[Rnovo]

I've been looking for a 28mm f3.6 shift lens for some time now and have found that ebay has a number of them listed, priced from $600 to $1200US and sometimes more... All of them are sold by non Pentax users and sales outfits, mostly from Japan. This is grossly overpriced. This fact prompted me to search a bit more on what's going on here.

1- In the "Lens serial update" page there are 15 lenses listed 3 of which show being bought from $ 255 to 400 US. On the "Lens review" page there are 18 shown and the average price in $US from 2008 to 2021 - corrected for inflation - comes up to be +/- $500US. Why are those lenses overpriced all of a sudden? For information, 6x7 75mm (35mm full frame) shift lenses are sold for $450...

2- For those wanting to buy one I would suggest to be cautious for the following reason: Last month I did find one which seemed to be very nice at $600US... The test shots looked good at first but then, some taken in portrait mode of tall buildings with camera level and full shift (11°) up displayed bad curves on both sides of the top part of the images (see images attached). I was fortunate enough to deal with an honest seller as he refunded me, including shipping... This lens must have been hit while being fully shifted to cause this problem and hence, maybe, being put up for sale incognito?

3- Those shift lenses cannot be repaired any longer! I tried looking for a source but to no avail - zero! This makes me think that those lenses, while being excellent and very well made, their value is limited to $400-500US, at best...!

Conclusion: Prefer buying from Pentax users via "Pentax Forum" or "Pentax Users" (UK) which allows you to request test shots when in doubt. Other sellers don't usually have access to a Pentax camera to do that and some of them don't even offer "Returns", so be cautious!

If anybody knows of a good 28mm shift lens for sale, let me know, I'm still looking!

Attached Images

   

[Smolk]

Sometimes you just have to be patient for a good copy at a good price to come up. And Pentaxforums also has its hypes...
But there is a general tendency with vintage that it can go up enormously. Years ago, the Contax G system and its lenses were really cheap. I owned two bodies each with a lens, 45 and 90mm. Sold the at the price I bought them for. Now, their price has almost quadrupled... Not just on the Bay, but everywhere. Similar with Plaubel 67 cameras.
Prices of vintage are not necessarily stable, nor do they necessarly go down over time.

[house]

The 28 shift has a bit of wavy distortion but than looks way to funky and asymetrical.

I paid about $500 (converted from sek) for mine and feel that's about right I wouldn't pay much more unless I was a collector.

[texandrews]

I forget what I paid for mine a few years ago, but it wasn't that cheap IIRC. But not sure now.

[EssJayEff]

You could stick to vendors like KEH (I've never bought from them) that allow you to add items to a wish list when something is out of stock, and offer limited warranties.

[jatrax]

Not many of these made and they are a bit unusual. In addition they were likely not used that much so many of the ones left are in mint condition. All of which makes them attractive to collectors. Which I suspect is the reason for the price.

For someone who wants to actually use the lens $400-500 would be a reasonable price range. But for a collector there is no underlying value of use that can be determined so the price rises with demand and as it rises it becomes self-fulfilling.

It has been years but I think I paid maybe $350 for mine. it is in good shape but not mint.

[dms]

It can make sense to buy a camera that works with the lens you want. The NIkon 28mm and 35mm PC lenses are inexpensive and then, for example, you can get a Nikon D700 (for $400) [still a superb dslr] or a Nikon film camera like the FM or FE [also great] for about $100. I have all of these in addition to my Pentax cameras. BTW the Nikkor 35mm f/2.8 PC lens is fast and small--just a bit narrow FOV depending what you want it for.

[house]

Didn't check prices of those nikkors until now. Damn that's a lot better than Pentax!

[Pål Jensen]

Almost all older Nikon and Canon lenses are much cheaper than Pentax lenses of the same vintage....

[gofour3]

These K28/3.5 shift lenses had a retail price of $675 USD in October 1976, so they were expensive and cost more that the K400/5.6 telephoto lens.

It's pretty easy to find one in mint condition as well, as most would have seen limited usage. (I'm lucky if I use mine once a year, but I'll never sell it as well)

Phil.

[Kevin B123]

Unless there is some compelling reason to buy Pentax, I would get the Samyang 24mm f3.5 T-S;

Samyang 24mm F1.4 ED AS UMC Lens Reviews - Samyang Lenses - Pentax Lens Review Database

Wider, new at those prices and with tilt capability.

Correction: I picked the wrong lens above and it's f3.5.
https://www.pentaxforums.com/userreviews/samyang-24-mm-f3-5-ed-umc-tilt-shift.html

[rogerstg]

I've been looking for a 28mm f3.6 shift lens for some time now and have found that ebay has a number of them listed, priced from $600 to $1200US and sometimes more... All of them are sold by non Pentax users and sales outfits, mostly from Japan. This is grossly overpriced. This fact prompted me to search a bit more on what's going on here.

You should be able to get one for $450ish if you're diligent. To determine value, you need to look at the sold listings, not available listings. Overpriced items will always be listed as available, while fairly priced items do not last too long.

[interested_observer]

I was able to pick up my copy here on the forum about 10 years ago. Fun to shoot, especially for stitched panoramas, along with the usual architecture.

A couple of months ago, a friend picked up a new K1II along with a Sigma 35/f1.4. All of the fast wide lenses vignette a great deal, in that you really need to stop down about 2 stops to reduce the effect - which just defeats the large aperture (f1.4 becomes a f2 or really a f2.8 lens). I had a couple f2.8 prime wide lenses and they too had a lot of vignetting - which means again stopping down to f4.

As an experiment - I picked up my old shift lens with its oversized lens elements and oversized sensor coverage and tried it out on the Milky Way. No vignetting at all. There was a slight amount of coma, but with stitching, it would be covered up. An added benefit is that on fast primes, you usually need to overlap by 50% which causes you to shoot substantially more frames. With the shift lens - you can shift, or you can rotate (as usual) using only about 25% overlap, shoot fewer frames and really not have to contend with the vignetting - and f3.5 wide open is not bad. Actually with the light - it seems to shoot faster than its f3.5 aperture would indicate.

[ramseybuckeye]

Many of the ebay listing throw out a huge price fishing for someone desperate. Most have a "make offer" button, have you tried that? Sometimes they will go way down in price if offered.

[pentaxus]

Yes. Sometimes Ebay has a high price hoping for that amount, but if they say "or best offer" or make an offer you can get the price you want. Sometimes if you have looked at the item you will get an email about a lower price being accepted.