[timw4mail]

The problem with the nifty fifties is that they just keep showing up and I don't know where they come from

The A 50/2 lens is a cockroach. Even if all the other lenses disappear, it will remain.

[zzeitg]

Not for me. I can sell modern AF objectives, but I'm completely unable to separate myself from vintage stuff. I can sell a duplicate, not a lens I could miss

As a matter of fact, the old good vintage lenses will most probably serve well for another decades. And we can bet that all the modern AF lenses will already be hoppy, as all these ultrasonic motors will be non-functional.

[KC0PET]

As a matter of fact, the old good vintage lenses will most probably serve well for another decades. And we can bet that all the modern AF lenses will already be hoppy, as all these ultrasonic motors will be non-functional.

Another good reason to stick with screw drive, no motors in the lens. I just hope Pentax keeps supporting screw drive for a long time.

[boriscleto]

Another good reason to stick with screw drive, no motors in the lens. I just hope Pentax keeps supporting screw drive for a long time.

Haven't you noticed that the last screw drive lens released was in 2013?

[KC0PET]

Haven't you noticed that the last screw drive lens released was in 2013?

No I wasn't aware of that. However they still manufacture a fair number of screw drive lenses, not to mention the used market. And the latest bodies still have screw drive, so far so good.

[dConvert]

I have 21 lenses.

So I started doing my annual year end purge and decided to count up how many lenses I have on my shelves. So after a year I have purchased over 39 lenses in 1 year! I still have 21 of them. I think I'm over my LBA as I think I'd like to sell some more of my lenses but I've enjoyed shooting with all of them to date.

How many do all of you have and do you think I'm crazy to have as many lenses as I do

That's exactly how many I added to my collection yesterday!
Admittedly there was only one (Tamron adaptal2 300mm macro - model 54B) of the job lot that I knew I wanted when I bid for them, but I subsequently found another that should prove pretty useful (a sigma 180mm macro). Most of the others are of very little worth, but as the set averaged to about £3.50 a lens I can have a go at servicing them & I won't have feel I've lost anything if I can't put them back together.

You don't have to be mad to have as many lenses as me, but if your significant other finds out it becomes a plausible excuse!

[cyberjunkie]

That's exactly how many I added to my collection yesterday!
!

Really? 21 in ONE DAY?
Comparatively I'm snail-paced
Now I can loot at the mirror and say to myself that it it took a long long time to purchase my lenses, and that I've bought them thoughtfully, avoiding crazy spending, with remarkable restraint

cheers

Paolo

---

Last edited by cyberjunkie; 01-26-2018 at 06:37 AM.

[dConvert]

Really? 21 in ONE DAY?
Comparatively I'm snail-paced
Now I can loot at the mirror and say to myself that it it took a long long time to purchase my lenses, and that I've bought them thoughtfully, avoiding crazy spending, with remarkable restraint

Just received the KMZ Helios 44 2/58mm chrome (M39, 8 diaphragm blades), and the Pentax-A 4/200mm.
I'm positively impressed by both. The early 44 differs enough from the 44-2 to justify its purchase. Maybe too much glow wide open, the 44-2 has a better balance between sharpness and uncorrected aberrations. The 200mm is, as expected, a very good lens. It goes against the tendency that saw the number of element decline from K to M/A series. In this case the Pentax-A has more elements than both the K and M version.It works in Auto, with a PTTL flash, and has a nice sliding hood. Tested it against an old 4-elements Komura 4.5/200mm shooting the moon surrounded by tree branches, and the Komura, poor thing, got crushed

In the meantime I found another very nice Komura 2.8/135mm with M42 UNI mount. From Japan, very cheap, seems to be in great condition, but what I really care for is the UNI mount. Finally I will be able to mount any compatible Komura lens on any Pentax DSLR camera!




Then I succumbed to my other recent craze: Altix mount objectives.
Three separate purchases.
The first is a very nice Primagon 4.5/35mm, in great aesthetic shape. It's a 4-elements wide angle with great bokeh and very old-style rendering.
The second is a complete Altix-n putfit, with original accessories/boxes. The macro rings could be converted to ready-to-use NEX, Fuji or M4/3 adapters, to use all the (IMHO wonderful) lenses in Altix mount. I don't think there would be any collector interested, but many Ebayers would be happy to buy a well made adapter or use the part for a DIY project.
The third is another Altix-n with another Trioplan 2.9/50mm
I will probably convert at least one Trioplan to PK mount, and probably I'll do the same with the Primagon. I have already converted one (plus a little Tessar and a Telefogar), and I like so much these lenses, especially the Trioplan and Telefogar, that I'm willing to test two or three of them, keep the best, and eventually sell the others.









