Some Soft Focus Lens Sales Information

[OldCrow]

The only people that gripe about this thread or the soft focus sales info having an outcome on the prices of the market are those people that wish they could afford one of the rare lenses and can not. They choose to place blame on the people that are buying at rates beyond their means and the sellers knowing what the lenses are actually worth and what the market will bare.

Once again this has turned into another large lens mafia mania thread. Where all the sellers of lenses are out to become robber barons and the little man is to grin and bare it.

The whole photography world is moving in a resurgence towards more classic lenses and shots as a whole. There is more interest in alternative processes and more artistic renderings of portraits and all images for that matter. More folks are getting wind of how beautiful a soft focus image can be when done with the right soft focus lens and mated to a wonderful camera.

There will be dips and highs over time, as there is with everything in this world. There is no grand underworld with lens under-lords. Seriously there has never been a meeting where Jim, Eddie, Hugo, Will Dunniway, and a few other were around a big table with huge lenses soft and sharp focus were pushed around a huge map of the world. No Jim was not standing up telling everyone how this year soft focus will be huge and next year globe lenses will take over... seriously it did not happen.

[goamules]

...

[eddie]

I can't remember the last time I got a true bargain.

what are you talking about? i sold you a 14 inch heliar for $180 not to long ago! that sounds like a steal!

[Mark Sawyer]

Keep in mind that although we use and appreciate the old lenses, they really are a luxury item. No one really needs a vintage pedigreed soft focus lens to survive, and even if you can justify a critical need for one in your own mind, there are low-cost alternatives that work just as nicely as the high-dollar legends.

They're objects of desire. Complaining about their cost is like complaining about the cost of a Corvette. "I could afford one if everyone else stopped buying them..."

[jumanji]

The only people that gripe about this thread or the soft focus sales info having an outcome on the prices of the market are those people that wish they could afford one of the rare lenses and can not.

That's your opinion. I personally never said or thought like this "Oh its price is too high. I hate this thread because it increases their prices. I wish I could afford them" etc... So, you should add IMO into your sentence when you say about other people.
We wanna play, we got to pay. And finally, a lens is just a piece of glass. Why must we dispute and wasting time?? We should go out and shoot some pics.

[Jim Galli]

They're objects of desire. Complaining about their cost is like complaining about the cost of a Corvette. "I could afford one if everyone else stopped buying them..."

Aaaand you'd look damn good in one!

[OldCrow]

Why is it you look good in a corvette and crazy as all sh*t in a rusted out Model A?

Or as my wife would say "You just look a little silly."

[Mark Sawyer]

I had an '87 Corvette for a year around ten years ago. Got it cheap, drove it for a year, sold it cheap. Impractical but fun, like most good things. Everyone should do a few things like that in life...

Similarly, one could buy a good classic lens for a decent price, use it for a year of two, then sell it at around the same price, more or less. I always tell myself that's what I'll do, but then I can never let one go. "It's too special, it has so much potential..." And then I think of a half dozen images I'd like to try with it sometime in the nebulous future...

If God is a muslim, maybe the martyrs will get their 72 virgins in heaven. I'm hoping he's a large format photographer, and we'll all get 72 lenses...

[Peter Roody]

The way I see it, posting information about bargain finds means nothing. It's what those bargain finds sell for that tells you what you need to know. If you find a lens for $50 and sell it for $5000 in a week, the value of the lens is $5k. Even if you didn't sell it, what would you insure it for? The prices I see posted here come from purchases on the 'bay, auctions, forums sales, dealer sales, etc. That is very useful information for determining the worth of these lenses.

Now how to find a lens for $50 that is worth $5k is another story. Wish I knew how. That should be a topic for another thread!

[jp]

I had an '87 Corvette for a year around ten years ago. Got it cheap, drove it for a year, sold it cheap. Impractical but fun, like most good things. Everyone should do a few things like that in life...

Similarly, one could buy a good classic lens for a decent price, use it for a year of two, then sell it at around the same price, more or less. I always tell myself that's what I'll do, but then I can never let one go. "It's too special, it has so much potential..." And then I think of a half dozen images I'd like to try with it sometime in the nebulous future...

Definitely! I have trouble letting go of cars.

But the lens is a little more work. You really need to shoot an old soft focus lens a bunch of times to get what you want out of it. They all work different in terms of the look they provide at various apertures and types/angles of lighting. Some flare or glow more than others. They render backgrounds and contrasts different. You might have to take it to a half dozen shoots and go through a box of film before you can predict the results you're going to get from the old lens. If you're seeing untapped potential, it's probably because you're not practiced with it enough.

Basically just buy it and use it more than you think you should prior to reselling.