[ftpaddict]

Back in 2008 I bought an excellent MZ(ZX)-30 for $25 + shipping. There's an MZ-M on sale in the marketplace for twice that much.
A crummy DA L 18-55 is $65. What?

The thing that sold me with Pentax could be summed up in four words: cheap glass; backwards compatibility. As a student in a poor country, this seemed like a great selling point. I could get all the lenses I needed (granted, without all the bells and whistles like AF) for little money, save for a cheap digital body and live happily ever after.

Look at the second-hand market now. Why is there suddenly such a huge demand for average (face it!) photo equipment with a PENTAX logo stamped on it? It's not better than most competing products being made at the time.

Pentax community, what the fudge happened?

tl;dr I want a K-5, a 16-50, 50-135, Sigma 70-200, 100mm Macro WR and a 2" Meade f/3.3 focal reducer. This has nothing to do with what I said earlier.

[Parallax]

............Why is there suddenly such a huge demand for average (face it!) photo equipment with a PENTAX logo stamped on it? It's not better than most competing products being made at the time.

Yes, it is.

[jolepp]

Might be that hordes of budget minded people were brought to the scene by the k-x?

[ftpaddict]

Yes, it is.

Don't be such a fanboy. I've played with many many many Canon, Nikon, Olympus and Minolta cameras from the 80s and early 90s. All very respectable performers. Some are even better built than Pentax equivalents. I found Minoltas particularly quirky and enjoyable.

[Stringmike]

..as Pentax churns out more digital bodies and the new owners look for all that beautiful old "inexpensive" glass that they've heard about. I turned down an offer of a mint A* 300mm a couple of years ago that I thought was overpriced at $450 - they're now two to three times that. Not long ago, I bought an old A 35-105mm for around $130 and now nice ones are selling at or over $200. The list goes on and on!

Mike

[ftpaddict]

Might be that hordes of budget minded people were brought to the scene by the k-x?

Ah! You might be onto something there. I had heard the K-x was hugely popular but imagined most of these newcomers would just stick with the kit lenses or upgrade after a while. I'm thinking the type of person who buys a K-x due to colour customization options shudders at the thought of having to control aperture via a ring on the lens.

[ftpaddict]

..as Pentax churns out more digital bodies and the new owners look for all that beautiful old "inexpensive" glass that they've heard about. I turned down an offer of a mint A* 300mm a couple of years ago that I thought was overpriced at $450 - they're now two to three times that. Not long ago, I bought an old A 35-105mm for around $130 and now nice ones are selling at or over $200. The list goes on and on!

Mike

It makes me think that I could get some significant cash out of selling all my gear.

Like that's ever gonna happen.

[Ratmagiclady]

It was bound to happen. Heck, in some ways this place is a huge advertisement for that old glass, and whatever people say, there's a lot more Pentax in use thanks to the digital stuff becoming more competitive.

Also, last I heard, it seemed a lot of overseas buyers were snapping up a lot of Ebay stuff, and then there's the micro 4/3rds crowd, etc.

[pxpaulx]

I just sold my da l kit lens for $40 plus shipping. Just because it's in the market place doesn't mean it is bought and sold within the hour. The used market is and always will be defined by what someone is willing to pay, with a few other minor contributing factors, nothing more.

[wizofoz]

It seems some Canon folk have worked out they can fit old Pentax lenses to their bodies with an adapter. This sees a lot of sales of Pentax lenses to non-Pentax folk around these parts.

[RawheaD]

If the prices of *used* equipment isn't getting to be higher than what they went for new, there is no inflation, period. What things are worth on the used market is what people are willing to pay for them. Minolta lenses are good? Try using one on a Pentax. Good luck trying Canon FD or Nikon F lenses on a Pentax. Sure there are other good glass out there (though very few with a quality coating that can match smc). They're worthless if they can't be used on the camera that you have.

Many Canon and Nikon DSLRs won't let users use legacy lense satisfactorily, either because they won't do focus confirmation, they won't meter properly, neither of them offer in-body shake reduction etc. etc. I guess some later Minolta lenses are good to go on Sony DSLRs. Of course good Minolta lenses (like the 35/2) are going for big money, too :-)

The fact is, Pentax makes is easy and enjoyable to use legacy MF lenses, and so people are into buying legacy lenses, which drives the prices to what they're really worth (which, again, is defined as what people are willing to pay for them).

[privateryan]

What's the problem, isn't this what we wanted? For Pentax to become more popular? Well it's getting more popular, and all some people can do is whine. I guess you expected prices to go down. All I can say is get used to it because prices are just going to climb as Pentax becomes more popular and more people find out how awesome it is to use old Pentax glass on their Pentax, Canon, or M4/3 cameras. BTW sure Canon and Minolta have some nice old equipment, but try putting a FD mount lens on an EF mount camera and see why their lenses don't appreciate in value. Same goes for Minolta- wait Minolta who???

FWIW I'm disappointed that I got into Pentax right as prices started going up, so I know where your'e coming from. However, its really ridiculous to think that prices were gonna stay low forever.

[farhagh]

With new feature of D7000 it may happen to Nikon old stuff too. Better to pick the Nikon stuff the users like now!

[reeftool]

Patience, patience. The deals are still there. I just got an M300/4 off Ebay for $225 which is about the average for the past couple of years. There are several listed with prices over $400. Wait until you find one at the price you want. I buy my used lenses by the good deals available, not by what I want at the moment so sometimes that means waiting but also means finding great little gems like the F35-70 macro I picked up cheap and it has quickly become my most used lens.

[eddie1960]

you just need to look in alternate place sometimes recent purchases by me

M 50 1.7 - 10 pounds on portobello road (about $16.50 canadian) bot caps great shape
M 200 f4.0 $13.52 canadian in a local junk shop (he wanted $25this is what i had in my pocket) both caps exc- shape
m28 f3.5 and m2.8 f2.8 - $15 ea same shop same condition as m200
I also got a lot job of the following for $280 (a little more than i'd have liked) one body needs work and is on the way to eric but the rest is all good
Km Body
Mx Body
SV Body
M42 to K original adaptor
Super Tak 55 1.8 caps incl
K 55 2.0 caps incl
another m 50 1.7 incl case
M 100 2.8 (the reason i bought it really) with hood caps
Tokina 80-200 rmc f4.0 with case (i'll get rid of it likely though its in good shape)
3 sets of closeup filters
UV filters for all
a few other odd filters (all filters with cases)
2 cases
an old but pretty decent flash

and finally i bought a m135 f3.5 for $40 locally

so for a total of $380 or so I got 10 lenses and a few new to me bodies to play with
the deals are still out there but ebay isn't the best spot to look (neither is craigslist for that matter) Just keep your eye open and venture into place that look like they are full of junk occasionally you may be surprised by what you find