Looking to buy one in the next few weeks as a replacement for the 350D kit lens.
Best price so far is £419.00 from www.t4cameras.co.uk/
or £382.99 from www.onestop-digital.com/catalog/index.php (P&P free)

Question is would you buy one from the far east or stay local ?

Would you trust buying second hand on eBay ?? (they seem to go for £300 -£360 )

Do Jessops and the like have New year sales on new lens ?

Jessops will price match any UK retailer that has a shop, eg not mail-order only, so I guess t4 should qualify. Or Park Cameras are doing it for £424. Jessops will try an add p&p on top, though.

With Jessops you get to buy locally, try the lens, and even take it back if you're not happy, within 28 days, I believe. Don't forget the lens hood which is extra.

Richard.

Edited to add: I like to buy locally, and I use Jessops a lot because a) that's where I get to try most things so I reckon I owe them summat, b) they will price match to a very competitive level, and c) they will take stuff back without quibble. However, I wouldn't hesitate to buy from the Far East, if the price was right. I nearly did but shipping is costly and can wipe out much of the price advanatge. I'd much rather do that than buy from a private seller on Ebay - my missus has been stung with a dodgy handbag on ebay (which is actually a very good thing - she hasn't bought anything else since, so more money for my toys :D ).

I bought two Canon lens off e-bay, brand new from Hong Kong with no problems whatsoever, also bought my two speedlites and cf cards the same way, perhaps i have been lucky, but i do recommend it. Try Digital Rev on e-bay.


Paul:)

Thanks guys :)

I not to sure about buying secondhand from eBay , you hear people getting bad copies of lens and guess where they end up .

Trouble is with buying from Hong Kong is the VAT I might get charged and the uncertainty in between buying and receiving .

This one (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-Canon-EF-S-EFS-17-85mm-F4-5-6-IS-USM-Lens-20D-350D_W0QQitemZ7569819662QQcategoryZ4687QQrdZ1QQcmd ZViewItem) looks a good bet and about the cheapest .
Anybody ordered anything from there ?

I've had stuff from Digital Rev, highly recommended. They do more and more auctions where they pick up the tab for any import costs incurred.

For mine they marked the value on the packaging as 1000HKD which was about £81 (it was actually £510 for the lens) at the time, so I didn't have to fork out much and they refunded it anyway!

I suppose if Customs did open it and charged you what they thought was full whack, DR would still have to stump up.

Geezer

I spoke to him on the phone ref 200mm f2.8, but for some reaso i ended up buying it from Calumet, dont ask me why i cant remember, i think i had to wait a while whilst he got one in and i wanted it the same day. I remember that he seemed ok on the phone and came from dudley, i think he brings them in from HK in a suitcase and sells them on ( imho).


Have a look at Digital rev on e-bay, as i said before they are very reliable.


http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Canon-EF-S-17-85mm-17-85-f-4-5-6-IS-Promotion-Package_W0QQitemZ7567847655QQcategoryZ4687QQrdZ1QQ cmdZViewItem

or

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Canon-17-85mm-IS-USM-EF-S-17-85-Lens-for-20D-350D-NEW_W0QQitemZ7567557575QQcategoryZ30035QQrdZ1QQcmd ZViewItem

Paul:)

Digital Rev £352.00 inc p&p (plus £12.00 insurance :( )
Or the eBay shop in Dudley £370.00 inc p&p
:wonder:

Perhaps you should try Kerso on eBay - Kerso (http://search.ebay.co.uk/_W0QQsassZkersoQQhtZ-1)

There isn't much available at the moment, but if you contact him I think he will deliver whatever you want. Over on the Canon Forums (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/index.php) they have nothing but good things to say about him (you will have to register to view the Marketplace, then search for Kerso).

I believe he sends the lenses from the US to his mum in Scotland, who then posts them on.

Hope this helps :)

You'd need to check with customs but I think the rate of duty on precision optical instruments is 0%. VAT is still 17.5% though

Digital cameras are currently rated at 0%. Unfortunately, lenses for digital cameras are rated at 6.7%.

Thanks for the replies :)
At least nobody as tried to talk me out of buying it , as it gets very mixed reviews on other site's , but Ive gone for versatility and decent image quality (I hope)plus the IS will be a bonus .
I've already ordered the Lens Hood from Digital Rev as I keep changing my mind over which lens to get , at least I'm committed now :D
As I always want things straight away when I have paid for them , I will go with the guy in Dudley , He as them in stock with next day delivery and the price (£370.00 inc p&p) is pretty good (some go for this secondhand on eBay :eek: )

P.S. Anyone want to buy the kit lens (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7569386154&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMESE%3AIT&rd=1) ;)

TARIC 9006 51 Lenses for through-the-lens viewfinder (single lens reflex (SLR)), for roll film of a width not exceeding 35 mm

Import Duty 4.2%

Jessops will price match any UK retailer that has a shop, eg not mail-order only, so I guess t4 should qualify. Or Park Cameras are doing it for £424. Jessops will try an add p&p on top, though.

