I would like to reference Herbert Keppler's article in March 1997 Popular Photography (p. 18). Keppler's article suggested that if you have and enjoy using an older manual or electronic (non-autofocus) SLR, keep using it.
But Keppler warns that manual focus lenses are disappearing from catalogs of both OEMs and third party lens makers. Prime lenses are also becoming rarer, with zooms displacing even the venerable normal lens. Many of the newest lens designs are not being offered in non-autofocus mounts at all.
If your manual or electronic camera is listed in the table of Tamron adaptall mounts available below, that's good news. Read on to find out why!
| Tamron Adaptall Mount Lenses | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Pentax KA | Praktica | Olympus OM | Konica AR |
| Fujica ST | Praktica B200 | Rollei | Mamiya ZE |
| Pentax ES | Ricoh XR-P | Leica R4 | others... |
Many manual focus lenses are no longer being made by OEM and some third party lens manufacturers.
Zoom lenses are out-selling prime lenses by five to one!
Most of those remaining prime lens sales are in auto-focus mounts, as 85% of all camera and lens sales are now autofocus systems.
Since zooms have displaced the mid-range primes (28mm to 300mm), many of the prime lens sales are in the more exotic and expensive ultra-wide and fast telephoto specialty lens designs.
I don't have to tell you that prime lenses for older manual and electronic non-autofocus cameras are disappearing from catalog pages and camera store ads.
Unfortunately, even the better zooms of today can't replace yesterday's prime lenses. The optical quality is less of an issue than it used to be. Modern professional quality zooms are very nearly as sharp as prime lenses over much of their range.
But prime lenses still have half the elements and therefore less flare than zoom lenses and greater contrast.
Primes generally focus much closer than zoom lenses.
Zooms are heavier than individual prime lenses mounted on your camera.
Prime lenses are also often much faster than most zoom lenses.
Zooms also perform worst at the widest setting (for wide zooms) or longest setting (for tele-zooms), precisely where you need the best performance.
Today's prime auto-focus lenses necessarily have to be designed differently than lenses for manual focus cameras. They have smaller focusing arcs, lower weight and mass, and a different feel in manual mode (if they have a manual mode option).
The lower weight generally means use of lighter metals and more plastic than in traditional manual lens designs. In many cases, the optical results are superb. But many camera repairpersons express concerns about the long-term usability of lenses which incorporate a number of plastic elements internally.
Finally, most of these auto-focus lens designs are only being made available in the latest auto-focus camera lens mount designs. These AF mounts are changing so rapidly there are far fewer lenses being purchased in each line, due to the shorter life cycle. As we have seen, declining population numbers of photographers also means fewer SLR sales and related auto-focus lens sales too.
If I thought that these AF cameras would survive the lack of chips and LCD panels to repair them, I might be recommending investing in these limited numbers of AF lenses for future AF orphan lens cameras. But I don't think today's AF models will still be working decades hence. For why, see the points about chip and limited LCD panel life below.
Cost can also be an important factor. The latest OEM 20-35mm professional zoom lenses are very high quality. But they cost quite a bit more than four OEM prime lenses that they replace! At these costs, fewer are being produced and sold. Today's Nikon F5 camera system with lenses costs more than a similar Pentax 67 6x7cm medium format camera with similar lenses! (see Ten Myths of Photography for details).
On the other hand, non-professional zooms seem to be headed towards lower cost models, with slower variable apertures of f/4.5-f/5.6 being common. The zoom ranges are also being pushed to the limit (e.g., 28-300mm zooms). While convenient, these zooms are built with low cost as a prime consideration. Optical quality may be good to very good, but it isn't clear if the plastic components can retain alignment in future years of use and abuse.
In short, yesterday's prime lenses have a lot of benefits that even the best and most costly of today's zooms can't duplicate. I suspect that older manual and electronic cameras will continue to be used for decades into the future.
Unfortunately, the supply of lenses is apparently fixed, since the newer AF lenses won't work and the older lens mounts have been dropped.
Ed Romney suggests that camera lenses are a better investment than even older mechanical cameras in good condition. His reasoning is that collectors and users alike will want to acquire as full a range of lenses as possible. Unfortunately, while many older mechanical cameras came with a normal lens, only a relative handful of owners purchased more than one or two lenses for their cameras. Most of these lenses are in the range of 35mm, 50mm, and 135mm popular in days of olde, but unpopular now. So demand for less common prime lenses and zooms in some mounts will go up faster than the demand for camera bodies. After all, one camera body may be enough for a collection, but not one lens!
I have suggested that interchangeable mount third party lenses represent a major opportunity for users of mechanical and electronic cameras. Using these interchangeable mount lenses, you can enjoy a lot of fun using a wide variety of camera bodies at the minimal expense of a few camera mounts. A few expensive and exotic lenses can be shared among many cameras in such a collection, further extending their use and your satisfaction.
