The M* and A* 300's are still quite pricey.
John Forbes wrote:
Also, the long wait for a Pentax DSLR resulted in some defections to other brands, which depressed demand for Pentax glass between say 2002 and 2003, while putting quite a lot of used lenses onto the second-hand market.
That process has presumably slowed or reversed, and digital buyers have pushed up demand for wide-angles, though not for longer teles. I recently paid quite a lot for a 20mm, and just missed bidding on a K 300mm f4 which went for very little.
John
On Sat, 05 Feb 2005 11:22:27 -0700, Joseph Tainter <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
"I have noticed a sudden increase in pentax prices lately. It can't all be because of the istDs...."
A few months after the release of the D there began to be a run on Pentax primes. It still continues, and I suspect that DS owners will soon try to join in after they decide which zoom to buy. Note that Pentax autofocus primes have virtually disappeared from KEH. Here's what I think has happened:
1. People who bought the D care about image quality and can afford Pentax primes. They began to buy FA primes.
2. Pentax, meanwhile, had stopped production of all, or at least most, FA lenses (but maybe not FAJ lenses).
3. Existing stocks began to run out. Look at Pentax USA's web site and see how few primes are now listed.
4. Pentax got caught by surprise. It was in the middle of shifting lens production to Vietnam and was planning the new DA and D FA lines. Pentax did not anticipate that suddenly the old FA primes would be in strong demand. Existing stocks have sold out, or nearly so, and they are no longer being produced.
5. Nguyen is ill again this winter.
6. Ebay prices began to shoot up.
Joe
--
I can understand why mankind hasn't given up war. During a war you get to drive tanks through the sides of buildings and shoot foreigners - two things that are usually frowned on during peacetime.
--P.J. O'Rourke
