What to look for when buying used lenses?

Hello fellas, thought I'd pop by and see if anyone had some tips on what to look for when buying used lenses (hopefully you got some easy to use tips ). Although I guess it really doesn't matter which lens you buy I'm looking into getting 200mm f2.8L. Would also be lovely if someone knew the major differences between the MkI and MkII versions of that lens since one im looking into seems to be a MkI.

Oh and hi btw (first post ftw!)

Hello,

I would:

Inspect the front and rear element in bright sunlight or closley under bright electric light for scratches,marks, integrity etc. blowing on the lens with your breath will sometimes reveal things that cant other wise be seen

I would check that the focus ring was not overly loose and felt good

inspect the body for marks/dents

put it on the camera

check af/mf button works

take some test shots and review them as best I could on the camera lcd

I would take shots wide open and through the appertures, to test focusing accuracy

not much chance of testing colour contrast etc on the back panel lcd, but you can check focus if you zoom in

if you have a laptop take it and you can check the images properly

Ob Com wrote in post #7318305
Hello,

I would:

Inspect the front and rear element in bright sunlight or closley under bright electric light for scratches,marks, integrity etc. blowing on the lens with your breath will sometimes reveal things that cant other wise be seen

I would check that the focus ring was not overly loose and felt good

inspect the body for marks/dents

put it on the camera

check af/mf button works

take some test shots and review them as best I could on the camera lcd

I would take shots wide open and through the appertures, to test focusing accuracy

not much chance of testing colour contrast etc on the back panel lcd, but you can check focus if you zoom in

if you have a laptop take it and you can check the images properly

Amen to that.

A fair price and perhaps a way to return it if it does not work as advertised.

It used to be a lot easier with manual focus lenses. All of the above is great. My routine is as follows
First: Check the mount for wear, look for mounting scratches for a general indication of use. Make sure the contacts are clean and shiny (ish).
Second: Check the front element, small dinks and scratches cause a lot less problems then you think and are a great haggiling point.
Third: I look through the lens at a bright natural light source primarily for dust or Horror! mold. This is a more serious problem.
Fourth: Take a lot of pictures and check that it focuses correctly and if a USM without grinding sounds or jogging. Smooth action is what you want in all things.
Fifth: I feel for gritty feeling in the zoom or focus. Very Bad but occasionally fixable.
Six: wobbles... Stay away from loose and wobbily lenses.
Also: Try to avoid lenses that repairs are no longer supported by Canon, find out which ones they are and remember if something breaks you may not get the spares!


If a big big pro owned lens ask about service intervals, I am a CPS (now something else) member and the people I used to work for had tab at Fixation in London where I had everything serviced yearly. Remember visual wear and tear on L lenses often mean less than you would think. They are made for a hard life so dents and generally cosmetic wear and tear is often a lot less serious than sitting them on a shelf contacts down or abrasive cleaning. I have several lenses that look like they have been though all seven rings of hell, but the focus and glass is great. Then again I have a 50 1.4 that looks new, but I dropped, and is all kinds of wrong in focus.

Buy good, good lenses are repairable, quality primes and L glass, if you are looking at a battered and unhappy L think. A 3rd party, Second hand L is often the same price as say the same new Sigma.

Good luck!!!

I have bought a lot of used lenses --- and really never had a problem --- if you are buying new through a reseller go to resellerratings.com ------- otherwise you should not have much of an issue.

FWIW -- Lensrentals.com has a write up on how bad a lens has to be before there is an issue--- as soon as I can find it I will post--
EDIT-- here is what I was referring to: http://www.lensrentals​.com …0/front-element-scratches

Also for those in hot and humid areas, check for fungus and condensation inside the lens.

Thoroughness is the word I guess Hopefully that beautiful 200 f2.8L isn't sold yet so I'll get a chance to check it out aswell
Good to hear though that they are pretty durable and most of you doesnt seem to have had much trouble with buying used lenses, the inspecting advice was really helpful aswell :>