Surfnsun
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Upload & Sell: On
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 p.1 #16 · I Rolled The Dice...And I May Have Lost | |
Those are boring. If you’re after an older DSLR, start with something more interesting. A D750 or D850 paired with the 58/1.4G is drool worthy and will never not be incredible.
jonshonda wrote:
I've been out of the hobby for 14 years whilst trying to keep my head above water raising a family, and have been doing JUST FINE w/o photography in my life  All that changed with a recent facebook marketplace listing was calling out to me, and for some reason I impulse bought myself mostly back into the hobby.
The seller was a widow selling her late husbands gear, and he appeared to have had himself a lot of fun with photography based on all the gear she listed. We talked for a while as I was giving everything a look, and they actually ran a studio for many years which gave me the impression that the husband would buy and maintain good gear. She had the following : 24-70 2.8G, 70-200 VR1, 85mm 1.4d, 200 Micro, 300 AFS, and 400 2.8 AFS, TC 1.4/1.7/2.0II. I went into the transaction understanding that I couldn't properly test the lenses as I didn't even have a camera body yet, but the seller assured me the lenses were all in excellent condition. For the record I have zero doubt she was knowingly deceiving me with her evaluation of the equipment.
After bringing everything home and giving it a good cleaning, I decided it was better to rent a body before buying to get a feel for what I might want. Fedex dropped my KEH rental D4 off and much to my delight I actually had some time to play between running kids to sports/activities.
First lens up was the 24-70 which did everything it was supposed to, and reminded me just how quickly the good glass focuses. Nice!
Second lens mounted up was the 70-200 2.8 VR1. It seemed to function fine but the zoom ring going from 200 __> 70 feels stiff and in need of attention. I noted it a bit when looking it over, but in the heat of the moment I really didn't think too much of it. Not a huge deal, but I know it will bother me long term.
Third lens to play around with was the 300 f/4 AFS. Focus...focus...HELLO focus. Why won't this thing work....dammit I'm late to go pick up the kids. I proceed to spend the next 45 minutes running scenarios through my head on what might be wrong. Remember it's been 14 years since I picked up a camera. Get back home, clean up the contacts really well....still no dice. It will manual focus fine...but no AFS. hmmm
Now I'm getting a bit nervous that maybe this guy got a fair amount of stuff for really cheap because he didn't mind if it was rough around the edges, or maybe he just liked broken stuff? But that seems odd for someone who ran a professional studio for many years.
I wasn't intending on it, but now I have the overwhelming and urgent feeling to test everything I bought. The wife calls out "suppers ready"....ok just a minute. I was really looking forward to playing with my new toys, but I was overcome with the feeling of regret creeping in. Why do I do this to myself?
Finished up some really good chicken noodle soup, and back outside for testing. 85 1.4d screw drive isn't fast, but it's a beautiful lens that appears to be doing what it should...phew.
Next up is the 200 Micro. This is one lens I've never owned before, and from what I understand it's primarily used in manual mode only so I'm not too concerned, but wouldn't ya know it the sound of the focus running back and forth makes me cringe. It works...but doesn't sound happy.
Ok ok now onto the big boy 400 2.8.....please,please please let this thing play nice. From what little time I spent it seems to be AOK. Some relief.
Ok, now how do I proceed from here. I paid using Venmo, and until this point I was a Venmo virgin, but that is what the seller wanted so that's what I did as you can't argue with a 75yo lady(mistake...no protection, 3.5% fees added for using a credit card, and my credit card company treats it like a cash advance, so another big fee plus instant interest accrual. I'm learning some expensive lessons).
I'm hoping she will just take the lenses back or at least refund the costs to repair them, I'll be happy with either scenario. But my main concern is I'm really regretting getting back into photography, and that IS NOT what I want. Heck, I didn't even get a chance to enjoy the D4 I rented yet due to the lenses causing me so much concern.
TLDR; I rolled the dice on some used lenses and this old dog is learning some potentially expensive lessons. haha  Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. ...Show more →
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Good luck with the aftermath.