Which one is the most expensive lens you have bought so far?

[ForenSeil]

And how much did you pay for it ?
Why did you buy it?
Did you regret it?

MF lenses only of course

My was only a new Samyang 8mm F3.5 MC Fisheye for "only" about 285€
But I guess there I will buy much more expensive lenses within the next months

[Andreq]

Mine is my latest lens purchase,

Vivitar 55mm f2.8 Auto Macro (1:1)

Cost : ~$120 CAD including Shipping and Duty.

[jjphoto]

Oh, you should post that question on getdpi or luminous landscape. Or for that matter on any Leica M forum.

[iangreenhalgh1]

Topcon RE Auto Topcor 5.6/200 for 64ukp. Worth every penny and then some.

[danfromm]

Most expensive has several interpretations. Highest list price. Highest recent selling price. Highest price paid. And then there's cost to make usable.

If we go by list price, my most expensive civilian lens is probably my 900/10 Apo-Saphir. Last list price in the US dates from 1982, the year Boyer closed for good. $4,898.80. I paid roughly $200 including shipping from Germany. Sic transit gloria mundi.

I say civilian because I have a few military lenses whose list prices when originally sold are unknowable. At least two of them, a 3"/4.5 sort-of Biogon made by Pacific Optical (gift) and a 200/2.0 monster made by S.F.O.M. ($200 delivered from France) undoubtedly cost the air forces that bought them quite a lot.

If we go by highest recent selling price, I'm not sure because I don't track that many. But I recently saw a 4"/2.0 (2 1/4" x 2 1/4") Taylor Hobson Anastigmat bring $2,800 on eBay. Mine cost $30 delivered from the UK. And then there's the 60/1.4 Saphir. I'd swear one recently brought $15,000, could be mistaken. Mine cost $32 delivered. Cheap lens, listed for $1,016.20 in '82.

Re cost to make usable, let's see. I once bought a pair of 38/4.5 Biogons for $200 including shipping from Germany. Steve Grimes (himself) charged me $500 for a new Copal #0 shutter and labor to put one of the pair's cells in it. So $700 for a shootable 38/4.5 Biogon, of which I recouped a good bit by selling the second one.

I think the most I ever paid for a lens for my Nikons was around $325. Two lenses at that price, actually. New 200/4 MicroNikkor AIS (gray market from a seller in New York City, dumped by Nikon AG during the 1986 collapse in German demand for SLRs and lenses to fit them) and used 700/8 Questar.

On the whole, I've tried to follow my aged mother's advice: never pay retail.

Regret? What's that? I've certainly bought some clinkers, but at clinker prices.

[Willem]

S-M-C Takumar 3.5/24

I paid €150 for it. Regret no, but it doesn't bring me as much joy as some of my "cheaper" lenses.

[martinsmith99]

CZJ Sonnar 180/2.8 with m42 adapter & lens hood. - I think it was 120gbp. I've used it once, so I guess I do regret buying it.

[Andrew G.]

Nikkor 28mm f/2.8 Ai-S..

Found a minty one on the local classifieds for $200, 'twas worth every penny.

[RioRico]

Which MFL did I shell-out the most for? Pentax SMC (K) 50/1.2, US$250 shipped last year. Absolutely no regrets!!
Which MFL had the highest list price? Schneider Betavaron, US$3500, but I got it for US$70 NIB a couple years ago.
Which lens of any kind did I pay the most for? Lil'Bigma APO DG 170-500, US$1075 (with tax). Yes, I really regret this.
Which lens did I stupidly pay the most for, have never used and can't sell? I'm ashamed to say. Go away. It was US$199.

[walter g]

The most I paid for a lens by quite a bit, is the CCTV 25mm f1.4 lens with adapter, I just bought for USD $30.68 with free shipping.

[Lloydy]

MF ? Probably my Vivitar Series1 24-48 3.8 zoom that I paid £35 I think. I love it to bits, wonderful walkabout lens.

AF ? Pentax 50-135 DA*, it's a superb lens that I paid £600 for and is now listed at a lot more. I rarely use it, but won't sell it.

