refurbished lens quality

[charlieY]

I bought 5 refurb lenses so far.

Bought 70-200 f4, 100L Macro two years ago and they're good.

Bought 24-70 f2.8 II about 1.5 year ago but found particles(dusts) inside front element.

Returned and bought new one at local dealer.

Bought 50mm STM last Jan but found big size particle inside rear element. I was not able to return because I found it a month later so I sent it to CPS center and got replacement.

Bought 85mm f1.8 two weeks ago but found LOTs of particles inside front element. Called Canon but lens was out of stock at that time so I sent it for CPS.

Lens is on the way back to me now.

Particles I found.... it was not acceptable at all.

I believe this is rear cases but I'm afraid of buying more refurb lens.

 

[charlieY]

85mm f1.8 lens just arrived.

It's clean.

 

[Sage]

Where did you purchase your refurbished lenses? I have not experienced any issues with the ones I purchased directly from Canon.

 

[JRET]

I've bought several refurbished lenses directly from the Canon store. All have been indistinguishable from new with the same 1 year warranty from Canon.

 

[charlieY]

All from Canon store.

 

[Lemming51]

I've bought 2 refurbs, 15-85 a couple years ago, 55-250 STM 2 wks ago. Both were pristine.

Sounds like your issues were resolved satisfactorily. 50/1.8 STM and 85/1.8 handled by CPS as a warranty fix/exchange. Same as if you'd bought new and found unacceptible levels of particles on the inside, which does happen occassionally and not just Canon.

Re the 24-70/2.8L II that you returned then bought locally - I assume they didn't have another refurb to exchange, did you ask for warranty fix/replacement?

I bought 5 refurb lenses so far.

Bought 70-200 f4, 100L Macro two years ago and they're good.

Bought 24-70 f2.8 II about 1.5 year ago but found particles(dusts) inside front element.

Returned and bought new one at local dealer.

Bought 50mm STM last Jan but found big size particle inside rear element. I was not able to return because I found it a month later so I sent it to CPS center and got replacement.

Bought 85mm f1.8 two weeks ago but found LOTs of particles inside front element. Called Canon but lens was out of stock at that time so I sent it for CPS.

Lens is on the way back to me now.

Particles I found.... it was not acceptable at all.

I believe this is rear cases but I'm afraid of buying more refurb lens.

--
Unapologetic Canon Apologist

 

[charlieY]

I just returned 24-70 f2.8 II because I was afraid of getting similar one.

And, didn't like to send the lens back and wait for another week to get replacement, and do it again if not happy.

It's $2000+ stuff. I just paid extra $$ for convenience and peace of mind at local dealer.

 

[mmschuck]

I just received a refurbished 85 f/1.8 and there was debris in it - strange it's the same lens the OP had trouble with. It looked like a fiber on one of the internal elements. There were unable to do an exchange due to no stock, so I am shipping it in for repair.

This is the first time I've gotten a refurbished lens so it does have me a little concerned.

So far Canon service has been easy to deal with - I'll update once I have it back.

 

[jvc1]

I recently bought 3 refurbished lenses from Canon. 24mm STM, 55-250mm STM and a 1.4 III extender. All 3 were immaculate.

 

[bent christian]

I recently took delivery of a the 10-18mm 4.5-5.6. I still have to put it through the paces to check for internal manufacturing defects, but the lens came to me looking like it is new.

 

[ddixon]

I also just bought an 85 1.8 from Canon Refurb over Thanksgiving, but mine is also pristine. In fact, during 2016 I bought 2 entire new kits: SL1 for travel and 6D for everything else with about 6 lenses from kit zoom to the 24-70 f4L and 100 2.8L IS Macro - all from Canon Refurb and all have been flawless.

 

[mmschuck]

I just received a refurbished 85 f/1.8 and there was debris in it - strange it's the same lens the OP had trouble with. It looked like a fiber on one of the internal elements. There were unable to do an exchange due to no stock, so I am shipping it in for repair.

This is the first time I've gotten a refurbished lens so it does have me a little concerned.

So far Canon service has been easy to deal with - I'll update once I have it back.

Here's my followup. I got the lens back from repair. It was just like when I sent it in, or perhaps worse based on my memory. Fibrous looking things floating on an internal element.

I called Canon, again. They wanted me to send it back to repair. I wasn't willing to do that so after a transfer to a different department they agreed to do an exchange on it since they now had refurbs in stock. I sent it back. A couple weeks passed and I heard nothing. I called again and was told they didn't actually set up an exchange they set up a return so I was going to be getting a refund on my credit card but that could take up to a month - it hasn't appeared yet.

The rep I spoke to was sympathetic and told me I could escalate to a manager if I wanted to but I declined. I'm just so frustrated by the whole experience and am tired of being on the phone with customer service. Honestly, I dreaded being sent a different refurb with the same problem and going though all this again.

The Canon reps I spoke to did try to make the situation better and claimed my case was unusual. They did genuinely seem to want to correct the situation. While I'm not really happy with the outcome - or with the Canon service center for sending back a lens with stuff in it, I can't fault the customer service department - aside from setting up a return instead of an exchange.

It could just be bad luck on my part, but it's the only data point I have to go on so it'll be a while before I give a refurb lens a try. I just hope the refund actually shows up.

While this was all going on I purchased a refurbished body. So far, it seems great.

-M

 

[charlieY]

I'm in California, Canon/B&H/Adorama... are in east coast. When I don't like products I received, sending it back and waiting for replacement is nothing but frustration and cost involved.

I just checked my log book and found that all my cameras are from local store. 24-70 II and 16-35 f4 are from local as well. All other lenses are from east coast.

Few weeks ago, I bought 80D from local store but found that camera had about 6000 clicks already and dusts are here and there. I drove back and got replacement right away. That's good thing about buying it locally.

But, it's hard to pass a great deal with free shipping.

 

[Dave]

It could just be bad luck on my part, but it's the only data point I have to go on so it'll be a while before I give a refurb lens a try. I just hope the refund actually shows up.

While this was all going on I purchased a refurbished body. So far, it seems great.

That's an act of faith. Hope it works out.

 

[plantdoc]

I have purchased several refurb lens from Canon, and all looked like new. Dust has not been an issue, but they may not check for or fix (if possible) for decentering issues. No L lenses and all zoom lenses.

Greg

 

[Tazz93]

Sorry to hear, personally I have had all excellent refurbs from Canon. When I once had an issue with a body instead of returning it I chose to get it check/adjusted. That took all of 4 days and the body is now working great. Got my first lens from them recently and I haven't found any issues with it.

My suggestion to those listening, If you have a problem with a product that you really want (meaning a purchase you feel good about making) get it to the service department if you have an issue. The turnaround is very fast and as long as you can clearly reproduce the issue, they should be able to fix it.