Some used Canon lenses are hard to find

[hjoseph7]

<p>I noticed that some Canon lenses are very hard to find on the used market, even some non-L series lenses. Are the owners waiting for the price of the lens to go up ? Kit lenses like the 18-55mm are all over the place, but lenses like the 24-70mm, or the 10-22mm EF-S in used condition are not that popular even on eBay or KEH. Is there any reason for this ? </p>

[tony_leinster]

<p>A lot of people don't like the kit lens and get rid of it to buy something like a 24-70 or 10-22 which they then love and hang on to, bout it really.</p>

[PuppyDigs]

<p>The owners actually like using these lenses and don't want to sell them. If I had a 18-55 I'd probably give it to Goodwill whereas both the 10-20 USM and 24-70L would have a permanent home in my bag. And, yes, the economy has slowly been inching up so people tend to hang onto things they like. I know a few guys whom sold most of their gear during hard times a couple years back and are now trying to replace it all albeit at higher prices.</p>

[craigd]

<p>It's probably because people who have them don't want to give them up. I doubt it has anything to do with hanging onto lenses until the price goes up.</p>

<p>Kit lenses are all over the place precisely because they're kit lenses. Most beginners start out with them, and many of them eventually move on to either a super-zoom vacationer lens or something else. Thus the used market gets flooded with kit lenses nobody wants.</p>

<p>Although you asked this question in connection with Canon, I'm sure it's much the same with Nikon, Sony, and other brands that appeal to consumers.</p>

[JDMvW]

<p>I've got feet in so many camera families that I am starting to look like a centipede, but Craig's idea that this is nearly universal is true. Even early AF lenses for the Maxxum and other such lenses that still fit currently sold cameras can be hard to find and expensive by old lens standards when you do.</p>

<p>With the increase in 4/3 cameras and cameras like the Canons being able to use older MF lenses (especially attractive to video shooters), even "obsolete" lenses like Exakta, M42 and other lenses have seen price increases in the face of a old camera market that is otherwise still declining.</p>

[bobatkins]

<p>Its obvious. If you have an EF-S 10-22, why would you sell it? What would you replace it with? Ditto for the 24-70/2.8.</p>

 

<p>Unless you are giving up photography , or in the case of the 10-22 switching from APS-C to FF, you'll keep them. There's no "upgrade path" for either lens.</p>

[Robert DeCandido PhD]

<p>The Canon 500 mm F4 is difficult to find right now - for anything less than $6k (used)...I am also seeing fewer 600mm F4s for sale (used). Try finding a used 1DsIII - these are commanding high prices on the buy/sell markets as well (upwards of $6k).<br>

rdc/nyc</p>

 

[paulie_smith1]

<p>Lenses vary in quality even among L series offerings. Once you find one that performs well - why would you sell it uness moving on or a definate change in shooting circumstances?</p>

[craig_meddaugh]

<p>First, as others have pointed out, not many lenses like this get sold unless someone is getting out of photography or is switching systems. </p>

<p>That being said, I haven't seen that much of a drop-off in availability. Fewer lenses are being sold via dealers like KEH (where sellers get the worst price) and ebay (where there is a lot of hassle), but there are still lots of lenses available for local sale (like Craigslist and such).</p>

[george_wei]

<p>I'm actually selling Canon 10-22, just can't find a buyer... LOL<br>

But I am not selling on Ebay for obvious reasons, just on Craigslist.... takes time I guess.</p>

[eric merrill]

<p>Harry:</p>

<p>Fred Miranda is one of the better places I've found to buy/sell used camera gear:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/board/10">http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/board/10</a></p>

<p>Eric</p>

[mark_pierlot]

<blockquote>

<p>Its obvious. If you have an EF-S 10-22, why would you sell it? What would you replace it with? Ditto for the 24-70/2.8.</p>

<p>Unless you are giving up photography , or in the case of the 10-22 switching from APS-C to FF, you'll keep them. There's no "upgrade path" for either lens.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>There is an upgrade path from the 24-70; namely, to faster, optically superior primes.</p>

<p>By the way, a bit of personal history has been made today, since this is the first time I've ever disagreed with Bob...</p>

[zack_zoll]

<p>

 

<blockquote><a name="00Zvq0"></a><a href="../photodb/user?user_id=3882389">Mark Pierlot</a> <a href="../member-status-icons"><img title="Frequent poster" src="../v3graphics/member-status-icons/1roll.gif" alt="" /></a>, Jan 27, 2012; 08:07 p.m.</blockquote>

 

 

 

<blockquote>

<em>Its obvious. If you have an EF-S 10-22, why would you sell it? What would you replace it with? Ditto for the 24-70/2.8.</em>

<em>Unless you are giving up photography , or in the case of the 10-22 switching from APS-C to FF, you'll keep them. There's no "upgrade path" for either lens.</em>

There is an upgrade path from the 24-70; namely, to faster, optically superior primes.

