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where/when to get lenses?

purbeast0

purbeast0

No Lifer
as someone who is new to DSLR, i'm just curious as to where the best places to look for lenses are as well as when to get them.

i want to get the newest 50mm 1.8f lens from canon that just came out recently, the STM model. it's $125 pretty much everywhere. amazon, best buy, adorama, etc.

is there typically a specific store/time to look for these things to go on sale?

i'm not in a hurry to get it, but i definitely want to get it by next month before i head to the outer banks. i know it's a newer model so chances are it won't be going on sale much, but in general i'm just wondering the best strategy to get the cheapest prices for lenses.
 
Start sharing pics at fredmiranda.com so you can participate in the for sale forum there. Also, KEH.com. For a lot of stuff, nothing wrong with used. 😀
 
Spoooon said:
Start sharing pics at fredmiranda.com so you can participate in the for sale forum there.
Click to expand...

You actually aren't required to share anything, however some users won't sell to you if you have no history or feedback. With that said, I do agree that fredmiranda.com is the best place for user-to-user sales for camera gear. People there take care of their stuff. I've personally purchased two lenses from that forum for high dollar amounts and had no issues.

If buying new, I recommend B&H Photo. They just do it right with product listings and reviews. One thing you always have to watch out for in the photography world is US and grey market items. If you accidentally purchase a grey market item, you won't get the warranty. Places like Amazon are harder, if not impossible, to figure out what version you're buying, especially from their marketplace. But B&H list it right on the product page so you know.

If you need the lens right now, you're likely to have a local camera shop or at least a Best Buy, they usually stock the most common lenses. The thing about purchasing new is that prices rarely differ much from place to place, they're like Apple products where I believe vendors aren't allowed to compete on price.
 
Go ebay, or on amazon browse the "used" sections. Even went the craigslist route for a lens just yesterday and got a killer deal.
I'd say 75%+ of my gear is used. All works fine so far.
 
I really like Craigslist because you can meet somewhere safe and test out the equipment before you buy it. For buying a lens, inspect the front and rear elements for scratches, dust, and haze possibly caused by mold. Test out the lens's ability to focus and go through the aperture range to make sure everything is as you expect. Also gives you the opportunity to snap a photo of the seller in case you ever need to track them down or whatever. I also bring my laptop so I can view the images at full res on a big screen.

Downside of Craigslist is limited selection. You basically have to check it everyday for a long time waiting for what you want.

That said - all of my current lenses and bodies were bought new. I got used stuff when I shot APS but started going all new when I got full frame. I like the support Nikon gives especially for things like autofocus which is bound to get out of tune over time. They've tuned my autofocus on two different occasions for free and my body was out of warranty both times I believe.
 
You are a Canon owner, so canonpricewatch is your best friend. Darn addictive.

There are three categories: new, gray market and refurbished.

New lenses go on sale occasionally and the list price may slowly decline over time. For less expensive lenses, they may be replaced before the price ever declines. For something like the 200-400 f/4, the price was $12k for the first year or so, now it is available for $10k.

Refurbished is basically as good as new. If you look around for a while, you'll get a feel for when things go on sale refurbished. There are sales quiet often, but the lens you want may only go on sale refurbished once or twice a year. New lenses and cameras take a while to show up available as refurbished. The best discounts on very desired lenses sell out very fast. You can setup for alerts to be sent to your email.

For gray market - Canon may not honor a warranty for gray market, but they may. So it is your choice if the discount is worth the risk. For me it would be if the discount was high enough.

For a new lens, it takes a while before it is available below list price. Depends on the lens. The 50 STM is already available on ebay for $110 as gray market. That is much quicker than I had thought, but that is probably Canon's best seller aside from lenses included in kits. I pre-ordered mine as soon as it was available. I figured that in a year may be able to get it for closer to $100, but didn't care. One year of use for me was clearly worth paying full list price. I'm happy with the lens. It focuses much better and has better build quality than the 50mm 1.8 II that it replaced.
 
Oh, and when you do buy from a retailer - I second the support for B&H. The prices match or beat others, the website and selection are second to none, and the speed and service is terrific. And if you get to visit NYC - the B&H superstore is fantastic.
 
NAC said:
Oh, and when you do buy from a retailer - I second the support for B&H. The prices match or beat others, the website and selection are second to none, and the speed and service is terrific. And if you get to visit NYC - the B&H superstore is fantastic.
Click to expand...

Add Adorama to the list too
 
CuriousMike said:
Dudes asking about a $125 *new* lens and we're throwing out 17 different options to buy it.

lolz
Click to expand...

True, but I remember when the Nikon 35mm 1.8g was my first lens after the kit and it was a big purchase. Little did I know at the time that full frame cameras and 2k+ lenses were in my future.
 
well i appreciate all the feedback! that fredmiranda place looks to be a very good resource for used gear as well.
 
The 35mm 1.2F can be used on mirrorless cameras, neither dslr Canon nor Nikon can use them without having to use corrective adapter (results in poorer image quality)
 
if you buy directly from amazon, is there still a chance it would be gray market? or is it just if you buy from other sellers on amazon?

EDIT:

damn i just looked at the canonpricewatch site for the first time. they had the 50mm lens for $110 yesterday but it expired lol. would have got that for sure.
 
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If you're buying new from any of the reputable dealers ( Amazon, BH, Adorama, Cameta etc ) you should be fine.

I believe BH and/or Adorama have options to buy gray market, but you have to specifically seek that out.
 
purbeast0 said:
if you buy directly from amazon, is there still a chance it would be gray market? or is it just if you buy from other sellers on amazon?
Click to expand...

Not really sure. You'd probably be best to read the reviews and see if anybody mentions it. If you can't tell by reviews and the price difference is huge compared to what it costs at B&H for a USA version, then it very likely is grey market.
 
I personally like ebay for used gear. It takes more work and searching, but I feel you can ultimately find a better deal on used gear there if you are careful. It's where I have purchased most of my current gear.
 
purbeast0 said:
if you buy directly from amazon, is there still a chance it would be gray market? or is it just if you buy from other sellers on amazon?
Click to expand...

You can buy grey market from B&H and Adorama if you wanted.

About everything I've bought was from B&H. Else, my new body and lens are technically grey now from when I was in HK.
 
As a Canon shooter, I have found the buy and sell section of the forums at Photography-On-The-Net to be excellent. I have bought and sold numerous pieces of equipment there over the years and never had a bad experience. I have also used fredmiranda, but I don't like their forum software as much and it requires wading through lots of non Canon stuff.

Buying used is a great way to save some cash in this hobby.
 
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