Price increase on best lenses

[Orio]

Have you noticed the price increase on the best used lenses recently?
In spite of the world financial crisis.

Two-three years ago, I could find, for instance, Distagon 1.4/35 quite commonly (often 2-3 copies for sale at a time on Ebay), at average price from 300 to 400 Euros. Today, it shows up much less often, and for prices that are around the 600-700 Euros on average (with 900 Euros peaks)

Also, two-three years ago I could find Distagon 2/28 for sale at around 350-400 Euros (I don't count my copy bought for 190 Euros as it was a real lucky strike). Today, it is quite difficult to find one for less than 500-600 Euros. This in spite of the fact that a new and presumably better version has been released by Zeiss recently, a thing that should have lowered the value of the old Contax lens.

I could go on with further examples.
I find this really strange. It's really going against the world's current financial situation.
In any case this proves that buying good old lenses is not a waste of money. In some cases, it could even prove to be an investment.

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[LucisPictor]

Yes, but seeing it as an investment is risky business. First of all you don't know which lenses will become more expensive in the future and if you buy "blue chips" like Zeiss or Leica, you need to invest a lot of money when buying, which also is risky when we talk about used lenses.

I think the chances to make real money with buying and selling lenses are not that high. It perhaps can pay for your hobby, though.

[rawhead]

It's really not strange. The clear reason is... well me!


To be more accurate, people like me. Who am I? Somebody that just got (back) into (digital)SLR photography after a ten-year stretch of shooting digital compacts.

The kind of amateur photo lover, who couldn't resist the allure of digital, but could not even come close to affording the expensive DSLRs during the early-mid 2000's. But with the rapid decrease of DSLR prices, people like me have come back to the SLR world, for the versatility of the format, and the unmatched quality of its pictures.


Now, the rest isn't quite shared with all the recent DSLR converts; but a certain subset of them, including me, are going immediately to the world of legacy glass, for their quality, price/performance ratio.. well, I don't need to explain further to anybody in this forum, do I?


But that is obviously it. And that's why the most versatile of lenses, namely M42s, have seen, I believe, the most dramatic rises in market prices––tell me if I'm wrong here; my first DLSR was a K200D I bough last July, and I've only been in the manual focus lens market for... let's see here.... Ok, exactly three months come Feb. 26th

[sichko]

I think that it is not only the Serie A players that are increasing in price but also members of the lower divisions such as the CZJ Flektogon and Sonnar, and Russians such as the Jupiter 9 and Tair 11A. I have been viewing the market for about 8 months and I have seen serious increases in prices in all of these - and others.

It has been suggested (see for example, http://forum.manualfocus.org/viewtopiv.php?id=13171) that the availability of (relatively) cheap DSLR bodies has driven up the prices of quality MF lenses. Camera bodies may be cheap but high quality lenses to go with them are not - the "glass ceiling" to steal a phrase. Although this may be true I think there are other factors at play..

1. The increasing presence of dealers on ebay. Whenever one sees a Praktica, together with a Flektogon and/or Sonnar, on ebay there is nearly always a "red star" dealer sitting on it. It is very difficult for the individual "photographer" to obtain a "bargain".
2. Notwithstanding general price increases there seems to be a clear differentiation between collectors' items and those which are entirely functional but not really suitable for the cabinet. The increasing premium on cabinet items serves to pull up the prices of user lenses.
3. Although we are in an economic recession there are many people with lots of free cash available - and as far as "boys' toys" go camera lenses are relatively inexpensive.
4. The presence of forums such as this one which serve to "talk-up" the prices of lenses.

[Orio]

@Carsten:
Well, I said it could be an investment in some cases
Of course in most cases you will just get your money back.

However my main point is, that in these times of crisis, one would expect the prices to fall, and this is not happening.
I think that the only reason that can explain this, is an increase in the demand, i.e. more people are searching for and buying old lenses.

[sichko]

[PaulC]

[kds315*]

Well I guess it is similar to good wine. If you buy cheap wine, it ages fast, loses taste and its value also fast. If you invest in really good wine, you'll preserve that investment over a long period 10...20 or more years and sometimes the prices even (often) increase over time (if you don't drink it of course...). Same with lenses: Zeiss, Leitz etc. i.e. the top notch brands are useable after many years (not so the camera bodies esp. digital now) and keep their value, even better increase it more than inflation (the good and rare ones).

[LucisPictor]

[hacksawbob]

Unlike wine the quality of the lens does not improve over time, but our perception of them does.

[PaulC]

[Puplet]

Let us not forget all the people who bought full-frame cameras last Christmas - they must be looking for lenses now too, and clearly have money because they could afford a Canon 5D Mk II etc.

Also, if the price of digital AF lenses goes up, the price of alternative MF lenses goes up too?

[Puplet]

Interest rates on savings and mortgages ... if your mortgage is cheaper now, and your savings aren't earning you so much interest, maybe you feel you have more money for lenses...

[cilinderman]

[no-X]

I know a long-time MFL user, who buys lenses only locally and he told me, that just a few years ago typical price of e.g. Biotar 75/1.5 was about €40-50 and nobody it wasn't easy to sold it for the price

[Farside]

[Puplet]

Clearly you don't drink whiskey - whiskey only matures while it is in the cask; once it's bottled it stops

[Farside]

[Esox lucius]

I don't really follow the aftermarket prices for lenses that I have acquired. After a quick eBay and Google check the (only) ones that seem to have risen in value since I acquired them are

Voigtländer SL 180mm f/4 APO Lanthar (Nikon Ai-S mount)
Nikkor 28mm f/1.4D AF
Nikkor 50mm f/1.2 Ai-S

[Laurence]