</blockquote>

Well, there is one other reason: lack of use, combined with financial hardship. I bought a Nikon 70-200 VR because it was an awesome deal. I love it, but I don't have much need for long lenses so I'll probably end up selling it before too long. I really don't need $1400 collecting dust when there are bills to pay.

 

 

</p>

[james_smith55]

<blockquote>

<p>Kit lenses like the 18-55mm are all over the place, but lenses like the 24-70mm, or the 10-22mm EF-S in used condition are not that popular even on eBay or KEH.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>There are probably exponentially more 18-55mm kit lenses produced than 24-70mm L lenses. Frankly I would be befuddled if I saw anywhere near the same number of 28-70mm f/2.8 L's sloshing around ebay. I guess the question is what do you think the appropriate ratio should be? If I go out to tourist or scenic spots I can easily see a couple of 18-55mm's in a day. I'm always intrigued on the rare occasion when I see a 28-70mm f/2.8 L in the wild.</p>

[JDMvW]

<p>It's like other rare and exotic game, you can see it best at the right watering hole. ;)</p>

[colin carron]

<p>I have sold both the Canon 10-22 (great lens but going to full frame body) and a Sigma 24-70 (replacing with Canon 28-70). Both situations must be fairly unusual compared to the numvers of people wanting to upgrade from the ubiquitous 18-55 kit lens. Both the Canon 10-22 and the Sigma 24-70 did very nicely on ebay possibly because the potential buyers outnumber the sellers as said above.</p>

[sarah_fox]

<p>People are always moving around from lens to lens. Often a lens like the 24-70 or the 10-22 aren't the "ultimate" lenses that one would keep forever. What if a person wants a less bulky lens than the 24-70? What if a person with the 10-22 wants to migrate from APS-C to full frame? What if a person wants to acquire still another lens and has to raise money? Maybe the seldom used 24-70 (because it's too heavy/bulky for that particular person?) or the seldom used 10-22 (because it's too wide for that person or isn't of the person's favored format?) gets sacrificed to fund the new acquisition. Maybe a Canon photographer jumps ship to Nikon, or a DSLR photographer decides to go mirrorless. Maybe the outfit is inherited and sold off. Maybe it is sold off in hard times to pay the mortgage. There are so many reasons lenses appear on the used market.</p>

<p>As far as I'm aware, the ONLY reason a certain lens will flood the used market is that it is unloved and was produced in much larger quantities than ultimately wanted -- mostly the kit lenses. And the ONLY reasons a lens is scarce on the used market are that it is so loved that people hang on to it, and it was not produced in such great quantities to begin with. </p>

[John Crowe]

<p>Generally these are not hard to find. They are hard to find for what should be more reasonable prices. As others have said that just goes to their value. </p>

<p>It took me three years to find a used Nikon 8mm f2.8 lens that was priced at what I was prepared to pay for. Once I decided I could justify the price of a used Canon 17 TS-E I bought the fifth one that I found, within a month, and at the lowest price. These are rare!</p>

<p>A quick check at keh.com and ebay tell me these two lenses you are discussing are not that rare at all. It all comes down to production numbers.</p>

[hjoseph7]

<p><em>"what do you think the appropriate ratio should be?"</em><br />Frankly I was thinking about selling my 10-22mm and putting the money towards a fish-eye lens. I scoured some websites such as KEH and ebay to see what they were selling for on those sites.</p>

<p>Last time I looked, both ebay and KEH had exactly "1" 10-22mm for sale, forgot what condition they were in, but mine is in mint condition, because I rarely use it.</p>

<p>While doing that I decided to do the same check on the 24-70mm which is a bit more popular. Again there was only a handful of used 24-70mm on eBay and a grand total of "2" selling on KEH(with one of them being brand new).<br>

On the other hand, I saw plenty of used 70-200mm and 24-105mm on sale both on eBay and KEH. My guess is that there are upgrades and variations to the 70-200mm, not sure about the 24-105mm though ?</p>

[don_bryant2]

<p>Canon buyers and sellers can also look on other websites with active buy and sell forums like F. Miranda or PON. A lot of good equipment is bought and sold there.</p>

 

[Marcus Ian]

<p>Harry, another reason that the current selection may be limited is the season. Post Christmas means that many sellers (because selling your 24-70 is not usually a spur of the moment decision) who were considering selling recently already did (to get in on the xmas demand). </p>

<p>I expect that the used 'selection' will rebound to a large degree as we move further away from xmas.</p>