Hi all,
Hope you all are safe and well. I have Canon R5 with RF 24-105 F4, Rf 50 F1.2 and RF 35 F1.8. I am thinking to get the telezoom lens but due to limited budget, I cannot decide with combination is suit for me. The reason why I want to get the tele zoom lens is mainly causal sport activities of my kids, and also thinking to do some bird photography...
option 1). Rf 70-200 F4 and a used EF 100-400 L USM II (around AUD 4,500 in total)
option 2). RF 70-20 F2.8 and RF 100-400 F5.6-8 (around AUD 4,600 in total)
The EF 100-400L ii or RF 100-500 might actually cover most of your needs - unless you need the speed of f2.8 for the sports. The subject separation at f5.6 and close to 400mm (100-400L ii) is pretty good.
personally i prefer large aperture 2.8 but the down size is the weight compare to 70-200 F4, also planning to get the lens from the grey import because it is cheaper.
I am in Oz - keep in mind that Canon Oz offers a 5 year warranty whereas with most "grey" sellers you will get a 1 year "warranty" offered by the seller (not Canon), so in reality you are comparing 5 years with perhaps 14 days in many cases.
Having said that, I have only needed a warranty on Canon gear twice since 2007 - once in 2017 when my new 6D ii (bought from Teds) had a faulty sensor ( a coloured line) and in 2018 when a EF 24-105L ii from a eBay (grey) seller had AF issues - Teds swapped the body immediately and it took a while but I returned the lens to the seller (eBay Plus/PayPal covered most of the return shipping) and eventually got a full refund, but I reported the issue within a few days of receiving it so well within the "DOA" period - I am not sure it would have been so "easy" after 6-12 months.
May I please seek your advice and thanks.
Colin
Thanks Colin for your advice. I considered the period of warranty and I found there is a store which provide 5 years of warranty for their products (grey), you just need to pay a small amount to extend the warranty. It is a bit risky to purchase from the store you don't know but their review in the big review website is very good.
I really want to pull the trigger but always think I will feel guilty and bad to spend such amount of money to buy a lens instead of saving for my family... still struggling
My concern with after-market (or individual store-based) warranties is that a lot of them are not worth the paper (or kB) they are printed on.
Over the years I have seen reports of many people trying to use the store warranty only to find that they have to return the item to the overseas store at their own cost (using an expensive fully insured & tracked courier) and potentially be without the item for a long period (I have heard of 9 months or longer) while the store tries to get it repaired by a possibly unapproved (non-Canon in this case) repairer, and then pay for the return shipping as well.
So it is a case of "Caveat Emptor" - buyer beware. I have no doubt that there are some reputable and honest overseas stores but there is a big difference between reviews of purchases where everything went to plan and was trouble-free and reviews where the item developed a problem that needed to be sorted out. It is always the way that these problems are dealt with that sorts the good stores from the bad. Unfortunately warranties are a bit like insurance - damned expensive when not needed and invaluable when needed.
Have you looked at the second hand market on Gumtree etc ? I bought two second hand lenses in recent years (my only second hand lenses since my original 100-400L in 2009). The first was a EF 35mm f2 IS that was 3 years old and still in original box - bought unseen from a Sydney Gumtree seller who posted to Brisbane for AU$400 delivered (around AU$1000 new). The second was a 2 year old EF 100L f2.8 IS bought from a Gold Coast Gumtree seller for AU$500 with hood, pouch and original box (around AU$1350 new). Both lenses were in mint condition and have performed flawlessly.
Particularly with some people changing from EF to RF lenses, there may be some deals to be had that could save you thousands (on expensive lenses).
Another option is to wait for deals (both from stores and Canon) - track them by setting up some search alerts on a site like OzBargain. In 2017 I bought a new EF 100-400L ii and got 30% cashback from Canon (part of a 30 year EOS lens anniversary special offer), and I also got 10% discount from DigiDirect, so I ended up paying just under AU$1700 for the lens that was retailing for around AU$2700. I then sold my 2005 model original EF 100-400L for AU$1200 on Gumtree, so my change-over cost was under AU$500. Those kind of deals don't come around often, but deals are there to be had. The best times in Oz tend to be the EOFS sales in May/June and Black Friday in November.
Good luck.
Colin
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