LF Advice on selling a front focusing EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 lens

I've decided to sell my front focusing Canon EF-S 17-55mm lens.  It's off by a fair amount, it requires a micro focus adjustment of +8/+7 at wide/telephoto on our 7D mkII.  Whether I sell it on eBay or craigslist I would mention the front focusing issue so there would be no surprises.  I still have a couple of weeks left on the warranty so I may have the option of sending it in but it doesn't sound like that is necessarily a sure bet for an accurately adjusted lens.  I'm looking for opinions on how best to sell the lens.  A reply of "I would never buy a used lens requiring MFA" is also informative as it would give me an idea of the general acceptance of this type of issue with used gear.

Thanks,

Nick

x-vision wrote:

Since the lens is still in warranty, send it to Canon with a complaint that it is front-focusing.
Then, after the lens comes back, put it on sale with a note that it has just been to Canon for 'adjustments' - and you will be providing a proof for that.

This way you are covered for any issues - and at the same time it would be reassuring for the buyer that the lens has just been inspected/adjusted by Canon.

You need MFA because of manufacturing tolerance on both the lens and the body. Your MFA of +8 could just as well be from you 7D2 as the lens. I MFA my lens on both my 7D2 and 70D they are not the same, 7-8 difference for most of them. Even if you have the lens calibrated it does not mean it will be right on another camera.

Dave

Thing is that there is a range of "within spec", so any lens might front or back focus a bit on any given Canon body.  You could send that lens into Canon and it could come back the same, as it's likely within their "spec".  If it's under warranty you might want to send it to Canon anyway before you sell it, up to you.

All "fast" lenses might require MFA on a given body, that's why the pro bodies have MFA.  I just picked up an 85 f1.8 that needed -13 and it's dead on now.  My Sigma 50 is at -5.  My 135L didn't need any....

Mine needs +6 on my 7D Mk II and +2 on my old 7D Mk I.  It's tack sharp and fast on both bodies.  It's no big deal.

The possible problem is if it needs a different adjustment at wide vs telephoto... that can be problematic on many bodies.  My new 150-600 Tamron needs +3 wide/+8 telephoto on my Mk II body which would be an issue on my old Mk I with only one adjustment.

I don't have any lenses that don't need some minor adjustment for optimal performance; the closest is my 70-200 f4L IS at +2 on my Mk II and -1 on my Mk I.

You should send both the body and lens to Canon and let them adjust them. You could try your body with different lens and see if there is any need for MFA - if it has the same issue with other lens, then you could tell them that the body needs adjustment too.

I'd say to sell it as-is, simply mention everything is working perfectly on your 7D with +x MFA.

Enthusiasts/pros will know what you mean and not care one bit or move on to another lens.

Entry level people (aka; with rebels and kit lenses) are not so likely to be buying this lens. If they do it's simply up to them to research what MFA is and take an informed risk. Canon will probably do nothing with your lens, since it's likely perfectly within spec.

Sending body + lens in is kinda dumb because the 'defect' may just as well reside on your camera. So sending both in might actually make the lens WORSE instead of better.

More info for you/potential buyers: http://www.canonrumors.com/tech-articles/this-lens-is-soft-and-other-myths/