What are your most expensive lenses? TOP TEN...

[LucisPictor]

I always say that I try to find real bargains, but recently I have found out that I have quite a few lenses that cannot be called "cheap".
Please, do not misunderstand that. I know that for example a Leica Summicron 90 for € 150,- still would be a "bargain", but I would not call it "cheap".

This is my lens list in order of the price I've paid:

1. Tokina AT-X Pro 12-24
2. Sigma DC 17-70
3. Peleng 3.5/8
4. Nikkor-S.C 1.2/55
5. Zenitar 2.8/16
6. Canon EF 75-300 USM III
7. Canon EF 1.8/50 II
8. Nikkor-O 2.0/35
9. Nikkor-N.C 2.8/24
10. Tokina 4/80-200 (for which I paid way too much!)

Then there are lenses like the Jupiter-9, the Tamron SP 60-300 and some others pretty close...

What I realise is that I started to pay more for a lens, then I bought many really cheap ones and lately I started to buy rather more expensive ones again - apart from the odd exception which I got for under € 10,-

Did you go through a similar "development"?



P.S.:Some other rather expensive lense (but which I have sold again to pay for other lenses) were Canon EF 2.8/28, Tamron XR 28-300, Canon EF 24-85 (which really is a nice lens. I sometimes miss it.)

[poilu]

I have the same number 1 with LucisPictor
for my 2 pentax I will wait for the list of cheaper lens

tokina 12-24
contax 100 2.8
contax 28 2.0
tamron 17-50
contax 85 1.4
contax 28-85
contax 35-70
contax 25
contax 60
contax 28 2.8

[Attila]

Tamron SP 180mm f2.5 Anniversary lens only 3000 made
Meyer-Optik Görlitz Primoplan 75mm f1.9 Exakta
Carl Zeiss Jena Biotar 75mm f1.5
Carl Zeiss Jena Pancolar 80mm f1.8
Olympus OM 300mm f4.5
etc,etc


Based on performance/price my most expensive lens Olympus AF kit lens, I never use it.

[Orio]

I never spent more than 600-650 Euros for a single lens. That's as far as I want to go, perhaps for some extraordinary bargain I could reach the 800 or so but certainly not more. Beyond that, I would classify the expense as pure immotivated luxury.

So this excludes me automatically from the L class of Canon lenses (for which exclusion I do not suffer) and alas also from a few manual lenses (such as the Contax Apotessar 300) for which exclusion I do suffer (silently)

My most expensive lenses have been a couple Contax lenses, around 600 Euros each, the Canon EF 2/100, for which I don't remember how much I spent but anyway too much, and the Sigma 10-20, my worst 500 Euros that I ever spent, a lens that is beaten hands down by all my copies of the 40-years-old Flektogon 4/20, under all respects (clarity, distortion, edge performance, colour rendition).
Then, a couple of Leica lenses around 300-350 Euros each, and one of my Helios-40-s for which I spent the same money.

The rest is "normal administration", that is, lenses within the 150, max. 200 Euros range. Within the "normal administration" range, the most expensive have been the CZJ Sonnars 180 and 200, both around the 200 Euros each.

[LucisPictor]

[LucisPictor]

[Riku]

Pentax kit lens is the most expensive I have. It's my only AF lens

[Riku]

[Flor27]

1 - Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 AF, brand new, 300 Eur.-
2 - Peleng fish-eye 8 f/3.5, 90 Eur.-
3 - SMC Pentax 50 f/1.4, 50 Eur.- with a Pentax Electro-Spotmatic body
4 - MTO 3M-5CA 5PP f/8, 32 Eur.- including shipping from Netherland to France and a Praktica BCA body
5 - Helios 135 f/2.8, 20 Eur.-

All my other lenses cost me 10 Eur-. or less. I think I will pay no more than 100 Eur-. for a lens, even if I can have a nice copy of well know gem for half the price... I'm not a collector, juste wana play a little and make some nice shoots of my family.

[Farside]

[Farside]

1. Novoflex 400 system
2. Noflexar 600 head and teleconverter.
And not finished on spending on that yet - need another couple of minor bits to complete it.

3. Tamron SP 60-300
4. All the rest have come in at under 30Euros each - most well under that. One or two have been crap, but most produce reasonable results, some outstandingly so. The best bang for the buck must be the Tair 11A and the Tamron SP90 (though that was a fluke).

[j.lukow]

Boy I'm feeling left out.
All mine were cheap - and I don't know how I totally feel about joining the ranks of the pricey lens owners. I'm not a collector - I'm coming back into photography, so . . .

I might be practicing false economy, but I'm loving the results of what I got.

