tariffs are real

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38Deardorff said:
I'm not sure you can assume with any accuracy that has a direct relationship to tariffs. As a parallel in the vintage guitar market, prices have soared and yet items sit for long periods of time.
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I am always watching Ebay for vintage lenses. Prices for many of the vintage Japanese Lenses are way down from 10 years ago. I noticed a drop in prices over several that I keep an eye on at about the time the Tariffs were announced. Camera collecting in Japan seems to be a hobby for the old. Lenses that were $600 a few years ago, I was able to pick up for under $125. I've bought a lot of vintage lenses out of Japan in the last couple of years.
 
Sonnar Brian said:
I am always watching Ebay for vintage lenses. Prices for many of the vintage Japanese Lenses are way down from 10 years ago. I noticed a drop in prices over several that I keep an eye on at about the time the Tariffs were announced. Camera collecting in Japan seems to be a hobby for the old. Lenses that were $600 a few years ago, I was able to pick up for under $125. I've bought a lot of vintage lenses out of Japan in the last couple of years.
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That's pretty interesting Brian.... I've visited (& worked in Japan) and noticed the great accumulation of vintage lenses/cameras widely available in shops. I pretty much follow black Leica Ms and recently pre-AI nikons....I wish i'd see that dramatic a drop in those prices.
It is interesting to me that prices on vintage & scarce (rather than vintage & ultra rare) Leicas in a large recent auction often didn't match current ebay or dealer asking prices.
 
38Deardorff said:
" in practice is that buyers will be more likely to trade with US suppliers"..... Has nothing to do with Japan...but many buyers from other countries are not buying good from USA or US suppliers, (or travelling to the USA).
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Many of us who live in countries other than in North America did this long ago.

For me the penny dropped when I wanted to order some small Rollei bits from a US seller, and realised the postage from Arizona to Australia would cost more than the items.

As for travel, I'm now too old and in not enough good health (apology for the odd English here!) that I prefer to avoid the long haul, 12-18 hour flights coast to coast and more hours commuting on domestic air services, from Melbourne to the USA or Canada. That, also I no longer have any living close relations to visit, and the costs of flying far distances are now too high for my budget. Especially as flying from Vancouver to the east coast of Canada is as expensive as the Australia-Canada flight.

So you Yanks are not the only ones to be facing higher costs for everything. For Canucks and Aussies this has been a constant issue for a long, long time, tariffs or no tariffs.
 
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Sonnar Brian said:
www.ebay.com

RARE [Exc+5] Canon 50mm f/2.2 L39 LTM Leica Screw Mount MF Lens from JAPAN | eBay

There are scuffs on the lens body. Excellent 5 or EX5 or Exc+5 = Normal used condition. Signs of use. Less than Excellent 3 or EX3 or Exc+3 = Heavy signs of use. Appearance is beautiful. Scuffs from normal use.
www.ebay.com

An uncommon lens, Canon 50/2.2- made for 6 months. 10 years ago- tended to go for $600.
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Very good score at that price.... interestingly the prices for the 28mm LTM 2.8 Canon lenses have not dropped similarly.....
Still Brian, can you somehow directly correlate the price drop to US tariffs? Do you think the Japanese are saying "Americans have instituted a wild tariff war....so we'll drop our prices?" The Japanese are known aficionados of many things vintage..... so what percentage of their sales do you think are made by people from the USA?.....
 
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I'm from Italy and almost every good arriving outside Europe is affected by tariffs.
Maybe on not expensive items you could be lucky, but on 1000+€ things, you can be sure you'll get the surprise.

In fact I try to never buy from Ebay Japan/USA/UK sellers.
 
38Deardorff said:
Very good score at that price.... interestingly the prices for the 28mm LTM 2.8 Canon lenses have not dropped similarly.....
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I feel some of the wider focal lengths in LTM mount (21mm to 35mm) might retain value since there aren't as many options out there. Especially since they are popular in other mounts on digital and analog and might be sought after for those transitioning to film rangefinders.

Whereas there are a ton of 50s out to use.
 
I remember Shutterbug ads from 35 years ago where prices for Leica, Contax, Nikon RF were going into the stratosphere and a number of dealers at shows were saying- 'a Lot of those cameras are going to Japan and not coming back.'
I think a lot are coming back now. Makes me sad that the young generation of Japan has lost interest in collecting cameras, but it means the prices are back to 1980s levels for some of these items. Mostly the ones that are known to collectors, but not gained "Cult" status. Judging by the amount of vintage/collectible equipment on Ebay from Japanese sellers, I think the US market is big. I mean after all... I've probably bought enough to have kept the market from collapsing.
 
I have been talking with the fellows at Intrepid about a new 5x7. I haven't actually pulled the plug yet but I probably will since there aren't a whole lot of options for new large format film cameras of any format on this side of the pond, let alone 5x7. I don't think a 10% tariff is enough to really discourage me.
 