The more I play with very old lenses, the more I believe that while some are forgettable, others are simply invaluable!
It has been a weekend of crazy bidding, cause there were many lenses on auction that were at the top of my "want list".
I missed an 8-elements Super Takumar, a Zeiss Ultron (concave front lens) and a Zeiss Skoparex 3.4/35mm (all M42). Lost the auction, for all of them, with a rather small margin.
I'm curious if any of the three objectives has landed on this forum

cheers

Paolo

Well Monday was very much an exception. Previously I think 3 in a day is my maximum (a camera bag with 1 body & 3 Carl Zeiss lenses for £10).
I don't think I've ever made more than 2 separate lens purchases (i.e. lenses being sold separately) in on day.
Over the course of the last year It' only just averaged over 2 lenses a month, I was definitely buying more than that at one point!


None of my 21 look as nice as your examples. Most will fall into the forgettable category
Having a total of over 100 manual focus lenses does suggest it's time I started selling some on, especially as I don't have adapters for several of them, even for my mirrorless system.


I have to admit it's frustrating how often I've ended up second highest bidder - usually sniped in the last few seconds. With this job lot I increased my max bid (drastically) in the last 30s and would have lost out if I hadn't.

I wish e-bay would automatically extend auctions if there's a bid in the last seconds.

[microlight]

How many lenses do I have? Well, I have around 40 Pentax bodies (back to my 1957 AP which is sitting on the desk in front of me) each with the standard lens that it was sold with, plus various K, M and A wides, teles and zooms from my film days including a refurbished K50/f1.2, and some earlier DAs such as kit zoom, the 16-45, the mk1 55-300 and a plastic fantastic 35/f2.4. So, what, 50+? And I've never sold a lens!

How many lenses do I routinely use? Just the ones in my signature, plus an occasional A50/f1.4 or DA50/1.8 (usually the 1.4) for low-light movie shooting.

[richardwong]

That's exactly how many I added to my collection yesterday!
Admittedly there was only one (Tamron adaptal2 300mm macro - model 54B) of the job lot that I knew I wanted when I bid for them, but I subsequently found another that should prove pretty useful (a sigma 180mm macro). Most of the others are of very little worth, but as the set averaged to about £3.50 a lens I can have a go at servicing them & I won't have feel I've lost anything if I can't put them back together.

You don't have to be mad to have as many lenses as me, but if your significant other finds out it becomes a plausible excuse!

Has your significant other found your LBA yet?

---------- Post added 07-29-18 at 07:23 PM ----------

How many lenses do I have? Well, I have around 40 Pentax bodies (back to my 1957 AP which is sitting on the desk in front of me) each with the standard lens that it was sold with, plus various K, M and A wides, teles and zooms from my film days including a refurbished K50/f1.2, and some earlier DAs such as kit zoom, the 16-45, the mk1 55-300 and a plastic fantastic 35/f2.4. So, what, 50+? And I've never sold a lens!

How many lenses do I routinely use? Just the ones in my signature, plus an occasional A50/f1.4 or DA50/1.8 (usually the 1.4) for low-light movie shooting.

Yeah, I've found that I don't use my lenses much anymore. The limited lenses still have their charm though when I use them.

[Craigbob]

I'm up to 9 so far almost all of them film era.

I'm looking to add a couple more in the coming weeks. Primarily a 100mm f/2.8 WR macro to replace my Vivitar/Cosina/Pentax/etc... 100mm 3.5 macro.

possibly also a FA 50mm 2.8 Macro even though I have a Sigma 50mm 2.8 MF macro.I don't know if I need that if I have the 100 2.8 though.

[richardwong]

I'm up to 9 so far almost all of them film era.

I'm looking to add a couple more in the coming weeks. Primarily a 100mm f/2.8 WR macro to replace my Vivitar/Cosina/Pentax/etc... 100mm 3.5 macro.

possibly also a FA 50mm 2.8 Macro even though I have a Sigma 50mm 2.8 MF macro.I don't know if I need that if I have the 100 2.8 though.

I've had both those lenses and I preferred the 100mm f2.8 but I even liked the older 100mm f2.8 version that was truly built like a tank.

[Craigbob]

I've had both those lenses and I preferred the 100mm f2.8 but I even liked the older 100mm f2.8 version that was truly built like a tank.

I've thought about the older 100 2.8 macro, but I'm leaning more toward the newer version since I want the WR as some of the shooting/macro work I'm working on is at the tide pools at the beach

[pschlute]

Who's counting?

[lesmore49]

I don't know how many lenses I have and I've never counted them.

If I counted them, I might feel a sense of responsibility...starting to assert itself on my being. With responsibility comes guilt, with guilt comes initial stages of denial, than attempts at rationalization to somehow assuage that guilt and eventual denial.

No...no...I'm not going there, I've just dismissed any embryonic plans I may have had at the beginning of this post to start doing an accounting of how many lenses I have and I can already see the rocky road I will have to traverse, if I contemplate achievement of that goal to count how many lenses I have.

I hope that answers your question.