Review on a recent refurbished Canon 85mm f/1.8

[PeacePham]

I bought a refurb Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 on May 30th from Canon direct store in US, and I've just done the first portrait photoshoot with it today. The result was terrible.

- I bought a brand new copy of that lens before from Bestbuy, but for some reason the lens doesn't stop to lock the focus, so I decided to buy a refurbished one instead of getting it fixed. And the lens from Bestbuy was amazing. The AF was quick and accurate, sharp right at f/1.8. Even when I do manual focus, it still shows the same sharpness at f/1.8

- This refurbished copy was just terrible. Barely can get itself together with 1.8. I did at f/2 and f/2.2 and still missed focus HALF OF THE TIME


- The AF works for my Canon 60d and SL1, but when I put on my t2i, it doesn't work. I have to take it out and put it back every single time I try to use it. Otherwise it won't work. And all other lenses AF like normal on that t2i camera.

- When the lens came, the plastic looks brand new, but the front was dusty. I don't know how Canon gives a thorough check and evaluation on returned lenses without cleaning the front of the lens. There is a mark on the front that I haven't been able to wipe it off yet. I hope it's not a scratch even though I know it won't affect the image quality when I use wide aperture. But again, this lens barely can handle at f/1.8 and miss HALF OF THE TIME at f/2 and f/2.2

My refurbished lens was on sale, could be that people already returned it twice, or maybe refurbished lenses are that quality or I just ended up with a bad copy. Anyway, that's my review. The previous buyer(s) did return it for a good reason. I think I'm done buying refurbished stuff.

Just to verify, the Canon 85mm f/1.8 is a good lens (if you get a good copy). I just happened to buy a crappy refurbished copy from Canon. But this makes me question about how thorough it actually is for Canon's checking and evaluation process ??? ??? ???

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

That's not a review, its called whining. You have 14 days to return or exchange a lens, its rare that there is a issue, but it happens. Canon will send you a return label and a replacement.

Or, send it for repair.

Your previous lens could have been repaired for less than the price of a refurbished lens, there is a flexprint inside that was probably broken, a easy fix., I use Amex to buy one, that adds one additional year to the warranty.

 

[PeacePham]

Thank you for the advice. I wasn't whining; I made it very clearly that I PERSONALLY got a bad refurbished copy of that specific lens so people don't think that refurbished in general is always bad. And because I have a good one before so I can tell the difference between a good copy and a bad one. That was why I wrote the review because most people don't have both copies to make this comparison.

I'm awared that I have 14 to return the lens. Actually 28 days if you don't know. Maximum of 14 days to request the RMA and another maximum 14 days after that to ship the item back to Canon.

I didn't get it fixed because the shipping (twice), insurance, and the fee, part... could cost me like half of the lens's price, maybe even more. And there is no guarantee that Canon won't mess it up and it won't be malfunction again. I would end up paying for it again to fix it or have to buy another copy. And it would take me like 2 weeks to get it fixed, so I decided to just buy another one

Again, this is my PERSONAL review from my personal experience. All the details in my review are there because that's the fact, that's what happens. I can't just write a good review when they send me a crappy lens, can I? :-X :-X :-X

 

[d]

I'm with Mt Spokane - this isn't a lens review. You're reporting a negative purchasing experience, so maybe this would be better titled "A warning about purchasing refurbished Canon lenses".

d.

 

[slclick]

Sorry you got a bad one but in the grand scheme of things it's an excellent program. Especially if combined with the CLP.

 

[Luds34]

It always sucks when one gets a new toy and it is broken right out of the box.

Send it back, get a good one, and enjoy a very solid lens. In the grand scheme of things you won't give this little hiccup a 2nd thought.

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

It always sucks when one gets a new toy and it is broken right out of the box.

Send it back, get a good one, and enjoy a very solid lens. In the grand scheme of things you won't give this little hiccup a 2nd thought.

Yes, The culprit could very well be the shipper having handled the lens too roughly. It is much more common than many believe, but lenses that were perfect when leaving the store can be damaged in shipping even though apparently packed carefully. Then, the person blames Canon, but never considers the shipper.

 

[unfocused]

Ah yes...once again, someone has a bad experience and instead of taking the proper steps to have it corrected, they start a thread on the internet. I don't know what motivates people to do this. A cursory look at similar threads would show them that the experience is seldom positive.

Instead of sympathy, they are more likely to attract scorn, because their one-off experience does not match the experience of others.

I have an 85mm f1.8 that I bought refurbished a few years ago. Like all the refurbished lenses and cameras I've purchased, it was at least as good as new. No problems whatsoever.

I note that in addition to Canon's return policy, a refurbished lens carries the same one-year warranty as a new lens and currently, they quality for 13 months of the CarePak damage protection.

There are currently plenty of refurbished 85mm f1.8 lenses in stock, so returning should be simple and more satisfying than whining "reviewing" on the internet.