I wrote: > I will sit on the info and see what the shop offers me.
I just had a reply from the shop. They have offered to swap the A*300mm f/4 for the 6x7 165mm f/2.8 I was interested in (second-hand). I've been looking for this lens for quite a while. The 165mm lens was priced at NZ$895, which is just over US$500 at today's exchange rate. Looking at KEH that seems extremely expensive but the 165mm is not seen for sale very often around here, and medium format glass is generally quite expensive on our secondhand market. Another shop in NZ has one listed for NZ$795. A new one is NZ$2,400 so I can't really complain :) It would certainly be cheaper to get one from KEH... until you add freight and taxes, and if there are any problems it'd get difficult. I bought a secondhand FA* 400mm lens from B&H a year ago and it was quite nerve-wracking, considering I was in England at the time, shipping a lens from NY to NZ. Luckily everything turned out OK, apart from the fact that I don't use the lens enough. So with the above in mind I've accepted their offer. I won't tell you what I paid for the 300mm in the first place; let's just say that I'm not losing money. My 67 kit is about to be complete, apart from two items: 1- The 400mm f/4 ED IF, but I'd rather buy a house right now; 2- The 65mm f/2.8 which does not exist (the 55mm is too close to the 45 for my liking, and the 75 is a bit close to the 90mm). Now I'm hanging out for the body to come back from repair (it had a light leak). Cheers, - Dave http://www.digistar.com/~dmann/
