where do you buy your lenses?

Discussion in 'Canon Lens Discussion' started by pcake, May 7, 2017.

  1. pcake

    pcake Active Member Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Apr 28, 2017
    Messages:
    124
    Equipment:
    Canon SL1
    55-250 STM
    18-55 STM
    Yongnuo 50mm 1.8
    i just ran across a thread on another camera forum asking about buying lenses on ebay. i've bought a couple lenses on ebay, some in-store at samy's camera (used to use the hollywood store, but i love the culver city store), at least one on amazon, several - a mix of new and used - at b&h, plus a couple from keh. i've bought cameras a couple other places, but i think those are all the places i've bought lenses. i've never had a bad lens buying experience so far, and when i think about it, there are good things about buying in person and online.

    how about you? where do you buy your lenses, and are there stores or methods you are happier buying them?
     

  2. Vasile Guta-Ciucur

    Vasile Guta-Ciucur Active Member Site Supporter

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    Apr 29, 2017
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    Location:
    Pistestii din Deal, Gorj, RO
    Equipment:
    Canon EOS 100D
    Canon Lens EF-S 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6 III
    In my country, from well known (online if necessary) stores with photographic material. One of them offers also consignment - a place to sell/buy your/others used equipment. The advantage is that the used equipment is supervised by the specialists of that store and returns are guarrantied.
     
  3. pcake

    pcake Active Member Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Apr 28, 2017
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    124
    Equipment:
    Canon SL1
    55-250 STM
    18-55 STM
    Yongnuo 50mm 1.8
    sounds good - i like stores that sell used gear with a warranty :)
     
  4. JimmyDranox

    JimmyDranox Member Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Apr 23, 2017
    Messages:
    99
    Equipment:
    Canon 60D, Canon EF-S 18-135 IS STM, Sigma 17-50/2.8 OS HSM, Tamron 70-200/2.8
    I have a lot of trust in the second-hand market. I have bought a lot of lenses this way. More so that in my country I can pay when I receive the stuff, and I can verify the items before paying. But I also bought a few lenses from eBay, from other countries, with good results. Only one time I have bought a lens which was not in a good shape. This could be about 5% of my acquisitions in the last 7-8 year.
     
  5. Astro Baby

    Astro Baby New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 24, 2019
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    Location:
    Reigate UK
    Equipment:
    AE-1 and FTb classic 35mm SLRs from the golden age
    I am pretty much limited to eBay and charity shops - all of my gear is circa 1975 - occasionally I see some stuff in bricks and mortar shops but the last thing I bought in a shop was my Nikon F from a pokey little backstreet shop in Tokyo - teeny shop but my oh my did he have some gear in there - an Alladins cave.
     
  6. JRS950

    JRS950 Member

    Joined:
    Jul 13, 2019
    Messages:
    102
    Location:
    On the road full time in the USA
    Equipment:
    EOS Rebel T6S
    EF-S 18-135; EF-S 55-250; EF 50mm 1.8,
    Speedlite 470EX-AI
    I've had very good results from the Canon refurbished store online. Reasonable price and warranty.
     
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  7. Marcus Rowland

    Marcus Rowland Member Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Apr 23, 2017
    Messages:
    410
    Location:
    London, United Kingdom
    Equipment:
    Eos 40D, Canon 18-55mm, lots of adapters for other lenses
    Nikon D7000, Sigma 18-200mm DC, Tamron XR 28-300mm, Nikon AF 50mm 1.4, Samyang 8mm f3.8, Sigma EX 50 2.8D macro, Sigma APO 170-500 5-6.3D, etc.
    Panasonic Lumix G1, 14-42 3.5-5.6, lots of adapters
    Pentax K200, Pentax 18-55mm
    Sony A230, Sony 18-70 3.5-5.6
    Sony A3500 18-55 several adapters
    Fuji FinePix S5700.
    Sony DSC-V1 with infrared kit.
    FLIR One thermal imaging camera for iPhone
    Mostly car boot fairs, charity shops and occasionally eBay. But I'm mostly buying to sell on, not to keep, though I did recently splurge on a Nikon AF 50/1.4
     
  8. Robert Shears

    Robert Shears Active Member Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Apr 24, 2017
    Messages:
    139
    Equipment:
    Pentax K-5, K-r, K20D, K100D Super.
    Canon G5, Canon 450D, Eos 100, 500, 600, T70 and T90
    Konica Minolta 7D
    Various OEM and 3rd party lenses in Pentax, Minolta and Canon.
    Ebay, Gumtree, Facebay, Charity (Goodwill) shops and even Cash Converters for a Canon 50mm F1.8 mk11.
    I have found that of the 70's and 80's lenses that Sigma zooms have been the most disappointing and that the Tamron SP lenses (coupled with a K/A adapter I own for Pentax) have been the most pleasing.
    CZJ and to some degree Pentacon primes are often good value compared to some and please more than some Japanese made lenses.
    Not having much caution about buying lenses, I have a number of lenses that are have fungus, sticky (or broken) aperture Iris blades and a couple with just seized up Focussing rings. I never learn!
    Recent purchases include a Canon 50mm F2.5 macro, a couple of Vivitar primes with C/Y mounts and a C/Y to EOS adapter that hopefully is on the way from China.
    My wife is not happy about the number of lenses I have but LBA is a recognised disease....isn't it?
     