[Ballu]

Mine most expensive is CAJ Flek 35mm f2.4 for $125 + S&H.. and there was focussing issue.. I paid $15 for focus correction... so total price was $150...
Second is CZ Planar 50mm f1.7 for $125.

[patrickh]

@j.lukow
Some of the best known pictures were taken with consumer point and shoots (brownie stands out). This forum is full of photographers (and I do not use the word lightly) who have made it a point of honour to buy lenses for what they are worth not what others decide is the price. We can all point you to forums where the "average" joe is spending upwards of $1K to produce often mediocre pictures but can claim bragging rights to owning the latest and greatest. One forum has a thread that has been running for more than six months on one of the most expensive lenses out there, and frankly I have seen product as good on this forum from lenses costing tens or possibly hundreds of euros tops. It's the eye behind the lens that counts. This thread is amusing not for the huge amounts paid, but the VALUE obtained.


IMHO for what it's worth

patrickh

[LucisPictor]

This thread was not started to show-off really expensive lenses, but on the contrary, to show that non of us "normally" buys those really very expensive lenses.
As you have said, Patrick, in other forums the members try to outshine each other by buying lenses that cost thousands of Dollars/Euros.
Here members might have some expensive lenses, but most of the lists quickly show lenses that were not expensive but offer great value - just like you said.

In my case that reads like 1 lens for €400,-, one for 300,- and one for 200,-, three for 100something and the rest for under 100,- and many even for under 20,-

These lists directly show that we value lenses that provide great performance and not those with high prices. This was the intention of this thread...

[Riku]

Here's my list, prices from 10€ to 70€

1. Pentax SMC DA 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 AL
2. Jupiter-9 85mm F2
3. Tair 11A 135mm F2.8
4. Tamron SP 90mm F2.5
5. Vivitar 135mm F2.8
6. Tokina RMC 28mm F2.8
7. Canon FD 50mm F1.8
8. Meyer-Optik Görlitz Oreston 50mm F1.8
9. Tamron 35-135mm F3.5-4.5
10. Tamron 35-70mm F3.5

[j.lukow]

I guess this is my first faux-pas but, but my tongue was in cheek .

Thanks patrickh for your reply. Its something I agree with and second it was the reason why I dove back into 35mm photography -you have a proven technology allowing you to show your artistic side and you don't have to form a line behind the techno sheep and those who think $$=talent.

[peterqd]

[Orio]

Want to know the ironical thing? In the end (before I gave up AF almost completely) I was using the kit lens always in what I call "semi-manual" mode, that is, I first autofocused on one point near the target area then adjusted manually - exactly because it saved a lot of time over the continuously chasing AF movements. But the barrel quality was real junk for manual focusing.

[peterqd]

My list in descending order: (you should be able to spot some really good bargains)

>?25
1 CZJ Flektogon MC 2.8/20 auto
2 S-M-C Takumar 2.8/28, 1.8/55 and 3.5/135 (three together as a set)
3 CZJ Pancolar MC 1.8/50 electric
4 Tamron 23A SP 60-300
5 Tamron 01A SP 35-80
6 CZJ MC S 3.5/135
7 Jupiter 21M
8 Super Takumar 3.5/35

?20-25
9 Pentacon 4/200 (preset)

?15-20
10 Mir-1B

?10-15
11 Jupiter 37A
12 Meyer Orestor 2.8/135
13 CZJ Tessar 2.8/50
14 Tamron 103A 80-210

?5-10
15 Helios 44-2
16 Helios 44M-4
17 Mir-24M

?1-5
18 CZJ Flektogon MC 2.4/35
19 Industar 3.5/50
20 Super Takumar 1.4/50

<?1
21 Tamron 03A 80-210

[poilu]

[Attila]

Exactly! We are lucky so many cheap mf lenses available on the market.

[LucisPictor]

Thanks, Peter. There definitely are some good bargains.
I wonder why some of the Tamron zoom lenses go for so little money!

Wait a minute! You got a MIR-24 for under 10 quid and a Tak 1.4/50 for under 5? Incredible!!!

[LucisPictor]

[no-X]

MF only:

1. Zeiss Distagon T* 25/2.8
2. CZJ eMC Pancolar 80/1.8
3. CZJ Biotar T 75/1.5 ex.
4. CZJ eMC Flektogon 20/2.8
5. Helios 40-2 85/1.5
6. SMC Takumar 35/2
7. Schneider-Kreuznach Curtagon 35/2.8
8. Schneider-Kreuznach Tele-Xenar 135/3.5
9. Schneider-Kreuznach Baby C 35/2.8
10. Super Takumar "PRO" 35/2

//ed: I forgot Yashinon 55/1.2 - should be between Distagon and Pancolar