I was cleaning out my closet this weekend and came across a heavy backpack I'd completely forgotten about. I knew I still had it somewhere, but I had no idea it was packed with camera gear.
Inside were 7 Canon lenses and 2 camera bodies, all in mint condition and unused for years.
**Cameras:**
* Canon EOS 7D
* Canon EOS Rebel
**Lenses:**
* Canon EF 17-35mm f/2.8L
* Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L
* Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS
* Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS
* Canon EF 50mm f/1.8
* Canon EF-S 24mm f/2.8
* Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS
They're all the original versions.
Now I'm trying to decide what to do with them. Should I sell everything, adapt the lenses to my current setup, or just dust off the 7D/Rebel and start using them again?
I currently shoot with a Sony A7R III and don't own any modern Canon bodies. How well do these older EF lenses perform with autofocus adapters on Sony? If adapting them is worthwhile, which adapter would you recommend?
I'd appreciate any suggestions. Thanks in advance!
Unused for years? Mint condition? Donate to a high-school art department. Sometime community colleges have photography classes, too. They'd be really happy to have iit.
Maybe cross-post this to the Sony board and rename the subject line, as you'll likely get more feedback about EF to Sony FE lens adapters. All of those lenses should work OK on Sony but there might be performance tradeoffs around AF. It should still work, just might not be super snappy with some lenses.
TBH though, all of those lenses are at least a couple generations behind and won't sell for much on the secondhand market. You might be better off to just keep them for family/friends to use or if you have some niche uses, such as for the 100-400 at times. But I'd guess that will depend a lot on what Sony lenses you already have. Considering you simply forgot about them for years suggests that recovering some cash value from them might not be a high priority.
Rather than use the 7D or Rebel, you could pick up a Canon R50 or R10 and all of these lenses will adapt very well. If you do a lot of work with filters, get the EF-RF adapter with the built-in filter slot for use with a polarizer, variable ND, etc. Third parties also offer a range of other filter options for this adapter.
rscheffler wrote:
Maybe cross-post this to the Sony board and rename the subject line, as you'll likely get more feedback about EF to Sony FE lens adapters. All of those lenses should work OK on Sony but there might be performance tradeoffs around AF. It should still work, just might not be super snappy with some lenses.
TBH though, all of those lenses are at least a couple generations behind and won't sell for much on the secondhand market. You might be better off to just keep them for family/friends to use or if you have some niche uses, such as for the 100-400 at times. But I'd guess that will depend a lot on what Sony lenses you already have. Considering you simply forgot about them for years suggests that recovering some cash value from them might not be a high priority.
Rather than use the 7D or Rebel, you could pick up a Canon R50 or R10 and all of these lenses will adapt very well. If you do a lot of work with filters, get the EF-RF adapter with the built-in filter slot for use with a polarizer, variable ND, etc. Third parties also offer a range of other filter options for this adapter. ...Show more →
Older lenses or not, if he sells the whole lot, it should fetch around $2,000 or even a bit more for everything, so it certainly isn't chump change.
Adapter wise, the Sigma EF to E adapter works very, very well in my experience. Depending on OP's current Sony glass, these may or may not be worth adapting, but it should work well, and there is some decent glass here.
The lenses with some value are the 24-70 and 100-400. Maybe the 70-300 if it's the second version. And while the two might list for close to $1000 each in mint condition on KEH, I doubt they'd sell for that amount here on the B&S. If OP takes the collection to a shop for trade in, he'll get around half of the street price. It's always a matter of whether it's worth the time and effort to sell privately or unload the whole lot at a discount to a reseller.
But you're right, there still is some value to be recouped from the collection. Whether the dollar value it's worthwhile relative to potential reuse value is going to be subjective. If the gear will end up in a closet again for another 10+ years, then yeah, just sell it. None of it is likely to have any collector value in the longterm.
17-35mm f/2.8L Still fetches $250 or so on the used market, even on something like eBay. Sure, if he dumped the whole lot to MPB or KEH he'd likely only get around $1200, but still better than nothing.
But if I were OP, I'd just grab a 5D Classic or Mk II and use them all.
It's all stuff that was good in its time but it's a pain in the neck to sell used gear. I would probably sell it as a bundle on ebay or craigslist and be done with it. A couple pieces would pick up a fair amount but not a ton of money in that kit. It would be a kit for someone new to shooting sports or other things and agree with the suggestion that a high school might be able to put most of it to use. I have seen the stuff our local high school uses and it is on par with that kit and maybe less.
