Newbie question

[goodferry]

Hi! I ordered the digital Rebel XT and I am shopping for lenses. I have two questions, first, have any of you had any experience buying lenses on Ebay? Second question; how do I tell if a lens will fit my camera, do all lenses that are made for a Canon fit the Rebel? Sorry for the potentially stupid questions, this is a learning process for me, I have been a member of the point and shoot crowd for a long time!

 

[Kelly Grannell]

1. I don't buy lens on eBay. If it is low-end, usually you'll get the same price at B+H, Adorama, Butterfly etc. If it is high-end, well... usually professionals don't sell their high-end gears unless there is something wrong with it.

2. Make sure the lens is for Canon EF or EF-S mount.

 

[Anewman]

I kinda agree with Kelly.

IMO The savings you get from buying on EBAY are minimal and not worth the possible RISKS.

I have seen Many USED lenses sell for more on EBAY, than I could buy them NEW from reputable online retailers. And some of the shipping charges are unreal.

 

[blackjackdelta]

I did. I purchased a new 70-300 APO DG Sigma lens with case, hood and warrenty card for $50 less than what I could get it from Adorama, Band H etc.

Nice lens

Jack

 

[goodferry]

Thanks for your responses! The lens I am looking at on Ebay is a Canon 28-135mm with image stabilization, it is currently at around $217, but I am kind of hesitant about buying such delicate equiptment on Ebay.

 

[mhutchinson]

I have picked up a couple of the older primes on eBay that you can't really get anywhere anymore (e.g. 50mm f/1.8 Mark 1). As with anything on eBay you need to be careful and research both the item and the seller. Most of the newer lens tend to actually sell for near or higher than can be bought directly from any one of the sites Kelly mentioned...plus you get full warranty and any current rebates as well. Any of the older ones you need to know the value and be sure that you are not actually bidding on a different lens.

Craziest bidding I have seen on eBay so far was for a 50mm f/1.8 Mark 2 plastic mount..this thing is only about $75 new and it sold for more than 3 times that. You could tell the bidders got caught up in a bidding frenzy and lost touch with reality.

 

[WillCAD]

Remember that eBay doesn't just have ordinary people selling stuff; there are also legitimate camera vendors selling stuff with an eBay Store.

I got a pretty good price on my Sigma 18-125 lens from Tri-State Camera's eBay Store, about $20 cheaper than I could have gotten from Tri-State's own web site.

 

[JR6ooo4]

Make sure there is a reasonable return policy.
I just moved to a DSLR some months ago and I keep reading comments over at the 350 forum on dpreview talking about a good "copy" of a lens. Also very good copy and poor copy, as well. Any ebay lens deal may be a great copy. It also may be a realy poor copy that has been returned to a shop three times already.

So bottom line, make sure you can return it. And test it immediately. Do a focus test at teh minimum.
Mikeeee