Refurb lens worth the savings?

[bigdogmn73]

In the world we leave in we have to look at every option for saving money. In my search I'm checking out refurbs lens, mainly l series lens. My main two lens I'm looking at are the 24-70 2.8 and 50mm 1.2 (or 1.4). Has anyone purchased these refurb lens and what are your experiences? I know that canon only gives a 90 day warr. compared to a year, but I could save myself about $500 on between a 24-70 and 50 1.2. Let me know what you all think..thanks so much.

 

[Loswr]

I chose 'don't own', but if you're looking to save $, a refurb is a good option. Any manufacturing line turns out a few lemons - the nice thing about a refurb is that you know it's up to spec.

FYI, although Canon only offers 90 days, if you buy a refurb from Adorama they give you a one year warranty, similar to a new ony (except you send it back to Adorama if there's a problem).

 

[elflord]

In the world we leave in we have to look at every option for saving money. In my search I'm checking out refurbs lens, mainly l series lens. My main two lens I'm looking at are the 24-70 2.8 and 50mm 1.2 (or 1.4). Has anyone purchased these refurb lens and what are your experiences? I know that canon only gives a 90 day warr. compared to a year, but I could save myself about $500 on between a 24-70 and 50 1.2. Let me know what you all think..thanks so much.

I got a refurb 5D Mark II and a refurbed lens -- the 35 f/2 around the tsunami, everyone except the refurb store was selling them well above the standard list price.

The camera had just under 1000 clicks on it, and looked brand new. Besides the box (they ship in a refurb box), I couldn't tell the lens from brand new.

The prices for the better quality refurb lenses on Canon's website are lower than street prices on used items. This is why quality items sell out very quickly there. So the opinion of the market is that the items you are looking for are a bargain at those prices.

Another place I have hunted for bargains is lensrentals used site. Because it's rental gear, it is not going to be almost new. However, it is sold at a good price (price after shipping and taxes is much lower than Canon's price) and it has the advantage that the seller knows their stuff and does a careful inspection of the gear, so you know what you're buying.

The only downside with these options is that it might make it harder to sell the item, because you don't have a "new" box. This is probably a non issue if you're planning to hang onto it for a year or more.

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

I've bought two of them, a 15-85mm EF-S at the same time I bought my refurb 7D, and a 70-200mm f/2.8 L MK II. Both of them were like new, and focused perfectly.

There really isn't a big savings on them, but if they have another 15% off sale and the 85mm f/1.2 is in stock, I'll grab it.

I did return the 70-200 because I did not like its weight for a walk around lens, and just kept my 70-200mm f/4 IS along with a whole set of primes for low light.

If Canon comes out with a super low light body, I might reconsider, but I'm pretty well hooked on the primes.

Hint: Signup for their e-mail notification and get quick notification when they have another 15% off sale.