1. 'non-US product' seems sketchy to me. What does that mean?
2. has anyone had luck with refurbished? (which are about $169 or so)
3. are there better deals on amazon that I'm not seeing? I'm sure there's some really good amazon surfers out there!
Any help would be greatly appreciated, as always.
Another question. Has anyone compared this lens with the 70-300mm? I find my shots aren't terribly clear when I've tried it. User error due to lack of tripod?
The price is even better at B&H. I always get my lenses there and have gotten the imported ones too. Never had a problem personally. http://snipurl.com/24iazvm
I bought this lens by a different seller on Amazon and I love it. Mine did not say Non-US product though so I have no idea what that is all about. My listing had the seller as Amazon and fulfilled by Amazon. I paid $180something I believe with free shipping. I love the lens.....I hope this helps a bit.
Jenn... Have you checked best buy? I have this lens and I don't think I paid quite that much for it... (although who knows - my memory ain't what it used to be!)
My understanding is that "Non-US" lens typically means it doesn't carry the US warranty. It has the International warranty. If I bought a non- us lens and it broke, I would have a difficult time getting it fixed under warranty. Since your in Canada this probably isn't an issue for you- I would guess. With regards to buying used lens I haven't had an issue. You just have to make sure the aperture blades are in good condition, no mold/fungus, etc, etc.
Non-US means that the lens has been imported, typically from Asia where lenses are often much cheaper. The lens is genuine and exactly the same as you would get if you bought a US-sourced model, but Canon will not honour the warranty should the lens develop a fault.
As such, you should be careful to make sure when you buy a grey market/imported lens that the seller has a good returns policy (should the lens be faulty out of the box), will match the Canon warranty period, and is likely to still be in business in a few months (a matched warranty is no good if the company matching it has gone bust!)
Given that B&H is the cheapest and offer a matched warranty (and are highly unlikely to be going anywhere as they're absolutely huge) I'd recommend buying from them. Note that with Amazon, you have to be careful to see if you're actually buying from Amazon themselves, or a third-party selling through Amazon -- if the latter, you could be at risk of them no longer being around when you need them.
I would be surprised if this lens was as good as the 70-300mm IS, as that's a more expensive lens with higher-quality internals. Bear in mind Canon also made a 75-300mm IS and 75-300mm non-IS lens -- if you meant either of those, this lens probably would be a small improvement.
@shutterbugger I think this is the lens I bought - a 55-250mm IS non-USM (the one Canon sold as a kit lens with the 18-55mm). I say 'think' because I bought it to replace an old non-IS 75-300mm, used it three times and went back to the 75-300mm. The clarity/sharpness were both poor & it's back in the box whilst I decide what to do with it.
Well compare the lenses on amazon.com and go for the most expensive of the set, which is giving more for your money, i.e. the 70-300 IS then shop around. Refurbished obviously just means it was faulty out of the box and was returned and Canon fixed it but now can't sell it new. Its perfectly good in other words but much cheaper. My DSLR was £200 cheaper because it was Canon refurbished and its perfect in its orignal packaging. hey if you see anything cheaper in the UK I don't mind sending it out to you but insurance and postage might ruin any saving. On ebay there's loads of Asian sellers who sell Canon goods and I've had a great run on ebay, the last 50 or 60 cameras/lenses I bought had no problems with the sale, all great transactions.
I should add that my point is there are some poor copies of this lens around (I assume mine is a bad copy) and you should consider how much a problem that would be to you if the lens you got was one of them (and had no warranty).
@abirkill Thanks Alexis! I have used my brother in laws 70-300mm many times and I love the zoom but nothing ever seems sharp to me. I've done some reading and it seems people seem to like the 250mm better for portraits. I'm not necessarily looking for the best zoom, just the best clarity.
Any suggestions?
@superbeyotch it does, thanks! Have you ever tried a 300? I wish I could compare them. Maybe I'll be a pretend customer at the camera shop and test them out.
@brianl I highly doubt it would have a warranty in Canada either then. I don't think I want to risk it! I think I would buy refurb but not used. I wouldn't know what check on a used lens...especially without seeing it first!
@humphreyhippo that would be so disappointing! If I needed warranty work, I wonder if I could fudge my location with the Ohio address that I'm going to buy it from.
I will agree that B+H are awesome to deal with. I use them and they have managed to get gear to my door here in Australia in 4 days. And I love my 70-300mm which I have used for portraiture. If you check my project, nearly all of the Sing-sing traditional dance portraits have been with 70-300mm and they're sharp as. Really think about your light when using the telephoto though. I spent 6 months getting average performance before I saw the light.
Oh and some of my macro stuff is done with that lens too...
@shutterbugger Have you got any examples? I have the 70-300mm IS and find it a very sharp lens for the price -- for example (click for full-res):
It is, of course, a telephoto lens, so especially at the 300mm end requires good technique to give sharp photos -- you'll need either excellent light, a high ISO, or a tripod. Without at least one of these, you will pick up blur -- image stabilisation is good but has limitations, and doesn't help with subject movement.
Also, at 300mm you have a very narrow depth of field, so any adjustment in your position or your subject's position without re-focusing will result in an out of focus image.
Example shots could help determine if it was a bad copy of the 70-300 that you have been using, or if the lack of sharpness could be corrected by different camera techniques. If it was the latter, a different telephoto lens would be very likely to be equally disappointing.
Out of all the Canon telephoto lenses that are affordable, the 70-300mm IS would be the one I'd recommend as having the best image quality. There are considerably better Canon telephoto lenses but they cost $1500 upwards (and are *heavy*!).
