When is a lens considered "Rare?"

[themoleman342]

I think the word "rare" gets thrown around inappropriately a great deal.
Considering, in most cases, that we do not know actual production figures on lenses, what constitutes rarity? Frequency on ebay?
What about lenses that we do know approximate figures on? What's the production number cut-off for rarity? 500 lenses? 1000 lenses?

Just something I've always wondered. Maybe there is no objective answer.
~Marc

[LucisPictor]

"Rare" means IMHO that a lens can hardly be found on EBAY.

[Nordentro]

[Spotmatic]

A lens is considered rare when it's in the hands of only 1 or 2 of the members here

[Nordentro]

[luisalegria]

'Rare" is a purely rhetorical term. There is no common agreement on this. A "rare" book can exist in hundreds of copies. A "rare" comic book in thousands. A "rare" lens would be - what ? Unique ? Only 10-100 in existence ? 100-1000 ?

"uncommon" is a more conservative word, though also quite vague. I think it would be justifiable to use it to mean on the other side of "common". A Tokina made 90-230/4.5 zoom would be a common item - made by the million I think and 100+ available on any day on ebay. A lens made in the hundreds and available a few times a year would certainly uncommon.

BTW - even if a desirable lens was made only in the low hundreds, usually, one would expect it to show up on ebay several times a year.
Items like this tend to be mainly owned by collectors, who probably die, sell and trade at a fairly high rate compared to the general population.

[Attila]

[Spotmatic]

My 85mm f/4.5 Ultra-Achromatic Takumar is not rare because Klaus and I both own one

[Attila]

[Aanything]

[danfromm]

As has been pointed out, in the absence of production records and a standard of rareness (not blue or red, as in beefsteak, but maximum number produced), "rare" is pretty subjective. Witness all of the rare, according to the sellers, lenses offered on eBay.

The number of lenses made by the Zeiss firms is fairly well documented. Elcan lenses' serial numbers run sequentially within type, so give a clue but aren't definitive.

I'd say that my little 45/9 CZJ Goerz-Dagor (one singleton and one batch of twenty five made, according to Thiele) is rare. I suspect that the three 100/6.3 Reichert Neupolars (still have one) I've had are rare. I don't think my Questar 700, s/n 10486 (I think that makes it the 486th made) or my 1.75"/2.8 Elcan (s/n 088-0347, which makes it the 347th made) is rare. Uncommon, perhaps, rare, no.

Serial numbers can be suggestive but I doubt they're conclusive. Is my 100/5.6 S.F.O.M., s/n 59, rare? It could be but I wouldn't bet on it. Similarly for my 200/2 S.F.O.M., s/n 3127. They're hard to find but they were used by more than one air force.

Years ago I did a little study of used Super 8 cameras in the market. I found that high-end cameras produced in low volumes (Beaulieus, Leicinas, top-of-the-line Bauers, Canons, Nikons, Nizos, ... ) survived very well and that more pedestrian cameras didn't. My study was published in Amateur Cine Enthusiast with the title The Cheap Die Young.

[Spotmatic]

[kds315*]

[ZoneV]

[Attila]

I not agree , rare only if you of them exists, extremely rare , etc is better expression. Rare what you can't pickup when you want promptly.

[anscochrome]

I had a rare lens once-a LTM 90mm F 2.0 Summicron from the first batch of 12 made (non prototype), which in the next batch, had a barrel re-design, and then became exclusively an M mount lens after that. I knew the serial number range from owning a copy of

Leica: A History Illustrating Every Model and Accessory

by Paul-Henry Van Hasbroeck
I read that book forward and backward for several years-then one day I spotted an example of the Summicron in Charlotte Camera for $400.00 (they had no idea of the real value, they priced it like a "pedestrian" Summicron in 1992). I traded it for a 135mm F 2.8 Elmarit and $100.00 cash. I was later able to trade it to a collector in New York for a Wisner 4x5 technical Field Camera and 3 Schneider large format lenses. I will NEVER see a find or a deal like that ever again in my lifetime.

[mfkita]

Some instances of "rare" to me is equipment:
....that were 1st versions,
....non-standard FL or short term production runs, (differs with mfg. for example the 58/1.4 Nikkor vs all the 50/1.4 versions)
....lenses that were interim, or hybrid models (eg. compact 135/F2.8 Nikkor with AI optics and modern rubber cosmetics...but withOUT the AI or AIS mount) or
....standard versions that were modified/accessorized by OEM or user (the latter less valuable I should think) such as non-AI Nikkor lenses...

Obviously it helps to know the OEM and the different history of its gear

Rare can, but typically does not refer to condition though that helps increase the value...nor does it refer to "quality"...some rare gear is not very good...

Just some ideas that come to mind

[Mos6502]

I only have a couple of items in my collection I would call rare. The pre-war Bosch and Lomb 75mm "tele" lens for the Argus C3, of which less than a dozen are known today, and the 1949 Cee-Ay 35 which was only in production for a few months.

I watched ebay for about two years to find the Cee-Ay, and I kind of just stumbled on the B&L by accident because it was so poorly listed. In either case they appear for sale infrequently. The Cee-Ay cameras - if you watch for them, one will come up almost every year. Despite the short production run they probably made something like 3000-4000 of them, so "rare" is perhaps even a bit of stretch then. The B&L teles, show up less than once a year - heck probably less than once every two or three years. I've heard that production was only 1000 or maybe even less. Since the lens is actually rather small I'm sure there are more out there - lost or stashed away, they also look almost exactly like the standard C3 lens, so I'm sure there must be a few in the hands of people who don't know what they have. But even so - it's a rare lens I think.

[Orio]

[Nikon75-150E]

Yes the term rare is often misused. I've seen many common lenses(and other items) on Ebay described as rare.

[semso]

O yes,
I have ¨RARE¨ MC Auto Kinor 2.8 135mm FD mount

Who owns another one?

Is that rare??

[iangreenhalgh1]

I have a 1940s Ross Xpress f3.5 4inch in an aluminium barrel with M42 mount.

Not been able to find any info about a 3.5/4in Xpress let alone one in M42.

So I guess it's pretty rare.

http://forum.mflenses.com/ross-xpress-f3-5-4-inch-t46463.html