  9. GDN

    GDN Well-Known Member

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    Jul 22, 2018
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    2,166
    Location:
    South Island, NZ
    Equipment:
    A little Canon stuff
    I know that I can buy anything photography related from the internet. But, I prefer to go to a bricks and mortar shop in the city that I live in. I can have a hands on with the item. They have a pretty good range of both new and second hand items. They are are a little more expensive. Plus, if you don't support them, you can't expect them to stay open.

    Gary
     
  10. Craig Sherriff

    Craig Sherriff Well-Known Member Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Apr 25, 2017
    Messages:
    3,171
    Location:
    Tasmania, Australia
    Equipment:
    60D, 10D, 50D 1dmark3, T70, AV1, lenses ranging from 28mm to 600 mm, canonet Junior, Canonet QL 25, Mamiya C3 and 3 lens sets,Mamiya 645 pro TL and 3 lenses. Pentax MG and various lenses, Toyoview 4 * 5 inch large format camera,Calimat C1 8*10 inch ultra large format camera.
    The majority of my lenses come from St.Vincent De Paul ( a charity shop), the quality is good as I volunteer there and check and price them myself.
     
  11. johnsey

    johnsey Site Moderator Staff Member Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Apr 21, 2017
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    2,120
    Location:
    Fargo, ND
    Equipment:
    5dMk4, 5dsR, 5dMk2, 20D, 70-200 2.8L IS, 100mm 2.8 Macro USM, 50mm 1.4, 85mm 1.8, 17-40mm 4.0L, TS-E 24mm 3.5L II, Rokinon 14mm 2.8; Pixma Pro-100
    This question really comes down to the type of lenses you want and the best/easiest place to get them.

    For my digital canons I have brought new, and online as the best in town options are best buy (we had a Ritz camera but it closed). So buying higher end gear ends up going to B&H Adorama or Amazon where i know i can trust them, they have competitive pricing, and I can return easily if needed.

    For film its harder, 20 years ago for 35mm i did have local options for film lenses sold used, but not now, so as the guys above as noted you need to focus on flee markets or thrift store type options. This is a market that has become rather niche.

    For medium and large format I think your best bets are specialized forums and ebay to be honest. I have bought the majority of my 67 and 645 systems off ebay, you just need to be patient and pay very close attention to the listing and photos. My Shen Hao 4x5 on the other hand I bout from someone on the large format forums who was selling off the whole system. Sure there are still options sold new here, but the used market is thriving and you can get some nice well cared for equipment.
     
  12. mariah

    mariah New Member

    Joined:
    Nov 6, 2019
    Messages:
    10
    Location:
    Dhaka
    Equipment:
    Canon 700d, canon 600d
    I also buy them online. To be honest, I also gave the same thought as people really should buy lenses in person rather than online. There are so many complications of buying a lens online specially for me as there are no official ebay or amazon in my country. I cannot just return it if there are any flaws.
     
  13. Marcus Rowland

    Marcus Rowland Member Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Apr 23, 2017
    Messages:
    410
    Location:
    London, United Kingdom
    Equipment:
    Eos 40D, Canon 18-55mm, lots of adapters for other lenses
    Nikon D7000, Sigma 18-200mm DC, Tamron XR 28-300mm, Nikon AF 50mm 1.4, Samyang 8mm f3.8, Sigma EX 50 2.8D macro, Sigma APO 170-500 5-6.3D, etc.
    Panasonic Lumix G1, 14-42 3.5-5.6, lots of adapters
    Pentax K200, Pentax 18-55mm
    Sony A230, Sony 18-70 3.5-5.6
    Sony A3500 18-55 several adapters
    Fuji FinePix S5700.
    Sony DSC-V1 with infrared kit.
    FLIR One thermal imaging camera for iPhone
    I think a lot depends on the seller and how honest they seem to be - I never trust a description that says something like "like new" on a second-hand item, but if the seller lists any faults and includes good photos (e.g. not the standard product shots you can find on line) I'm usually willing to take a chance - sometimes I've gone badly wrong, of course, but that's always going to be a risk with second hand. Of course I'm mostly buying stuff I can return if necessary, from UK sellers, so I don't have a lot of problems with overseas sellers.

    At the moment, of course, buying on line is about the only option I have - really don't want to travel about on public transport if I can avoid it.
     

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