[jem]

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Same buyer:
smc Pentax A * MACRO 200mm f/4 Excellent

[StigVidar]

I have a FA*200/4 in better condition than this. My lens is in new condition with no scratches at all. I had no idea that it was worth this much. Maybe I should take more care of it and not take it with me everywhere


All four lenses was bought for a total sum less than $3.500,-

[vinzer]

Wow, while a fellow Pentaxian here in the Philippines got an FA* 200/4 macro (in great condition!) for the grand price of... $100... maybe I can convince him to sell it to me for $150?

Wow, where'd he get it from? I certainly hope it's not from Hidalgo, otherwise I'd be beating my head against the wall right now.

I have a FA*200/4 in better condition than this. My lens is in new condition with no scratches at all. I had no idea that it was worth this much. Maybe I should take more care of it and not take it with me everywhere

All four lenses was bought for a total sum less than $3.500,-

Wow, good set there, but perhaps you were shooting Pentax longer than some of us here? Back when FA*s still had relatively decent prices, I was nowhere near interested with photography.

[m8o]

Wow, while a fellow Pentaxian here in the Philippines got an FA* 200/4 macro (in great condition!) for the grand price of... $100... maybe I can convince him to sell it to me for $150?

That's insane!!! Here's hoping that person isn't a member here and knows about this. Good luck!

[m8o]

Same buyer...

well that doesn't make sense... maybe going to try both out and stick with the better of the two. Just don't think he'll match that $3500 if he wants to sell that one.

[Marc Langille]

I'm not sure the buyer was crazy. Maybe, he was.

But this was a fixed asking price, not a price-battle at auction end!

So, there must have been a reason to ask $3500 for a used FA*200/4. How much was this lens when new? What was so special with this lens?

In Pentax Lens Review Database - 200mm F4 Macro ED [IF], Marc Langille says:

"There are reports that the lens mount or an adapter was used to allow it to be mounted to either Canon or Nikon bodies. [...] The FA* 200/4 macro is quite possibly the pinnacle of Pentax optical engineering [...]"

It got a 10/10.

Ah. And it was $1500 when new! So, why didn't I buy one when production stopped in 2004?

For full disclosure: that was the price I paid for the FA* 200/4 macro shipped 2-day Air from Pentax Canada (via Vistek Camera). It was the last one in inventory - a demo model, not brand new.

If your technique is really good, even at 100%, the image really doesn't need sharpening.

Regards,
Marc

[blende8]

In 2004 the lens cost 1500 Euro new.
This would be about $ 1900 today.

I never had one, but I find the internal focussing strange for a 1:1 macro.

[barondla]

I paid about half that price for the A*200. Hardly use the DFA100 any more. It is one lens I will never sell. Would sell both the 31 and 77 before this.
thanks
barondla

Check out POINT & SHOOT CONTEST #16 WINNERS in P&S forum. Enter #17. Any brand camera. Any subject. Enter now!

[whatever7]

For the next year or two, FA* should reach the highest price. The price will come back once Pentax announce/release the new line of FF lenses alone with the FF body. When will it happen is every one's gamble.

[Adrian Owerko]

In my view the build quality of DA*'s are better than FA*'s (silver paint scratch magnet)... Plus with DA*'s if something breaks a lot easy to get fixed as they are in current production.. Just my 2 cents

[Mousehill]

A few years ago I was hunting for an FA* 200/4.0 macro as well. I mailed and called all over the world for a copy and ended up buying one from Pentax in Sweden. As far as I know that was the last *new* one available in the world. At that point I would have paid ANY amount to get a copy of the 200mm.
Luckily I had to spend a tad less at € 1700.00, but still worth every penny to me.

Now the A* 200/4.0 I got at a bargain, but in fact I use that one more. It's more compact and easier to carry along when taking other lenses as well. When I'm on a 100% macro trip I generally use the FA* version with it's associated gear (flash, bellows, TC, tripod, etc).

Would I pay $ 3500,00 now for an FA* version? Probably I would; if you need the tools, you have to spend the money. Why would spending $ 3500 on a macro lens be different than spending $ 3500 on a 300/2.8 prime?

Fact is that market prices don't apply anymore when dealing with ULTRA rare lenses.

Here is a comparison in size of the two:





Mike

[Mousehill]

If your technique is really good, even at 100%, the image really doesn't need sharpening.

Regards,
Marc

Agreed,
and it really makes the subject stand out by means of it's background rendering.

Mike

[cwood]

Pentax FA*300mm F2.8

is this a good deal ?

NO - Don't buy it

Just kidding. Since Pentax doesn't make the lens anymore and the equivalent Canon sells for $4100 I thought it was a fair price. If somebody decides to buy it then I guess it is worth that much. If nobody buys it - then its not worth that much. It is difficult to price gear that only shows up for sale a few times/year.

These Pentax big glass lenses increased a lot in value straight out of Japan. The last time I found new copies of the 300 and 600 from Japan I found:
~a little more than 1 year ago the 300 was $3800 and the 600 was $6800
~about 6 months ago the 300 was $4800 and the 600 was $7500
~last month I saw a Japan company selling "made to order" copies of 600's for $10,500

[m8o]

~last month I saw a Japan company selling "made to order" copies of 600's for $10,500

But this one's due to the much publicized price increase that took effect in February. List price becoming around $15,000 usd if I remember, and remember the yen->usd conversion correctly.
It's Pentax pricing themselves out of the market imo.

[falconeye]

~last month I saw a Japan company selling "made to order" copies of 600's for $10,500

For lenses this expensive, wouldn't it be possible to rework a lens from another mount? Incl. the contacts and AF mechanics? There are great fine mechanical companies around here...