Being a low budget photographer means that I spend the majority of my budget on buying used lenses. For one I am simply not patient enough to save for months to afford a brand new lens for 1K or more, and for two there are tons of great used lenses out there that will work just fine. That is my thinking anyways.
If you are like me and are not a gear elitist, then you will likely be thinking about buying used gear online. This can be tricky since the first time you see the lens will be after you have bought it. I recently came across a post that I wanted to share because it covers just this very topic, it’s an Introduction to buying used lenses.
This post goes over everything from what to look for on the lens, if you have the opportunity to examine it before purchase (via craigslist for example), to checking test images with a laptop after examining the lens. The post is a really good read and is very informative. You can read it all here.
