Buying Manual Focus SLR Lenses

This guide summarizes (in detail) how to avoid problems while buying used SLR lenses.

1) Research

Read the lens reviews to ensure your lens will be good enough for your needs.  Spending 10-30 minutes of online research can prevent you from getting a coke-bottle lens, but don't fall into the trap of buying the best unless you really need it! Pretty much every lens from big-name camera makers are good enough for the average user.

2) Check Prices

Check the typical closing price of the lens you are looking for. Unless you are in a big hurry to get the lens or it is very rare, don't automatically buy up the first one that comes along (unless the price is right).

3) Ask Questions!

Carefully read the item's description and look for the description of the condition of the lens. The lens should:

• Have no dents or cracks in the body
• Have no dents in the filter ring
• Focus smoothly through the entire focus range with no 'sticky' or 'scratchy' sections
• If it's a zoom, it should zoom smoothly and noiselessly
• Turn (click) smoothly through the entire aperture range
• Have dry diaphragm blades (the internal blades that open and close the aperture)
• Have a snappy diaphragm (the internal blades open and close quickly with a snappy sound)
• Have clean glass:
• no scratches, dings, nicks, ...
• no smudges, grease, oil on the glass
• no fungus! (this is a spiderweb-like growth inside the lens)
• no haze or cloudiness
• a few small internal dust specks are fine, but if there are many of them it's a bad sign
• Function correctly in Automatic 'A' mode

Problems with the glass are best seen if the aperture is set wide open and the lens is held up to a 100W bulb at a slight angle so that if you look through you don't actually see the light but the glare of the light on the back of the lens. You can often see things this way that are invisible otherwise.

4) Check out the Seller

See if the seller provides a description of their camera experience. The more the better. Check their feedback and see if any of their auctions (buying or selling) are for camera equipment. If you can't find any auctions involving camera equipment, the seller is probably not experienced enough to accurately gauge the condition of the lens.

Ask the seller if they're familiar with that particular brand of lenses and SLR lenses in particular.

Summary

There are a lot of tremendous bargains on SLR lenses on Ebay, but there are also a LOT of dead or problematic lenses as well. 'As-is' and 'No Return' lenses should be avoided unless you don't mind swallowing the cost of the lens for nothing, or you are able to repair them yourself. Remember - the best deals always involve the greatest risk