Refurbished Lens From Canon

Feb 19, 2013
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Has anyone purchased refurbished lens from canon? Wondering if i would have problems with the lens later. Or should I just go ahead and spend the extra $700.00 on a new lens.
 
I purchased a refurbished 7D and am currently watching prices for refurbished 5DIII's to drop to grab another one. I'm not, yet, in the market for another lens, but I will definitely look at Canon's refurbished lenses first.

Canon's refurbished products must pass individual inspection before being sold. I would assume that this includes a focus check for lenses. New lenses don't get this kind of individual testing before being sold. Now that refurbished camera's and lenses (through the Canon store) have the same one year warranty as new products, I don't see a down side for buying through Canon's Refurbish store as long as the price is right. (I have, occasionally, seen some promos on new products beat the pricing of Canon's refurbished pricing.)
 
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I have purchased several lenses and bodies and have never been disappointed. In all but one case, the items appeared to be brand new or in mint condition, with the exception of the original packaging.

I usually wait for them to run 10-20% off specials, but they sell out so fast when those sales are going on, it's hard to get it them at that price. It took me over a year to finally snag a TS-E 24.
 
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There have been other threads on this and many opinions rendered all over the place. I got a 100-400 during a sale (15% off refurb price) last year and it is just fine. In fact, not a scratch or mark on it and it works as designed. Now, with the 1 year warranty, I don't see how you can go wrong.
 
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I haven't purchased any refurbished stuff from Canon because of the 90-day warranty on them. But since now Canon's refurbished products are covered with one-year warranty, I look more and more often on them. So, if the price difference is $700, I'd go for refurbished instead of new.
 
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I recently purchased a canon 400mm F5.6L refurbished. It came looking like a brand new lens. I haven't had any problems. I looked it over good under bright light and could not even find a scratch anywhere. It was perfectly clean and flawless. I was surprised to pay sales tax. When I order from B&H I don't have to pay the tax. It was still cheaper from Canon. You should consider the sales tax when computing the price.
 
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I have bought a DSLR, a Powershot, and many lenses (with patience). With the exception of the box they came in, they were indistinguishable from new!

Some complain about the sales tax, but you can either pay it now or pay it at year's end as "use tax". Either way, they get ya :)
 
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I just bought my first refurb lens from canon direct which I received today!! Very excited and yes, the lens is pretty much in perfect condition! HOWEVER... my lens has a few dust specks inside (85mm 1.8 EF USM). I don't think it'll affect image quality but I expected perfectly clean lens!! :(( Should I send it back or is this normal? Trust me, there's a few specks in there.. I can't clean it myself so yeah. Please help!
 
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cellomaster27 said:
I just bought my first refurb lens from canon direct which I received today!! Very excited and yes, the lens is pretty much in perfect condition! HOWEVER... my lens has a few dust specks inside (85mm 1.8 EF USM). I don't think it'll affect image quality but I expected perfectly clean lens!! :(( Should I send it back or is this normal? Trust me, there's a few specks in there.. I can't clean it myself so yeah. Please help!
I wouldn't worry about it. All of my lenses have dust in them after a year or so of use. Here's a good read on it:

The Apocalypse of Lens Dust
 
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mackguyver said:
cellomaster27 said:
I just bought my first refurb lens from canon direct which I received today!! Very excited and yes, the lens is pretty much in perfect condition! HOWEVER... my lens has a few dust specks inside (85mm 1.8 EF USM). I don't think it'll affect image quality but I expected perfectly clean lens!! :(( Should I send it back or is this normal? Trust me, there's a few specks in there.. I can't clean it myself so yeah. Please help!
I wouldn't worry about it. All of my lenses have dust in them after a year or so of use. Here's a good read on it:

The Apocalypse of Lens Dust

Thank you! I guess I'll just keep mine then.. that's a helpful link!
I've been a very careful shooter I guess.. I have almost no dust in any of my lenses. :P
 
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