10 years old Canon 28-80mm f/2.8-4 L ? how much more from now?

[colin_bouriquet]

I'm about to buy a 28-80mm f/2.8-4 L from a store in Germany

and i'm in France, it means that i will not be able to test the lens

before to buy it. The seller has told me the lens is OK, it's about

10 years old, there are no scratches and the owner has took

good care of it. From my part i'm a little bit worried about the age

and i dont know if it's worth it? if he says the truth should i still

expect to see the usm broken within a year or should it last

much longer? thanks to help me out making up my mind cause i

don't really have a clue about this.

[jia_shi_li]

You should get the 28-70 f/2.8 instead, it is a killer lens.

[yakim_peled1]

IF the seller has good reputation AND IF he is willing to replace it or repare it if you are not happy AND IF the price is right for you, get it.

From http://www.photozone.de :

"A: Many user complain that the old 28-80/2.8-4L suffers from vignetting problems at the wide-end and quite severe distortions at both extremes. Both problems were fixed with its successor - the 28-70/2.8L. In terms of sharpness and contrast both lenses are on fix-focal level. According to Canon MTFs the old 28-80/2.8-4L seems to be a little bit superior at the long end (better edge performance), at 28mm it is a little worse wide-open but on par at f/8. Both lenses feature a ring-type USM but the old lens doesn't provide FTM and manual focus is achieved via an electronic system which is something to get used to. Both lenses extend when zooming towards the long end - something which is typical for most lenses (except the Tokinas) in this zoom range.

 

If you want to best then the 28-70/2.8L is surely the lens to go for because optically this is a near flawless lens - at a price. Used 28-80/2.8-4L in good to mint condition can be found for as little as 500$ which puts it into direct competition with new third party pro zooms. Specifically the Tokina AF 28-80/2.8 AT-X Pro is a hard competitor here - it doesn't suffer from similar distortion and vigentting problems but it seems to be a little less sharp and contrasty especially at wider apertures. The build quality of the Tokina is as good, if not better, than the Canons - it has a (sort of true) IF desing so it doesn't extend during zooming. No USM though but there's a focus-clutch mechanism which is allows similar manual focus options like Canon's FTM.

Alternatives:

Tokina AF 28-80/2.8 AT-X Pro - indeed a serious competitor except at wide-open aperture where it performs a bit soft. The build quality is truely superb.

Sigma AF 28-70/2.8 EX DF - overall comparable with the Tokina except in terms of build quality. Severe flare problems in contra light situations.

Tamron AF 28-105/2.8 SP - this lens suffers from quite extreme distortions at the end of the focal range. Other than that it is comparable with the other two third-party offerings.

Sigma AF 24-70/2.8 EX DF - just announced

(Please note the compatibility issues involved with third party products)"

[remi_lemarchand]

I have the 28-80 L and it is a superb lens - 80 is nicer than 70 at the long end, and the USM is way quicker than the 3rd party equivalents (at least it's silent - try the Sigma 28-70 2.8 EX). It was Canon's very best lens 10 years ago, and yeah the 28-70 is better but also twice as expensive.

 

I would say for under $500 there is no competition - the Tokina's are extremely soft wide open (look at CdI tests)

[colin_bouriquet]

Ok thank you for your awnsers, i've finaly made up my mind and

i've bought the 28-80mm L for 560 $ i thought the price was fair.

I will receive it in few days. About the vignetting problems i will

use it with the D-60 so i dont think vignetting should be a

problem considering the 1.6 ratio of the camera. I will have to

buy also a ultra wide angle lens because of this ratio, which

makes a 28mm to be 45mm... so at the end i had to think about

the budget and save some money for this other lens, which didnt

allow me to buy the much more expensive 28-70mm L, being

aware of the aperture problems of the 28-80 i will try not to use it

at 2.8 and i think the results will be fine. thanks again

[denbigh__france_]

<p>Having had my lens, from new, for about 15yrs, treating it like all my gear with care... I have still a great lens with no problems whatsoever. I would be interested to know how OP, Colin, got on with his 2nd hand.<br>

This is posted not as a technical review, but simply to offset a number of poor remarks about reliability and satisfaction.</p>