when did the 28 m rokkors get so expensive?

[back alley]

kinda crazy prices for them now...

[porktaco]

yeah. i REALLY regret not buying one a year ago

[PMCC]

How much is expensive?

[jmcd]

back alley: kinda crazy prices

Many prices are on the rise, it seems.

[krötenblender]

kinda crazy prices for them now...

What price did you see? I just saw one for 250 euros, which is okay, I think.

[kevin m]

Probably some time shortly after the forum-hive uttered, "aww, dude! this lens rocks!"

Or was that a different lens? I forget.

I'm losing track, myself. The Noctilux/pre-aspherical 35mm Summilux/Canon 50 f1.2/Voigtlander 35 f1.2 crazes are all blurring together now. All I'm sure of is that these lenses spike in price a few months after I sell my copy. :p

[venchka]

The Konica 28mm/2.8 M-Hexanon ROCKS the socks off of the 28mm Rokkor.
Said the owner of the 28mm M-Hexanon hoping to inflate the price of that stellar lens.

[back alley]

i have seen them offered for $600.
it's a 400 buck lens at best.

[venchka]

Offered all day long. No takers. That is not the market price.
Sold. That is the market price.

[ItsReallyDarren]

Probably some time shortly after the forum-hive uttered, "aww, dude! this lens rocks!"

Or was that a different lens? I forget.

YEAH! Canon 50/1.5 rocks!!

oh wait were talking about the Rokkor 28...
:angel:

[illuminati_02]

I was thinking the price was down on the 28. I sold my copy several years ago, partly because I didn't think it was all *that* great. Seemed quite prone to flare. Anyways, I sold mine for $600 which was the going price at the time. Went pretty quick too, then I bought a 28/1.9 Ultron for a little more than half of what I sold the rokkor for, and it was a better lens, though a bit larger.

The price and hype on the CLE and rokkor 40 are quite high right now tho, more than when I sold mine. I know partly because quite a few people love them, and say so. The 40 was a nice compact lens, though the OOF highlights were distracting.. The CLE handled well, but the electronics seemed a little finicky and would act up every once in a while. Actually my avatar pic (taken w/ a Minolta 7D & Maxxum 100/2), is of me shooting with the CLE & 40.

[kuzano]

kinda crazy prices for them now...

"Market Value" is described as the price that a willing buyer will pay to a willing seller.

The rising prices on many lenses that have a quality history AND can be use on the digital mirrorless cameras with adaptors is a reflection of that rule.

The number of willing buyers is rising as is their willingness to pay more.

The dollars, adjusted for inflation, on most of those lenses is still lower in today's dollars than when the lenses were new, in most cases.

Also remember that when most of these lenses were new they were manual focus, and those who recall that are not put off that they have to be manually focused when adapted to the new digitals.

The irony is that most of the people who are jacking the prices up, are not aware that most of those lenses can be outshot by the lenses made for the digital cameras.... even the new zoom and using autofocus. You hear this complaint or finding, over and over from people who are using old Leica, Rokkor, Pentax, and Olympus glass, not to mention the other old quality lenses.

[Beemermark]

I had a 28 CLE lens (had the whole outfit) and then along the way I picked up a 28th Elmarit 4th version. IMHO I couldn't see much difference. The 28 CLE is much smaller and with the proper lens hood very much comparable to the Elmarit. So as the Elmarit rises in price so does the CLE.

[Turtle]

...since people ascribed performance to them that made them that desirable. I think prices are silly, just as they are for a 35mm V4 cron. There are tonnes of lenses with which you can produce world famous images, but some like to chase silver bullets instead.

[jsrockit]

Clean examples of this lens (which there aren't that many of) have always been more expensive.

[jsrockit]

I think prices are silly, just as they are for a 35mm V4 cron.

make that any 35mm cron. :(

[ampguy]

The Canon 28/2.8 is really the bees knees when it comes to 28s.

[porktaco]

i love my canon 28/2.8. it's so TINY.

