Tamron 70-300mm + general opinion of buying second hand lenses

TrojanWhore · 5 Dec 2014 at 11:45

Hi all,

I'm just starting to get into photography (I treated myself to a d3100 a couple of weeks back

)

the local CeX exchange shop has a tamron (I think) 70-300mm f/4-5.6 in stock at the moment, for £62

so 2 questions in essence:

- does anyone have experience with this lens, and is it worth considering (both in general and at that price)?
- has anyone bought lenses from any similar exchange shops? what pitfalls are there to watch out for? should I just wait and buy new after xmas (~£100 I think they are)?

sorry if any part of this is a dumb question, still getting my head around things!

a1ex2001 · 5 Dec 2014 at 14:16

lens won't be great the older 70-300mm tamrons were never very highly regarded if you want cheap in that range the Sigma 70-300mm apo was always considered the budget king and can probably be had for sub £100 second hand. Beyond that I don't know the Nikon range very wel but I'm sure they will have an affordable 70-300mm VR which will beat both these older lenses. The newer Tamron 70-300mm usd vc is a very good lens.

I have picked up almost all my camera gear second hand from forums and touch wood never had an issue not much to be careful of just check a users feedback and if possible collect in person and test.

D.P. · 5 Dec 2014 at 14:34

I would look for either the newer 70-300mm Tamron VC model or instead the Nikon 55-200mm VR or 55-300mm VR.

The original Tamorn is pretty poor really. The Nikon 55-200mm at 200mm will likely out-resolve the old Tamron 70-300 non-VC at 300mm so the focal length differences are much less than one would expect when comparing photos.

I have purchased most of my lenses second hand. I would only ever buy if you can thoroughly test the lens on your camera in person before buying.
Things to check are fungus and mould inside the lens, scratches on the rear lens element (the fornt element is not so important but may let you haggle prices down), the zoom and focus rings working smoothly without stickiness/grinding/noise, no slop in the lens when extended, no odd noises when focusing, accurate focusing, mount is in good condition without dents/dings/scratches/grime, front filter thread clean not bent or signs of cross-threaded filters (bring a filter with you for testing).

Then try to tke many test photos. Obviously general sharpness and such like is important but you need to also look for things like decentered internal elements that might mean 1 side is sharp while the other isn't. Make sure there is no ghosting/halos, the bokeh should look like examples seen online (if an internal element is damaged it is often easiest seen by disfigured bokeh).

This makes a pretty comprehensive tests, you get a good feel by using the lens for 30 minutes an uploading the photos to a laptop for viewing. If everything seems good with the photos and the use then likely the lens is good. If you think a sound is a little odd or the images aren't as sharp as you expect then likely something is wrong.

If you can't bring a laptop bring your camera with a memory card, take photos with lens and view at home.

the_director · 7 Dec 2014 at 18:48

A lot of my lenses are from the 1980s, all second hand of course. If you're on a budget, get a mirrorless camera and play with some old manual focus lenses - you can try most focal lengths, speeds, zooms, primes and macros for a lot less than you'd pay these days.

Luke · 7 Dec 2014 at 19:21

What kind of stuff will you be shooting with it? I have the VC model and it is fairly decent, although I'm going to upgrade when I can afford to later next year.
I use it mainly for aircraft photography and the VC makes a big difference.

Here are a couple of shots with mine:

IMG_7168

IMG_7189

IMG_7859

TrojanWhore · 9 Dec 2014 at 12:13

thanks for the advice guys, went back in yesterday and they seems to have sold it...don't think it was the VC model anyway.

I should probably stop buying things and start learning to use my camera.
one of the things I want to have a play with is portraits, so I think my first lens purchase will be a 35 or 50mm 1.8

D.P. · 9 Dec 2014 at 14:02

Either lens is good. The 50mm is available as an older 50mm AF-D f/1.8 lens - this wont auto focus on your camera so look for the 50mm AF-S G lens.

both work well for portraits but they do different things. 50mm is quite narrow and restrictive, working best for head and shoulders type portraits otherwise you have to work in more space to move back. the 35mm allows whole body, couple shots in a more natural way. the 35mm is OK for head and shoulders but you have the opposite problem and will have to get a little closer.

If you have a kit zoom lens like an 18-55mm then you can thoroughly test what the 2 would be like before buying.

K.C. Leblanc · 9 Dec 2014 at 20:49

I would echo the 35 f1.8 is a lovely little lens.

If you've got a D3100 I would have a look at this article about Nikon lens compatibility to get an idea which lenses will auto focus and which won't on your camera.

There are a few Sigma lenses out there that Sigma changed the design of, so a new one will auto focus on your camera, but an earlier 2nd hand example might not. The 70-300 APO is one.

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/compatibility-lens.htm

Oh and ignore any of Ken's opinions.