Yet another reason for buying second hand cameras or lenses.
In my previous posts I wrote about reasons for buying second hand cameras or lenses and how to do it safely. Today I am going to answer the question ‘Can a second hand gear be better than a new one?’
Usually purchasing second hand cameras or any other second hand photo gear is cost efficient and this is the main reason for doing it. However I am going to give you an example of a lens, which is significantly better used than new. I mean quite popular Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 which has been present on the market for years, but Canon decided to change its construction releasing the Mk II version.
Optically Mk I and Mk II are identical, but the newer version has a plastic mount rather than metal, lacks a distance scale window and has an inconvenient manual focus ring at the end of the barrel. Canon probably introduced these changes to make a clear distinction between EF 50 f/1.8 II and EF 50 f/1.4 which is significantly better but more expensive. The result is that EF 50 1.8 Mk I holds its value on the second hand market, selling for more than a new EF 50 f/1.8 II
Canon EF 50 f/1.8 Image via Wikipedia
Canon EF 50 f/1.8 II Image via Wikipedia
This example proves that ‘new’ does not always mean ‘better’ and that it’s worth considering buying second hand cameras and lenses. If you have another example like this, please feel free to leave a comment:).
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Please keep the info flowing about this!