There is nothing like unboxing a new bit of photography kit. In fact, it can be quite addictive. Feeling the polythene surround, taking pleasure in cutting the seals, the satisfying whoosh as the box slowly opens.
It’s a dopamine hit for sure, but often a very short-lived one. Much of modern marketing is built around that short hit, sucking us in to buy brand new gear for that short satisfying moment.
But it doesn’t have to be that way, especially in photography and more specifically for lenses.
You see, lens technology doesn’t advance nearly as fast as camera technology. Lenses don’t give us that longer-term learning curve of a new camera, and yet the used lens market is absolutely teeming with bargains.
Today we are going to look at why buying lenses secondhand makes so much sense.
The Economic Sense of Buying Used Lenses
Lenses have always been expensive, but it seems in recent years they have become extremely expensive. They are, to many of us, a major capital outlay.
The thing is though, most countries apply tax to a new piece of equipment, be it a car, a washing machine or a lens. As soon as you open that new product, it becomes secondhand and technically loses the tax you paid on it. In the UK that’s a 20% drop in value the moment you open it.
Now of course this is somewhat simplistic; it doesn’t factor in supply and demand – have you looked at the prices of used Fuji X100VI at the moment? However, as a general rule of thumb, even a week-old lens will have lost value if you try to sell it on. With a used lens, the original purchaser has paid the tax, and unless you make a profit on it from a further sale, it’s unlikely it will be subject to any further tax.
There is another economic factor that makes sense in buying a used lens – depreciation.
Unlike cameras whose technology moves on quickly, lens technology advances at a snail’s pace. This means that lenses do not depreciate rapidly if you keep them in pristine condition. You can buy a mint used lens for around 25-30% less than new and then lose very little of the value in the time that you use it.
This in turn opens the door to experimenting with different, desirable or even exotic lenses knowing that you will not lose a fortune if that lens is not for you.
The Sheer Variety of Used Lenses
The mirrorless age has not only redefined cameras but also the sheer variety of lenses that we can now buy. The rise of new third-party lens companies such as TTArtisian and Viltrox has added to established companies like Sigma and Tamron.
With so many third-party manufacturers, virtually every lens niche on every lens mount gets filled. This has, to a certain extent, led to market saturation and in turn, a buyer's market for used lenses.
But there is another side to this coin: mount adapters. In recent years, there have been a plethora of companies such as K&F Concept and Neewer that have produced lens adapters for pretty much every combination possible.
When Nikon released their Z mount, they knew that one of the foundations of their system was lens mount compatibility. Their oldest F-mount lenses could be fitted natively to even their newest DSLR. However, as technology moved and they needed the Z mount for their new mirrorless range, they brought out an F to Z adapter, easing the upgrade path for Nikon users.
These days there are very few lens/mount combinations that are not covered (Fuji/Sony being one). This means that if you cannot find the right lens in your system, there may well be an alternative on a different lens mount. Even factoring in the cost of an adapter paired with a used lens, it still works out significantly cheaper than buying new.
Time was that lens adapters only allowed for a manual connection. No autofocus, no distance information etc. However, these days, in many cases it’s possible to buy adapters that maintain full autofocus with the camera, making it almost as seamless as using an OEM lens.
The Vintage Factor
This is something I have talked about before: the use of vintage lenses on modern cameras. Whilst modern used lenses have maintained fairly reasonable prices, old film lenses can be an absolute bargain.
Unlike their modern counterparts, they are not going to have autofocus; they might even need to be stopped down manually; however, they can give some incredible results.
A while ago I tested my late father’s 35-70 Minolta MD lens on my Sony a7Rv, and the results were stunning. In its day the MD 35-70 was by all accounts a superb lens; these days you can pick them up for $60-80.
A lens I am planning to get soon is the Canon FD 200mm f/4. It’s a lens I had way back in the film days and remains one of my favourites. Paired with my Fujifilm X-E3 it will give me a 300mm f/4 equivalent for around $40. The “chore” of manual focus is far outweighed by the price of the lens.
Why You Need to Be Careful With Your Used Lens Purchase
So there are no downsides to buying used lenses?
Yes and no.
There is a huge range of great value lenses out there, but there are also some sharks selling them. Recently I was looking for a used Sigma 100-400mm Contemporary and came across one advert where the seller described the lens as mint, yet in the photos it was quite clear that the front ring of the lens was missing.
Your two main options when buying used are to buy from a private seller or from an established company.
Major camera retailers will often have extensive used lens inventories that will have been graded for their condition. They sometimes offer short warranties on the lenses as well. For this, however, you will pay a premium, cutting into the savings you would make over buying new. That said, there are still some great bargains to be had; I got my Sigma 100-400 in mint condition for about 30% less than the retail price from MPB.
Going with a private seller can reap rewards but is not without pitfalls. If using platforms like eBay, look for established sellers with good reputations, and make sure those ratings are for substantial items and not multiple cheap trinkets (a common way to boost reputation).
Read the description carefully and examine the photos. A good seller will take their time to shoot the lens from multiple angles under good lighting. You should be able to see both the front and rear element as well as the barrel. You should give preference to sellers that allow you to return items if they do not fit the description. If in doubt ask questions about marks on the lens or the presence of mould
Used lenses make very good sense especially in today’s financial climate. The sheer variety of choice, the slow depreciation and the ability to adapt different lenses to different mounts makes buying used a very sensible choice.
