Which lens (lenses) you would never sell?

[papasito]

My options

Zeiss Ultron 50/1,8

Leica 50/1,4 v.2

Schneider Xenon 50/1,8 - qbm -

Rollei Planar 50/1,8 qbm

Konica Hexanon 57/1,4

[jamaeolus]

Well I can't really say NEVER but last to go would be the Pancolar 80, the vivitar 90 2.5 "bokina", , at least one of my (many) copies of the SK tele arton 85mm f4, Konica 20mm 2.8, Zeiss 35mm 1.4, Olympus OM 24mm f2.

[Gatorengineer64]

Zeiss ultron 50 1.8

Close runner ups

50 1.8 kern macro swiatar

Canon 35 f2 ltm

58 rokkor 1.2

ROKKOR-x 24 2.8

[D1N0]

I've not sold a lens yet... (not really true I did when I was a student and short of cash but that was long ago before digital)

[Teemō]

For me the lenses I wouldn't sell are the ones that would be an absolute pain to replace due to rarity or mount & common condition.

#1 to keep would be the Sigma 180mm F2.8 APO Macro (Zen), for all of the reasons above. They rarely come up in useable condition, and especially in Minolta/Sony A-mount.

#2 would be the LF Topcor/Horseman 90mm F5.6. It's for 4x5" which I don't shoot but the board is also compatible with 6x9, which I do. It's fully multi-coated, with 105-degree coverage the same as equivalent Fuji and Nikon offerings at the time. Not rare per-se or expensive but uncommon enough.

#3 is the first Cosina Voigtlander Ultron 35/1.7 (LTM), partly because it's a nice design, and the performance is somewhat classic. Secondarily, because many of these early Cosina LTM lenses being sold have doublet separation haze, so it's a bit hard to find a good deal taking the cost of repair into account.

#4 & 5 are the Minolta MC 58mm F1.2 and MC 35mm F1.8
#6 the Super Rokkor 5cm F1.8 (LTM); and last but most lucky,
#7 the Jupiter-3 50mm F1.5 (LTM).


The last four can be easily found and bought again, but they are my favourites for their images and high performance (well, the Jupiter-3 is debateable there, I guess).

[stevemark]

Probably a few MinAF lenses such as the 2/100mm, 2.8/100mm Macro and the 2.8/200 APO.
Then a few Minolta MC lenses such ast the 2.8/21mm, 2.8/24mm (early version), 2/28mm, 1,8/35mm, 1.2/58mm, and 1.7/85mm.
Some MD lenses such as the 4/17mm, the 2/85mm, the 2.5/100mm and the 2/135mm.

Nikkors? Ai 1.2/55mm, AiS 1.4/35mm, AiS 1.8/105mm and 2/135mm, then the 2.8/180mm ED and the Ai 4/300mm non-IF.

Canon? FD 2.8/300mm Fluorite and 2.8/400mm L.

Mamiya 645? The 4/120mm Macro and the 5.6/300mm ULD. And the 145mm Soft Focus!!

Disclaimer: This list may change upon my mood of course ...

S

[jamaeolus]

Oh I forgot my Minolta AF 200 2.8 APO. I like to rationalize my obsession by claiming they are "investments" I currently have around 1500 lenses. everything from tiny enlarger lenses to medium format. Mostly though they are German or Japanese from the "Golden Era" of SLR lenses. After the coatings got good enough but before the plastic cheap crap overtook the market. So if push REALLY came to shove I would sell but there are certain lenses that I will probably never sell. The abovementioned. Also Minolta MC 100mm f2. Schneider APO componon HM in 40mm 45mm 60mm and 90mm, Olympus OM40mm f2, The OM 50mm 1.4 that came on the first SLR (OM1) I ever bought. A Pentax 67 55mm f4. Asahi Pentax SMC 85mm 1.7. (Or is just a super Takumar?) The SMC 50mm 1.4 8 element Rodenstock Apo Rodagon D 75mm f4

[visualopsins]

[Alun Thomas]

Selling down is an operation I'm partway through now, from 1000+, although many of that number were quite easy to part with, bought cheaply just to try.

My sell list actually has less to do with quality and more with attachment. I'm keeping quite a few interchangeable mount lenses (T2, Unimount, YS, Adaptamatic) with the intention to use them on various different SLR film cameras. The remainder are native mount for Exakta, Miranda, or M42, as the film cameras I intend to not sell have those mounts (Edixa for M42). All of them will still be capable of giving as good a picture as I need on digital, especially the Adaptamatic lenses (17, 24-48, 35-80, 70-210, 90, 60-300). Additionally, many of them I just think are beautiful, such as the silver Sonnagar 135 2.8 for Exakta. A few of the T2 lenses give surprisingly good IQ, notably some Kominar presets, and a couple of Vivitar preset lenses too. The final list is still around 85 lenses, we'll see if I can talk myself into further selling when that point is reached.

A few I'm keeping:

Soligor/Norita 17/4
Aetna/Sankor 21/3.8
Cosmicar/Ichizuka 28/3.5
Taiho/Nicca 35/2.8
Schacht Travelon 50/1.8
Soligor/Itoh 85/1.5
Sankor 85/1.9
Komura 100/1.8
Aetna/Sankor 135/2.8 Zebra
Kyoei 150/4.5
Taika Cinconar 200/3.4
Kominar 300/5.6
Fujita 400/5.5

Will have to sell several F/1.2 lenses, and only even keeping one F/1.4, a Pentax 8 element.

