I have been converted to looking at second hand camera gear by a recent experience. My Father wanted a digital SLR and after years of making do with an old digital camera was persuaded by a photographer, that he had met in Devon, to have a look at listings of second hand cameras on the web. I was drafted in to help and we perused the listings on Wex Photographic for suitable cameras. We eventually settled on a Canon EOS 100D that was marked as condition 9+ and was just about half the list price of new.
The camera came the next day and to my surprise (and Dad’s pleasure) it was brand new. The battery needed charging and the strap attaching and that was all. From the looks of the box and the rest of the contents it had not been used. So we had a look again at the site as his zoom lens was over 15 years old and we settled on an EF-S lens (the Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS). It came the next day and was in excellent condition too.
Back to the reason for this post
I too have a Canon EOS 100D which is never out of my work bag and typically has an old EF 28mm lens from my film camera days. After a social media training session, when I was again having difficulty getting the shot I wanted, I decided to peruse the second hand lenses on the Internet.
I looked through several sites and settled on MPB Photographic who had several EF-S 17-85mm IS USM lenses for sale. Although it was a relatively old lens, it is still marketed by Canon and best of all it was less than half list price and came with a lens hood.
Remember that delivery costs are often markedly different from site to site and that your ‘new’ lens will (perhaps) need a filter – all of which added somewhat to my credit card bill.
Here are my first test shots yesterday:
