[Silver Dragon]

Hi folks...
I am being offered a zoom lens at a reasonable price....
Its a Cosina, the numbers on the lens are 100 - 400 mm, 1:4.5-6.7, MC, and its 67mm wide.
Its a BIG zoom, its EOS compatible, and I have had it on the camera (EOS 350 D) and it works just fine....
But I know little about Cosina....

Are they a good make, and is £100 a bargain for this second hand?...
Its in VERY good condition, no scratches or any damage of any kind visible to lens or body, and very clean.

[Markulous]

Whilst not a solid endorsement, the suggestion is that it's not a bad lens - but £100 would appear to be on the high side

Vivitar, Cosina, and Phoenix are all actually the same.

It is the cheapest zoom of 100-400mm focal length I can find in the market. Especially since I got a mint used one at $80. Summarily the quality is below par, but at this price, I would say it's a good deal.

It is a push-pull type of zoom, sometimes called a pump-zoom.

SHARPNESS: Not too bad at 100mm stopped down, surprisingly sharp from 135mm to about 300mm (especially at f/8 to f/16). From 300mm to 400mm it gets soft very quicken and very soft at 400 end at any aperture. I would say it's about as sharp as Canon EF 100-300 5.6L (not the 4.0-5.6L) from 135 to 300.

CONTRAST: Not very good. I almost always have to boost the contrast in Photoshop. Lots of light will help.

Terrible flare. One of the worst that I have used. A good hood may help but I haven't tried.

Not very good build quality. At the maximum zoom, the front element seems to be shaking a little bit, results in very soft image at 400mm even on a good tripod. It seems that winds or flipping mirror on the camera while taking the shot will cause the front element to vibrate a bit.

The zoom is also too loose, it means that the zoom will move when you tilt the lens up or down, even in a small angle.

Manual focusing is not full-time, you will have to manually switch from AF to MF. Autofocus is acceptably quick

Certainly not a good value for money at $200. Only buy it if you can find a used one in good condition at less than $90.

A decent 100-300 F4.5-5.6 Lens, 400 is barely usable unless you print only at 4x6 or 5x7 at most.

[WOODY]

I AGREE WITH MARKULOUS, COSINA ARE NOT THE GREATEST LENS EVER MADE. I WOULD SUGGEST YOU EITHER TRY AND GET THE PRICE DOWN, IF THIS IS THE LENS YOU REALLY WANT, OR TRY AND FIND A BETTER MAKE LENS SECONDHAND.

I THINK YOU WILL PROBABLY BE VERY DISAPPOINTED WITH THE RESULTS FROM THIS LENS.

[silkstone]

To echo what has already been said, this is an old design of lens that was aimed at the budget end of the market. The reviews suggest that its performance is generally average, but poor above 300mm, which means its large size is a waste - you can buy much better and more compact lenses in the 70-300 range.

Technology has moved on and left this one behind, and if I were you I'd do the same.