Sonnar Brian said:
I remember Shutterbug ads from 35 years ago where prices for Leica, Contax, Nikon RF were going into the stratosphere and a number of dealers at shows were saying- 'a Lot of those cameras are going to Japan and not coming back.'
I think a lot are coming back now. Makes me sad that the young generation of Japan has lost interest in collecting cameras, but it means the prices are back to 1980s levels for some of these items. Mostly the ones that are known to collectors, but not gained "Cult" status. Judging by the amount of vintage/collectible equipment on Ebay from Japanese sellers, I think the US market is big. I mean after all... I've probably bought enough to have kept the market from collapsing.
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Nikon rangefinder products especially over the recent years/decade seems to have suffered a lack of demand and corresponding price adjustment. In an article from the early 90's about Leica collecting I recently read, the author pinpoints the mid-80's as the time when demand from Asia inflated Leica prices on the used market.
 
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Prices on vintage lenses tend to go up and down seemingly on whims, or maybe it's recent youtube reviews. 😀 Not necessarily due to tariffs or other factors.

I remember back in the day when I got my first M3 and needed a lens. I went through Shutterbug and bought a collapsible Summicron for $90 from a dealer in Denver if I recall. This matches Brian's comment: he was lamenting the fact that Japanese buyers were attending all the shows and snapping up the gear to take it back to Japan. This was about 1978-79.
 
steveyork said:
Nikon rangefinder products especially over the recent years/decade seems to have suffered a lack of demand and corresponding price adjustment. In an article from the early 90's about Leica collecting, the author pinpoints the mid-80's as the time when demand from Asia inflated Leica prices on the used market.
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I think there is a waning interest in film. Yeah, there is a lot of talk about it, and folks post their shots, but I really doubt that film has legs. I doubt here will be long term interest. I have the lovely Contax II. But how long will Oleg be around? They will all be shelf queens. So I suspect this will affect the market, tariffs or not.
 
Sonnar Brian said:
I am always watching Ebay for vintage lenses. Prices for many of the vintage Japanese Lenses are way down from 10 years ago. I noticed a drop in prices over several that I keep an eye on at about the time the Tariffs were announced. Camera collecting in Japan seems to be a hobby for the old. Lenses that were $600 a few years ago, I was able to pick up for under $125. I've bought a lot of vintage lenses out of Japan in the last couple of years.
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My recent Nikon S4 purchase still boggles my mind. I remember the first time I saw one that was in similar condition and it was going for, IIRC, 4 times as much as I excitedly paid for mine. I really could not afford the Nikon RF system until these recent changes.
 
wlewisiii said:
My recent Nikon S4 purchase still boggles my mind. I remember the first time I saw one that was in similar condition and it was going for, IIRC, 4 times as much as I excitedly paid for mine. I really could not afford the Nikon RF system until these recent changes.
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There are always unique "scores"..... like the Elmar 3.5cm f3.5 I got on Ebay in 2018 for $75....
 
boojum said:
I think there is a waning interest in film. Yeah, there is a lot of talk about it, and folks post their shots, but I really doubt that film has legs. I doubt here will be long term interest. I have the lovely Contax II. But how long will Oleg be around? They will all be shelf queens. So I suspect this will affect the market, tariffs or not.
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B, my opinion is that film has stabilized and is maybe even on the rise. Local stores are stocking & selling more film & paper. It has made a come back. Clients are requesting work on film. More young people are buying and using film cameras....
Your Contax may become a shelf queen but there are thousands of Nikon, Pentax, Leicas that will keep on clicking.....
 
38Deardorff said:
B, my opinion is that film has stabilized and is maybe even on the rise. Local stores are stocking & selling more film & paper. It has made a come back. Clients are requesting work on film. More young people are buying and using film cameras....
Your Contax may become a shelf queen but there are thousands of Nikon, Pentax, Leicas that will keep on clicking.....
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Leicas now are repair headaches. I do no think this is confined to Leica. Parts and the people able to effectively use them will dwindle. Down the road using mechanical/analog(ue) cameras will become more difficult not easier. So either there will be new film cameras to sustain the market or not. As always, YMMV.

My perspective is that analog(ue) is interesting but not a long term bet. It was replaced for a reason. I do enjoy the Contax II a lot, much for sentimental reasons. But the vast majority of shutter clicks I make are digital because it is easier, cheaper and more efficient. I have a meeting to go to tonight. On the way back I will shoot some with an M9 with a sweet, very sweet '57 KMZ Jupiter 8. When I get home I can load them onto my computer and view them and also upload them to Flickr with the possibility of sharing any good ones. I find this appealing. I shot film from about '47 until 2000.

But I have hijacked the thread and apologize.
 
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