Why are there so few "cheapo" 85mm lenses?

[noddywithoutbigears]

I think it's just down to market forces, 85mm is not that bigger than a 50-55mm where as a 135mm is, lenses have always been a costly purchase, so your not really going to buy a new lens close to the one you already own unless it's for a specific application. Lens manf. make lens which will sell and maybe the 85mm is seen as a more specialised lens with less demand, so subsequently they make a more limited run. The Pentax M 50mm f1.7 is a excellent lens which there must have been 100,000 + in it's production run, hence cheap and readily available but the 85mm f2 was probably only in the 1000s so rare and expensive. Of course I maybe completely wrong.
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[hoanpham]

Cheapest among 70-77-80-85-90-100-105 lenses can be one of the medium format lenses. 80/2.8 used to come as a kit. Like Pentacon6 lenses, I use them with adapter.

Second cheap I found is the macro lenses: tamron sp 90/2.5 1:2, tamron af 90/2.8 1:1, sigma af 105/2.8 macro. I got these lenses cheaper than the pentax M 85/2. The af are made by plastic.

Also the 100-105mm are in general a bit cheaper than 85mm.

Do we need faster than 2.8? Not really. I use them most at f4 and f5.6, but also with exception. A f1.4 lens step down to f2 or f2.8 gives razor sharp results.

The 85mm's stay, last to go.

[Minolfan]

Most amateurs in the old days choosed for 135 for a first extension of their gear. The 135 was sold a lot more then 80 -100mm.
For crop cameras that range is very attractive now. Few to find and a lot of interested buyers makes higher prices.
And the profi purchased the expensive fast lenses, ofcourse they are regarded now and get high prices!
The cost of producing 85-ish lenses is for an important part the effect of lower numbers made.

[Attila]

[Nesster]

My guess is along the lines of what people have already mentioned --- supply and demand. Not many 85's were sold, I think. Yet, since it is one of the traditional 120 format normal lengths, the basic designs had been worked out - the same for 105's. Therefore they tend to be quite good -the same way 50s tend to be good. Then you get the lux makers seizing the opportunity and adding cachet...

I think it's true that in the Nikon world, the 105 was the preferred portrait lens, and therefore much more common now than their 85's?

Back some 15 years ago when I went looking for a fast short tele for my OM, Keh priced the Zuiko 85/2 for less than the 100mm... but I'm thinking I must have been looking at the 100/2 rather than 2.8
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[fermy]

Let's look at Canon FD lenses:

FDn 85mm/f1.8: 6 lenses/4 groups, price at introduction 45 000 Yen.
FDn 100mm/f2.8: 6 lenses/5 groups, price at introduction 34,500 yen
FDn 135mm/f2.8: 6 lenses/5 groups, price at introduction 35,000 yen

Based on that, there is not much difference in manufacturing complexity between these lenses. 100mm/f2.8 is the cheapest to make as it requires less glass (it's the lightest of the 3). The used market prices are completely upside down from that, with 100mm/f2.8 being a lot more expensive than 135mm/f2.8 and 85mm/f1.8 being almost double the price of 100mm. This pricing is driven by the number of the lenses on the used market, not by anything else.

Now the number of the lenses on the used market is driven by original pricing. 135mm was the best deal of the 3, so was bought by all the amateurs and is available in large numbers. My guess is that higher pricing for 85/1.8 was set only by marketing considerations. The lens is most useful for indoor portraiture, which often means studio work, hence wealthier target market.

[Attila]

yes, you do remember for 100mm f2 I think too
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[visualopsins]

[pst]

True, if I were shopping for only one lens above 50 the 135mm makes most sense. If I were to buy two lenses 100 + 200mm would make most sense. Maybe that's why Nikon sold more 100/105 lenses.
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Regards, Patrick.

[avidone]

my feeling is that this is definitely a supply and demand sort of thing, ie. lower supply originally making higher demand/ higher prices now. Even on lenses reasonably close to each other in quality, eg. 135mm/f3.5 Jupiter 37a lenses are all over the place and available in mint condition for very little. I think I got my 1980 Olympic model new old stock for like 35 euro on fleabay and recently I grabbed another good condition one for 12 euros I think at a thrift store. I have NEVER run across 85mm lenses in thrift stores and the Jupiter 9 (85mm f2) I got off the bay was in great condition but a bit over 100 euro. Still a bargain for that kind of quality IMHO, but absolutely cheap it is not

When I see people on eBay or in classifieds trying to sell complete SLR film kits, they are almost always camera/ 50 (or 55 or 5/135/28
Like 85's, 35's seem to be harder to come across and more expensive. I guess to most amateur shooters with limited funds, 28/50/135 gave a better spread and "bang for the buck"

It is a luxury that we can buy these lenses now for what are still great prices even after renewed demand (like from people here ) has brought the prices up. I love my Jupiter 9 and Jupiter 37a both on my APS-C DSLRs and can't wait for my new old 5d classic to arrive to try them on that. Pity I will not be able to also enjoy my Mir1sh (37mm/f2. on it, since it is reported to hit the mirror.

[luisalegria]

Up to about 1970 35mm was more common than 28mm
There are a lot more 35mm presets out there than 28mm for instance.
35mm did die out pretty rapidly later.
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I like Pentax DSLR's, Exaktas, M42 bodies of all kinds, strange and cheap Japanese lenses, and am dabbling in medium format/Speed Graphic work.

[Farside]

[atiratha]

I think there is a cheapo 85 out there. Search Ebay for Camdiox 85/2, I think it was a Sonnar formula, made for PK mount.
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[Excalibur]

It is a shame there is a shortage of 85mm (and 100/105mm) lenses as they are more useful than 135mm lenses...erm we must have been brainwashed in the past to accept 135mm as a "must have" as I would have thought with mass production the 85mm to 105mm could have been just as cheap.
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[pst]