So last week I decided I really needed that Canon EF 50mm f/2.5 macro lens for my food photography gigs. Heard great things about it but wasn’t about to pay retail price. Started hunting like crazy – here’s how it went down.
Where I looked first
Grabbed my coffee and fired up the laptop. Went straight to all those big online camera shops we all know. Some showed “out of stock” right away which pissed me off. Others had it listed but shipping costs were crazy – like the lens itself was $300 but shipping another $40. Nah man.
Checked secondhand spots next. Saw one listed with fungus in the glass – yikes! Another seller wanted nearly brand-new prices for a 5-year-old lens. Sketchy AF.
Playing the waiting game
Setup price alerts everywhere I could. Woke up to like ten notifications every morning for a week straight. Most were useless until this one Tuesday…
- Got this ping at 5am about a “like new” open-box deal
- Messaged the seller immediately asking for actual photos
- Checked lens serial number against Canon’s database
- Found that exact unit sold originally in Canada (weird but cool)
Finally found the one
Nearly missed it because the post said “macro lens” but forgot to mention the exact model. Description matched the specs though. Seller was this retired dentist who upgraded to mirrorless. Brought it down to $255 with free shipping just by asking “what’s your bottom dollar?”
Payment was scary – felt like sending cash into the void. But it showed up three days later wrapped in baby blue bubble wrap. Noticed right away:
- A tiny scratch on the focus ring
- Original lens cap missing
- But glass cleaner than my bathroom mirror
Quick thoughts after using it
This thing’s bananas for product shots. Can focus stupid close – like seeing bread crumbs in HD. Autofocus hunts sometimes but manual focus feels so smooth. Heavy little bastard though.
Big lesson? Hunting online feels like thrift shopping – you gotta dig through garbage for gold. Better deals usually happen when you talk to sellers directly instead of just clicking buy buttons.
