[kjphilippona]

I did a quick search on ebay to see what the prices were like and was heart broken. I have purchased over the past year most of the lenses that caught my fancy and was going to start thinning out the one not used much or did not appeal to me. Except one lens purchase on a whim without doing a price search, I got very good deals. Their selling prices are so low now that it makes no sense to sell, they are not eating very much just sitting in their lens case

[luftfluss]

It makes even less sense the let unused lenses sit in a case, if you can use the money elsewhere.

Lens prices seem pretty similar to what they were 5+ years ago.

[Nicolas06]

I did a quick search on ebay to see what the prices were like and was heart broken. I have purchased over the past year most of the lenses that caught my fancy and was going to start thinning out the one not used much or did not appeal to me. Except one lens purchase on a whim without doing a price search, I got very good deals. Their selling prices are so low now that it makes no sense to sell, they are not eating very much just sitting in their lens case

Man let be clear. Either you are speculating on lenses and then you should be interrested in lenses fluctuations price... And for sure you would have been more informed.

Either you are not and well buying a lens is like luying any good. It first get a instant 20-30% rebate once you have it into your hands and then continue to loose price over time.

Yesterday you had some money in the bank.
Today you have less money and more lenses.
Tomorrow you could keep the lenses ore resell them.

Hopefully, each time you make meaningful decision. But wait long enough and inflation will eat your money at the bank and keeping useless goods at your home let just them collect dust, deteriorate potentially get stolen or broken until they are worth nothing.

A good part of having a wealthy life is not how much you make or earn but is about how well you spend (or do not spend).

Presently anyway you can't go back like you didn't buy so you choice is to sell and get some money for what ever you would like to do or to keep the lens for what ever you would like to do. One thing is sure, is you don't use the lens, this is waste of place and money here and you should plan to sell it. Even at a bad price, you still get something in exchange but a lens that stay at home provide nothing.

[bertwert]

Their selling prices are so low now that it makes no sense to sell, they are not eating very much just sitting in their lens case

You could send them to me

[pathdoc]

I also will graciously accept donations of unwanted lenses, particularly FA Limited primes.

If you have lenses sitting unloved on the shelf, consider a single-in challenge. You may find a new appreciation for them.

[osv]

crop or ff glass? ff primes should not be getting any cheaper, they can be used on both mirrorless and the new pentax ff camera.

if you have primes that are clean and not decentered, hang on to 'em.

[VoiceOfReason]

Get what lenses you would like to have. Check here in the marketplace. This is a great resource for them. I've had 100% good experience here, and at a lower price than eBay. Also, don't make the mistake I (and probably plenty of others did), which is to get cheaper lenses that are "good enough" but not what you want. Just save the money to get what you want. That's what I do now. I wasted time, effort, and money the old way.

[tim60]

Are you talking about losing money on lenses you bought new or ones you got secondhand? Of course buying new gets a big depreciation for being owned by someone else, jus like cars. Secondhand ones are just in a market which may go up or down.

[timb64]

Lenses go on cameras to take photographs not to make money!

[fwcetus]

Get what lenses you would like to have. [...] Also, don't make the mistake I (and probably plenty of others did), which is to get cheaper lenses that are "good enough" but not what you want. Just save the money to get what you want.

And that's coming from the "VoiceOfReason", so you'd better follow that advice...

[Just to be clear - I am joking a bit, but I do agree 100%. ]

[Fenwoodian]

I believe that the upcoming Pentax full frame will be very popular. It will cause many photographers to switch systems and come over to Pentax.

Because the full frame will likely have the pixel shift feature, I believe it will be of special interest to those of us who like to shoot stationary objects using slow and deliberate methods (manual focus, spot meters, Hoodmans with live view for super accurate focusing).

I suspect that a few of the older manual focus Pentax lenses will be outstanding on the full frame. The word will soon spread that certain older MF lenses offer premium performance on the full frame. The demand for these older MF lenses will pick up, and so will their prices.

I would not be surprised to see Pentaxians with a large hoard of older MF lenses making some good money selling them after the full frame comes out. Get your high quality MF glass now, before the full frame comes out - I did.

[kjphilippona]

Are you talking about losing money on lenses you bought new or ones you got secondhand? Of course buying new gets a big depreciation for being owned by someone else, jus like cars. Secondhand ones are just in a market which may go up or down.

All of my lenses are second hand and all but two have been purchased from PF members.

---------- Post added 11-22-15 at 01:25 PM ----------

Lenses go on cameras to take photographs not to make money!

I am not trying to make money on the lenses, just made an observation that its sad that I paid $700 for my DA*16-50 a year ago and there are some selling for $350. I paid $400 for my DA10-17 fisheye and have seen some selling for less than $200!

[boriscleto]

I am not trying to make money on the lenses, just made an observation that its sad that I paid $700 for my DA*16-50 a year ago and there are some selling for $350. I paid $400 for my DA10-17 fisheye and have seen some selling for less than $200!

It's just a sign that the global economy is tanking again...

[ncallender]

Yes the prices on the used market are lower. The ff announcement and delay is probably a big issue. Also it seems like places like b&h are discounting lenses more heavily this fall. Maybe Ricoh wants the lenses priced competitively. But, I think lots of people are dumping their da lenses in anticipation. Great for those who want to stick with aps-c!!!!

Now if they could just make a smaller lighter body...

[monochrome]

To paraphrase Lawrence Livermore, this market is only bad if you are a seller. If you've wanted a specific lens for a long time but couldn't (or wouldn't) pay the price back then - this is a wonderful market!

I've been buying second-hand manual focus Pentax and K-mount third-party lenses for more than 15 years. Early-on I financed my purchases buying under-priced lenses on eBay and re-listing them Buy-it-Now or buying complete packages of a camera, some lenses and accessories and selling the items individually. That opportunity has largely passed now.

Some of my early lenses (K35/3.5 and K28/3.5, for instance) have declined 65% in market price since 2000 or 2001 and I couldn't care less than I do. A few have held their value or even risen (K30/2.8, K50/1.2) and quite recently there have been some surprises, like the K200/2.5 that languished in the Marketplace for weeks at $250. That lens was reliably $375 - $400 for many years.

Most of my lenses have stayed within 10% of what I paid - because I was careful about what I paid.

In my opinion the K-FF won't have any effect whatsoever on most used lens prices. First, too much time has passed and many former owners of used lenses, who had been waiting for a Pentax FF, have moved on. They either sold them (to speculators) or traded them in to dealers when they bought a new mount. Second, KEH seems to have gathered significant reach and market share at the expense of eBay the last five years - so much that they can 'make the market' in certain brands or lenses. They seem to treat Pentax gear as 'quick turn' gear now - they don't seem willing to carry inventory at a decent price; they'd rather lower the price and turn over Pentax inventory.

Lastly, it is possible Ricoh is discounting their global inventory of lenses somewhat in preparation for new and updated lenses sure to come next year and the year following.