[creampuff]

If you've not used a lens in your collection within say the last month or two, it's time to consider letting it go.
Simply put, you'd be just collecting but not actually using it.

[dadipentak]

This is what estate sales are for.

After you're dead is soon enough to part with them.

Yeah that's what I'm thinkin'. Besides, my son is a pentaxian so he'll get first pick and he's tough enough to sell the ones he doesn't want.

[ilya80]

Looked over your gear on the public profile.

Personally I would let these stay:

FA 50 1.4
SMC M135 3.5
Tamron 1.4x TC
Vivitar Series 1 90mm macro w/macro adapt m42
Vivitar 400mm 5.6
Tamron 28-75 2.8

And the rest would have to go.

[B Grace]

There's a fine line between purchasing gear to use and collecting gear. The difficult part is assigning real value to the practice that is opposite your main goal. The folks who collect original Nikon rangefinder gear have a real problem with using it so it's fair to say many of us Pentax folks don't like seeing a bunch of Pentax lenses in camera bags when they could be out there somewhere on a camera taking pictures. I like to think that my Pentax lenses have to be somewhere so they might as well be with me.

It was Satchel Paige who said life comes down to being a mind over matter issue. If you don't mind then it don't matter.

[hinman]

First thing first, sell me back my Jupiter 9 85mm f/2.0 and I let you make a $10 profit. How much did I sell it to you, my friend? I think either $90 or $100. I will check on my paypal transaction.

I will help you with your Jupiter. Trust me, you don't need it after the FA 77mm f/1.8 purchase.

Your foolish friend,
Hin

[Nick Siebers]

If you've not used a lens in your collection within say the last month or two, it's time to consider letting it go.
Simply put, you'd be just collecting but not actually using it.

A month or two? Really? I don't use my Tokina 500mm mirror lens more than 2-3 times a year, but I wouldn't get rid of it. And I wouldn't say I am just collecting it, because it has essentially no value as a collectible. I suppose "consider" isn't the same as "do"....

[Leya216]

You should donate them to a good cause (me) and that way you'll know they have a warm loving home and you'll be happy.

[Mike L]

Put the bye bye lens into a box and hide it in the back of a cupboard for a couple of months if you can last that long without them you know you've done the right thing. Then you can get rid of them knowing you made the right decision.

[heliphoto]

Whelp...I don't have a lot of lenses, but any lens that I don't routinely use gets sold. Simple.

My adage is...I'd rather someone have the lens that is going to use it and love it then keep it on a shelf and stare at it longingly.

That being said, I'm not a lens collector either...so YMMV.

c[_]

Yeah - I do a similar thing with nice lenses I'm not using... I sell 'em to gus .

[wowtip]

If you don't need the money or don't need the space they are using on your shelves... Why sell?

Yes, I can see the point Coffee and others are making, but I am more of the this-one-might-come-in-handy type of guys. If it is a lens that I only use once a year, but at that point in time it makes a better job than any other lens I have, then it is worth keeping. Much to the frustration of my better half.

[ryan s]

Cut the cord...let em go Unless there is nostalgia or sentiment involved, good bye they go.

If something is being saved for "someday" and "someday" hasn't come within, say, a year...good bye.

If you're like my parents who can't get rid of anything because of "someday," then prepare a spot to store unused things...you're gonna need it. An addition to your house is preferred

My philosophies:
I can probably get another one.
If I don't use it, there is someone who will.
If something was bad enough to sell in the first place, why would I long for its return? (Tamron 70-210 NON-SP, for example)
If it's something I "should have kept," chances are the $$$ in my bank account will be a salve to my wounds

[stevebrot]

Gus,
I guess I am the sentimental loyalist here! I own a lot of lenses and don't use most of them that often, but can honestly say that I truly enjoy shooting with most of them when I do take them out. There are two that I would consider selling and then only because one is an exact duplicate and the other I have never really liked.

For me, the decision point would be whether usage brings pleasure. This may be defined any way you wish. It is not just a matter of duplication of focal length and/or optical quality. A previous comment suggested that you keep your FA 50 and sell your Helios 44M. Now I know how you feel about your Helios. I also know that the FA 50 is a fine tool. What to do? What to do? Since the Helios cost you less than a nice dinner for two, I would suggest you keep them both or possibly sell the FA 50. After all, I have never heard you gushing over the FA!

You might want to realign your thoughts to consider that small time collecting is part of your photo hobby. Just because taking pictures is your primary emphasis does not mean that you can't enjoy a few lenses and cameras as objects just because you like them. I use that kind of logic to justify my small collection of film cameras and lenses to match for the shear novelty of ownership.

Steve

[Blue]

This is what estate sales are for.

After you're dead is soon enough to part with them.

There are a few around here whose estate sales I will be attending!

[GerryL]

You know you'll only kick yourself for selling them and then end up paying twice as much to get reunited with old friends.

I'll go with this as this is oh all so true!

[GerryL]

If you are not really hard up for money and don't need it, why sell??
I usually never sell not unless I've made a wrong buy (very poor IQ or other characteristics that I don't like or same focal length as with other lens).