Keppler's article suggested that you should stock up on the adaptall mounts and related Tamron lenses now. As these classic camera fixed mount lenses get bought up by collectors, the utility of the Tamron interchangeable lenses will become even more useful.
Stock up on the mounts you need now. Starting today, you will also have a much wider set of Tamron lenses to choose now. Later on down the road, you will be able to buy Tamron lenses with any mount or even no mount. You will still be able to mount them on your camera thanks to your stock of mounting adapters.
Why are the mounts even more critical than the lenses? You only need one or a few mounts to enable use of a large number of Tamron or other interchangeable mount lenses on your cameras.
Complicating this analysis are problems with the longevity of modern electronic cameras. For example, some photo industry figures have issued warnings about the limited life of LCD panels and related components in modern electronic cameras. These parts age and go bad even if they just sit on the shelf. In ten years, we could have a number of modern cameras turning into unusable paperweights due to the lack of replacement parts and chips.
In addition to this unsettling observation, you also have to consider how many new lens mounts and changes have been developed since the introduction of auto-focus camera models. Even in the early 1990s, Keppler at Popular Photography was asking if these rapid obsolescence of camera lens mounts was driven by avarice or necessity. After all, with fewer new in-coming SLR camera buyers, it makes sense to design cameras and their lenses to be obsolete every five years or so. As with American cars, this built-in obsolescence generates continual repeat sales to a captive audience.
What does this mean? I am suggesting that the decline in numbers of photographers means that the market will be smaller. High cost low volume prime lenses will become rarities. Already, you can only get 8mm nikon fisheye lenses on the used market. As costs spiral upward, these older prime OEM and specialty lenses may appreciate in value due to low production or no production by down-sizing OEMs and third party lens makers. After all, Japan has been planning the sun-setting of their optical industry since the 1980s, and those days are here now!
My recommendations are that you carefully consider your photographic style and interests. Do you enjoy using non-autofocus, all mechanical or dual mechanical/electronic cameras? If the answer is yes, then you should consider buying lenses now, while they are still relatively cheap.
Although these pages focus mainly on third party lenses, I suggest that you look carefully at OEM lenses which are of high quality and still modest cost. If you have the resources, you may want to consider buying some of the better quality prime optics of more exotic focal lengths and speeds.
Similarly, take Keppler's advice and look into picking up those camera adapters and mounts for your favorite camera systems now. The T-4 and TX auto-diaphragm mounts and Tamron's later adaptall and adaptall-2 mounts may be very hard to find in the future.
I would also suggest that you pick up any camera mount adapters that might allow interchanging OEM lenses. See our Camera Mount Adapter FAQ for some ideas.
If you have both Pentax M42 and Pentax K-mount systems as I do, you may want to get an M-42 to Pentax-K mount adapter. Now you can use your older screw mount M42 lenses on your Pentax-K mount camera bodies.
Nikon lenses can often be adapted for use on other cameras too. Many of these adapters are being surplused out of declining camera store stocks now, so they are relatively cheap.
In another page on backups in photography, I argue that you should have multiple bodies and backup lenses for your cameras. I suggest that third party lenses can provide a low cost way to purchase optics for your camera at today's rock-bottom prices.
You can buy third party (preferably interchangeable mount) lenses as backups for your current OEM lenses in case of theft or loss. Or you can start out as most poor student photographers, and buy third party lenses for their low price. As you purchase better OEM and third party optics that you know you need, you just use your old lenses as backups.
If one of your camera bags gets stolen, you can still carry on with the backup camera bag and lens kits.
Since I have 3 nikkormats of similar type and vintage, I am inherently backed up for these cameras and can even use one body as a parts body to keep the others going if needed in the future.
In the last few years, I have focused on interchangeable mount lenses for my more exotic backup lenses (such as 8mm, 12mm fisheyes, 18mm, 21mm, 200mm, 300mm, 400mm, 500mm, and 2400mm lenses). I recently bought a used Pentax K-mount camera with four lenses and 2 strobes and a bagful of Cokin filters and accessories (for under $100 US, how could I resist?). Thanks to my collection of interchangeable mount lenses, I only had to spend $25 for both a used T-mount and TX adapter to provide access to another 10 interchangeable mount lenses. See my point?
To be blunt, most camera dealers will offer and pay so little for your run-of-the-mill third party lenses that it is hardly worth selling them. The troubles of selling a low cost (under $100) optic locally to a buyer is often problematic too. You can get close to 75% or so of dealer prices through direct sales via the Internet (e.g., EBAY - www.ebay.com). But you may wonder if it is worth it for a low cost lens or two.
In fact, many dealers don't like to carry third party lenses because they lose more money from one bad transaction then they make in ten good sales. With a $25 to $50 lens, transaction costs eat up most of the profits.