ZEISS 3.5/100

Hi lenslover,

You raise some interesting points. 

I doubt that this Forum is particularly responsible for the general rise in Yashica or Zeiss lens prices but you may have a point when it comes to some of the more rare or obscure items.  People looking for information on them will go to their favourite search engine and see what they can find; if it's an uncommon item and we have discussed it, it is more likely to get picked up by the search engines in the early part of their lists simply because there's very little alternative information on the web.

This is probably further strengthened by the fact that we are quite an active forum; the Pentax user forum is another good example of this as they dedicate a large part of their site to user reviews of 3rd party lenses and these form an invaluable source of information on deciding whether to purchase a particular lens from Super-Paragon, Vivitar, Soligor, etc. etc.  I use them constantly along with allphotolenses, forum.mflenses, apotelyt, collectiblend, the various wiki sites and so on and also contribute to some of them.  I'm sure there are a few more members of this Forum who are similarly active.

It would be nice to think that we were influential but I doubt it; we are just one of a number of sites dedicated to extolling the virtues and exposing the flaws in our favourite marques.  If someone is searching for information on a Yashica item, we are likely to pop up at some stage in a search and when it comes to lenses, the searcher is probably a pretty competent photographer if they're interested in old analogue equipment and so is looking with some prior knowledge.  The Zeiss name has for decades been its own recruitment poster and I doubt that this Forum would appear in the first 100 listings as our discussion on their gear is pretty minimal.  Out of interest I Googled Contax Zeiss 100mm f3.5 and am pleased to report that we appeared on the fifth page of results - for the ML 100 3.5!  I also so searched for 'Yashica Lenses' and you will be heartened to know that we did not appear in the first 7 pages of listings (I got bored after that)...

You are quite right to bemoan the rise in prices of some of our favourite gear.  Oft times we start a thread because of something seen or bought on an auction site or from a major retailer or e-tailer which means that the item is already out there stirring the consciousness of the photographic buying public.  If they come across us when looking for information on an item and we have discussed it and praised it, then, I suppose, they will buy or bid with greater confidence and over time prices may firm up or nudge north on a specific item. 

It does raise a rather sad issue that must be contributing to the increased amount of analogue gear being sold and that is simply death.  I see a lot of equipment bought originally in the 1950s-1970s appearing now as estate sales and often the family selling the gear have little knowledge of it - or its worth.  This has been especially the case with Yashica cameras from 1959 to the late sixties.  Six of the last ten Yashica cameras and lenses I bought have resulted from a death in someone's family.  On a personal note, given my age and health, it won't be that long before my stuff appears on the market - you may be lucky as the sudden appearance of over 1000 Contax and Yashica items may send prices lower - over 400 Yashica and Zeiss lenses might send prices tumbling.  That would be a fun legacy for buyers.

With more gear appearing on the market - and with Ebay effectively setting market prices - I suspect there is more search activity relating to camera and lens marques and their prices.  At least when it comes to prices, we don't contribute much to the debate whereas the Pentax forum quotes prices paid by members for lenses as well as an assessment (pretty helpful) of their qualities.

I think at a generic Yashica level, this Forum merely contributes to background noise when it comes to the matter of pricing but you may have a point on specific, less common items that we explore in our many threads.  But I'm not a lover of the notion of self-censoring; I feel it is the role of this Forum to encourage an appreciation of all things Yashica - good and bad - and if that means we have to pay a few more pennies for our favourite marque, is it not worth it to realize that we have helped introduce new people to the enjoyment of Yashica gear and they will in turn continue to spread the word? 

Come on lenslover, give yourself a big pat on the back for contributing to the growing number of people trying Yashica cameras and lenses for the first time...