[ManualFocus-G]

I generally buy bargains ()! Therefore, my most expensive lens, by a mile (including AF lenses), is the Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar 100-300/4.5-5.6 T* which set me back a whopping £625.42 after import tax and delivery It is worth it to me though and I use it a lot

[Jesito]

A Leitz Summarit 50mm 1.5 in LTR mount, it was 375€.
Since it was so expensive I barely use it because I'm afraid of damaging it.
Better to buy cheap lenses, more fun and sometimes surprising results.

Regards.
Jes.

[WolverineX]

manual lens that i payed the most so far is Olympus 90mm/2 macro lens - 300€

[hoanpham]

[Excalibur]

Well having a time limit of say the last five years, then it would be the 100mm f2.8 ebc x fujinon lens for £28....my expensive lenses were medium format, many moons ago.

[NewStuff]

You didn't specify Manual, so it's most certainly the Canon 600 f4 L. It went when I sold the studio, and was, according to the Taxman, for the business. The price was eye-watering at the time, but the reason I bought it was to take me below a Tax threshold, rather than a Need for it. I only used it once or twice before I folded the business.

For my own personal use... it's one I am about to buy... a Photosniper. I've been lucky, and not paid much for any of my lenses.

[Minolfan]

I paid most for my Minolta macro Rokkor 100mm 3.5 and Vivitar serie 1 70-210mm 3.5 (Kiron). Lot of money for both, I don't believe there was much difference in price between them; I don't remember which one was the most expensive. New in the seventies (1974/1975 I think) and never regretted. Both stil in use, I still love them.
More recent purchased second hand MF lens (if that is what you wanted to ask) was a beautifull mint Minolta Rokkor 50mm 1.2 in a local shop for € 150.
Complete nonsense ofcourse, I already had a 58mm 1.2! But it was impossible to let it there, orphanised between new stuff.
The worst is that I cannot regret that purchase either.

[LucisPictor]

The most expensive lens I have ever bought was an AF lens, the Tokina AT-X 4/12-24 which I bought in order to have a real wide angle lens for my 40D.
I did not regret it, but still I sold it some time after I got my 5D. I didn't need it any more.

The most expensive MF lens I have ever bought was the Peleng 3.5/8 which I paid about €280,- for those days.
I did not regret it because it gave me the chance to shoot with a fisheye. But I also sold this lens because I haven't used it much.

The most expensive MF lens I still have is the Leica Summitar 2/5cm which I bought for my NEX cameras.
I neither regret it because it gives a very special look. I think I paid about €250,- or so.

The most expensive lens (AF and MF) I still have is the Sony SEL 55-210 OSS which I bought last week for €349,- , because I wanted to have a matching AF tele lens for my NEX cams. So far I don't regret it.

I have never regretted to buy one of my expensive lenses, because when I spend more than €100,- on a lens I really think about it thoroughly before I buy.

[heartcat]

The most I paid for a lens was $120 (Canadian) plus $20 shipping, for a CJZ Sonnar MC 135mm 3.5. It was my first manual focus lens purchase and that was the going rate at the time. I was too excited to get a MF lens to wait or shop around.

I bought it because after doing some research it seemed that most people who had one loved this lens. And the sample shots I'd seen with it around the 'net were lovely, beautiful colour and contrast and nice sharpness.

I don't regret it, even though I've never paid that much for an MF lens since and probably never will. One of the biggest draws for me when it comes to MF lenses is getting them cheaply. Most of my MF lenses were from$10-$30, with most of them having shipping on top of that, except for the couple I've found locally.

[poilu]

[Tedat]

Konica UC Hexanon 1.8/28

paid 420 Euro, didn't regret it for a second. And why? Well.. I bought it because I really wanted it

[Fabian]

I thought the € 590 I paid for my Voigtländer Nokton 25mm f/0.95 would be one of the cheapest mentioned. Maybe it's another story when AF-lenses would have been included, but I assumed there were many of you that bought rare MF-lenses for a lot of money.

[rawhead]

I guess that would be my Canon TS-E 17mm F4L at around 2,000US. If we're talking retail price, then Hartblei/Carl Zeiss Super Rotator 80mm F2.8 (which I paid $0 for .

[dani9batan]

Contax Planar T* 85 f1.4; I have just paid 500 euros and I´m happy