What to look for when buying a used lens?

radhak

I see a craiglist advt for a Nikon 50mm 1.4 for $165. Shall be going over tomorrow to try it out. He says it works perfectly (his words : "Beautiful Nikon 50mm F/1.4 manual Lens")

Seeing that this lens sells new for $300 - $450 (depending on if it is the D or the G version), that is a pretty low price. So what should I look for to make sure I am not stepping into some doodoo?

I already have the Nikon 35mm 1.8 and the Nikon 50mm 1.8; I am planning to sell the latter if I get this one. I use a D90.

All this so I could take some decent indoor basketball pictures, as I have to wait a long time before I can go for one of the the 2.8 zooms.

ziggy53

You should take a camera body with you on which to test the lens. I generally also take a small, single (white) LED flashlight which I shine through the lens to look for light scatter caused by mildew/mold or coating breakdown or glue separation. The single LED light, similar to a point light source, also tends to make any scratches more obvious.

Make sure to test the lens at all aperture openings and focus settings. Check for unusual "rattle". Check for proper fit to the body. Check filter threads.

dancorder

If that's the entire listing then it may well be something like this:

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/50f14ai.htm

and not an autofocus lens as you seem to to implying, especially as the lister explicitly says "manual". That would explain the price differential too.

Wil Davis

All Ziggy said…

…plus check to make sure the iris diaphragm isn't sticking (i.e. smooth operation, and all the blades open together and there's no asymmetry; is the hole a nice and evenly round shape)

Check for abuse (scuff marks, cracked or chipped plastic, bent or gouged metal) on the body, and closely scrutinize all the screws to see if they've ever been removed.

Good luck!



- Wil

radhak

Thanks Ziggy and Wil - those are great points for me to remember at all times!

And Dan, you might just be right - these is the original advt with pics : http://miami.craigslist.org/brw/pho/1818070968.html.

The other 50mm (the D or the G) that Ken praises do not seem to have a long serial number inscribed on the front of the lens. And he has pretty much run down the AI version...

Does the 'manual' mean it won't auto-focus even on the D90? I thought moved away from that problem when I upgraded from the D40!

craig_d

"Manual" means the lens has no auto-focus capability, period; it doesn't matter what camera you put it on. Lenses introduced before the mid-1980s are generally like that.

The Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 AI (or AI-s -- I have both) is an excellent lens. Ken Rockwell prefers the f/1.8 version, but I have that too and the differences are really pretty minimal. I'd say the f/1.4 model looks better at f/2 than the f/1.8 model does wide open, but by f/2.8 they both look great. Ken says the f/1.8 version has less barrel distortion than the f/1.4, but neither of my f/1.4s have much of a problem in that area to begin with.

Another thing to do when inspecting a lens is to manually stop it down all the way and look at the aperture blades from both ends. The blades should not look oily.

radhak

Thanks Craig - that is really great information.

River Eye Photography

radhak wrote: »

Does the 'manual' mean it won't auto-focus even on the D90? I thought moved away from that problem when I upgraded from the D40!

Nikon was very careful to make sure that all their old glass would still work, even as they upgraded their bodies. As a result, most Nikon shooters can use lenses that are older than the photographer is, even on modern, state-of-the-art bodies! Pentax, I believe, has the same advantages. Not sure 'bout Oly.

HOWEVER, a lens made before the era of autofocus... won't (won't AF, that is), not on any body. OTOH, for those willing to MF their lenses (and many folks are), top-grade MF glass can be a real bargain!
:ivar

A few newer, lower-end Nikons (e.g. the D40) have no AF-motor in the body, and need AF-motors in each lens. Most modern (AF'ing) Nikon's *have* the AF motor, and can AF any lens that has the screw-drive gearing to drive the focus. The older lenses simply don't have the right gearing, being from the days before AF was possible. IIRC, some of 'em don't even have aperture-control from the camera -- the VF shows whatever aperture you set (and believe me: f/8 is DARK in the VF!) .
:tough

Older Canon lenses have the same issues. Old -- heck, even middle aged -- Minolta glass (Rokkor/Celtic, their pre-AF line) actually has a different bayonet, and won't fit on modern Alpha cameras :boid (Sony bought the Minolta SLR business, lock stock and engineer; the 2 AF'ing Minoltas (5D, 7D) were branded variously as Maxxum, Dynax, or Alpha (for NA, Euro, or Asia markets) ; those lenses/bodies are fully-compatible with the new stuff from Sony, and vice versa (Minolta "G" glass is a real joy! ) ) .



- REP