why should i buy new lenses?

sideburn · Apr 11, 2014

i've noticed older lenses sell cheap while the newer ones are very expensive, my canon allows both EF-s and EF lenses but i don't have much of a budget and i only want a cheap zoom lens (around 80-200mm) that ill use rarely

IronMaskDuval · Apr 11, 2014

I guess the answer for you is that you shouldn't. I just bought a Canon 20D for my son because I had three EF lenses laying around. The autofocus works just as well as any of my Nikon modern lenses, although the performance is quite soft all around-- even on the 50mm prime. He's got the modern 18-55 EFS, 35-135 EF, 75-300 EF and 50 EF. Attached is a sample photo I took yesterday with the telephoto.

This next one was shot with the 50mm prime. I focused on the chicken butt, but I took quite a few shots of head, butt and whatever else, and they're all just "ok"...

What I haven't done however, is take test exposures with the modern kit lens to compare. I'll do that when I get some time today.

Edit* Well, now that I am looking at the pictures again, they're actually not bad at all and pretty sharp for what they are. rofl

sideburn · Apr 12, 2014

thats pretty good

do you think it would be worthwhile me getting a old, lens that was once high quality for its time rather than a cheap modern one?

IronMaskDuval · Apr 12, 2014

sideburn said:
thats pretty good

do you think it would be worthwhile me getting a old, lens that was once high quality for its time rather than a cheap modern one?

I went out with the modern Canon kit lens yesterday and it performed as well if not a bit better than the old ones. I can't say about high quality old lenses. I have an old Canon EF 50mm prime, and it can't even touch my modern Nikkon budget primes-- sorry, I don't have more modern Canon lenses to compare.

sideburn · Apr 13, 2014

ok i noticed the 2nd hand price of the lens i want the canon ef 80-200mm f4.5-5.6 II is around £40 so i will probably buy one of them

vimwiz · Apr 13, 2014

I do think the lenses have improved. Ive got a EF 35-80mm USM from an old film body, as optically I dont think it is as good as my more recent EF-S 18-55 lens.

This isnt true in all cases though. My EF 75-300 mk.1 was about £40 used, whereas a mk.3 USM is about 200-300 quid new. The new one is better in terms of AF speed and stuff, but they seem to take equally good pictures and as I use it rarely, the older one was the right fit for me.

sideburn · Apr 13, 2014

i might have a second look at some old lenses then
are old dslr bad aswell because i was looking at a eos 350d as i want a camera i dont have to worry about when im on a bicycle

vimwiz · Apr 13, 2014

The 350D is an early 8MP model, which takes old CF cards instead of SD. It will probably give fine pictures, but its old and slow.

Get a second-hand current model. A 1100D is about £240 new, with the 18-55mm kit lens, if you shop around, presumably less if you buy it one year old.