Hi,
My Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 lens has finally died.
Has anyone come across any good deals for L series lens?
I'm looking for Canon 17-40mmm f/4.0 lens, watching some used ones on ebay.
Cheapest I could find is around $800 on Kogan.
Canon 17-40mmm f/4.0 lens OR Any Canon L lens series for cheap
Fat Horny Ghost on 03/02/2015 - 04:17
Comments
I've used the 17-40mm f4 L and it's a fantastic lens.
My friend bought his from Gumtree. He was lucky and found one for $500 in excellent condition.
Hope this helps.
Gumtree second hand is a good place, just keep looking every few days or so and you'll find the 17-40 pops up pretty frequent.
17-40 is a good lens but if you're on a crop sensor (i.e. Canon 7D or below) a Canon EF-S 17-55 2.8 IS (non L lens) would be a better fit. Otherwise I'd say a 24-105 F4 L IS USM is a better option over the 17-40, and can be had for nearly the same price.
Is Guntree okay for buying lenses if you can't try them in person? I've been eyeing off some lenses but it seems a bit of a buyer beware thing, so I'd be interested to hear about your experience with it.
Most sellers I've encountered (myself included) will let you try out the lens in person on your own camera when you meet up. If the seller doesn't let you try it out I'd say don't deal with them.
As long as you use common sense, get to try out the lens in person, and meet up in a public place you should be fine. If your gut tells you something is dodgey then go with your gut feel.
My first filter for anything dodgey is just to give the person a call/email and have a chat. See how they respond and if they reply relatively professionally etc. Obviously know your 2nd hand prices too so you're not getting ripped off, or worse, when a deal is too good to be true.
For transactions over $1k I usually ask to sight a valid ID such as a drivers license and depending on the item, will write up a short contract or receipt of sorts with the other persons name and address (if they allow that).
I've bought/sold a few lenses through gumtree and have never had an issue. Good luck! :)
All good tips thanks :)
There aren't a huge number of people selling lenses where I live unfortunately but I'll keep an eye out.
If you're using APS-C and not intending to upgrade anytime soon. Stick with the tamron 17-40 2.8. Even if you do upgrade.. selling it and upgrading is not a big deal. Why carry extra glass which you can't use and sacrifice a stop of light?
I've had the 17-50 f2.8, 17-55 IS f2.8 , 17-40 f4 and now the 16-35 f2.8. Trust me when i say, the 17-50 2.8 is a really decent lens.
I'm using the Canon 60D, planning to upgrade to full crop soon.
I don't mind the additional cropping for now as I'm mostly doing portraits at the moment.
Been scanning the gumtree forums and bidding on ebay, so far no luck.
My Tamron lens is dead, as in the motor flex cable is teared inside (don't know how that happened).
What's your main intention for the lens? It works great for landscape on FF, where you're generally stopping down to f8/f11/f16 anyway. Corner softness all but disappears. If you're planning on upgrading to FF soon, are you thinking of a 6D?
If you're just after a walkaround lens the 24-105 is a better option, but this lens is killer for landscape, especially considering the price. Keep an eye out on Gumtree. I've seen a few decent ones on there before I gave and decided to just buy new before the cashback offer ran out.
There are still a few 24-105s on Gumtree, as some people get rid of them from the kit. Generally they're around the $600 mark. Might be worth looking at if you're not interested in landscape? It's generally sharper out in the corners cos it doesn't go as wide obviously.
Save up for the 16-35 f2.8
The 17-40 can be had for $600-800. The 16-35 is approximately double that price. If he's been happy with Tamron quality and he doesn't need the f2.8, the 17-40 should do him fine.
He mentioned he's going FF, the 16-35 with the extra stop of light is worth it.
I went FF and I couldn't justify spending double the price of my 17-40 for the extra stop. I bought mine primarily for landscape where I'm generally shooting at f8-f11. If he's doing astrophotography or using it as a walkaround lens maybe, but even then, $800+ is not an insignificant amount of difference.
If you're doing landscape maybe the 11-24 is a better buy.
17-40 whilst i liked it, the 16-35 with the extra stop just makes it so much more versatile. Whilst it's not in insignificant amount of money, it's money well spent IMHO.
The 11-24 is more than $4100… Or 8 times the price of the 17-40. While we're at it let's just say a Ferrari is a better buy than a Hyundai shall we? Either you haven't quite grasped the bang for buck concept or you're just trolling now, in either case I'm signing off now
how does a lens die?! I always thought they would break or water damage but do they actually stop working?
FYI digital camera warehouse had it for $799 just last week with $58 off. It's now back up to $857, but Australian stock.
http://www.digitalcamerawarehouse.com.au/prod4365.htm
I bought it with my 6D on the last day of the Canon double cash back. So I essentially got the lens for $650 brand new. Great lens for the money. Corner softness is annoying but not noticeable unless you pixel peep.
I am actually selling my Canon 17-40 for $500, interested?
I think you'd be disappointed going from f2.8 to f4… What camera are you using?