Sonnar lens for Contax

<p>What has happened to the price of the Contax fit 50mm f2 Sonnar? I have just been looking through Ebay and the cheapest I found was £200 and the dearest around £500. The last time I bought one a year or two ago I paid £60!<br>

I was thinking of replacing my old uncoated version with a coated one. That is out of the question now, I will just have to be happy with what I already have.</p>

<p>You might need to just search harder, especially outside the UK. Can't see why anyone would pay £500 for a 50/2 Sonnar when you can get the lens w/a IIIa body for just $329 (ebay item 150733705998).</p>

<p>The price of many classic RF lenses has gone up because demand has increased (unlike just a few years ago, you can now mount them on numerous mirrorless digital cameras & the Leica M9) while the supply is rather fixed.</p>

<p>Christopher, all the lenses that I found were in America except one in UK. You are right I should look at lenses and bodies together.</p>

<p>I imagine demand and some lens prices may have gone up with folks wanting to use them on digital compact system cameras like micro-4/3 and NEX (e-mount) with cheap adapters.</p>

<p>Keep an eye on KEH.com over here. THey have no 50s now but will eventually and their prices are never outrageous. I just saw a Biotar 21mm f/4.5 go on eBay for over $1200 while there are two sitting on KEH for 700 and 800. (Boy would I love one of those but I'll need to inherit from relatives I don't yet know I have before I can go for one of those beauties.)</p>

There seem to a number of people asking too much for items on ebay. If you check the completed listings page, you'll find

that few of these items sell at all. Auctioned items sell, but at much lower prices.

<p>While I can bemoan the same subject for all the same reasons.....Some good points have been made, especially that from HP taht asking price and real"sold" price are the one that count! I too want a F2 Sonnar at a reasonable price... May the best man win!</p>

All of the classic lenses seem to have gone way up in price with the availability of decent adapters to use them on Leica and mirrorless Digital cameras.

 

I would be looking for a camera show- I've picked up some great deals at Photorama shows. Like a 5cm f2 Tanar with a Tanack IV-S for $230 at the last one.

<p><em>What has happened to the price of the Contax fit 50mm f2 Sonnar? I have just been looking through Ebay and the cheapest I found was £200 and the dearest around £500. The last time I bought one a year or two ago I paid £60!</em><br /><em>I was thinking of replacing my old uncoated version with a coated one. That is out of the question now, I will just have to be happy with what I already have.</em><br />You are right - I bought a Contax IIa and f2 Sonnar from an "I don't know anything about cameras" seller 3 or 4 months ago for $300 - turned out the lens was perfect and so was the camera after a CLA. Prices seem to have risen dramatically since then. I have been trying to find a 1.5 Sonnar. bought one in "perfect" condition for $350, found it was full of haze and sent it back - I don't think I'll find another for a sensible price. Console yourself with a Jupiter 8 - lots about complete with (mostly) Kiev 4 cameras for about $50 from the Uktraine.</p>

<p>The prices do vary wildly, so you may just have to keep watching and pounce at the right moment. It is true to say that the Contax is enjoying a bit of a Rennaisance at the moment, and people are discovering the Sonnars and realizing that they are better than the Leitz lenses from the same period.<br>

I would persist with your uncoated sample as the Sonnars seem to retain good contrast even when not coated. This even holds true for the 1.5, which is a real testament to the design and glass quality of these early Zeiss lenses.<br>

The Jupiters are an option too, but the quality varies wildly, and I have owned some shockers!. The one that I still have on my Fed is really quite good, but don't expect Sonnar quality, even though they are supposed to be a copy.</p>