Manual Lens Was in the store today and saw an old used lens

I can see a collector owning it, or maybe someone in the film industry, but the average Joe? I'd be afraid to take it out of the house. Er...I mean...safe.

 
These were as rare as rocking horse droppings, back in the day.

Any lens wider than 28mm cost a fortune back then - prior to computer aided/designed lenses (c. 1994?).

Could well have been made of unobtainium! Leaving aside the rest of the Olympus f/2 series, which were all extremely expensive, and pretty rare.
 
There are enough of the Olympus 20mm F2 on Ebay to put it out of the "Rare" category. If someone in the Movie Industry decides it is a Cult lens and they must have it, drives prices skyward. I sold my Canon 85/1.5 that I paid $400 for $2500. The buyer had the glass cleaned, polished, and mounted in a custom made Arriflex mount. $25K. SO- you just never know when a lens gets attains "Cult" status. I have a Konica 28/2, like this one:


It is not as good as the Nikkor-NC 28/2. Far from it, not as sharp. I paid $100 for the Nikkor. There are more of them; the Konica lens is uncommon. Mine is perfect. If someone asksed- "Yeah, I have one. I'm hopeless. Buy the Nikkor."

And I have the hood.


Buy the Nikkor.
 
I'm fairly sure I had one of those, back in my OM film days. It was a Zuiko and wider than 24mm anyway. I probably got £10 for it as a trade-in against my first digital camera (with its huge 5mp sensor) 😐

-R
 
We've all sold equipment back in the day for a lot less than what some go for now. And- bought for a lot less than what the stuff sells for now. Hindsight is 20/20.
 
We've all sold equipment back in the day for a lot less than what some go for now. And- bought for a lot less than what the stuff sells for now. Hindsight is 20/20.
Well, now.

I get around that problem by never selling anything (much).
Last thing I sold was an M3 Leica with three f/2 Summicron lenses back in the 1990s.
Before that, it was my M2 Leica kit in the early 1970s, with 28mm Hektor, 50mm Summicron and 90mm Elmar.
 
My big mistake was to sell all of my lenses but to keep the OM-2 for sentimental reasons. I wish I'd kept the 50mm f/1.4 as it just looked so 'right' on that body. Without a lens I can't even admire the camera in a cabinet, so I'll probably end up buying someone else's Zuiko at some point, just for that purpose. Should have kept my lens ...

-R
 
My wife asked what's the best deal I ever found in an Antique Store.
Leica III Black with Elmar, $15. Nikon M with collapsible Sonnar, $30.
I've sold some lenses because they are too good to not get more use, and sell to someone that I like their work.
 
Back
Top