Are Leicas really too expensive? And what about Nikons? History tells the tale!

It only takes a sentence or two or maybe a paragraph tho, if the title is insufficiently representative. So you won’t be simply wasting time; just move on.

In the case of modern media, the title is often completely UNrepresentative, but that’s a different topic. 😊
 
I think all of the long time members of this forum that bought Leica mount lenses when they were going cheap are quite happy.
There are some Vintage lenses that shot up in price many times more than new Leica lenses. Supply and Demand.
Some Vintage lenses are selling for a fraction of what they used to, like the Canon 50/2.2 and some others in the Canon line. Others- Canon 35/1.5 and 85/1.5: have gone insane. Nikkor 3.5cm F1.8: gone insane.

The Cosina Voigtlander line is probably the best "bang for the buck", well made, great performers, reasonable prices. The 50/1.0 Nokton is amazing, and sells for less than a Canon 50/0.95 cost these days. The latter- used to go ~$200..
 
About six years ago I got a Nikkormat FT2 and then an EL at a fairly low price - thanks to both digital camera dominance and the the obscurity of Nikkormats among those people new to film.

IMG_0447.jpeg

On these two, the metering is precise and the shutter speeds are accurate.

While prices of most Nikons have risen along with other film cameras, the Nikkormats remain a bargain, especially considering their features.
 
I had an ELW back in the day. And an EL recently that was perfect, bought it for practically nothing. Never understood the issue with battery location, I thought it was rather clever actually…

I suppose size is why most people prefer the FE series over EL, which reflects the market price. The instant response SPD cell is also quite nice over the slower CdS of the earlier cameras.
 
Sonnar Brian said:
Some Vintage lenses are selling for a fraction of what they used to, like the Canon 50/2.2 and some others in the Canon line. Others- Canon 35/1.5 and 85/1.5: have gone insane. Nikkor 3.5cm F1.8: gone insane.
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The Canon Sonnar 50/1.5 went nuts a few years ago but it’s back down to earth…
 
splitimageview said:
Yes indeed.

I had an M3 at 18 years old, on the other hand, I had no rent or living expenses. I remember buying a 50/2 collapsible Summicron for $99 from a Shutterbug seller; there was much gnashing of teeth at the time, because the prices on Leica gear were going way up because so many collectors in Japan were snapping up everything at US camera shows. $99! The horror.... 😅 that's about $450 today; in reality, they are now about $900+ --even more from dealers-- for those in good shape (not including the early radioactive ones.)
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The collapsible Summicron 50mm in LTM stopped down a bit is a nice lens when the front lens is pristine.

gelatin silver print (collapsible summicron ltm 50mm f2) leica mp

Athens, 2006

Erik.

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Pál_K said:
Did he make photos exclusively of family and friends?

My family escaped from communist Hungary and did bring photos with them. They rarely made any photos and those they have are mostly all photos of people, no house, no street scene, no city buildings.

My grandmother thought I was nuts to make a photo of anything other than a person.
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My apologies for this late reaction. Indeed, people, only!
 
I had John Van Stelton refinish and recoat the front element of my early "Hot Glass" Summicron, was $200 for the service almost 10 years ago. It was like wax paper before going out. He is retired now, and few places will take on this work anymore.
 
f.hayek said:
'when the front lens is pristine'. A tall order.
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So it is, the same goes for a Summar. Leitz must have known this. After the removal of a tiny screw the front lens unscrews like a filter. I presume that a new front lens could be ordered that was given the correct serial number.

gelatin silver print (summar 50mm f2) leica lll

Erik.

1689330073012.png
 
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Erik van Straten said:
So it is, the same goes for a Summar. Leitz must have known this. After the removal of a tiny screw the front lens unscrews like a filter. I presume that a new front lens could be ordered that was given the correct serial number.

gelatin silver print (summar 50mm f2) leica lll

Erik.

View attachment 4824047
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Dang, beautiful photo, Eric. Now, is that a collapsible lens?😇I’m going to have break that piggy bank soon and seriously consider replacing my long-gone III-F or similar Barnack …. I really enjoyed that camera.
 
dave lackey said:
Dang, beautiful photo, Eric. Now, is that a collapsible lens?😇I’m going to have break that piggy bank soon and seriously consider replacing my long-gone III-F or similar Barnack …. I really enjoyed that camera.
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Why would you need a Barnack? Just find an old UN scratched Summar and an adapter.
 
Sonnar Brian said:
I had John Van Stelton refinish and recoat the front element of my early "Hot Glass" Summicron, was $200 for the service almost 10 years ago. It was like wax paper before going out. He is retired now, and few places will take on this work anymore.
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Does anyone polish and re-coat? I had some lenses done at Focal Point and others by Arax in Ukraine before they shut down, but are there any polish and recoat services anymore?
 
f.hayek said:
Why would you need a Barnack? Just find an old UN scratched Summar and an adapter.
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That is not a bad idea…👍👍👍 I have the adapter for the M2. The only problem is I often need two cameras with different films sometimes and it would be more convenient to have a small camera in the bag ready to go.

But the plan for getting the lens first is good advice. Fur a number of reasons. Thanks!!!🙂
 
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