canon 80-200 f2.8L non IS

wheresdavid

As some (most) of you know i am in south america and i am down to only one lens 50mm 1.8. i saw a used lens today, the canon 80-200 2.8L non IS. i could see no scratches on the glass but i did see a balck "speck" inside the lens. no fungus or anything else.

tomorrow i am going to go back and take some photos with the lens and check them out on a computer. assuming this black speck shows up i could photoshop it out right? would it be silly to get this lens knowing there is a black speck "inside" the lens? i am getting very frustrated with not having a zoom. i think i can pick the lens up for $500. do you know how much it would cost to have it "cleaned"? because i am thinking maybe i can buy the lens, photoshop out the spot, have the lens cleaned and then sell it and get most of my money back, or maybe hang on to the lens.

oh one last question, does anyone own this lens and does it take tack shaarp photos?

thanks for all the help

ziggy53

wheresdavid wrote:

As some (most) of you know i am in south america and i am down to only one lens 50mm 1.8. i saw a used lens today, the canon 80-200 2.8L non IS. i could see no scratches on the glass but i did see a balck "speck" inside the lens. no fungus or anything else.

tomorrow i am going to go back and take some photos with the lens and check them out on a computer. assuming this black speck shows up i could photoshop it out right? would it be silly to get this lens knowing there is a black speck "inside" the lens? i am getting very frustrated with not having a zoom. i think i can pick the lens up for $500. do you know how much it would cost to have it "cleaned"? because i am thinking maybe i can buy the lens, photoshop out the spot, have the lens cleaned and then sell it and get most of my money back, or maybe hang on to the lens.

oh one last question, does anyone own this lens and does it take tack shaarp photos?

thanks for all the help

Check out this thread:

http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=34189

I don't have that lens, but yes, it has a very good reputation. Supposed to be a little slower to focus than a Canon EF 70-200mm, f2.8L, it is still a very good performer. Many shops will not work on it because you can't get parts for it anymore.

Still, if it gives you good results, $500 is a very fair price (IMHO).

Note that it is not compatible with Canon teleconverters.

Nice review here:

http://photo.net/equipment/canon/80-200L

pathfinder

A black spec within a lens will NOT cause any small spots in the image - it may cause a very mild degradation of the overall image quality in terms of contrast or resolution. There will be not spots to clone out of your images from this black spot. Unless it is rather large, it is probably best left alone rather than trying to have someone clean the lens - unless you can get the lens to a Canon Factory Service facility. Even then, it may not be worth the cost of having the lens disassembled.

Lenses with an air bubble cast within a single internal lens element can be very high quality lenses. Lens manufactureres used to sell some like this 50 years ago.

wheresdavid

thanks for the links they were very helpful.

i am going to go check it out today. the only thing i am concerned about is that it may not be servicable in case the AF motor goes out so i will be extra careful checking out how it focuses.

hopefullyy later today i will have a new (old) lens!!

cheers

Dave

ziggy53 wrote:

Check out this thread:

http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=34189

I don't have that lens, but yes, it has a very good reputation. Supposed to be a little slower to focus than a Canon EF 70-200mm, f2.8L, it is still a very good performer. Many shops will not work on it because you can't get parts for it anymore.

Still, if it gives you good results, $500 is a very fair price (IMHO).

Note that it is not compatible with Canon teleconverters.

Nice review here:

http://photo.net/equipment/canon/80-200L