MF lens prices

Lloydy · Expire: 2022-01-01

A lot of the price drop is, I believe, due to the popularity of old lenses ( and cameras ) peaking. I'm sure this site is probably the biggest devoted to old MF lenses ( it's certainly the best and most authoritative ) but it's certainly not the only one. Trying to sell anything on this and the other sites where the enthusiasts, collectors and the LBA gather is just about impossible if you want a reasonable price for your goods. Suddenly, everyone is an 'expert' ( and I do include myself Rolling Eyes

) and expects the lenses and cameras to be just about given away. It's no use looking at ebay sold listings and pricing according to that either, the potential buyers are doing the same and expecting at least 50% reduction. The 'social media' sites are the worst, Facebook is awash with pages dedicated to old school photography and advertising good equipment at a decent price is pointless. People will come on and brag about the great score they got at a charity shop - a knackered Zenit with a oily Helios for £30 - but won't even comment or enquire about a good Canon A1 kit with a few lenses and accessories for £50.
The knackered Zenit is selling to the newcomer, whose most likely place to buy is ebay, and not the legions of informed buyers - the 'experts'. A few of those will always buy the genuinely good and great items at the going rate as they seek to improve their collection or buy the lens that they want from research. The people that are struggling as sellers are those of us that have a selection of mid range lenses that we want to shift. There's a lot of us about, and we have a lot of good stuff to sell. The chances are we bought cheaply at charity shops and Craiglist ( those kind of sources are drying up rapidly ) and are hoping to make a decent bit of profit. I think we've missed the bubble and what we paid is probably the going rate.

ManualFocus-G · Expire: 2014-11-24

I've actually sold a lot of my more interesting lenses over the past year as I no longer have time to play with them and I believe the prices people are realistically likely to pay have peaked now anyway. I almost always sell lenses I no longer want at auction, so I get what the market thinks is a realistic price.

Some examples:

My Primoplan 58/1.9 in M42 mount sold for £180.00
CZJ Flektogon 35/2.4 sold for £99.00
Meyer Trioplan 100/2.8 sold for £310.00
Meyer Primotar 135/3.5 sold for £84.00
Minolta Rokkor 58/1.2 MC sold for £250.00

I bought some cut price used Fuji X lenses instead - the 35/1.4 (astonishing wide open), the 18/2 (also sharp wide open) and the Samyang 8/2.8 fisheye.

I can't see myself ever selling the Contax or Pentacon lenses though Very Happy

Nordentro · Expire: 2015-01-29

There is less light and colder weather on the northern hemisphere where most of the buyers sit. The prices are alwyas cheaper on both sides of christmas. This is the best time to study lenses, collect and shop with a nice cup of tea infront of the fireplace Wink

There is still growth in population and in many asian economics in general and there are less legacy lenses on the market as time goes on, go figure the rest. Next big continent having the LBA wil probably be Africa when the Chinese locomotive starts to be tierd.