Canon Lenses from KEH

[dogbert]

<p>What can I expect from a KEH lens rated as EX. I know KEH give a description of this but I am wondering what peoples' perosnal experiences have been? Any pleasant suprises, any dissappointments? Is KEH a possible repository for all the "soft" copies of lenses supposedly floating around?<br>

Thanks for your responses.</p>

[elmroc]

<p>Geoff,<br>

My experiences with KEH are excellent. If they are advertising a lens as EX, you can expect to get a lens that is in great condition, as they rate their used items more conservatively then others IMHO/ I'm sure others will concur in my assesment. Good luck</p>

[pbalko]

<p>Everything I've ever bought from KEH has been "Bargain" rated: Bronica SQ + 3 lenses (1 month before Bron went out of business), some Pentax AF film body + lenses and flash, and various and sundry accessories. All, as far as my needs go, were in excellent condition and served me well. I can't say enough about KEH or their conservative ratings.</p>

<p>YMMV!</p>

[evphotography]

<p>Mostly pleasant surprises, they tend to be conservative on their ratings. I have purchased a couple of lenses from them and been very happy. You can't think that all used lenses out there are bad copies people wanted to get rid of. There are a lot of reasons for people to sell lenses and buy different ones.</p>

[marc_felber1]

<p>Their lens tend to be overpriced. Try B & H used camera department as well as Adorama used camera department. Never sell your used stuff to a camera shop they will rip you off. Is better to sell on ebay or amazon to get top dollar for your stuff. If you have the patiance ebay is good to if they have 1000's of feed back rating and have been there for awhile. Any seller with a low feed back rating and is a newbie I would avoid. Also, don't do business with crooken camera shops they will take you to the cleaners, unless you are dealing with B & H, Adorma, Beach photo, and profeel. I have delt with these shops personally and had no problems. Sometimes Adorama tends to give better deals on new stuff and most time than not offers free shipping as opposed to B & H. Sometimes Amazon is also good. But if you are new I would stay away from any camera shop with a brokleen address. <br>

Marc</p>

[luis_g]

<p>To answer the OP's question, your lens will look better than you'd expect from their own description. Are they more expensive than *Bay? Yep, and the latter's about 20 times mor expensive than the stuff I buy up at garage sales. But at KEH, you have recourse, and in 100% of my purchases, my expectations were exceeded.</p>

[herb_cunningham]

<p>Keh are good people. They have to cover their overhead, so yep, they are not the cheapest, but you can send your purchase back within 30 day no questions asked, no RA number etc.</p>

[philip_wilson]

<p>I am also a KEH fan and have only ever had a problem with a body - which they refunded as they were unable to exchenge it as it was the only ine they had. I have always been very impressed with their lens ratings LN- usually means unused and still in the manufacturers box, Ex+ is what Adorama / B&H usually call a 9 or 9+ and EX is very good condition (8 to 9 from the two New York stores). When you consider their conservative ratings I have to disagree with Marc Felber and suggest that they are actually good value. Anything from Ex upwards will make you happy - I have bought over 20 lenses from KEH over the years and never been disappointed.</p>

[lisa_lowden]

<p>in the last 2 weeks ive purchased 3 lenses from them, ex plus. they all looked brand new and worked as brand new. they come wrapped in plastic covered with bubble wrap and boxed in wrapping paper. i will buy all my lenses from them now on. however, you never know how they will be after ups puts them thru the ringer in shipping. mine came thru ok but the boxes looked a little damaged. i will use keh again. thanks lisa</p>

[thomas_hardy1]

<p>I bought a Hasselblad kit from KEH (LN-), of course it looked brand new. </p>

<p>I then took a chance on a Leica Tele Elmarit 90mm lens (BGN) and was somewhat disappointed at its condition. In other words the physical condition matched its grade. </p>

[dshombert]

<p>I've bought a lot of stuff from KEH and always been satisfied. On one occasion, I thought the EX rating was a little bit overstated, but it's always at least somewhat subjective. They are honest, for sure, and easy to deal with.<br>

NOTE: I think the comment above about a 30-day "no questions asked" return period is incorrect. I'm pretty sure it's 14 days, and you need your receipt. The warranty on used gear from KEH is 60 days (I think)</p>

[shambrick007]

<p>Besides, they have a 14 day no questions asked return policy, so you're not risking too much.</p>

[lisa_lowden]

<p>14 day no hassle return warranty, 60 day used equipment warranty. i have a receipt right in front of me. thanks, lisa</p>

[thomas_sullivan]