[kermaier]

i have seen them offered for $600.
it's a 400 buck lens at best.

What makes it a $400 lens to you? Is it overall quality vs. other 28/2.8 lenses (M-Hex, Canon LTM, Elmarit Asph, Elmarit pre-Asph)?

::Ari

[back alley]

What makes it a $400 lens to you? Is it overall quality vs. other 28/2.8 lenses (M-Hex, Canon LTM, Elmarit Asph, Elmarit pre-Asph)?

::Ari

why are you asking me hard questions? ;)

i think when compared to other lenses, when you look at overall build quality, the 'white spot' problem, original cost etc...it is not worth 600 bucks. even lenses that have been cleaned can have a re-occurance of the spots so it is a risky buy.
i would risk 300, maybe 400 bucks on it but not 600.

[filmtwit]

But don't those white spots just make your photos super sexy?
Come on now.
8-)

why are you asking me hard questions? ;)

i think when compared to other lenses, when you look at overall build quality, the 'white spot' problem, original cost etc...it is not worth 600 bucks. even lenses that have been cleaned can have a re-occurance of the spots so it is a risky buy.
i would risk 300, maybe 400 bucks on it but not 600.

[chrispiper]

Prices seemed to go up just as I was getting serious about getting my first 28. I have a 50 and 90 M-Hexanon and like them so I thought I'd look for a 28 M-Hex. Crazy high prices. Same for Zeiss. Ok what else it out there? I've heard about this M-Rokkor, seems like a low budget alternative. Read a bit and find out about the white spots. Actually got a $200 copy with the spots that shot fine but it spooked me so I gave it back. By that point I was getting less and less thrilled to be thinking about a $600+ expenditure for a possibly fringe use lens. Enter the 28 Ultron f/1.9. Now that was more like it, in terms of price and performance. I found a nice one, and then found a Canon 28 f/2.8 just a week later. I got both for practially what I would have spent for a single M-Hex, M-Rokkor or CZ lens. I still kind of like the idea of the M-Hex, just because I like my 50 and 90 so much, but in terms of images, I like my current setup just fine.

[awilder]

Never owned the Rokkor as clean ones were scarce when I owned my CLE but I have used the CV 28/3.5 and it's performance and build quality was top drawer. Given it's small size, price and performance, I wouldn't hesitate to take a new CV 28/3.5 over a Rokkor. If you need f/2.8 get a ZM or Hexanon, both would easily out perform the Rokkor.
For higher speed go for the 28/1.9 Ultron.

[David Murphy]

Part of the reason the price of all better quality Leica and Leica related items are on the rise is due to the fact that eBay and PayPal together typically take 10% of the selling prices. This is on the rise too. New eBay "fee reductions" are coming soon too (all eBay fee hikes are marketed as fee reductions for those not aware).

eBay is a major market place for rangefinder related collectibles. These significant seller costs have been successfully passed on to buyers by sellers and are also reflected in higher values for the same items sold off-eBay.

Another factor is that Cosina-Voigtlander does not seem interested in making the affordably priced rangefinder lenses and cameras they were once known for.

[raid]

I am so glad that after I send out the lens to a buyer here, he returned it because white spots were found that I did not see before. Now I still have my 28mm/2.8 Rokkor-M.

[Palaeoboy]

Quite odd. I try to monitor prices of CLE stuff and last time I looked the Rokkor 28 was as cheap as its ever been. In fact I saw a user one with a bit of wear on the barrel ie silver showing on the aperture ring, go go $169 not long ago. There was a time that it fetched almost as much as the Version 3 Elmarit as it was equivalent in optical quality and considerably smaller so that fueled the market for a while but when the Voigltander, Zeiss and Konica offerings became quite affordable the prices of the Rokkor seemed to plummet. I have seen many go for around 300 USD so you are well in the ballpark Back Alley. There is probably just a slight run on them at the moment, prices will be down again im sure. You just have to keep bidding to your limit and then the rush is over you will get one. Good lens by the way.

