My best purchase was my 24-70mm L.

I picked it up for about $650 AUD (equals to about 486USD)

I've purchased the majority of my used gear for under market value so I guess I got pretty good deals on everthing. The best was probably getting a Tamron 90mm macro for 210 and then trading it for a 85/1.8 w/ hood straight up.

Cinstance wrote:
A brand new in box Zeiss 85/1.2 for $3300.

hey what an awesome lens..
Any samples u can post??

Just in the past year using the BIN/cashback I've gotten:

135L: $590
17-40: $385
MT-24EX: $375 (which almost beat the MR-14 I found a couple years ago on CL for $200)
24II (new): $1499

Seek and ye shall find... (no wonder I haven't bought anything from the FM B&S forum in years)

PS. While it's always fun to find killer deals, I think that many of us (and certainly I) spend too much time snooping around for them. Over the years I've been buying and selling camera gear I've saved maybe $2-3K from standard prices (used or new) by hunting around - and I've certainly spent at least 50 hours in any given year in this pursuit. If I'd just put even half of this effort into working a few hours of overtime I could have easily made more than I've saved. But there remains something of the cheap starving grad student in me that loves a deal - even when the rational part of me realizes that the hunt really isn't worth the time.

Easily, my second 1D for $475........and that's half of what I paid for my first one! Are you kidding me? A 1D for $475?

That's my best deal so far.

That would be like buying a brand new 200/2.0IS for $361.24.

I wish glass technology would "progress" as fas as silicon chips get smaller!

Tad

Just below $ 900 for a 50/1,0 L in very good condition. About 2½ years ago in a Bangkok shop

Mine isn't a $900 50/1.0 or $1500 200/1.8..

Tie between:

8g cf for $40 with $40 rebate

From craigslist a 'kit' of a Canon 650 body, 50/1.8 mk I, and 100-300 USM zoom for $200. Sold lenses here for $220 net to me... thus, I got a 650 body and $20 for some EOSFun

an eos3 wirh pb-e2,xtra focus screen and a arca-swiss plate RRS for 350.00
over 2 years ago

My sweetest by far was a 17-85IS that had been wrongly priced on the net and I got it new for about $49. Horrible lens that it is I made a nice tidy profit seeling it on ebay

Tesco did a similar thing with a 400D kit, which was priced for a day at about $250. Not as good a deal but still a decent profit

David

My best deal for new kit was a 1DsMkIII for less that half what I would have to pay for it now.

I got a similar deal on a used 400/2.8 IS - the guy who was selling was splitting with his wife and wanted cash urgently. It looked like it had never been out of the box.

85mm 1.2 L Mk II, new in the box from Canon $1550. Rebate plus B & H deal.

Don't remember the exact details (it was many years ago) but I sold 70-200/4 for more than I bought it and without even posting an ad.

Happy shooting,
Yakim.

Bought a bulk lot at auction, and sold my existing kit to turn a

Canon 350d
18-55 Sigma
75-300 Canon

into a
like new 40D
kit lens (17-85IS)
70-200 F4 L good condition

Cost? approx $300US

- 30D used in mint condition, just serviced with 6 months warranty
£300 (alright not a steal but I thought that, considering the beautiful renditions I get from this body, the price was great)

- 50mm F1.8 Mk I - a friend came over, picked up my tripod and I said seeing as it was going spare he could have it. I got the 50/1.8 the next week when I asked him what lenses he had. I was going to offer him something for it but he very generously sent it free
£0

- 580EX II
£240 on rebate (I believe they are now roughly £300-350)

- Bought a slingshot 300AW. 1 year later decided to sell it. Sold for £41, £21.50 less than I bought it for. But then the guy was from belgium so he had to pay my stunningly good value £46.50 P&P. So I broke even.
Pretty good considering it had a slight rip in the top.

vachss wrote:
Just in the past year using the BIN/cashback I've gotten:

135L: $590
17-40: $385
MT-24EX: $375 (which almost beat the MR-14 I found a couple years ago on CL for $200)
24II (new): $1499

Seek and ye shall find... (no wonder I haven't bought anything from the FM B&S forum in years)

PS. While it's always fun to find killer deals, I think that many of us (and certainly I) spend too much time snooping around for them. Over the years I've been buying and selling camera gear I've saved maybe $2-3K from standard prices (used or new) by hunting around - and I've certainly spent at least 50 hours in any given year in this pursuit. If I'd just put even half of this effort into working a few hours of overtime I could have easily made more than I've saved. But there remains something of the cheap starving grad student in me that loves a deal - even when the rational part of me realizes that the hunt really isn't worth the time.


A very interesting observation you've made there.

I was suffering from gadget lust for a 100-400L when my boss said a mate was selling some canon gear. Turned out he had a 100-400L barely used for £500; very happy with that.

Not really a bargain because it was a sale, but i sold a 100mm Macro for £30 for than i paid for it 6 months ago because of the price increases.

A few months ago I got a mint condition 1V-HS for US$400.

Bought a XS bundle for my gf, for some reason a XSi was in the box though. Free upgrade ftw.

Ariel Bravy wrote:
Newegg's buy-a-lens-and-get-a-free-580ex deal.

So I did.



I cherry-picked the best 17-40 (one of the new ones was better than my current copy) and sold everything else.

Wowzers!

That has to be an awesome deal.

Fancy sending me one of those 580EX II s ? (ONly have one for weddings)

When the US $ was at par last Feb, gotta 50L for $1150 US, no taxes from BH (shipped to my in-laws in Fla).
It's now $1900 Can.
Nice.

Living in Australia where bargains are as rare as hen's teeth, I did get a 1 year old Sigma 24 f/1.8 for $200 when they are about 4x that new. Not that exciting.

Probably a Mamiya C330 with the blue dot 80mm lens for $95.

Sigma 24-60 f2.8 brand new 200 USD
Noct-Nikkor 1175 euros
OM Zuiko 50/1.2 150 usd
OM Zuiko 55/1.2 180 usd
Nikkor AiS 35/1.4 300 usd
Canon FD85/1.2 475 usd mint (BGN@KEH)