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DPChallenge Forums >> Hardware and Software >> Let's hear it for used glass!!
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 08/18/2014 08:04:48 PM · #1
While driving back from Ogdensburg, NY today, I reflected on the many good shots and fantastic luck I've had with used lenses - both in buying them and in terms of performance.

Only 3 of the *counting on fingers* 7 lenses I've owned were brand-spankin-new. They were the 50mms, both the f1.4 and the f1.8, and the 300mm f.4 (gift).

But on all the others...used. Two from ebay - the 18-200mm and the new kid, 18-105mm, both Nikkors, the latter whom I collected today. It looks a little worn, it needed a little bit of front- and back-lens cleaning, but optically it's fine and works perfectly well. Considering that it will be mostly a rodeo and studio lens, I can hardly complain. Great buy for a very good price, from an ebay dealer with a 100% rating and some 3600+ sales.

And yes I have bought thanks to DPC. One, a 10-20mm Sigma from vikas because he rarely used it and soon after purchase, Siggy and I scored a blue ribbon! And oh yes, I bought my primo used lens - 70-200mm f2.8 for a song (almost lol) off of a local site, thanks to Enlightened for telling me about it!! Got to meet a local celeb chef in the process and make him very, very happy with a stack of $$$ ;-) not to mention get a very lightly used, very well-cared-for lens out of the bargain.

All in all I have no horror stories at all pertaining to lenses bought used. The price is often much lower than even a good factory refurb. True, there is no warranty and the finish may show signs of wear, and you usually ARE trusting a total stranger to deliver the goods as advertised. But if you can live with those minor (imnsho) factors...hell...why not go for it?

So. What are YOUR experiences with used glass? Good? Bad? Ugly?
 08/18/2014 08:12:22 PM · #2
I second that motion! three of my lenses (MP-E65 Macro, 400/5.6 and 17-40) were bought used from DPCers, and all are fabulous!
 08/18/2014 08:18:29 PM · #3
I'm happy so far. The only two that I have that were new are the 18-105, and 55-300 that came with the new D7000.
The other 30 or so are all eBay, Goodwill, flea market , thrift store, and pawn shop or freebee's. The most recent was an 18-55 non VR that NikonJeb sold to Ja9 in a package deal with another lens. The package deal was for two 18-55's, and she kept the VR one, and gave me the non VR one for a cooler load of fresh caught snapper, and a boat ride. I may use it for a zoom macro with extension tubes.
Anything that will make an infinity image with over an inch behind the rear element suits me fine. I like making my own lens mounts.
I'm happy that your glass collecting has gone so nicely. The 18-105 will grow on you, and you will probably use it a lot.
 08/18/2014 08:35:16 PM · #4
*beaming* So glad others have also had good experiences :-)

Having received the Sigma 50mm f1.4 for Christmas, I sold my Nikkor 50mm f1.8 to Enlightened, from what I've heard she's very happy with it...as I always was!

@ MelonMusketeer...holy liftin, you've got used from Goodwill and flea markets...WOW! All I ever see around here at similar places are really old, beat-up tripods and very, very old manual lenses. Mind my friend's thrift store sometimes has decent gear for sale, but stuff I'm not in the market for.
 08/18/2014 08:57:33 PM · #5
I buy mainly used and it has worked out so far
 08/18/2014 09:15:07 PM · #6
I purchased a 100mm Tokina F2.8 Macro years ago from a dead photographers estate and still use it a lot no problems.
 08/18/2014 09:20:25 PM · #7
The old manual lenses work great on the D7000. You just have to set the aperture on the lens and focus, the way it was done for many years before digital. They are much easier to manual focus than the new AF lenses because the focus rings are wider, and made for that purpose.
You can also input the focal length and max aperture and the camera will put the shooting data in the exif.
The manual Ai Nikkors have a retro feel that I enjoy. The prices of the old Nikkor's have gone up a lot though, since people found out that they can use them on the digital bodies, and there is a limited supply.
 08/18/2014 09:26:19 PM · #8
This is good to hear.

I've never tried used before...

Perhaps I will!
08/18/2014 09:47:44 PM · #9
Count me in on this love-fest.

I've bought a good number of used lenses over the years, and have bought quite a few used bodies as well.

A list:
Canon EOS-1D Mark II
Canon EOS-1D Mark III
Canon EOS-20D
Canon EOS-5D
Canon EOS-D60
Canon PowerShot S10
Kodak EasyShare ZD710
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro
Canon EF 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 USM
Canon EF 75-300mm f/4.0-5.6 II
Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6 EX Aspherical DG for Canon
Sigma 24-70mm f/3.5-5.6 Aspherical HF for Canon

Guess what? ALL of those worked perfectly. The only problem I've had was a dead mirror actuator on that 1D Mk III which I bought SUPER cheap due to extreme abuse (it was owned by Schlake, which implies such abuse. Plus, he really is a nice guy and gave me a great deal on it... Besides, I got 10,000 actuations before it died on me) - all in, on my WORST investment so far, I've got $1100 in a 1D Mk III with a spare battery, which is still a good deal.

Speaking of used gear, I'm still shocked at just how good a 10MP used 1D can really be.. As is most of the other used gear - I love to chase new toys as much as anyone (see my X100s for an example), but the value of used camera gear is simply undeniably huge, if only because you can almost always sell it for the same price (or better?) than you bought it for. Free rental gear anyone?

Message edited by author 2014-08-18 21:53:46.
 08/19/2014 07:21:34 AM · #10
I have no used lenses. I did give a few lens and some camera bodies to a friend of mine's daughter and to a local photography club at the local high school.

