> > > This particular lens I would buy new (and I have, twice) because it is > not known for being terribly robust and many have had problems. buy new > if for no other reason than to get the one year warranty in case you get > a lemon or in case you bump it too hard and the AF or the IS goes goofy. >
I've dropped lenses three times in my life, the first time was a Tokina 28-85 of mid '80 vintage, I bent down to pick up something on the floor with the camera/lens slung over my shoulder pointing down, the lens contacted the concrete floor rather "firmly", the zoom control became very stiff, but loosened up after turning it back and forth a few times, I continued to use it for another 6 years before trading it in. I then dropped a Tamron 28-200 with the EOS-A2 camera on concrete (again) from 2 feet altitude, a metal zoom helical ring broke in 3 pieces, the cost to repair it was about 50% of the cost of the lens new! I got it fixed and traded up to the EF28-135 the first opportunity I had, and have never regretted it. A month ago my EF28-135 fell out of my camera bag around waist height and hit the floor, one of the three prongs of a small "flare ring" broke allowing an internal lens element to come loose (ugly sight), the flare ring was only $15 Canadian, the labour was $85 Canadian, everything else was undamaged, I happily paid the repair cost and consider myself lucky. The current crop of consumer grade Canon lenses, at least with my EF28-135 example, is pretty good compared to the Tamron experience. Regards, Ken * **** ******* *********************************************************** * For list instructions, including unsubscribe, see: * http://www.a1.nl/phomepag/markerink/eos_list.htm ***********************************************************
