mmurph Offline Upload & Sell: On
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myboostedgst wrote:
I really want to try the 70-200 F4, but I cant get my hands on it.
I bought one on eBay for $850 shipped. It was a used one, a Nikon USA Refurbished that the seller had purchased in March 2015. He had very detailed pictures, a copy of the receipt, and a 30 day return period.
He seems like a very decent and professional person with good sales history. I think that he had paid $1,100 for it as a refurbished unit in March, according to the receipt.
No warranty, as Nikon only has a 90 day warranty on refurbished. If you look at "Sold" items on eBay, that seems to be the going price, including almost new ones. But they take a while to show up. Henry's in Canada has had some that sold for around $800, probably because they are "imported." They are a great shop that you can trust.
I have FoCal 2.0 software that I use to test the lenses that I buy, so that helps a bit with my confidence. The new 2.0 version includes comparisons with their database of tests, so you can see teh relative sharpness of your copy. A very nice feature! (Can you tell that I am a bit obsessive?)
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They seem to run a bit more here, with people asking $950 or more. Some items on FM run more than is reasonable at times, like $1,000+ for a 2-3 year old Nikon D600, or $1,100+ for a D610, when you can buy a refurbished D610 with 6 months warranty from Robert's, or from Adorama, for $1,050 or $1,100. So you have to shop around a bit.
As others have said, the Nikon 24-120 and Canon 24-105 are pretty decent lenses, especially if you stop down for landscape or similar.
I shoot wide open almost exclusively with the 24-70 2.8 and 70-200 2.8 II at events, where I am already at ISO 3200 or 6400 and would prefer to be at a faster shutter speed, so I still need the 2.8. But I don't like to carry it around for day-to-day use.
I also used the Canon 24-70 2.8, and 2.8 II, in the studio as my primary lens for 10-15 years. I got a little spoiled by that lens, including shooting wide open for effects. But the 2.8 zooms represent pretty big investment!
Good luck!
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