For everybodies info, Jessops are not price matching anything anymore !

TARIC 9006 51 Lenses for through-the-lens viewfinder (single lens reflex (SLR)), for roll film of a width not exceeding 35 mm

Import Duty 4.2%

I think you'll find that is the TARIC code and rate for SLR cameras themselves, not the lenses. The correct TARIC code is 9002 11, duty rate 6.7% :)

I bought one of these, with my 20D & battery grip, from a private seller on eBay. Absolutely no problem at all, got the whole lot for just over £1000 :D and it's a cracking lens for everyday, walk-around use :thumb:

Digital Rev £352.00 inc p&p (plus £12.00 insurance :( )
Or the eBay shop in Dudley £370.00 inc p&p
:wonder:

Aha, beware that seller! Thet promote themselves as a UK supplier, but all they do is get them shipped from Hong Kong. If you read the ads it says you are responsible for any import costs

Geezer

At least nobody has tried to talk me out of buying it

I wouldn't do that, because I've got one myself ;)

Although it's a great everyday lens, you should be aware of its shortcomings:

1. With a max aperture of f4 you won't get a very shallow depth of field.

2. It's not the sharpest lens (although better than the 28-135IS).

3. Ditto with respect to contrast.

4. Chromatic aberration/purple fringing can be a problem at wide settings, although the 17-40L is not much better (this can be corrected with software).

It is very well built and finished though, as good as an L IMHO :)

Aha, beware that seller! Thet promote themselves as a UK supplier, but all they do is get them shipped from Hong Kong. If you read the ads it says you are responsible for any import costs

Oh I don't know I was just about to order from them as well , also been checking the feedback with Digital Rev and a lot of there customers have had to pay VAT and import duties /


It is very well built and finished though, as good as an L IMHO
That will do for me :cool:

Found a shop local that as one in for £370.00 (new) and I can go and pick it up , so they might have a deal ;)

The lens arrived today , I ended up paying £349.00 for a UK brand new one , which I think is an amazing price , sits well on my 350D :D and I cant wait to try it out , ended up getting £40.00 for the kit lens on Ebay so all in all not that bad a deal .
The lens hood still hasn't arrived from Digital Rev ordered on the 7th December :mad:

where did you pay £340 for one thats very very cheap for a uk lens. £350 is second hand value

where did you pay £340 for one thats very very cheap for a uk lens. £350 is second hand value

Bought from here (http://www.classiccameraexchange.com/index2.html) , they had an Ebay auction for one , starting bid at £349.00 , I bid no one else did and I WON :D
I did ring them for a buy it now price and they said £360 which is still cheap , got mine on Saturday and its definitely brand new , chuffed to bits :thumb:

I had a nightmare with Digital Rev, I bought a camera from them via eBay, paid £90 on top of the auction price for shipping & duty. The camera was faulty, returned it and they sent me a replacement which I was charged another £43 duty on. They refunded me the duty but it took over 2 weeks for them to credit my paypal account. I have bought memory overseas on numerous occassions with no problems.

If anyone wants one, keep an eye on this ;)

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Canon-Outlet-LENS-EF-S17-85-F-4-5-6-IS-USM_W0QQitemZ7574044411QQcategoryZ4687QQcmdZViewIt em

There a few other decent lenses on the Canon Outlet (http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Canon-Outlet) as well :thumb:
LENS EF 24-70 1:2.8L USM (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Canon-Outlet-LENS-EF-24-70-1-2-8L-USM_W0QQitemZ7574044254QQcategoryZ30070QQcmdZViewI tem)
LENS EF 17-40 MM F4.0 L USM (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Canon-Outlet-LENS-EF-17-40-MM-F4-0-L-USM_W0QQitemZ7574044317QQcategoryZ48552QQcmdZViewI tem)

There are plenty of Refurbished 20D's on there too! :D

wonder if there are any refurbed 24-105 L lol

[quote=CharlieWhiskey]If anyone wants one, keep an eye on this ;)

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Canon-Outlet-LENS-EF-S17-85-F-4-5-6-IS-USM_W0QQitemZ7574044411QQcategoryZ4687QQcmdZViewIt em

Still went for a pound more than I paid for mine :eek:

Aha, beware that seller! Thet promote themselves as a UK supplier, but all they do is get them shipped from Hong Kong. If you read the ads it says you are responsible for any import costs

Geezer


I've bought stuff off com2buy filters and my teleconverter. the items where already in the UK so no worries on VAT or import. I'd not buy a lens off an ebay outlet

I can definitely confirm that Jessops are not really price matching any more; I was buying a 430EX (Canon Flash) and tried to price match with Bristol Cameras (UK bricks and mortar doing mail order) and they wouldn't even look. They said that they would only price match against local shops, which is a convenient thing to do as all of the local photo specialists have been bought out by Jessops! So effectively they will only price match against the big electrical retailers such as Comet, Dixons etc, and they don't stock specialist kit.

I walked out and bought it from Bristol Cameras.