Have I bought a dud lens????

[cookie1105]

Hi,
I recently bought an ef 50mm f/1.8 Mk I on ebay. I was really chuffed because I got it relatively cheaply @ £ 82. I picked it up from the post office this afternoon.

Once I had got it on my camera (digital rebel xt) it seemed to work fine taking close-up portraits of my girlfriend. But as soon as I went a little further away (more than 1m/3ft) it doesn't want to focus. I have tried both manual and Auto-focus and neither seems to work from further away than 1m. The distance scale (if that is what it is called) goes from 0.45m up to between 0.8m then it stops. The focusing ring can still be turned, but it is very stiff and the distance scale won't go any further.

Surely the distance scale should go right up to infinity?

Have I bought a dud lens or is there something that I can do about it? Please help as I have been really looking forward to this lens and now it's broke.....AAAARRRGGGHHH!!!

It is in really good condition apart from this, no scratches etc....
Thanks,

Andy

 

[jared_kipe]

Sounds bad, take it back. Doesn't sound THAT cheap to me either, maybe buy one off ebay?

 

[cookie1105]

I did buy it on ebay.co.uk. It is cheap for a Mk I on this side of the pond

 

[jared_kipe]

Did he say it was broken? Better question him immediately.
Was the box messed up?

 

[cookie1105]

No he said it was in nice condition, and the packaging looked absolutely fine. I think I am going to get on to the seller as it can't be right!
Here is the Link to the item.

 

[jared_kipe]

Well I know what I would do, I'd probably disassemble it and look for whatever is messing up the focusing. If its truely a good price consider having Canon service it. The MkI isn't better optically, but certainly better build wise than the new plastic mount and no distance window version.

 

[cookie1105]

I like the way you think Jared. I might just take it apart, it is not under warranty anymore so it doesn't really matter. I have thought about getting Canon to look at it, but whatever I do I am going to contact the seller first.

I really wanted to know if I had missed something (a button that had to be pressed, or a switch that had to be flicked) or whether it really was broken.

Thanks for your helpful advice.

 

[jared_kipe]

No its clearly broken, something is preventing the focusing mechanism from working. So something is either stuck in the focussing part, or possibly in the distance scale part.

 

[ChrisA]

This is what people do with broken stuiff -- Sell it on eBay. Didn't you know? The worst are the pawn shop dealers who tend to have about 20 different eBay accounts all with different names.

Your lens might have been dropped or possibly "stuff" got into the focus helix. Likely some slight mechanincal damage. It could be repairale. If only a cleaning is required it should not cost that much but if new parts are required it may not be econominuical to repair as these 50mm f/1.8 lenss are not expensive to buy new

 

[jared_kipe]

This is what people do with broken stuiff -- Sell it on eBay. Didn't you know? The worst are the pawn shop dealers who tend to have about 20 different eBay accounts all with different names.

Your lens might have been dropped or possibly "stuff" got into the focus helix. Likely some slight mechanincal damage. It could be repairale. If only a cleaning is required it should not cost that much but if new parts are required it may not be econominuical to repair as these 50mm f/1.8 lenss are not expensive to buy new

You are wrong, if I sell broken stuff I say its broken and whats wrong. Oh his auction he didn't say anything like that.

Also, this isn't a "common" 50mm f1.8 this is THE canon mark 1. Its discontinued and not cheap at all, I see them go between 100-150 bucks all the time.

 

[ChrisA]

You are wrong, if I sell broken stuff I say its broken and whats wrong. Oh his auction he didn't say anything like that.

Also, this isn't a "common" 50mm f1.8 this is THE canon mark 1. Its discontinued and not cheap at all, I see them go between 100-150 bucks all the time.

Sorry, did not mean to imply the anyone HERE would be do anything dishonest. What I did mean is that many sellers do misrepresent the items they sell. 150 bucks for a lens is cheap. Not many SLR lenses sell that low. You will find only the 50mm and the "kit" zooms that Canon and Nikon sell. That's why almost everyone recommends the 50mm as a good second lens. It's the best quality per price ratio

 

[cookie1105]

well...I took the lens to my local camera shop. The guy there reckoned it would be about $250 to repair it. He justified this by telling me that labour costs were high nowadays, whereas materials are cheap?????

Anyway I contacted the seller and he is more than willing to give me a full refund, and he will pay for it to be posted back. hmmmhhhhh...this makes me think that he knew it was broken before he shipped it.

I suppose I will have to wait a little bit longer for my first prime. You're quite right Jared this is THE Mk I and I wanted it in preference over the Mk II for all the reasons stated above. Maybe I will just save up for the 50mm f/1.4 while watching for good Mk I on ebay. It is going to have to be ebay though because these lenses really are like gold dust over here in Denmark.

Lesson learnt, I will be more careful next time.

 

[jared_kipe]

Nah, thats how I would react if I sold a lens and someone say it came broken and I didn't know. I'd apologize for the inconvenience and ask for it back.

I really don't think there are many dishonest ebayers, at least not for long. Once you get a bad feedback or two its time to pack up the shop.

There is no harm in poking around in it before you send it back to him, as long as you are up to the task. I'd certainly try to fix it before doing anything else.

EDIT: Oh and if you pay the post I'll take a look at it for free, but I can't guarantee any miracles.