All I have are Canon type stuff so sadly I could not give them to Snaffles since she opted to defect to the other side a while back. :O)

Ray
 08/19/2014 08:29:36 AM · #11
The majority of my lenses are used. For those that are a little unsure what to look for when buying a used lens, here is a great tutorial from a Pentax forum I belong to.

Buyin Used Lenses

Tim
 08/19/2014 09:07:18 AM · #12
KEH is probably the best place to purchase used gear. Less risk, fair return policy and good warranty. Also a good place to obtain the dollar value of what you own.
 08/19/2014 01:11:27 PM · #13
my best lens: Asahi SMC PENTAX-M 50mm 1/1.4. $99 Canadian. manual manual. (formerly incorrectly listed as the newer Ptax M). It has spoiled me so much that I do not enjoy my other lenses, especially not the zooms. I probably could not afford a current equivalent. As well, I occasionally use other older Pentaxes and Asahi Pentaxes, but they are really heavy and not quite so fast or fine as the 50mm.

Message edited by author 2014-08-19 13:11:40.
 08/19/2014 01:39:36 PM · #14
I'm buying the 80-400mm that NikonJeb listed here a few weeks back.

Had a chance to take it to the zoo on Saturday and had way too much fun... I've culled it down to about 100 shots to go back to and edit.

On second thought, I might be mad at him now... hmmmmm...
 08/19/2014 02:34:16 PM · #15
Originally posted by Olyuzi:
KEH is probably the best place to purchase used gear. Less risk, fair return policy and good warranty. Also a good place to obtain the dollar value of what you own.


Oh, that is a dangerous site... lots of good stuff turns up there! Also, they tend to rate their used lenses *very* conservatively. You will probably never get something that you feel does not live up to their condition rating.
08/19/2014 02:37:49 PM · #16
I almost forgot, one of my favorite old manual lenses was bought used, as a matter of fact out of eastern Europe (the DPC photo is of my copy). Just try to buy one of those today for what I paid... I believe it was $350 USD.
 08/19/2014 03:47:42 PM · #17
I bought my 105mm from jmsetzler many years ago. I'm still happy as a clam with it. I did think it was broken at first, because it was flashing fEE at me. I was like, "Uh... John... what sort of crap did you sell me!" He then provided me with free tech support. It turns out you gotta lock the aperture ring at f32. I'll be darned...

Oh, I also bought a SB100 off of Craigslist a few years ago too for $100 in a grocery store parking lot. He tried to sell me another that had a broken screen, but I turned him down. No problems with the one I bought, and it came with Velcro fuzz already attached for me to stick my gels to.

Message edited by author 2014-08-19 15:50:54.
 08/19/2014 03:59:38 PM · #18
It's interesting that this thread is going on now. I got a call this morning from the lady in charge of the local humane society. She said that since I shot photos for them of their 5K runs the last couple of years, that she had a tub of camera gear that just came in as a donation, and that I could have it if I could use any of it.
It turns out that there are two good lenses, both in excellent condition. The lenses are a Tokina 20-35 AF for Nikon, and another one that I have been searching for a long time to find, a Vivitar Series 1- 70-210mm f3.5 / Macro for Nikon.
Some of the DPC'er who shot film probably know about the late 70's model 70-210 Vivitar. At the long end, it's about as sharp as the Nikkor 180 f2.8, and will also shoot macro down to about 1/4 life size at about 6 inches or less.
There were also about 20 filters of all kinds, all for 52, 62, and 67mm, the Nikon thread sizes, and several other accessories, plus a flash unit and remote trigger, all for Nikon. There were only a couple of small items for Nikkormat that I could not use.
It made my day.
 08/19/2014 04:55:26 PM · #19
Originally posted by MelonMusketeer:
I...a Vivitar Series 1- 70-210mm f3.5 / Macro for Nikon.


Oh my! That is truly a find. Most of the Vivitar Series 1 stuff is pretty good, some is downright excellent. And some, downright weird. It's essentially a solid piece of glass. Just remembered, that one was bought used too :-)
 08/19/2014 05:53:18 PM · #20
Originally posted by kirbic:
And some, downright weird. It's essentially a solid piece of glass. Just remembered, that one was bought used too :-)

Hah, I used to have that one for my Nikons back in the day :-) Wonder what happened to it....
 08/19/2014 06:04:15 PM · #21
Originally posted by Bear_Music:
Originally posted by kirbic:
And some, downright weird. It's essentially a solid piece of glass. Just remembered, that one was bought used too :-)

Hah, I used to have that one for my Nikons back in the day :-) Wonder what happened to it....


Hey, if you do find it, let me know... love weird glass.
 08/19/2014 06:56:14 PM · #22
Originally posted by snaffles:
Hey, if you do find it, let me know... love weird glass.

Absolutely zero chance of that LOL. That lens disappeared from human ken somewhere around 1989, I'd guess :-) I think someone stole it from me, actually, but maybe I just misplaced it...
 08/19/2014 09:03:38 PM · #23
mines not old, but i purchased a 16-35 v2 here on DPC - excellent purchase, I use it often.
 08/19/2014 09:30:14 PM · #24
Panasonic Lumix G 14mm F2.5 ASPH and Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS are both second hand. Excellent choices, value and quality.
08/20/2014 09:13:18 AM · #25
Almost all of my equipment was bought used. My D7100, 105 macro, and my fisheye where all purchased through Kijiji. My 80-400 was a demo purchased from the Henry's outlet before it moved locations and I got a great deal on it. Then there is my loved 50mm from Snaffles.
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