<p>one more happy KEH buyer. And E condition will shock you how good it is. Even Bargain on occassion surprises me how "new" they look. From my experience their explanation of their ratings are dead minumum what they give you....actually don't ever think I got one in a worse case Bargain as per their description....always better. Excellent follows suit....Ex+ looks like brand new to tell you the truth....only the box is missing.</p>

 

[richard_noggin]

<p>I've purchased many lenses and bodies from them, both EOS and Minolta MD before that. EX really does mean excellent. Everything I've gotten in that condition looks barely used. I bought one "bargain" lens and it was beat up but quite usable (glass and mechanics were fine, it just didn't look great).</p>

[w_t1]

<p>Reliable as the others have said. I've purchased a moderate amount of stuff from them in the last 8 years, and stick with them strictly on their return policy. I think I have sent one item back for refund out of probably a dozen.</p>

[lisa_lowden]

<p>hi. i bought the canon 20-35, 3.5 from them, ex plus and works fine. i will be buying 28-135 is and 75-300 is from them as soon as i get some more money. very pleased, lisa</p>

[nick_silvestri2]

<p>I have dealt with KEH over the last few years and found them to be accurate in their evaluations (buying and selling). They had a rep in Philly last Sunday, and was very accurate in his appraisal of purchasing equipment. Note: they did not sell any equipment while there. </p>

[kevcross]

<p>I'd like to offer the rare negative opinion of KEH.</p>

<p>My first experience with the company was when I bought a 150mm Hasselblad lens rated in "EX" condition. The lens looked like it was in good condition when it arrived but the shutter jammed when I tried to use it. I was eventually able to get it off the camera and exchange it for the same lens in "EX" condition. The new lens that showed up worked fine but was considerably more scuffed and scratched than the first. Exchanged again and the third time was a charm. By this time, however I was out an additional $100 or so in return shipping charges. (UPS insurance can be quite expensive.)</p>

<p>Just a few weeks ago I bought a 5D body in "EX+" condition and after testing noticed a big fuzzy black spot in my images. I assumed it to be dust on the sensor but when I flipped the mirror I discovered a scuff/scratch that wouldn't blow off. Not something I was expecting when spending $1500 with a supposedly reputable company.</p>

<p>I understand that things like this can happen but it doesn't seem fair that I have to pay $40 return shipping again because they sent me a defective product. The whole reason I spent the extra money to buy from them is because I wanted to make sure I got a body in good condition in the first place. I guess I'll see what happens when my replacement 5D arrives next week.</p>

<p>Incidentally, I have also bought an EF 28mm f/2.8 and an EF 17-40mm f/4L in recent months that have been accurately described.</p>

<p>Let the buyer beware. You may end up paying a lot more than you initially think.</p>

[dogbert]

<p>Thanks for all your responses. I've ordered an EF 70-300 DO IS from them rated EX and will let you how it goes.</p>

[Landrum Kelly]

<p>EX often means LN- from KEH. <br>

EX+ usually does look like new.</p>

<p>I haven't beaten their prices anywhere for used equipment. They are reliable,and their rating system is much, much more than fair.</p>

<p>In addition, they used to take returns with no questions asked, if you changed your mind. I don't know if that has changed or not, since I have not sent anything back to them since spring of 2006, when I sent a Canon FD 300 f/2.8 back. I simply told them that it was too big for me. They refunded my money promptly.</p>

<p>Not long after that I moved to Canon EOS and have had no cause to return anything, although a very old Leica Telyt 560 that I got from them did need lubrication. They offered to do it if I would return it. (I learned how to do it myself instead.)</p>

<p>I might also point out that I bought my Canon 5D body new from them in July, 2006 for $2579, the best price around at that time. As I said, it was brand new, and so they deal with more than used equipment.</p>

<p>--Lannie</p>

[dshombert]

<p>Kevin - I believe you, I don't dispute your tale, but something's not right. I once bought a Contax autofocus lens from KEH that was listed in LN- condition. It looked unused inside and out, but it made a high-pitched whistling noise when seeking focus, more than the usual noise of a focusing drive. ToCad confirmed that this was not normal. I returned it for another lens, which was fine, and the KEH rep volunteered the fact that they would reimburse my credit card for the return shipping since the lens was obviously not up to its stated description. I didn't even have to ask for this, he insisted on it from the early stage of the conversation.<br>

I think maybe there's a difference between talking to one of the sales reps and the clerical people who sometimes answer the phone. Other than that, I can't imagine why your experience went the way it did. If that happened recently, it might be worth a call to them to question the decision.</p>