FD Lens Prices

[chuck909]

WOW, FD lens prices are going sky high of late. My wife gave me an FD 28mm f2.0 (BL) for Christmas four years ago and the price she paid was $225.00 USD. The condition of the lens was/is 'straight out of the box'. I love that lens. Now I see that the same lens going for between $950.00 and $2000.00 depending on condition. KEH had one listed as "Bargain" for $1500.00 and it went quickly (I just looked at the sight and they have another for $1522.14). Same goes for eBay. Why the drastic increase? Is it because the newer mirrorless digital cameras can easily use FD lenses? Or, has film camera use increased that much. Or something else? Thoughts????

[Jochen_S]

• Inflation?
  
• Supply shortages?
  
• Influencers to blame?
  
• "Crazy times" in general?
  

[SCL]

Interesting. I offered one in VGC up for sale on Ebay a year ago for $260 and didn't have any takers, just a few bottom fishers. Maybe I'll give it another shot in the near future. I agree, it is a very good film lens...I haven't tried it on digital though.

[jim_bielecki1]

I think you got it, almost any mirrorless digital can use a Canon R/FL/FD lens with the proper adaptor (Canon EOS R series, Sony, Nikon Z series, Leica, etc.). Canon SLR lenses have been undervalued for years, but now the secret is out as to their overall high quality. Question is if this is a bubble, or long lasting. We'll see.

[JDMvW]

I always said that the one sure thing was that the old lenses and cameras I had bought for the price of a pizza or two would still be worth nothing at my "end"

Now pizzas and the lenses etc are surging ahead.

 

I think in the lenses category, it's partly the availability of adapters to new mirrorless cameras and such.

[barryreid]

The magic is in lenses that say S.S.C. on the front. Google “Canon K35 look”

 

Thankfully that means FDn glass has remained relatively unfashionable. Until somebody in the cine crowd catches on that FDn are mainly SSC too.

[steven_endo]

Wow. After going on a buying spree of fd lenses and F-1 bodies a few years ago I stopped checking KEH and ebay for lenses and bodies. Because of this thread, I logged on to KEH's website and was shocked to see an EX condition, BL, 50mm, f1.4 listed for $260. IIRC, those were going for only $100-$150 a few years ago.

 

I have a nfd 50mm, f1.4 (came with one of the F-1N) but was hoping to get a BL, 50mm, f1.4, just because I like the BL mount. But now, I guess not...

 

Also, it seems they don't have as many, if any EX+, LN-, or LN graded fd lenses or bodies...

[c_watson1]

With respect, prices on "vintage" Canon, Nikon, Minolta, Olympus and Pentax manual lenses have steadily climbed since MILC adapters became common--and that's not a recent development.Ten to twelve+ years ago, many were giveaway priced, especially in less-than-mint condition.Their current cachet lifted prices, often nonsensically. Another example? Jaw-dropping prices asked for 20+ year-old premium p&s cameras(e.g., Contax)arguably has less to do with their image-making quality than their status as a retro fashion statement. Willing to risk serious arrhythmia? Try shopping for good quality medium format gear.

 

It's not a film "revival" at work. It's simple scarcity with more junk than jewels on offer now.

Edited October 27, 2021 by c_watson|1

[JDMvW]

prices on "vintage" Canon, Nikon, Minolta, Olympus and Pentax manual lenses have steadily climbed since MILC adapters became common--and that's not a recent development.

no, but the heaviest price rise has come fairly recently. Steadily, but not rapidly. I am not talking only about Canon FD, but other lenses like many of Zeiss Jena ones.

[Niels - NHSN]

Having done a bit of video recently, I understand why videographers may look towards vintage lenses.

My Nikon Z6II with the standard 24-70 lens was ruthless when shooting 4K.

Every single imperfection stood out crisp and clear. I ended up having to use my old non-Ai lenses from the 60's and early 70's to make a more pleasing appearance.

[c_watson1]

no, but the heaviest price rise has come fairly recently. Steadily, but not rapidly. I am not talking only about Canon FD, but other lenses like many of Zeiss Jena ones.

 

Hardly news. People were kvetching about price inflation for manual lenses a decade ago after paying peanuts just a few years earlier. They're simply no longer thick on the ground. Same goes for quality medium format gear.

[John Crowe]

It is the cinematographers that are sending prices skyward.

 

I bought my Canon FD 55/1.2 SSC Aspherical last year for $1250 CDN and I could sell it now for at least $3000 and as much as $6000!

 

The 85/1.2 Aspherical just climbed to $15,0000 range. The 24/1.4 Aspherical and the 55/1.2 AL were the first to go crazy.

 

The 24/2 and 35/2 concave are now desirable, but not so crazy. Wish I had held onto my concave.

