Today, by virtues of the Internet, I’ve learned that Canon has an excellent but cheap lens. It is a standard 50mm 1.8 EF II lens, which costs around $70 USD. According to reviews and technical characteristics, it is much better than the kit lens (Canon EF-S 18-55).
The hope was born inside of me. I hoped that our local Canon distributor would have this lens for a reasonable price. I wanted to use it in the upcoming shooting of the Cyprus Rally 2005. As usual, I was expecting the price to be double or even slightly more of those $70 USD.
The distributor indeed had the lens. But the price was quadruple!!! Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I kid you not – I was offered the lens for 130 CYP, which is a bit more than $240 USD.
Needless to say, I ran out of the shop and I’m never coming back, since this is my second experience with this place and the trend suggests that things are getting worse.