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Part I Cosmetics...When we buy anything used, we need either to be experienced, have a knowledgeable friend or buy from an impeccable source that offers a full money back guarantee. We can't always get all three or even one and yet we still want that perfect Canon Lens. This guide will provide you with the information and illustrations to make your own evaluation when reading a seller's ad description as to how good a cosmetic condition that Canon Lens really is versus what the seller is (or is not) showing from his pictures or written narrative.
Cosmetics are very important! They are an indication of: no use, normal use, excessive use and finally abuse and often an indicator of future mechanical performance. Generally (99.99% of the time) the better "certain" cosmetics, the better performance you can expect from the lens. We'll distinguish in this guide which "certain" cosmetics in our opinion are more important.
Here are the 8 most common "wear points" cosmetically on any Canon EF lens. You can uses these same pictures when comparing the lens you are interested in, so you may want to book mark this Guide.
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Fig 2 shows the gold plated copper contacts located in the rear of the lens that are the coupling contacts that transmit information from the lens to the camera body for such things as providing auto focus data, auto exposure.. no burnishing (shininess) of the surface of these contacts means..probably never used...mint. Burnishing is normal and is fine. Grooves in the copper contact you can feel with your fingernail shows heavy use, no problem, but your "smart antenna" should be up.
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Again, we are at the rear of the lens. Fig 3 is one of the three locking lugs that holds the lens to your camera body. Edges should be square and sharp. These are very rugged so any rounding of the edges or more than 1 nick in any of the lugs shows excessive use, but does not by itself affect picture quality. I have NEVER seen a lens that wasn't anything but snug against the camera body regardless of the the locking lugs cosmetics. Remember, we are just talking about use evaluations
Figure #4 shows one of the 4 main lens back screws which need to be removed to make any repairs to the lens. The cross slot edges on the screw head should be again sharp, not rounded. If the correct screw driver is used once or twice to remove these screws, without extreme magnification, we cannot tell if theses screws were removed and the lens repaired. But if the slots show any "rounding", the person repairing was very careless or worse incompetent. Don't buy this lens if there are others out there you can buy.
Figure #5 shows the lens barrel serrations (gripping grooves) that help when locking and unlocking the lens to and from the camera body. These should always be sharp and defined as it receives very little stress and should never show "rounding" of the serrations. I have only seen 2 lenses out of literally thousands that showed "rounding" and therefore excessive use
Figure #4 shows one of the 4 main lens back screws which need to be removed to make any repairs to the lens. The cross slot edges on the screw head should be again sharp, not rounded. If the correct screw driver is used once or twice to remove these screws, without extreme magnification, we cannot tell if theses screws were removed and the lens repaired. But if the slots show any "rounding", the person repairing was very careless or worse incompetent. Don't buy this lens if there are others out there you can buy.
Figure #5 shows the lens barrel serrations (gripping grooves) that help when locking and unlocking the lens to and from the camera body. These should always be sharp and defined as it receives very little stress and should never show "rounding" of the serrations. I have only seen 2 lenses out of literally thousands that showed "rounding" and therefore excessive use
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Fig #6 shows the serrations of the rubber focus ring. This is a lot different than what you saw above. This ring is a very good indicator of degrees of use. The top edges of these serrations or grip slots should be sharp and distinct, not rounded. Most never use a focus ring except when the lens can't auto focus because of low light or the photographer is savvy and trying to optimize depth of field. Rounded serrations are not a worry, but are a definite indicator of above average use.
Fig #7 The Plastic Window over the lens distance scale. This is absolutely the most insignificant cosmetic indicator, but most often the one that shows the most cosmetic imperfection. Don't worry about it is the point! The plastic acrylic window scratches very easily. Too easily! Even the slightest rub from an innocent plastic carrying strap buckle up against it in the camera bag may cause light marring of the surface. That's the bad news. The good news is that none of this light marring ever affects readability of the distance scale ( which only a few use anyway). If the the window is so scratched as to affect readability, this condition now indicates, abuse....don't buy it, however, I have never seen one that bad.
Fig #7 The Plastic Window over the lens distance scale. This is absolutely the most insignificant cosmetic indicator, but most often the one that shows the most cosmetic imperfection. Don't worry about it is the point! The plastic acrylic window scratches very easily. Too easily! Even the slightest rub from an innocent plastic carrying strap buckle up against it in the camera bag may cause light marring of the surface. That's the bad news. The good news is that none of this light marring ever affects readability of the distance scale ( which only a few use anyway). If the the window is so scratched as to affect readability, this condition now indicates, abuse....don't buy it, however, I have never seen one that bad.
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Figure 8 is one of the very best "deceptive" indicators of use (either way) This is the auto focus/manual focus switch located on the lens. The switch can often feel "stiff" , offering some resistance when switching back and forth from auto to manual focus. The fingernail is generally used by most to get a purchase on this switch and very quickly will resulting in some rounding or notching of the tops of the switch's serrations. This is normal and nothing to worry about. If, however,
you see perfectly sharp edges on this switch , you just may have a previous owner that never used the switch or better yet, a lightly or never used lens. All other previous indicators in this guide being neutral or good, grab this lens.
This is a work in progress, but there is enough here to give you a decent jump start. If you folks that just read this liked it well enough to give it some helpful votes, I will look forward to adding more. If not, I will assume that there is enough here already and leave it as written. Best of luck in your Used Canon Lens purchases...steve...canon_treasures
you see perfectly sharp edges on this switch , you just may have a previous owner that never used the switch or better yet, a lightly or never used lens. All other previous indicators in this guide being neutral or good, grab this lens.
This is a work in progress, but there is enough here to give you a decent jump start. If you folks that just read this liked it well enough to give it some helpful votes, I will look forward to adding more. If not, I will assume that there is enough here already and leave it as written. Best of luck in your Used Canon Lens purchases...steve...canon_treasures
Guide created: 08/27/08 (updated 10/22/09)
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