Photoclubalpha

a friend has been made redundant , he is going on holiday in 3 weeks and , he bought a cz 24-70 2.8 lens 8 weeks ago and has hardly used it, he needs money now for his holidays and has suggested a swap plus a bit of cash (£150 to be exact) for my 9 month old cz 16-80 , i don,t use the 16 -80 a lot i,ve not seen the 24-70 yet, but believe it is a big heavy lens.

is it worth doing the deal

Financially, that is a fantastic benefit, if you don't want it there's a CZ16-80mm here waiting for a swap

He is just giving you about £500 in cash for a short term gain. A fair price difference is £500 or more (the new price difference is more like £1000). So at £150, be generous, give him £250 plus the lens - seriously, I would, otherwise you will not have a friend at some future date when he realises just how much he has given away for some pocket money. Volunteer another £100, say that you know it's really worth even more but you can not afford it.

Having said that, he presumably owns an A700 or other APS-C camera and the 16-80mm is SO much better for a holiday - the 24-70mm is entirely the wrong lens to have. That is why I have both a KM 28-75mm and a Minolta 28-105mm RS. I travel with the 28-105mm, and use the 28-75mm closer to base when I know it will be adequate, and when I can carry a 70-200mm or 70-300mm as well.

Bear in mind you will need something to fill the 16-24mm gap. For me, that would be critical - I could not use an APS-C camera without that range. And you may also be depriving yourself of a good walkround lens in return for almost one kilo of big glass needing a 77mm filter, and really best suited to full frame. The 11-18mm or the Sigma 10-20mm, or the new (not recommended) Tamron 10-24mm all take 77mm filters. So they are quite a good match for the 24-70mm. Maybe you could afford to get one, or already have one of these. If so the 24-70mm will fit in well.

David

ah david, you got me thinking now, i don,t really want a big heavy lens , i think i,ll just lend him some money till he gets on his feet again and whilst i,m at it i'll swap him lenses for the 2 weeks he,s away

Now that *is* being a friend!

David