[back alley]

i just saw one listed on ebay at 748., with 'clean' glass except for a ton of little white spots...

[hexiplex]

The white spots on my example don't affect the image at all, it's even got a ton of light scratch marks and what appears to be some faint haze in the centre. The lens is decidedly low contrast however, and most likely is even more low in contrast because of the aforementioned flaws.

I don't think 748$ is asking too much for a good clean example of this lens, but I also don't think that 748$ is a good price for a lens that has a case of the spots.

[Palaeoboy]

i just saw one listed on ebay at 748., with 'clean' glass except for a ton of little white spots...

Thats too much even it its a perfect example

[Palaeoboy]

I Just saw the one you mean, 51% off yeah right LOL To put it in perspective there is another listing for a CLE, and all three CLE lenses filters and some boxes for double that price. One thing I have noticed it that some sellers just ask outrageous prices with any item associated Leica. I have seen sellers in Hong Kong and the USA asking used prices for the Version 3 Elmarit higher than a new current ASPH version, they know they are overcharging but sit and wait for that sucker that doesnt know any better.

[DougFord]

...its coming around again.
The Ricoh GXR; a new m-mount @ 1.5 crop means 28mm lenses will be in demand. Maybe some early positioning going on?
The rokkor is light weight and quite a good performer. Mines been JohnVanSteltenized and I'm more then half interested to see how it might perform on a GXR.

[raid]

Even with a 2X crop, the Rokkor is a 56mm lens that I can enjoy.

[filmfan]

I want one.

[roundg]

I didn't monitor the price trend of this lens. About two year ago, a good one with white spot normally went for 300-350USD. A really mint without white spot could double the price.

Not sure how much they sell now.

[kanzlr]

the M-Hexanon 28 does fine on my GXR...wouldn't mind trying a Rokkor to accompany the 40mm one I already have, but not at current going prices. Second hand dealers asking € 550,-- here...!!

[sleepyhead]

I recently bought a 28mm M-Rokkor in excellent condition (no sign of white spots or haze), with original hood for around 500 Euros.

On one hand that's expensive, but for me, it was worth it: the M-Rokkor has the perfect combination, for me, of:
* image quality (sharp, but not too contrasty; great bokeh, low distortion)
* Ergonomics and size
* Built quality

I don't care that it brings up the 35mm framelines on a Leica M camera, as I use it on an M3 paired with the Zeiss 50mm C-Sonnar.

I can do almost everything I want photographically with just those two lenses!

[sleepyhead]

I will just add, that for me size was the most important factor, so I ruled out the f/2 28mm lenses (although I would also love to own the 28mm Summicron...).

It boiled down to the M-Rokkor or the Leica 28mm Elmarit ASPH.

I looked at as many photos on Flickr as I could for those two lenses. I concluded that the 28mm Elmarit was just too clinically sharp compared to the Rokkor. (Although it would be nice to test them side-by-side...)

[kermaier]

You should use your M-Rokkor and never look back at the Elmarit-M. The Minolta may not be quite a sharp and contrasty, but it's not far off the Leica's performance. And they're almost exactly the same size and (IMO) build quality.
::Ari

[raid]

Ari,
Is your lens still dot free?
The spots suddenly came to my lens.

[kermaier]

Ari,
Is your lens still dot free?
The spots suddenly came to my lens.

Mine is still free of the spots since a cleaning at FocalPoint, but it developed a fair amount of garden-variety haze in the front element group, which causes the lens to flare noticeably. :(
Since I have a bunch of other 28s, I'm procrastinating sending the M-Rokkor off for another cleaning.

::Ari

[raid]

Is the cost $75 each time?

[Joe Brugger]

I confess that since getting my hands on one of the Voigtlander 28/3.5 lenses several years ago, the Minolta 28/2.8 has been off my radar. Half the price, 95% or more of the image quality, and none of the worries about spots. The build quality is as good or better than the Minolta and close to older Leicas. In my area, the Minolta has always seemed to sell at a premium price.