $60 CAD I would have to pay in GST coming into Canada, I am severly screwed out of a lot more money.

I personally would love to buy used to save the money, but things like this scare me...

I;d rather buy used from a local store or a local seller where I can test the lens before buying it...

For me this is a absolute first. I have bought almost all my gear used, including my bodies and no problems at all. I guess it is just a gamble, usually you will save money, lots of money but every once in a while the odds are against you and you might end up losing.

LOL what would suck is a lens coming back after repair, one that was perfect sharp and then has to go in for realignment, I would blow a gasket I think and after calming down be sending it back for a FREE aligment. Crap did I just jinks myself?

cjm wrote in post #2158631
LOL what would suck is a lens coming back after repair, one that was perfect sharp and then has to go in for realignment, I would blow a gasket I think and after calming down be sending it back for a FREE aligment. Crap did I just jinks myself?

What would suck worse is buying a new one, then having to send both the camera and lens in for calibration. So no, I don't think a company could get away with having to do that. All cameras and all lenses are made to be interchangable without the fine tuning of each piece it's going to be used with.

Sorry to hear about your misfortunes.

There are reasons, however, that someone would sell a mint absolutely perfect lens. If I needed cash and had no other choices, I'd do it. If I was getting out of photography, I'd do it. If I was simply not using the lens enough and was eyeing another lens, I'd do it.

Most of us at one time or another will sell lenses that are absolutely fantastic (probably a less gamble than new, because they have been tried and proven over time).

Like a previous post commented, the best you can do when buying used is to try and establish solid communication with the seller or buy from a reputable place. Sometimes even that's not good enough.

I mostly buy new because of the security of warrenties etc. If I saw a used lens that had the right price, I'd certainly look into it.

Some other valid reasons to sell a perfectly good lens:
1. merely that its focal length range or its maximum aperture do not meet the previous owner's needs. And,
2. per the sentiments of so many on POTN, it is that it is not an L lens, and therefore not worth owning once you can afford the L version!

I'm less concerned with "valid" reasons for selling a lens than I am about the "invalid" reasons. Like you dropped it, so let's sluff it off on an unsuspecting buyer. Count yourself lucky if you've never taken that bath. I mean, if you've even ever bought some used gear, sight unseen.

thanks for the info, it makes it an easier decision to send mine in to be calibrated.
Like some others had mentioned, it might be worth it to talk to the seller to try and work something out.
There's definitely a benefit to buying used. For me, I can live with a scuff mark or two on the body of a lens to save a significant amount of money.

Which was the original reason for this thread. How many others you seen where someone asked the cost and never got an answer? Thought I'd correct that.

Anyway, to be absolutley fair, I know my used lens was never dropped or bumped, by me, and it never took a good crisp shot from day one. From reading dozens of threads here about this same lens, and looking at hundreds of photos from it, all I can say is that either Canon sends out bad copies of this lens, or it was missused by the owner, maybe even unkowingly.

An IS lens has a spinning gyro inside it. Anyone who ever had a gyroscope as a kid knows, you can't change orientation on them quickly, while they are spun up. The wheel can jump out or even break if you do. In any case, it can't be good for the bearings or mountings to spin the IS gyro up, snap off a pic, then jerk the camera and lens away from your face while it's still spinning.

Anyway, I hope to see some serious imporvement from my copy when it's returned in 7 days.

One good thing about the refurb is it just might be *better than new* because it got some one-on-one TLC at the service center, rather than being slapped together on an assembly line far away somewhere... Shipped/bounced all over the place, etc.