As others have suggested, I would buy a Canon R series body plus an inexpensive EF/RF adapter. Unlike Nikon, old Canon AF lenses work perfectly well on newer RF mount bodies. I still use several old EF lenses on my R6II without any issues (unlike my old Nikon AF-D lenses that won't focus on newer Nikon Z bodies because Nikon simply didn't care about their loyal fan base - but I'm not bitter; I've moved on).
John Power wrote:
I thought that Canon EF 17-35mm f/2.8L was a highly praised lens even though I never had one
Perhaps for its time, 30 years ago. Maybe you're thinking of the 17-40/4, which was very popular. The 17-35/2.8 was better than the 20-35/2.8 and in turn was bettered by the 16-35/2.8 v1, which was bettered by the v2, which was bettered by the v3. IMO there was a pretty clear string of improvements with each version. But it would also depend somewhat on how you would use such lenses. The differences were most noticeable at or near wide open and at the wide end. Therefore a stopped down landscape photographer might have a somewhat different perspective.
Jman13 wrote:
But if I were OP, I'd just grab a 5D Classic or Mk II and use them all.
For sure, or stretch a little to the better 5DIII, though the previous bodies are more contemporaneous to those lenses if OP would like to relive the '00s.
I know these lenses only by their reputation, but based on that I don’t think any of them are worth the cost of an adapter, to any system including Canon RF.
If the 50mm f/1.8 really is the first one with a metal mount, it at least used to be a bit of a cult lens and might do well on eBay. So I would sell that one, at least, separately. But I would sell them all.
I love the older EF system
Personally I would spend a day using it. If it works fine I’d keep hold… any issues I’d let go.
Shooting mirrorless is so boring.. might as well just use a phone!! The EF system makes you think… well for me anyway.
Just spent a week in Scotland using old Pentax DSLR.. left the mirrorless at home. Came back with some great photos and really enjoyed the tactile feel of using DSLR’s again.
Llewtwo wrote:
It's all stuff that was good in its time but it's a pain in the neck to sell used gear.
I either keep it, or I lend out some that is more effective to give to someone to use for free than sell (one of my friends has 400D with the EF 24-85 and other has 40D with Sigma 17-70), and some I sell to one of my friends at a price between buy and sell prices of a certain second hand shop, if he wants that gear I intend to get rid of....
I buy and sell a lot of stuff on E-Bay. I just spent a bit of time pricing this stuff. The 24-70 and 100-400 could net you about $900, together. Perhaps that is worth the headache to you. The rest of it together could get you about $400, all together. And keep in mind, EF lenses come in two flavors on ebay.
1.) There are a ton listed, which makes selling harder, and nets you less.
2.) There are very few listed, primarily because they are not wanted/selling.
I sold off a very nice 90D kit and 7 or 8 lenses. I did fair on the camera. The lenses all together were a waste of my time. Don't forget: PRICE - 13% for ebay - $10-20 for shipping won't net you much. Curiously, the Rebel + the 18-55 are fetching a bit more than the 7D by itself.
TomSchriefer wrote:
I buy and sell a lot of stuff on E-Bay. I just spent a bit of time pricing this stuff. The 24-70 and 100-400 could net you about $900, together. Perhaps that is worth the headache to you. The rest of it together could get you about $400, all together. And keep in mind, EF lenses come in two flavors on ebay.
1.) There are a ton listed, which makes selling harder, and nets you less.
2.) There are very few listed, primarily because they are not wanted/selling.
I sold off a very nice 90D kit and 7 or 8 lenses. I did fair on the camera. The lenses all together were a waste of my time. Don't forget: PRICE - 13% for ebay - $10-20 for shipping won't net you much. Curiously, the Rebel + the 18-55 are fetching a bit more than the 7D by itself.
Honestly, I’d probably sell most of it. The 24-70 2.8L and 100-400L are still useful lenses, but EF-to-Sony AF adapters can be hit or miss compared with native glass. If you really want to use the Canon lenses, keep the ones you love and adapt them, but I wouldn’t build a whole Sony kit around old EF glass.
Glenn Poulain wrote:
Honestly, I’d probably sell most of it. The 24-70 2.8L and 100-400L are still useful lenses, but EF-to-Sony AF adapters can be hit or miss compared with native glass. If you really want to use the Canon lenses, keep the ones you love and adapt them, but I wouldn’t build a whole Sony kit around old EF glass.
