I am going to upgrade my Sigma 70-200 f2.8 lens to a Canon 70-200 f2.8 L IS but really don't want to pay $1900. ; Anyone know of a good source for used/refurbished lens?
The other camera store in NY sells a lot of refurbed stuff - officially refurbed. ; However, it looks like the price is only $50 cheaper than brand new, and you only get a 90 day warranty! For used items, I really like KEH. ; They don't cheat their ratings, good customer service, and they will stand behind the product when it ships (i.e. you can return it rather than being as-is, except for a few exceptions on collectibles)
Check with LensRentals too. They sell their gear at reasonable prices and always send it back to canon for service before they sell anything.
www.keh.com, my absolute reccomendation for used gear, i've stated before in other post, i've never been a dissatisfied customer with them, and i've purchased several used L grade canon's from them
May I humbly suggest that you give some consideration to the Canon 70-200 f/4L IS? It's a real sweet lens with much less weight. ; It gets rave reviews and costs about 800 less. I went through the debate of the 2.8 v 4.0 and ultimately decided to go with the 4.0. ; I don't miss the extra weight. ; Honestly, my 24-70 2.8L weighs more, and is more difficult to shoot with than my 70-200 4.0L IS. Just some food for thought. Oh, and one last suggestion, how about renting both for a week or two so you get some hands on time with them? Regards, Boris
I was interested in staying with a 2.8 because I shoot a lot of indoor percussion. ; Good idea though to rent and try. ; We have a practice competition in a couple of weeks that I could try it at. ; Thanks for the tip.
Just got the Canon 70-200L IS USM from http://www.lensrentals.com and have taken just some test pics around the house. ; So far it looks fantastic!! ; My old Simga f2.8 70-200 came in at 3 lbs 4 oz and the Canon 70-200 f4 L IS USM tipped the scale at 1 lb 14 oz!. ; The real test will come Sat when I try it out at my sons Indoor Percussion exhibition. ; I'll post some pics this weekend. ;
haunteddoc...I look forward to seeing those images! ; I'm about to do the same thing. ; I have a feeling I am going to become a rental junkie for awhile. ;
I have used Lens Rentals in the past and they have always been good and have great customer service. ; Couple that with the fact that the founder is an anesthesiologist, guess he got tired of passing gas, and there ya go. ; Their prices are also very reasonable. ; Almost had a heart attack when my wife said they might move the performance to next week because something they needed wasn't going to happen. ; Then as things always go everything came together and we are still on for the weekend.
"....guess he got tired of passing gas, and there ya go." ; That just tickled my funny bone! Don't forget HD. ; I'm gonna be looking for those pics! ;
So, finally got some time to process the pics from the exhibition last weekend. ; The lens was definitely lighter as compared to f2.8. The lighting in the gym was a little darker than normal so this was a good test. ; One thing I noticed with the IS is that it was really good for stationary subjects but not very good for moving subjects. ; Some of this could have been me since I have a tendency to rush the shot when things get moving and thus get some fuzzy if not out of focus pics. ; Also, it took a little less than a second for the IS to work. ; Even though it weighs more, I think I still like the extra exposure options you get with the f2.8. and probably will try and find a way to upgrade to the 2.8 IS. Here is a link to the pics. ; Can you guess which one is mine? ; http://haunteddoc.smugmug.com/Winter-Percussion/Exhibition/11142363_86g6J#780876841_QgadX
