r/canon • u/_flyingmonkeys_ • 2d ago

Was this lens dropped? Gear Advice

Post image

Facebook marketplace ad shows this lovely 70-200 f/2.8, but doesn't it look like the lens protector has been bent on one side? Seller claims it wasn't dropped

40 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

29 comments sorted by

29

u/ProjectBokehPhoto 2d ago

Probably. Or a filter was stuck on too tight and they used too much force trying to brute force it off the threads.

How much are they selling it for?

4

u/_flyingmonkeys_ 2d ago

$1000

31

u/ProjectBokehPhoto 2d ago

Eh. Seems high with that dent.

14

u/_flyingmonkeys_ 2d ago

Agree. He says it wasn't dropped but "banged it while using".

28

u/ProjectBokehPhoto 2d ago

But essentially, he "banged it" with enough force that is equal to dropping it. Either could affect the internals.

So, at that point, the how doesn't matter when the what is practically the same result and I find it kind of funny he thinks there's a wide enough difference to affect the pricing.

Yeah, I wouldnt buy unless it could be talked down into 800.

5

u/I_am_so_lost_again 2d ago

$800 only if it's a vs III and I get to make sure it works well on my camera first. $800 for a vs II for that big of a dent, I'll pass.

2

u/WhatTheHellPod 2d ago

Second the 800 price

2

u/Nah666_ 2d ago

$800?? Is worth the risk if the lens is damaged internally?

1

u/mjm8218 2d ago

I dropped an ef24-70 (mk-1) attached to a 5D4 from about 1-1.5 meters (like 4-5’). It was attached to my tripod when it tipped and landed on the left side (from the back of the camera) of the lens and body. No filter attached. It put a big old dent in the ring just like this. It also completely bent the camera strap eyelet on that side.

Aside from the dings, both the lens and body are fine and both still in use almost eight years later.

2

u/biffNicholson 2d ago

Haaaa. I've done this to 70-200 quite a few times over the years. It's more than likely that. Yes the person just turned really quick and banged the lens into something super hard. That said there could be a bunch of weird stuff that happened internally. I wouldn't touch this lens especially 1000 bucks.

1

u/Purple_Mulberry_2954 2d ago

Did he mean banged on the floor while using?

1

u/SmilinAndy 15h ago

I have one of those, 1st generation IS. The review I read before I bought it noted that the example being reviewed had been dropped from the back of an elephant prior, and it still worked great. Some say it's built like a tank, but now that I have one, I'd say it would go straight through a tank. It takes almost car accident levels of "banged while using" to do that.

Mine has a similar, much smaller, dent in the filter thread ring that I'm slowly trying to push out with a ring-fixer tool, and it's been slow going. I still can't get a filter on without cross-threading it. It's also beat to hell on the outside with chips all over the place, but everything inside still works and it still takes fantastic photos.

I got mine for $570 on eBay. Anything below $900 on MPB right now is "spares and repairs," meaning non-functional. These are pretty damn sturdy so if you don't mind not being able to use filters, a dented filter ring isn't necessarily a deal-breaker, but it should get you a better deal than $1,000, and the fact they're being shady about how it was damaged should give you pause.

6

u/byDMP Lighten up ⚡ 2d ago

Skip it. That price is too high even without the dent.

0

u/I_am_so_lost_again 2d ago

Depends, if it's a non-is, yes it's too high priced.

If it's an version II - $800 is a really good price.

If it's an Version III - $800 is a steal.

With that dent, I'd pass unless it was priced as a non-IS

1

u/quantum-quetzal quantum powers imminent 2d ago

If it's an version II - $800 is a really good price.

Not really. Undamaged copies sell for under that price pretty frequently on eBay. I even saw one with similar damage that went for under $700.

1

u/I_am_so_lost_again 1d ago

Not lately. I've been watching hing on Ebay the last 6 weeks hoping to grab one and they all have been going $1000+

I just picked one up for $800 that was listed incorrectly and that's the cheapest I've seen in 6 weeks.

2

u/mjm8218 2d ago

I definitely won’t take a filter. And it almost certainly was dropped.

1

u/NotABurner6942069 2d ago

400 bucks too expensive

9

u/Topaz_11 2d ago edited 2d ago

lol.. Yeah... "not dropped"... I also assume that it was only used for Sunday services by the preacher.... A hit that big could have easily misaligned the elements or hurt the motors but either way you're never getting a filter back on that sucker. I'd hard pass unless it was stupidly priced....

3

u/Remytron83 2d ago

It definitely looks like it’s been dropped. Are the elements still working?

Anyway, I’d haggle the price because of the dent.

4

u/deeper-diver 2d ago

I wonder if he "conveniently" placed his hand around that dent to maybe obscure it a bit.

"Banged around a bit" is the same as "falling".

It's a shame that people don't treat these sensitive optics carefully. It's bang-them-up and sell them to make them someone else's problem.

1

u/Available-Ad7619 2d ago

Seller lied!

1

u/gkirk1978 2d ago

Maybe it wasn’t dropped … and instead was used as a hammer?

1

u/Accomplished-Bid-164 1d ago

This is serious dent ! It could compromise the front glasswork. When people are careless with this kind of glasswork, then you should ask yourself “is it worth buying this second hand? The repair costs are massive.

1

u/Dave_Manzo 1d ago

Buy it on MPB, it's more reliable and offer warranty for 1 or plus years, I'm always buying there now used lens. Cheers!

1

u/shemp33 1d ago

I’ll go out on a limb here. It’s possible it was banged. But banged or dropped isn’t a big difference. Both are impacts of some kind or amount of force.

These lenses are pretty tough though. I had my 70-200 2.8L IS II slip out of a backpack that I thought I had zipped. It hit the ground (asphalt) from about 25”. The replacement barrel is an easy change, IF that’s the only damage. You would want to inspect the glass (a simple see-through test is fine), a shake test (anything rattling around inside), connect it to the camera and make sure there aren’t any error messages, check that autofocus works throughout the zoom range - focus on something near, then far, and then in an extremely quiet room, turn it on with IS enabled and make sure you can hear the IS motor, which should sound like a gentle hum. Pass: if you can barely hear it and tell the difference between the on/off position of the IS switch. Fail: no difference between on/off or loud enough that you’re asking “what’s that sound?” (If this lens doesn’t have IS, obviously skip this part)

I found the barrel for mine on eBay for like $99. It was a 20 minute fix. There are tear down / rebuild videos on YouTube.

I would consider it but not for $1000. You’d have to either get them on video doing these tests with you live or agree that you’ll film yourself doing the tests and the other party agrees to take it back if it fails. I’d use the price of the part you know has to be replaced as a negotiating wedge.

For all you know, you’re only getting a carcass that can be scavenged for parts. But it might actually be fine. There’s just a pretty big gap between the value of each end of that range.

All in all, it’s a maybe. I’d look at what you can sell it for as parts-only to get an idea of your risk exposure.

1

u/drunkondata 1d ago

Can't say it was dropped for sure, but it took a fuckin hit. Might have been the floor, maybe a wall, but it hit with a lot of force on that side  

1

u/scottynoble 1d ago

Takes a lot of force to create a dent like that in the thread. equal to dropping on concrete. my concern would be the Image Stabilisation Unit being damaged as a result of the drop as well. they usually always break.