@bobfoto@abirkill Hmmm, now I'm being swayed towards the 300! Why have I heard such amazing things about the 250, if the 300 is just as good and cheaper? The 300 is on sale this week for $229 but I'm not sure if it has IS
@shutterbugger Be careful -- as I mentioned originally, there are three very similar lenses:
Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III USM: around $140, pretty poor image quality and no stabilisation making it very hard to get truly sharp photos at the 300mm end without a tripod.
Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM: discontinued, may be found used for around $200. Image quality similar to the above, but at least has image stabilisation so you can use it hand-held in reasonable light.
Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM: around $450, the lens both I and @bobfoto have been talking about above. Pretty good image quality for a consumer lens. If you have definitely found *this* lens (check the exact name) for $229 then that's a fantastic bargain.
To add confusion, there's also the:
Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 L IS USM: around $1500, superb if you can afford it! If you found this for $229, tell me where now!! ;)
If you've actually been using a 75-300mm rather than the 70-300mm and found it not sharp, then that's very likely at least partially due to the lens.
@shutterbugger No I havent tried a 300 yet...I knew it was not in my budget so I didnt want to fall in love with it and not be able to get it. LOL...Some day......
@shutterbugger@abirkill - Oh and by the way, my reference is to an Olympus lens... I am just saying I love my 70-300mm because of its ability to go to that 300.
@abirkill I'm pretty sure the 300 I have been using doesn't have IS. It came in a kit with my b-I-L's T2i. Google say a 300 with IS is $600CD. That just became unaffordable. So...now we're back to the 250. My brain is starting to hurt!
Honestly? I wouldn't bother with a 55-250. Get the Sigma 70-300. The difference between 250 and 300 is noticeable, and it's a nicer lens. :) I got one for my boyfriend for $279 :)
Just wanted to say thanks for the advice!!
I went ahead with the B&H 250mm. Found one (a US product) on sale for $150 off. With shipping, exchange rate and a hood, it came to $206.
I ordered it on Wednesday and picked it up from the post office today. ( I wasn't home to get it at my door yesterday) If I had ordered it on Tuesday, I would have got it on Friday...which is fast! Our long weekend held it up.
I'll definitely order from them again. Until now, I'd never heard of them!
@shutterbugger
hey sorry I ignored your question, I sometimes recently have been checking notifications on my phone but then I can't reply so I forget. I guess you know by now its the 550D 18.7 mp large screen, HD video, superbness, with a 18-55 IS and 50mm 1.8f all for £440. I love it
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http://snipurl.com/24iazvm
As such, you should be careful to make sure when you buy a grey market/imported lens that the seller has a good returns policy (should the lens be faulty out of the box), will match the Canon warranty period, and is likely to still be in business in a few months (a matched warranty is no good if the company matching it has gone bust!)
Given that B&H is the cheapest and offer a matched warranty (and are highly unlikely to be going anywhere as they're absolutely huge) I'd recommend buying from them. Note that with Amazon, you have to be careful to see if you're actually buying from Amazon themselves, or a third-party selling through Amazon -- if the latter, you could be at risk of them no longer being around when you need them.
I would be surprised if this lens was as good as the 70-300mm IS, as that's a more expensive lens with higher-quality internals. Bear in mind Canon also made a 75-300mm IS and 75-300mm non-IS lens -- if you meant either of those, this lens probably would be a small improvement.
Any suggestions?
Oh and some of my macro stuff is done with that lens too...
It is, of course, a telephoto lens, so especially at the 300mm end requires good technique to give sharp photos -- you'll need either excellent light, a high ISO, or a tripod. Without at least one of these, you will pick up blur -- image stabilisation is good but has limitations, and doesn't help with subject movement.
Also, at 300mm you have a very narrow depth of field, so any adjustment in your position or your subject's position without re-focusing will result in an out of focus image.
Example shots could help determine if it was a bad copy of the 70-300 that you have been using, or if the lack of sharpness could be corrected by different camera techniques. If it was the latter, a different telephoto lens would be very likely to be equally disappointing.
Out of all the Canon telephoto lenses that are affordable, the 70-300mm IS would be the one I'd recommend as having the best image quality. There are considerably better Canon telephoto lenses but they cost $1500 upwards (and are *heavy*!).
Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III USM: around $140, pretty poor image quality and no stabilisation making it very hard to get truly sharp photos at the 300mm end without a tripod.
Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM: discontinued, may be found used for around $200. Image quality similar to the above, but at least has image stabilisation so you can use it hand-held in reasonable light.
Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM: around $450, the lens both I and @bobfoto have been talking about above. Pretty good image quality for a consumer lens. If you have definitely found *this* lens (check the exact name) for $229 then that's a fantastic bargain.
To add confusion, there's also the:
Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 L IS USM: around $1500, superb if you can afford it! If you found this for $229, tell me where now!! ;)
If you've actually been using a 75-300mm rather than the 70-300mm and found it not sharp, then that's very likely at least partially due to the lens.
I went ahead with the B&H 250mm. Found one (a US product) on sale for $150 off. With shipping, exchange rate and a hood, it came to $206.
I ordered it on Wednesday and picked it up from the post office today. ( I wasn't home to get it at my door yesterday) If I had ordered it on Tuesday, I would have got it on Friday...which is fast! Our long weekend held it up.
I'll definitely order from them again. Until now, I'd never heard of them!
@aspada @mikehamm @superbeyotch @northy @brianl @abirkill @humphreyhippo @chewyteeth @bobfoto @lyno @pocketmouse
hey sorry I ignored your question, I sometimes recently have been checking notifications on my phone but then I can't reply so I forget. I guess you know by now its the 550D 18.7 mp large screen, HD video, superbness, with a 18-55 IS and 50mm 1.8f all for £440. I love it