Buying lenses from Ebay that need repair! Views?

[herc182]

Dear all,

There is someone selling a few lenses (for very cheap) that would need repairing. he doesnt know what is wrong with them but assures me the "Glass" is in perfect condition. Could repairs be very costly?

THanks

[herc182]

I guess what i want to know, is what can go wrong with a lense?

The lenses he is selling apparently came in a box named "for repair".
THere are 5 lenses for which he accepted an offer of €120. Do you think its worth it?

1 x 35-70mm f/2.8 AF
1 x 50mm f/1.4 AF
1 x 24mm f/2.8 AF
1 x manual 28mm f/3.5
1 x manual 28mm f/2.8

[jcon]

No, to me its not worth it. You dont know whats wrong with the lenses. The repairs could be VERY costly or they may not be repairable. I would stay away but its up to you.

[herc182]

yeah I think thats probably best. Have no experience with lense repairs so have no idea what they could run into.

Its always tempting when you see what you could get :D
very nearly went for it....

[DonSchap]

There is a camera shop, here in town, with drawers full of ... heh heh, parts. I speak of lenses that no longer work or whatever. Even the owner does not see value in restoring these items.

In today's world, it is hard enough to get what comes out as "NEW" to work as expected. I have had the experience, as well as many others on this forum, where I have had to send a "boxed", brand-new lens back to the manufacturer for a tweak, to get it sharp enough to use. That's why a number of folks on this forum run their own "performance shoots" ... just to find out if what they bought really works. These are usually good lenses, too (top-drawer, so to speak), and happily, manufacturer's-warranty takes care of the rest when you send them back for correction. Your only hassle is the round-trip time and inconvenience of shipping it back.

Now, here you come along with your "box" full of broken or in-need-of-repair lenses. I submit to you ... that I, personally, submitted a Canon EF 28mm f/2.8 lens that just wasn't shooting sharp at all for repair by Canon, and it was not covered by warranty. The repair (mind you, the performance tweak) of this "working" lens was $90. It now works as well as any 28mm f/2.8 could be expected to ... heck, maybe better! The point being: It wasn't even a ZOOM lens, it was just a simple short PRIME ... 90-bucks!

Now ask yourself ... now that you know this ... just what would it cost to correct "non-working" lenses?

Along with your box o' lenses, bring a big ol' box o' money!

Food for thought. :cool:

[herc182]

Thanks very much for your advice...deleted the item from my "watch" list!!!!

That was a close one....what a disease ebay can be.

:-)