Fair price for an EF 300mm f/4 L ?

[vance_kerslake__london__en]

Hi,

 

I'm looking to buy a 300mm f/4 L in the UK. I'm new to buying

photography kit and I've been looking at second hand lenses through

dealers, on ebay, in EOS magazine etc. The prices for used lenses

seem to be quite high for second hand goods. Do quality lenses

really hold their value so well? Or am I looking in all the wrong

places? What is a fair price for a 300mm f/4 L (IS or non-IS) in the

UK?

 

Any comments, suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated.

[isaac sibson]

Here in the UK a fair price for a good condition, second-hand 300 F4L is around £500-£600 or so. IS adds quite a bit to the price, with good condition used IS fetching £800-£900 or so, or even more (which is interesting, since I paid £974 for mine brand new a few years ago, before the prices went up).

 

L series lenses do hold their value extremely well generally, and that's because they're generally extremely good. The original 300 F4L has a superb reputation optically, and although the IS version has been put down by a few people, it is still a very good lens indeed. They're both quite desirable lenses, even used.

[kyle_burt]

You might want to consider buying used from a reputable US dealer (B&H or KEH are probably the best for used). It should be approximately $900 for an excellent condition IS version (about $100 more than on e-bay). The final total should be about 700 pounds after factoring in the exchange rate and adding import duties and VAT (23% for both I believe) however do a search on this site for UK import duties just to be sure - It has been discussed before.

[bobatkins]

You should be able to find a 300/4L (non-IS) in excellent shape for around $700 from US sources. Good lenses hold their value. The IS lenses go for maybe $200 more.

[canon man]

I have seen several on this forum at the classifieds for 600 to 700 dollars. I was considering buying one in the spring. I am set on a EOS3 or 1n first but after that I am definetly getting the 300mm L.

[canon man]

I wanted to follow up on my above post with something. I have never seen one of these go for a fair priceon ebay. In fact most I have seen went for high dollar and looked very bad. That is why when shopping for lenses liek this I check the classifieds here first.

[kyle_burt]

I got my 300/4 IS in near perfect shape for $830 on e-bay and I've seen plenty more like it go for a similar ammount. I would definitely call that a good price. If you should choose to buy on e-bay, buy from someone who has good feedback from selling similar items - that is probably your best protection other than buying from a reputable dealer.

[martin_feldwick1]

not sure about a fair price but it is a great lens . I borrowed one off another photographer trackside at a touring car race and I was very impressed by the picture quality. I was going to get maybe a 100-400is but I think the 300 is very good .its on my shopping list . try ebay.co.uk several have been on there recently though i didnt check the price thet finished at . I have just bought a brand new boxed extenderx2 2 and I got it for 220 pounds . The cheapest I.ve seen it so far in a shop is 275.

hope this helps

Martin