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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Malcolm Stewart" data-source="post: 1103005" data-attributes="member: 6851">Thanks for the thread - over several years I've had good service from many of those listed.  "Mr Cad" is good for a wide range of older equipment.What is worth mentioning in this context is that Canon operate a 10 year rule for repair parts holdings.  So if your lens (less than 10 years old to you) needs a repair and the faulty part was replaced by an updated item some years before its manufacture, you may not be able to get your lens repaired by Canon.  This happened to a friend of mine with his EF24 f2.8.  In my own case Fixation were unable to repair the AF on my EF300 f2.8L whilst Lehmanns did do so a few months later - after I'd bit the bullet and bought the later IS version.  I also feel that the descriptions Mint, Excellent +, ++ etc. seem to have different meanings if the lens is one that in professional usage tends to get somewhat knocked about.  My original EF 300 f2.8L (Exc ++ from one of the above list) arrived with lots of paint missing but with good optics. I think my grading would have been "Good working order".  Try buying a good copy of the Nikon MF portrait lens, the 85 f2 or 105 f2.5 AIs Nikkors from one of the central London dealers and you'll see what I mean.  When I was searching a few years ago they all got an EXC or better grading and had stiff focusing, sticky aperture leaves or worse.  I eventually got a near-mint copy with original hood (no box though) from a dealer in Shropshire, and at a good price.</blockquote>

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