Joe B. wrote:
I've seen a 28-135 IS lens advertised as used, M-, for around 80%
of what I'd pay for a new one. But I wonder about and what might have
happened to the lens with the previous owner and the resilience of the
electronic focusing and (especially) the IS mechanisms.
I bought my 28-135 IS lens used, but I bought it at a camera shop and got to see it before putting down my money, so I could verify the condition and the operation of the lens.
If I were to have to buy another one, I would probably not buy one used sight unseen. For one, this lens tends to collect a lot of dust on the inside which only gets worse the older the lens gets. Two, this focal length is great for all-around usage so the lens gets to be "out of the bag" quite a bit and while the lens is not flimsy, there have been times I've dropped this lens and heard scary scratchy noises on impact. Plus the normal abuse racking the thing in and out while trying to find the right focal length... The build of the 28-135 is nothing like the 300 f/4 IS or those other white IS lenses, which I would not hesitate to buy on auction or mail-order.
So to wrap up this long story, my advice would be to buy this particular lens used only if you can verify the condition first or they have a liberal return policy. Price-wise, just for your information, I paid 32% less than B&H price for it in Mint+ condition with all the manuals, box, case etc...Happy hunting!
Jeff
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