scratched lens

I bought a used Canon EF-S 17-55 f/2.8 for my Rebel T3i.

https://www.usa.canon.com/internet/portal/us/home/products/details/lenses/ef/standard-zoom/ef-s-17-55mm-f-2-8-is-usm

It was listed as very good condition for $450 vs $800 new

It arrived with a scratch on the perimeter of the lens and I was pretty disappointed.

I did contact the seller who agreed to take another $100 off which is why I am even considering keeping it

My question is am I crazy to consider keeping it? Is it possible that it wont affect my image quality? Can someone recommend a good test so I can assess the effects?

thanks!

what you'll hear parroted on these forums is that small a small scratch "does not effect image quality".  maybe not most of the time but I had a small hairline on my 24-70L and occasionally when I shot into the sun i'd get a long flare in the image.

i'd offer him maybe $300 or else I would ship it back but bottom line is do what makes you happy!

I'm pretty sure you won't see any effect from that. It's small and possibly too far away from the centre.
But, by all means, do you own testing and maybe go read these:
http://kurtmunger.com/dirty_lens_articleid35.html
https://wordpress.lensrentals.com/blog/2008/10/front-element-scratches/

From a purely 'sales' perspective, you need to show him the loss in value from the scratch - simply showing the scratch doesn't quantify anything.

Try and shoot it directly into the sun to get a flare off it (as mentioned above), and send him that image - it'll be obvious why the lens is worth even less, and puts you in a strong negotiating position.

jf1020 wrote:

I bought a used Canon EF-S 17-55 f/2.8 for my Rebel T3i.

https://www.usa.canon.com/internet/portal/us/home/products/details/lenses/ef/standard-zoom/ef-s-17-55mm-f-2-8-is-usm

It was listed as very good condition for $450 vs $800 new

It arrived with a scratch on the perimeter of the lens and I was pretty disappointed.

I did contact the seller who agreed to take another $100 off which is why I am even considering keeping it

My question is am I crazy to consider keeping it? Is it possible that it wont affect my image quality? Can someone recommend a good test so I can assess the effects?

thanks!

I fell down landing on my photo backpack which in the process knocked the lens cap loose which effectively put a fairly small scratch towards the center on the outer lens element with my 24-70II.

Further shooting showed no problems until I started shooting into the sun for landscapes during sunsets. It was during the sunset shooting that I started to notice sun flaring that I hadn't experienced before.

A trip to Canon to have the front lens element replaced set me back about $600. Since the repair the flaring except for normal intentional flaring has gone away. The lens is much sharper also, so I could say it was money well spent.

A good test imho is to shoot into the sun to mimic previous photos and see if the results are different. I would suspect that since it is so close to the filter threads that you may not see any problems.

If you choose to return the lens I would suggest contacting the seller, ebay and paypal to obtain a resolution.

If this was purchased on eBay I would register a problem on the system as buyer protection can then kick in.

Will the scratch be a big problem? Hard to say how badly it will show but lets take a different approach. Will this bother every time you pick up that lens? If yes do you think you will be hesitant to use it? If yes return it.

jf1020 wrote:

I bought a used Canon EF-S 17-55 f/2.8 for my Rebel T3i.

https://www.usa.canon.com/internet/portal/us/home/products/details/lenses/ef/standard-zoom/ef-s-17-55mm-f-2-8-is-usm

It was listed as very good condition for $450 vs $800 new

It arrived with a scratch on the perimeter of the lens and I was pretty disappointed.

I did contact the seller who agreed to take another $100 off which is why I am even considering keeping it

My question is am I crazy to consider keeping it? Is it possible that it wont affect my image quality? Can someone recommend a good test so I can assess the effects?

thanks!

Resale value is what will be affected, I doubt that it will affect your IQ. Personally, and this is just me, I'd return it for a refund.  There is no shortage of good used lenses out there.

jf1020 wrote:

I bought a used Canon EF-S 17-55 f/2.8 for my Rebel T3i.

https://www.usa.canon.com/internet/portal/us/home/products/details/lenses/ef/standard-zoom/ef-s-17-55mm-f-2-8-is-usm

It was listed as very good condition for $450 vs $800 new

It arrived with a scratch on the perimeter of the lens and I was pretty disappointed.

I did contact the seller who agreed to take another $100 off which is why I am even considering keeping it

My question is am I crazy to consider keeping it? Is it possible that it wont affect my image quality? Can someone recommend a good test so I can assess the effects?

thanks!

if it's that scratch at the N of canon, it will most likely be outside the field of view. But as others said, depending on HOW (angle) the sun falls on it in a counterlight situation you can see effects. There was once a thread here, with a sample - however in that sample the scratch was near the middle. If it is outside the field of view, you could paint it black, then there shouldn't be any flare anymore.