Value of old Olympus OM lenses stable or rising?

Check this one out. Another eg, a year ago, a 180mm f2.8 was about
$250, now around $400-$500. WAs (18, 21 and shift lenses) seem to be
climbing in value as well. A 24mm shift OM is around $2200.00
Why are the prices this high? Look whose buying them and why;

http://cgi.ebay.com/Olympus-OM-18mm-...QQcmdZViewItem

Optically, it's a very, very sharp lens. I used it on my Canon 5D
(with a CameraQuest adapter, not included) and it beat my 17-40mm
hands-down. It certainly has some CA issues, although on a film camera
(such as the OM system it was designed for), that CA likely does not
show up. Distortion is certainly better handled than on the Canon
lenses, as well. If you have a 5D or a 1Ds series body, this would be
a good investment.

On May 17, 11:13 pm, RichA wrote:
Check this one out. Another eg, a year ago, a 180mm f2.8 was about
$250, now around $400-$500. WAs (18, 21 and shift lenses) seem to be
climbing in value as well. A 24mm shift OM is around $2200.00
Why are the prices this high? Look whose buying them and why;

http://cgi.ebay.com/Olympus-OM-18mm-...de-Angle-Prime...

Optically, it's a very, very sharp lens. I used it on my Canon 5D
(with a CameraQuest adapter, not included) and it beat my 17-40mm
hands-down. It certainly has some CA issues, although on a film camera
(such as the OM system it was designed for), that CA likely does not
show up. Distortion is certainly better handled than on the Canon
lenses, as well. If you have a 5D or a 1Ds series body, this would be
a good investment.

I recently sold my OM system and four lenses including the 50/1.4,
28/2.8, 50/3.5 macro and 85/2. Of those, the 28 was very respectable,
and the lens I used most often. The 85 was the standout, though, with
gorgeous bokeh and just a tad of pincushion distortion that was
flattering for portraits. And it was so light and small! The 50 macro
was quite good as well. Never liked the 50/1.4 - just kind of soft,
with some barrel distortion and not much contrast IMO. Anyway, I got
pretty good money for all of them but particularly the 85 - it's a
well-known good performer.

That being said, none of those lenses were up to par with the Zeiss
"G" lenses for my Contax G1. I realize it's a different camera system,
but even when shooting the same kind of film in the same situations,
it was obvious that the Zeiss glass was superior. The 21/2.8 and the
45/2 in particular were just amazing - with nearly no distortion and
razor sharp. The 35/2 was excellent but with just a tad of barrel
distortion. The 90/2.8 was so sharp and without distortion it was
amazing.

I think some of the old lenses for many cameras, particularly Nikon
and Olympus are going up in value. I think this will be temporary,
though, like an "Indian Summer" as collectors and enthusiasts snap up
some of the best of these lenses (and bodies) while they are plentiful
and still relatively cheap. Then the well will dry up... The big
switch to digital is happening, so those who "always wanted such and
such lens" are in a perfect position to get them now.

-Karl
http://www.karlwinkler.com

On May 18, 12:11 pm, Karl Winkler wrote:
On May 17, 11:13 pm, RichA wrote:

Check this one out. Another eg, a year ago, a 180mm f2.8 was about
$250, now around $400-$500. WAs (18, 21 and shift lenses) seem to be
climbing in value as well. A 24mm shift OM is around $2200.00
Why are the prices this high? Look whose buying them and why;

http://cgi.ebay.com/Olympus-OM-18mm-...de-Angle-Prime...

Optically, it's a very, very sharp lens. I used it on my Canon 5D
(with a CameraQuest adapter, not included) and it beat my 17-40mm
hands-down. It certainly has some CA issues, although on a film camera
(such as the OM system it was designed for), that CA likely does not
show up. Distortion is certainly better handled than on the Canon
lenses, as well. If you have a 5D or a 1Ds series body, this would be
a good investment.

I recently sold my OM system and four lenses including the 50/1.4,
28/2.8, 50/3.5 macro and 85/2. Of those, the 28 was very respectable,
and the lens I used most often. The 85 was the standout, though, with
gorgeous bokeh and just a tad of pincushion distortion that was
flattering for portraits. And it was so light and small! The 50 macro
was quite good as well. Never liked the 50/1.4 - just kind of soft,
with some barrel distortion and not much contrast IMO. Anyway, I got
pretty good money for all of them but particularly the 85 - it's a
well-known good performer.

That being said, none of those lenses were up to par with the Zeiss
"G" lenses for my Contax G1. I realize it's a different camera system,
but even when shooting the same kind of film in the same situations,
it was obvious that the Zeiss glass was superior. The 21/2.8 and the
45/2 in particular were just amazing - with nearly no distortion and
razor sharp. The 35/2 was excellent but with just a tad of barrel
distortion. The 90/2.8 was so sharp and without distortion it was
amazing.

I think some of the old lenses for many cameras, particularly Nikon
and Olympus are going up in value. I think this will be temporary,
though, like an "Indian Summer" as collectors and enthusiasts snap up
some of the best of these lenses (and bodies) while they are plentiful
and still relatively cheap. Then the well will dry up... The big
switch to digital is happening, so those who "always wanted such and
such lens" are in a perfect position to get them now.

-Karlhttp://www.karlwinkler.com

What I found was that once you dropped below 50mm (on a digital
camera) the old film lenses light cone was too steep to work well,
bettered even by kit lenses designed for digital. The benefit was
though that lenses designed for a 35mm image circle produced zero
vignetting compared to the digital lenses. The 85mm f2 was probably
the most "lens" for any lens. Hypercompact and almost all glass. I've
heard that with the WA Olympus's, they aren't quite up to the Leica
and Zeiss lenses and that you had to sometimes buy a few to get a
really good one. But the demand is high and IMO, will remain so until
the other camera companies (particularly Canon) start bring out more
"made for digital" telecentric wide angle primes.

New Dslr buyers are beginning to realise that older and better lens can
be used on their new cameras. Dslr camera purchases are actually
boosting demand for used lenses.

Best,

Ross

Karl Winkler wrote:
On May 17, 11:13 pm, RichA wrote:
Check this one out. Another eg, a year ago, a 180mm f2.8 was about
$250, now around $400-$500. WAs (18, 21 and shift lenses) seem to be
climbing in value as well. A 24mm shift OM is around $2200.00
Why are the prices this high? Look whose buying them and why;

http://cgi.ebay.com/Olympus-OM-18mm-...de-Angle-Prime...

Optically, it's a very, very sharp lens. I used it on my Canon 5D
(with a CameraQuest adapter, not included) and it beat my 17-40mm
hands-down. It certainly has some CA issues, although on a film camera
(such as the OM system it was designed for), that CA likely does not
show up. Distortion is certainly better handled than on the Canon
lenses, as well. If you have a 5D or a 1Ds series body, this would be
a good investment.

I recently sold my OM system and four lenses including the 50/1.4,
28/2.8, 50/3.5 macro and 85/2. Of those, the 28 was very respectable,
and the lens I used most often. The 85 was the standout, though, with
gorgeous bokeh and just a tad of pincushion distortion that was
flattering for portraits. And it was so light and small! The 50 macro
was quite good as well. Never liked the 50/1.4 - just kind of soft,
with some barrel distortion and not much contrast IMO. Anyway, I got
pretty good money for all of them but particularly the 85 - it's a
well-known good performer.

That being said, none of those lenses were up to par with the Zeiss
"G" lenses for my Contax G1. I realize it's a different camera system,
but even when shooting the same kind of film in the same situations,
it was obvious that the Zeiss glass was superior. The 21/2.8 and the
45/2 in particular were just amazing - with nearly no distortion and
razor sharp. The 35/2 was excellent but with just a tad of barrel
distortion. The 90/2.8 was so sharp and without distortion it was
amazing.

I think some of the old lenses for many cameras, particularly Nikon
and Olympus are going up in value. I think this will be temporary,
though, like an "Indian Summer" as collectors and enthusiasts snap up
some of the best of these lenses (and bodies) while they are plentiful
and still relatively cheap. Then the well will dry up... The big
switch to digital is happening, so those who "always wanted such and
such lens" are in a perfect position to get them now.

-Karl
http://www.karlwinkler.com