[jamaeolus]

[calvin83]

I have not decided yet.

[Slalom]

Difficult, the Canon 17L is special, as is the Tamron Adaptall SF Zoom. Then there are the OM 18, 28shift 35 Shift, or the CY 35-75, 100 400.

So I think reducing to one is impossible

[stevemark]

[cooltouch]

Almost all the lenses I own now, I will never sell. I went to too much trouble buying many of them again a second time around.

[RvL]

That's an easy one:
My MOG Domiplan 50mm and Orestor 135mm.

The Domi I'm not actively using. It's in rather bad shape with scratches on the back lens and some sort of haze. Furthermore the Domiplan never really impressed me.

The Orestor is a different story. This is really a lovely lens and I use it very often.

But the most important reason to never sell these is that they belonged to my father, who passed away last winter. Being able to use his equipment again with my EOS M50 is just great.

So together with his Exakta Vx500 these lenses will never be sold.

[papasito]

[bp_reid]

I’ve pretty much trimmed my alt-lens kit as far as I am going to, in the last 6 months, deciding to focus only on Canon FD and Contax/Yashica systems. I therefore foresee me keeping the vast majority of the 30 or so lenses I have across these two mounts.

If push came to shove, I’d want to keep my Shift lenses, Canon TS-E 17L, 24L II, 45, 90 and the incomparable Contax 35mm PC-Distagon.

[Raxar]

honestly I'm willing to sell all my rare and collectables for the right price. if i'm not using them or i dont have any plan to use them in the future its a logical thing to do. i will keep the following list:

one good wide angle! but not wide! 24-25-28 f/2.8. probably FD or MD
Practikar 35/2.4
one very good 50/2 or 50/1.8. septon or ultron or even a modern lens from china. also one good 50/2.8 enlarger lens
a 90 macro
samyang 135/2 or nFD 135/2.8
nFD 200/2.8
one good 300~400 compact mirror lens

[Zamo]

I recently moved to the Canary Islands, where getting things is difficult (post is a mess, with customs, delays, etc.). So I sold quite a few things already... and I have some lenses with me now, some in my previous home. Honestly, I would sell everything for a good price. But, if we stick to normal, market prices, I would probably keep a few ones. I don't have any very expensive ones (no 50mm 1.2, etc) since I cannot justify myself the opportunity cost of those kinds of lenses, but my keepers would probably be:
- Konica AR 100 2.8. It is just a very, very good lens. The 85mm would probably find another home if needed.
- Konica 50 1.7. It is so cheap that selling it would not make much sense anyway. And it was my first manual lens. Still love it.
- Zeiss Jena Pancolar 50 1.8. With its very slight and uncleaneable fungus between the cemented elements its price would be very low, while its quality is not really affected. And I really like it...
- Flektogon 35 2.8. I like how it looks, I like the "character" it gives to the pictures. Have had several 2.4 and sold all of them. But this would be the 35mm I would keep.
- Minolta MD 35-70 3.5 (3rd version). I am not much into zooms, but this one made me change my views about them. It is a very, very good one, for a ridiculous price. I would keep it, if only because it was the first zoom I ever trusted.

Everything else could jump out of the shelf if needed... for a decent price.

[jamaeolus]

Zamo, that is a very good kit. Great quality and not a lot of expense. I have the Konica 100mm 2.8 and it is very very good. As far as the 85 it is also good but much rarer. I would recommend you keep that, as it's value has gone up 50% just in the time I have been seriously collecting (5 years).

[stevemark]

[woodrim]

[woodrim]

When I saw this post, I thought it was an older thread but then discovered it's just another. But this is always a fun question and things change with time. A few years ago, I asked myself what were my favorite lenses. I then decided to use data to at least compare to my perceptions. I wondered if usage might tell me something more. This was made easy by the fact that I file all of my images by the lens used. I could easily get a count of images by viewing a folder. While this does tell a story, it is not absolute since there are other factors that go into a selection of a lens for a given shoot and some shoots just produce more images. But it still provides useful data.

My use of Mirror lenses for Audubon rookery use has resulted in the mirror lenses becoming some of my most used. While a few of them will qualify as lenses I won't part with, they may not be absolute favorites. The Rubinar 5.6/500 is my most used lens and one of two favorite mirrors, the other being the Minolta Vectis 8/400. Other most used and favorites are Vivitar Series 1 3/200, Meyer Primoplan 1.9/58, and Tair-11. My Rokkor PG 1.4/50 has 49 years of use and is a sentimental favorite as well. Beyond those lenses, there are some I really like but push come to shove, I would just pick my top at any focal length to keep.

There are a few lenses that haven't been in my collection long enough to show the usage but I can tell they will get used a lot going forward. One such lens is Okaya Highkor 1.8/40. It has rendering that I find much like Primoplan.

[Doc Sharptail]

50mm f1.4 S.C. Nikkor would be the last I'd let go.

2nd last is a tie between two "Q" lenses- a 135mm f3.5, and a 200mm f4.

I have to stop and think about how the order of all the rest is gonna fall.
Best to leave this where it is for now.
I really should get my marbles together, and finally do a photo of the entire lens pile.
Gonna be a bit of work though...

-D.S.

[wolan]

Nikon 200mm f4 micro
Nikon 105mm f1.8 Ais
Fujinon 55mm f1.6
Nikon 58mm f1.2 Ais

and many other...