[steven_endo]

I was perusing Craigslist and came across a listing for the 24mm, f1.4. Asking price is $25,000.00! Seller claims it is comparable to eBay listings so I checked... and i was shocked to see that, listing prices on ebay indeed range from $15,000.00 to $27,000.00.

 

WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON????

 

Are aspherical lens elements really THAT desirable?

 

After a little more checking, apparently it is the B/L, SSC aspherical lenses...

Edited May 22, 2022 by steven_endo

[barryreid]

eBay sellers are being a bit silly with quite a few things at the moment. Looking at sold prices, it doesn't seem like much is hitting anything close to those really outrageous asking prices, but £5-6k is definitely happening.

 

I'm fed up with some of the pricing. I'm after an S-100 hood for my 50-300L and have been tracking them for over a year now. In which time only one has sold yet the sellers who have them keep raising the prices on the unsold stock. It's now as much as treble the price of the one that did sell. Ironically, given how cine is driving FD prices, a good proportion of 50-300s are known to have been cinevised from the box. So it's plausible there are less still photographers looking for original hoods than there are hoods as the modded lenses will have been / will be used with matte boxes, not circular hoods. Watch Count certainly suggests very little interest...

[Alex_Es]

Come to Japan for reasonably priced used lenses. Before the pandemic I used to dig through the piles of Canon FD and other lenses. (My favorite jewels: 80-200/4 2-touch and the one-touch aspherical versions. The first went for 1000 yen (about $5.00) and the other for around $200.) At that time no one wanted those old lenses. It may have changed a bit and a trip to Japan is worth the cherry blossoms, the sushi and the camera shop bargain bins.

[gwhitegeog]

yes, Japan is very good. I just have to be aware of import charges to the EU where I live

Gary

[glen_h]

Collectiblend hasn't caught up with those prices yet:

https://collectiblend.com/Lenses/Canon/28mm-f2-FD-S.S.C.html

 

What surprised me more, is the prices for LTM lenses.

My favorite lens when I was younger, which my dad bought about when

I was born, the Xenogon 35/2.8:

https://collectiblend.com/Lenses/Schneider/35mm-f2.8-Xenogon-(M39).html

seems to be in the $500 to $800 price range.

[awahlster]

This weirds me out a bit I have a few really desirable FD lenses and I have a Digital body I can use them on. Granted the wide angles are not real useful on a 4/3 format body. But when I see lenses Have going for the kind of money they are, I wonder if I should sell. Lord knows I've taken it in the shorts on my Bodies.  Oh what the heck might as well keep them. The film in my little Freezer in the storage room will most likely take care of a couple years of retirement LOL.

[JDMvW]

Years ago, I got an Canon AE-1 Program just so I could take advantage of the then-low prices and excellent qualiity FD lenses.

Of course, it didn't end there and I now have a pretty full run of A-series cameras. 🙄

My favorite FD-mount, but it has the EEE error

 

[gwhitegeog]

EEE is very common of course but should be fixable by a good technician

[danac]

What is the EEE error?

[SCL]

7 hours ago, danac said:

What is the EEE error?

A common condition with the T90 camera which freezes it up. Usually caused by issue with the magnets, but can also be caused by low battery voltage. If you Google it you will see lots of comments, proposed solutions, and frustrated users.

[gwhitegeog]

Problem now is, even if you can find a good technician, there is a lot of work involved in dismantling the T-90 to get access to the shutter unit. A quick clean and lube may restore things for a while (but hardly justifies the labour) as in one year, the same problem may return. What you need is a good shutter unit to fit as a replacement while the camera is taken apart. Problem is there are no new ones around and it you buy a non-functioning T-90 to cannibalize for spare parts, it'll probably have the same shutter fault, so Catch-22. I have one very good working T-90. I have three bodies that don't work and are good for parts. But to a lesser or greater extent, the all have faulty shutter units or similar. I fear the T-90 will be increasingly rare to find working as they are difficult to repair for these reasons. Unlike older fully mechanical cameras like the Canon F1 or Nikon F2, etc which can still be serviced quite easily as they are more straightforward (and go wrong less readily anyway) and replacement parts can even be adapted or fabricated to some extent. Not so with electronic shutter units and mini pcb flexi-circuits! I was talking to my technician in Lisbon. He can repair 40, 50, 60 year old cameras. Even modern autofocus cameras. He has serviced two of my Nikons and recently a 40 year old Nikkor AIS lens. But we both agreed that once manufacturer support for modern cameras, such as fashionable digital and mirrorless cameras ends (typically 10 years after the model goes out of production), in 50 years' time we won't be using or repairing Canon R or Nikon Z or Sony Alpha cameras, etc. They'll be dead as the dodo.