Buying used mirrorless lenses can save a significant amount of cash, open up lens choices you wouldn’t otherwise have been able to afford, and gives you the chance to experiment with different angles of view and shooting styles.
But which are the best used mirrorless lenses to get? Our list contains 32 lenses we’ve used and been impressed by, either because of their performance or their creative potential. But we’ve included another factor – price on the used market. So how much money can you save when you shop for second-hand lenses?
It varies. Our guide prices are from retailers that inspect and grade used lenses and offer the kind of assurances and support you can’t expect from private sellers. Of course, you can save even more when you buy via eBay or Facebook Marketplace, for example, but while the savings might be greater, so are the risks.
In general you can expect to save 20-30% on new lens prices, which may not sound a lot, but then the better (and more expensive) the lens, the more you save in outright cash terms. And very often you’re buying a lens that has seen very light use.
Be aware that some of the more desirable ‘pro’ lenses may have seen a lot of use. That doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with them, but you may see a lot more variation in prices and cosmetic condition.
We’ve organised our guide by camera maker and lens mount to help you find the lenses that interest you specifically more quickly. Within this we’ve picked our favourite used mirrorless camera lenses according to cost, savings and usefulness. Our choices are just a guide – you may have other ideas!
It’s in the nature of used camera gear that you can’t quote specific prices for specific items because the chances are they’ll be gone by the time you read this. So treat our list as a guide and use the retailer links below to see what’s available right now.
● MPB: mpb.com/en-uk
● Park Cameras: www.parkcameras.com
● Ffordes Photographic: www.ffordes.com
● CameraWorld: www.cameraworld.co.uk
● Grays of Westminster (particularly for Nikon): www.graysofwestminster.co.uk
● Wex: www.wexphotovideo.com
● Clifton Cameras: www.cliftoncameras.co.uk
One further note. Sometimes retailers run cashback or discount schemes that can dramatically reduce the cost of new lenses and bring them closer to used prices. It’s always worth checking.
Canon RF 15-35mm f/2.8L IS USM
● Used price: around £1700 (around £2389 new)
At a glance
● Mount: Canon RF
● Filter thread: 82mm
● Dimensions: 88.5 x 126.8mm
● Weight: 840g
This is the ultimate pro wideangle zoom for Canon EOS R-series mirrorless camera owners. The performance is pretty much as good as you would expect for an L-series lens, but it’s both large and expensive. However, used prices are substantially lower than the list price, which makes it more tempting if you can pick
