p.3 #1 · Canon 500mm IS ver -1 (still rocket high?)
BluesWest wrote:
Used ones, in good to excellent condition, come up for sale almost weekly on eBay, and generally sell for between US$5,500 and US$6,000. Occasionally I see one sell on eBay in the high US$6K range, but that is rare. So, if you really want one at a reasonable price, eBay is worth a try.
John
In anticipation of acquiring the new version of the 500, I listed mine on eBay two weeks ago for $7K. It sold in less than 24 hours and after the auction ended three potential buyers contacted me to be on a waiting list in the event that the sale did not go through. I don't think that these prices will drop much for some time.
p.3 #2 · Canon 500mm IS ver -1 (still rocket high?)
iammikie wrote:
In anticipation of acquiring the new version of the 500, I listed mine on eBay two weeks ago for $7K. It sold in less than 24 hours and after the auction ended three potential buyers contacted me to be on a waiting list in the event that the sale did not go through. I don't think that these prices will drop much for some time.
Was $7K your buy it now price then? I am still hanging on to my mint and sharp copy (is there a bad copy out there actually ?). At that price, I will seriously consider selling mine in anticipation of getting the 200-400mm then .
p.3 #3 · Canon 500mm IS ver -1 (still rocket high?)
AGeoJO wrote:
Was $7K your buy it now price then? I am still hanging on to my mint and sharp copy (is there a bad copy out there actually ?). At that price, I will seriously consider selling mine in anticipation of getting the 200-400mm then .
Go Joshua, you go. ...... 500 f/4 IS is a hot commodity these days.
Unfortunately, in the past couple of months some sellers on the FM B&S board let their MK I supertelephoto lenses go quite inexpensively, which might have created an impression that in 2012 those lenses can still be obtained at 2010 prices.
p.3 #4 · Canon 500mm IS ver -1 (still rocket high?)
AGeoJO wrote:
Was $7K your buy it now price then? I am still hanging on to my mint and sharp copy (is there a bad copy out there actually ?). At that price, I will seriously consider selling mine in anticipation of getting the 200-400mm then .
Yes, it was a buy it now price and I included shipping cost (about $80.00 with insurance)
p.3 #5 · Canon 500mm IS ver -1 (still rocket high?)
I listed mine on eBay two weeks ago for $7K. It sold in less than 24 hours
The last three on my eBay watch list sold for $6,000 (Jan. 11), $5,450 (Feb. 05), and $6,201 (Feb. 14), so a sale with a price of $7,000 seems like an outlier. There are two currently active auctions, both with about a day to go. One has a current offer of $5,600 with two bids, and one with a a starting price of $6,800 and a BIN of $7,500 and zero bids.
John
Feb 25, 2012 at 10:23 PM
Lars Johnsson Offline • • • • • • • Upload & Sell: Off
p.3 #6 · Canon 500mm IS ver -1 (still rocket high?)
Even the 500/4,5 non IS lenses are really expensive on eBay. Nearly $ 5k with an cracked hood.
As long as the 500/4 IS mkII is that expensive, the mk I version will cost a lot to buy used. I can't see a big drop in those prices as long as Canon still service the lens and mk II price is high. And Canon will repair that lens for many years to come
p.3 #8 · Canon 500mm IS ver -1 (still rocket high?)
To me the new 600 will replace old 500 in so many ways.
The reason the old 500 reigned supreme was weight and portability combined with length.
Yes you could hand hold,yes you could carry it all day trekking.
With the new 600 coming in at the same weight as the old 500 if you can afford it who wouldn't want the extra 100mm at the same weight you have been using or years..plus an extra 2 stops of IS and better IQ when hooked to a converter and brilliant AF performance. To me that means the 500 will lose some of its predominance for the 600 for those who can afford one.
p.3 #9 · Canon 500mm IS ver -1 (still rocket high?)
BluesWest wrote:
The last three on my eBay watch list sold for $6,000 (Jan. 11), $5,450 (Feb. 05), and $6,201 (Feb. 14), so a sale with a price of $7,000 seems like an outlier. There are two currently active auctions, both with about a day to go. One has a current offer of $5,600 with two bids, and one with a a starting price of $6,800 and a BIN of $7,500 and zero bids.
John
The last three e-Bay sales were $7,138 (Feb 20); $7,000. (Feb 20) and $6,995 (Feb11); timing is everything when selling gear for top $$$$; and current bids on active listing are somewhat meaningless as the sale price is normally determined in the last few seconds of an auction.
p.3 #10 · Canon 500mm IS ver -1 (still rocket high?)
dehowie wrote:
To me the new 600 will replace old 500 in so many ways.
The reason the old 500 reigned supreme was weight and portability combined with length.
Yes you could hand hold,yes you could carry it all day trekking.
With the new 600 coming in at the same weight as the old 500 if you can afford it who wouldn't want the extra 100mm at the same weight you have been using or years..plus an extra 2 stops of IS and better IQ when hooked to a converter and brilliant AF performance. To me that means the 500 will lose some of its predominance for the 600 for those who can afford one. ...Show more →
Speaking only for myself, I wouldn't want the new 600 over the new 500. While the extra 20% in reach would be nice, my present 500/4 V1 isn't really hand-holdable for long, and I suspect that I'm in the majority in feeling that way. If the new 500 would be truly hand-holdable, that would be a great benefit; why would I want to spend a whole lot more money just to have something that, again, isn't really hand-holdable?
p.3 #11 · Canon 500mm IS ver -1 (still rocket high?)
