Lens covet - Long, fast EF 70-200

[snowflake]

Folks,

Is there a camera equivalent of hi-fi for sale.con, wher by one can be fleeced by scammers for camera kit?

I was at an outdoor gig last night, speaking to a freelance photographer and he had this amazing lens which I now covet..............he describes it as a long, fast lens...........which I assume stops down low so you can have a high shutter speed for bad light(??)

Amusingly I got chatting to him after we were both thrown out of the front of stage area (where my modest lens would have been OK , there was a bunch of Journo types walking through and I just tagged on the back, sadly a council Jobs worth appeared, ho hum!

It was an Canon EF 70-200mm, f2.6 with image stabilising going on, it appears they retail at around 1500 (eek), and even running the gauntlet from Hong Kong is a 1000.

So I was pondering if there was a site I could keep half an eye on to try and source a used one?

Any ideas chaps??

S

 

[garyi]

eBay.

 

[Mat Bon 0013]

It's f2.8 IS (image stabilisation), very sharp wide open. Just over £900 - Here

 

[Martin D]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Canon-EF-70-200mm-f-2-8-L-IS-3Yr-Int-Wty-NoVAT-AAJ8_W0QQitemZ120007264780QQihZ002QQcategoryZ4687QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItem

 

[robs]

Take a trip to the US?
http://www.beachcamera.com/shop/product.aspx?sku=CN70200USMLIS

 

[Jo Sharp]

Try the for sale bit of the Fredmiranda forum.

Mostly US based sellers but sometimes UK stuff appears. But don't expect to pick up one of these Canons cheap- they are in demand.

You could go for a much cheaper alternative -the Canon 70-200 f4L for around £450. On the right camera with good low light/high ISO performance (30D or 5D) it will work well in low light. I am getting very good results from one of these on my 30D at ISO 1600..very little noise in the pics.

If you need longer reach, then the 100-400 f4.5L IS is the answer, also for around £1100

If money is tight, then consider the EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM This is around £360, has good reach and image stabilisation. The first batch of these had problems with image quality in portrait orientation, but Canon have announced a fix recently so they should be available again soon.

 

[RichShortland]

Hi,

I have the 70-200 F4 L and find it a fantastic lens - I haven't really missed the extra stop of the F2.8 and the F4 is much lighter to carry around. I have heard that in image quality terms the f4 edges the f2.8 in fact (not by much mind...).

I also have the 300mm F4 IS USM which is a fabulous lens - unless you really need a long zoom (100-400 L) I'd go for this as a longer lens - its a bit cheaper ~£850-900 and image quality is better than the 100-400 zoom. To go longer you could always add a 1.4 tele and end up with a 420mm F5.6 which will still auto-focus and outperform the 100-400 image wise.

Have fun - buying lenses is great!... (eh Garyi..??)

Rich

 

[snowflake]

Rich,

Thanks for that, the camera in question is an eos350d, and I had seen the 70-200 f4 and noticed the considerable price hike, I assume this is for the extra stop and image stabilisation.

I could probably get away the f4, its the "bringing this closerness" feature I would like, more than its ability to handle poor light!

Ta to all for the responses.

S

 

[Mr_Sukebe]

Note that I've seen a number of threads where users have compared the picture quality between the F4 and F2.8 and prefered the F4. Clearly the F4 doesn't have IS, weather sealing, or the same F stop capability, but it certainly is a LOT cheaper.

 

[snowflake]

Those features would be nice to haves, but as a happy snapper probably liveable without

I shall only regret this if I ended up in a wobbly, dark, damp place where I had found a subject of interest

S

 

[robs]

Another thumbs up for the L 70-200 f4. I've been using it for a while & am very happy with it. Here's one taken at ISO1600 at 1/30th (with a 300D) in the back garden - it was well nigh dark!

The f2.8 was way bigger & heavier, & a bit out of my price range....I had a trip to the US & bought a couple of camera bodies & a couple of f4 lenses, which I then eBayed to fund the purchase of one of the lenses for myself..

A few more from Goodwood Festival of Speed last weekend if anyone's interested: