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Favorite lenses FD 24 1.4L


noone
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On 4/21/2021 at 3:48 AM, noone said:

Flares are not something I use really.

i'm the opposite i guess, i do enjoy a good flare 😀

its been awhile since i checked ebay... Those prices seemed to of really jumped up. In aussie $ i could get a 50mm f1.4 ssc for $150 or so the 50mm f1.2 jump up to $500 for an average one, then an L series starts at like $1000. Should probably remortgage the house, buy a couple and pray the price keeps going up. 😀

12 hours ago, kye said:

.  and lastly, lenses don't last forever and wear out or get broken.

So..  increasing demand + decreasing numbers available + no additional supply = prices go up

the thing is apart from some models having the dissolving bearing issue, most vintage lens should last a good long time. When you think about it vintage stuff is made from metals that are machined with close tolerances and are rotating less than 360 degrees, with a supply of grease. Most likely you could call that pretty much,  the optimum situation for a machine. Barr working in the artic perhaps. 

i think the bigger problem is lens reviews like mark holtze and zenography waxing lyrical on the youtube reviews. Still i cant complain.... perhaps i myself, should have jumped on the bandwagon earlier   😉

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6 hours ago, leslie said:

i'm the opposite i guess, i do enjoy a good flare 😀

its been awhile since i checked ebay... Those prices seemed to of really jumped up. In aussie $ i could get a 50mm f1.4 ssc for $150 or so the 50mm f1.2 jump up to $500 for an average one, then an L series starts at like $1000. Should probably remortgage the house, buy a couple and pray the price keeps going up. 😀

the thing is apart from some models having the dissolving bearing issue, most vintage lens should last a good long time. When you think about it vintage stuff is made from metals that are machined with close tolerances and are rotating less than 360 degrees, with a supply of grease. Most likely you could call that pretty much,  the optimum situation for a machine. Barr working in the artic perhaps. 

i think the bigger problem is lens reviews like mark holtze and zenography waxing lyrical on the youtube reviews. Still i cant complain.... perhaps i myself, should have jumped on the bandwagon earlier   😉

You forgot about people dropping them, fungus, rust, and botched attempts to fix them.

In terms of getting on the bandwagon earlier, I bet these manual lenses were at rock bottom prices when AF reached significant market penetration, so that was probably the time to buy.  I bet if you went to the right places you could have bought boxes of them, maybe by weight.

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45 minutes ago, kye said:

You forgot about people dropping them, fungus, rust, and botched attempts to fix them.

In terms of getting on the bandwagon earlier, I bet these manual lenses were at rock bottom prices when AF reached significant market penetration, so that was probably the time to buy.  I bet if you went to the right places you could have bought boxes of them, maybe by weight.

i'm embarrassed to confess... i have a botched attempt sitting at the back of my desk. Not too many issues with a prime, but i come unstuck with a zoom. Fiddly little buggers 😳 

It sits there to remind me about biting off more than i can chew at times. One day i might get it repaired if i stumble across a suitable repairer.

not sure what age i got a camera but the last film camera was a canon t90 which still works. never dropped a lens in all that time. Everything made by man can use a little maintenance from time to time. Thats just how it is.

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39 minutes ago, leslie said:

i'm embarrassed to confess... i have a botched attempt sitting at the back of my desk. Not too many issues with a prime, but i come unstuck with a zoom. Fiddly little buggers 😳 

It sits there to remind me about biting off more than i can chew at times. One day i might get it repaired if i stumble across a suitable repairer.

not sure what age i got a camera but the last film camera was a canon t90 which still works. never dropped a lens in all that time. Everything made by man can use a little maintenance from time to time. Thats just how it is.

I've heard zoom lenses are super tricky to service, so you wouldn't be alone.  Also, unless it's an Angenieux or something then it doesn't really matter - most of the zoom lenses ever made are cheap now because they were common in the past and undesirable now.  

I've recently started exploring the FB film-making and equipment groups and vintage lenses with dented filter rings are common, people posting "I bought this lens from a seller who said 'no fungus' but look at these pictures - should I return it?" is common, and I've seen more than one post of "I'm abandoning my attempt to convert my collection of <famous vintage lens name> lenses, lens repairer X quoted me $Y and all the parts are here - offers above $Z please".

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Yeah, the price of these lenses have skyrocketed. Have a look at the asking price for the nFD 24mm f/2... it's over $1000... that lens could be bought for around $200 a little over a year ago.

They've gotten so high, I am seriously considering selling my EF modified 50mm 1.2 L.

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17 hours ago, mercer said:

Yeah, the price of these lenses have skyrocketed. Have a look at the asking price for the nFD 24mm f/2... it's over $1000... that lens could be bought for around $200 a little over a year ago.

They've gotten so high, I am seriously considering selling my EF modified 50mm 1.2 L.

This is simply crazy!      I just looked again and all the 24 f2s are listed at or over $1000 Australian and many for a lot more.

One glimmer of hope is if you look up sold items, while there are lots of f2s above (and some well above) $1000, there are some for lower and even the odd few around $500-$600.     Ones that have auctions rather than BIN seem to go about $800 or so     Japan seems to have some of the cheaper ones (along with the dearer ones).

The 24 2.8s are much better still but then there are zillions of similar lenses including better newer ones.

I think I might take my 1.4 to a camera shop in Sydney/Brisbane/Melbourne next time I go to one of them and see if I can trade it for a gold Leica (ok maybe just something interesting.

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  • 1 month later...
8 hours ago, leslie said:

cruising through the fd lens section on ebay. Honestly i was only window shopping... when my eyes started watering. This aught to lift your spirits noone  there was also one for $7000 and another for $6500ish 

fd24mm f1.4.jpg

You should see the Japanese prices...plenty of mint in box ones for over eleven grand (Australian)!

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Thing is I do not want to out it on Ebay.     I actually had it on Ebay about two years ago and would have taken around $800-900 but not a single bid.

I will get nothing like $4000 selling it in a major camera store via commission (they take %20) but again, I will be happy to get enough for something i will use more often.

That said, i really do love this old lens, I just do not think it is worth anything like what they sell for.

It will be a couple of months before I take it to sell though so will use it for a little while yet.    Who knows, I might even change my mind (though any sale over $2000 I would till be nuts to keep it).

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  • 1 month later...

Can this get any more crazy?   Today an FD 24 1.4 L from Germany sold on Ebay for just under $6500 Australian.

About the same condition as mine maybe a bit better externally and a bit worse internally.

Pure and simply nuts!

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  • 1 month later...

The madness continues!    Another used one (this one had a CLA) in the US for $5800 (a hundred or so short of $8,000 Australian) and with 25 bids!

I have asked a couple of major camera stores if they would take mine on consignment.

Sydney store would but does not think i would get as much as i think, Melbourne store would and does think I might .... Both take 20% commission which is fine and as long as I get about three times what I paid for it I will be happy (both subject to the condition when they see it).      Think I will go with Melbourne store once the borders are open and I have some time to visit there with it

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good luck, As you know covids playing silly buggers with states of aus at the moment 🙄

i have in mind, to buy a canon fd 50mm f1.2. keeping things vintage again.  I'm after one fast lens, and i figure if i get an fd it will be a close enough match to my other fd's i have.  I have looked at some fast 50's  I thought of pentax as i have seven or so m42 takumars however alot of my searches  seem to come up with either fungus of haze and still want to dollar.  I think if i'm patient i might be able to come away with a canon $500 - 550 and postage on top. Then i'm going cold turkey on lenses, thats the plan anyway.  

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These lenses continue to rise in price. I saw a 28mm f/2 listed for $2500! That lens was about $150 before the pandemic started. That K-35/FD-L video ruined the FD market for buyers. One of the FD lenses that hasn't drastically gone up is the nFD 50mm 1.4 and that lens is a damn good lens. I've had two or 3 copies over the years and never had a bad one. Weirdly, I found two copies that were modified to Nikon F mount.

Here's a shot from the first copy I had...

 

 

4EA676C0-1068-4192-94E6-61B01DA71561.jpeg

79405B8D-41C3-4013-9A21-4EB77E6C85A2.jpeg

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7 hours ago, leslie said:

i have in mind, to buy a canon fd 50mm f1.2

Are you looking at the non L version? Admittedly I've never used it but from all accounts it isn't that great of a lens. I'd go with the 1.4 for a 1/4 the price.

As you may remember, I also have the 1.2 L that I had modified to EF mount, iris de-clicked, etc... and I think that is one of the best lenses I've ever used. However, with the prices the way they are, I am having a hard time justifying its existence in my bag. I've been looking at some footage lately between the two lenses and although the 1.2 L is definitively a better lens, the 1.4 gets you most of the way there.

1.4

349BCD80-E269-49B5-9AB9-8D38C5F5EB5F.thumb.jpeg.03695dec587d2fcbbba9c485e61e959c.jpeg

1.2 L

23A99949-30B7-4253-91F1-8002D7876CE6.thumb.jpeg.3e92bc4b6c36e111104b7707aef4dc54.jpeg

I have a few side by sides I'll post later when I'm on my computer. 

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just the plain non L Version. As you have noted the L versions are fairly pricey. I think that for those sought of prices i could probably buy  a new fast Voigtländer in mft. Still its alot of money either way, for me anyway.

The 1.4 certainly does alright. nice image.

May i ask what your approach is to b&w conversion ?

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2 hours ago, leslie said:

just the plain non L Version. As you have noted the L versions are fairly pricey. I think that for those sought of prices i could probably buy  a new fast Voigtländer in mft. Still its alot of money either way, for me anyway.

The 1.4 certainly does alright. nice image.

May i ask what your approach is to b&w conversion ?

Yes, I think you could definitely get a Voigtlander for that money, but then you have a m4/3 lens that is fairly pricey with an unknown as to how long the mount will be used. Full frame lenses can always be adapted.

I don't really have an approach. I mostly just tinker. I really need to get a new computer or monitor. I've been using my MacBook Air which does not have a 178 degree viewing angle so depending upon how I look at the screen, the image could look different. It's very annoying. I figure once I have something... anything... completed I'll take that stuff more seriously.

For those shots I used a Log to Rec709 LUT, made a couple exposure adjustments to open up the waveform and then desaturated the image. So nothing fancy.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 8/24/2021 at 5:24 AM, noone said:

What more is there to say!

Still six days to go, 25 bids currently $6400 US (nearly $9000 Australian) and it has FUNGUS!

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/324759786578?hash=item4b9d311452:g:20gAAOSwoQphCIJT

 

Ok this was actually the rarer older Aspherical version rather than the FD L but geez 26 bids and a final price of 10,100 US dollars (about $14,000 Australian) for a lens with fungus? 

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