How is that any different than what some people have been asking for their 70-200 2.8 IS v1? Since the new one was announced and now on the market some are asking more for their v1's than they paid for them new. I was glad to hear the new one came out so that I could get one at a decent price. Needless to say, I just ordered a new one.
p.3 #12 · Canon 500mm IS ver -1 (still rocket high?)
StarNut wrote:
Speaking only for myself, I wouldn't want the new 600 over the new 500. While the extra 20% in reach would be nice, my present 500/4 V1 isn't really hand-holdable for long, and I suspect that I'm in the majority in feeling that way. If the new 500 would be truly hand-holdable, that would be a great benefit; why would I want to spend a whole lot more money just to have something that, again, isn't really hand-holdable?
JMO
Yes, I feel the same way.....I need help with the lens weight much more than I need those extra 100mm of FL.
p.3 #14 · Canon 500mm IS ver -1 (still rocket high?)
I dunno, it remains to be seen but I wouldn't be surprised if the 600 II is very handholdable with the diet and better IS. I never had much trouble handholding the original 500f/4 as long as I didn't have to have it to my eye to the viewfinder for an hour... heck the 24-70 would wear on me if that were the case! But even sports shooters have timeouts. As long as it was click click click, lower, click click, lower, rinse and repeat. I could keep that up for hours! Anyway, I sold mine for $6200 plus Paypal fees, and am not 100% sure I did the right thing.
p.3 #15 · Canon 500mm IS ver -1 (still rocket high?)
I am very much torn between the lighter weight and the extra reach. I could use both. I can hand hold the 500f4 for a very short period of time. I'm also not sure whether getting down to 7 lbs will really change the hand hold equation. (i.e. still can't hand hold it much so I should just have the extra reach anyway.)
p.3 #16 · Canon 500mm IS ver -1 (still rocket high?)
At the current prices I doubt I'll ever be buying either, but personally I'd go for the added length of the new 600/4 IS over the weight reduction of the new 500/4 IS. I found my 'old' 500/4 IS to be manageable for hand holding and given that the new 600 is similar in weight and MFD I think I'd be equally comfortable with it. It'll probably be considerably better with the new v3 extenders too. Sometimes you just need all the reach you can get...
p.3 #17 · Canon 500mm IS ver -1 (still rocket high?)
I too doubt I will buy either because of the price. I have carried a 500 f/4 many a mile, but, at my age, would gladly trade it for a lighter version (and I do go to the gym several days a week). One other reason in favor of the 500 f/4 II is that I just got back from several flights where I had left the 500 f/4 home. It would have been a pain trying to get aboard as carryon on several of the flights. Smaller is better.
p.3 #18 · Canon 500mm IS ver -1 (still rocket high?)
PetKal wrote:
I think it is extremely unlikely B&H would ask less than $6,000 today for a 500 f4 unless the lens was really beat up.
As a reference point, they`ve just listed a (9+) 300 f2.8 IS MkI for $5k.
Another major retailer`s example: only yesterday KEH had a (LN) 500 f4 for $6,800, and today it is gone.
If someone is dumb enough to pay $6800 for a used 500 f4 IS there's no hope for them I know what I saw as I watch their used section like a hawk. They do have most lenses listed at "ok" used prices but they do on occasion put one out there at a great price.
p.3 #19 · Canon 500mm IS ver -1 (still rocket high?)
Anyone think it will drop some when the mk II come out? It seems like it would a little just because tgere will be more on the market. I'm hoping it will anyways. Dammit! I shoulda bought one last year!
p.3 #20 · Canon 500mm IS ver -1 (still rocket high?)
ashley138 wrote:
Anyone think it will drop some when the mk II come out? It seems like it would a little just because tgere will be more on the market. I'm hoping it will anyways. Dammit! I shoulda bought one last year!
When the 500/4 Mark II becomes available, I'm sure that you will see a few more of the original 500/4 become available, but I'll be surprised if it is more than a few. Even on gear forums, where people are more obsessed with getting the latest gear, I don't see a lot of people saying that they are going to sell off their 500/4s to get a Mark II, and, of the people I know who don't participate in forums, I know of no one who is saying that he or she will do so.
For myself, I'd love to have a 500/4 II. Even though my guess is that the image quality improvements will only be apparent to those looking at 100% crops and even though I'm more than happy with the older IS on my 500/4, I'd like to have a Mark II for the reduction in weight; however, I can't bring myself to embrace any logic that says it makes sense to sell off my excellent 500 and add $5000+ to move to a Mark II. Regardless of whether I can afford to do so, I'm stuck in a way of thinking that says that, even if I can afford something, that, by itself, doesn't make it make sense to buy it.
If the price of the Mark II was closer to that of the original 500/4, I'm sure that many more would be considering moving to the Mark II. With such a huge difference in price, I doubt that this will be the case. Further, with tight budgets for those in the print media, I'm confident that many newspapers, magazines, etc. will take a pass on moving to the Mark II. Thus, with the original 500/4 no longer available new, I suspect that demand for the lens on the used market will remain high and exceed supply, and I'd be very surprised to see used prices dropping significantly at any time in the foreseeable future.
?). At that price, I will seriously consider selling mine in anticipation of getting the 200-400mm then 
.
...... 500 f/4 IS is a hot commodity these days.
