Orion 15....Is this a good price?

The lens is very sharp and contrasty. Like here:

11417226_2TXsP-L.jpg


But so is the CV 28/3.5, plus it's faster and easier to handle. The Orions usually go for around US 200.

Roland.
 
Pitxu said:
Anybody have one of these for sale or trade? (serious).
Click to expand...

I have the CV 28mm f/3.5, but I'm not letting it go for anything! I love that lens. 🙂

I had an Orion for a couple of days. As has been noted, it is sharp and has nice contrast. Ergonomics are a lot like the J-12, which isn't a plus in my mind. I hate that aperture ring. At f/6 it's also really slow. I would expect to pay at least $150 - $200, if I were interested in buying one.
 
Normal price in Europe is about USD 120.
Lens is tack sharp but I use it on a tripod because of lack of speed.

Anyhow this lens is rangfinder coupled, whereas I am not sure about the CV.
 
I'm not really in the market for one but curious after seeing it on the bay. Jan, Ferider those photos are tack sharp. The slow aperture puzzles me why people would want to pay so muck for this lens when a cv or a canon 28 would be more applicable.
 
gb hill said:
I'm not really in the market for one but curious after seeing it on the bay. Jan, Ferider those photos are tack sharp. The slow aperture puzzles me why people would want to pay so muck for this lens when a cv or a canon 28 would be more applicable.
Click to expand...

The price reflects its relative scarcity. I think it's mostly in demand as a FSU collector's lens.
 
Pitxu said:
Quote:
Originally Posted by rolleistef
For a similar price you can get a modern voigtlander 28/3.5.




🙂I just won a Snap Shot Skopar 25/4 NIB $220.🙂

View attachment 60182

I'll have to change forum now.😀


edit: That's less than the Orion went for.
Click to expand...

Again, there is a difference: the Orion is fully rangefinder coupled, for the snapshot you do not need a rangefinder since it is not coupled. But I agree that the price on the last add was way to high for an Orion. If someone does offer $ 200 for mine, I would sell it (it comes with original box)!
 
I've had several, in 39mm x 26 tpi and Kiev.

It's all right, as you might expect from a lens that slow (a 28/6 is not demanding much), but some idea of its worth as a picture-taker can be gained from the fact I never paid more than £15 for one in the 70s when they were reasonably common. The price today reflects, I suspect, collector interest rather than shooting value. They command higher prices in the USA where Filthy Commie Lenses were always rarer.

I'd certainly go for a newer, faster and vastly more ergonomic Voigtländer: that diaphragm setting ring (with non-linear and very close spacing, as I recall) is a real bar steward.

Cheers,

R.
 
Several years ago they were going for around $80-$100 on eBay.

The price has since gone higher, to around $175 and up. Over $200 is extortionate.

I would say that $150 is a reasonable market price. They are not THAT rare.

They are excellent performers, albeit slow and hard to set aperture quickly.

I did get one for $2. I've also bought them for $30 and $70.

One of them dissolved into a loathsome mass of detestable putrescence when the special "bird's waste" element cement deteriorates due to excessive heat. Guard against this.

According to the formerly imprisoned (due to heretical lens theories) Belarusian optical engineer Issachar Marx, this lens reaches it's pinnacle a f8 and thereafter rapidly declines.

.
 
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Pixtu; that 25 is a great lens, I think it's as good or even better than the Orion. I bought the Orion because the 25 wasn't available at the time. Now I'd go for the 25. There is little distortion and it works tight areas very well. I think Sockeyed also uses it a lot. Check his flickr shots with it. You are going to be a happy boy! "Guaranteeeeed!" as Justin Wilson a famous Cajun cook used to say.
 
39mm LTM is coupled, rarer Kiev (read more expensive) version is not. LTM is 40.5 filter, Kiev is 49mm. I bought mine new in 1969 I think in Leningrad, my first interchangeable lens on my Fed 2. Mine is still very sharp and surprisingly flare free. They cost £21 new in UK in early 70's.
DawnZarya2.jpg

non Russian v/f, original is crap!
 
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Pitxu said:
I haven't used anything wider than 35mm for a couple of years (my slr days) so I'm going to have lots of fun!
Click to expand...
That's the road to perdition. It is paved with CV 21/f4 lenses and at the end there's usually a 15/f4.5, a 12/f5.6 or both. 🙂

Philipp (still in the 21/f4 stage)
 
John Robertson said:
39mm LTM is coupled, rarer Kiev (read more expensive) version is not. LTM is 40.5 filter, Kiev is 49mm. I bought mine new in 1969 I think in Leningrad, my first interchangeable lens on my Fed 2. Mine is still very sharp and surprisingly flare free. They cost £21 new in UK in early 70's.
DawnZarya2.jpg

non Russian v/f, original is crap!
Click to expand...

oooohh! That's a tasty looking set up there John! I'd love to fondle that for an afternoon with some BW Fuji Neopan
 
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