Buying Or Selling Old Lenses for DSLR

I bought my first digital camera in 2007. It was a point and shoot Fuji s9600 which is a great camera, close to SLR. I did great pictures with it (at least from my point of view :)). Last year I decided I need more, I wanted to be able to change lenses, so I bought an Olympus E-volt 510 DSLR camera. I bought the 2 lens package. I had the camera, the lenses are great, but hey are not so bright, what I mean is you cannot take good low light photos.

I started to search the internet for lenses, new lenses. When I saw the prices I thought - I will never be able to buy all the lenses I need, do I need a new lens? For an amateur photographer it's important to limit the cost of a hobby, at least it's the way I see it.

After a lot of searching I've found on e-Bay, by searching for lenses compatible with the Olympus E-510, old lenses. After more research I've learned that with an adapter it is possible to mount an old lens on my camera. Imagine my joy :).

I started to sort out the lenses I would need. My first thought was to buy a bright lens with a big aperture, so I've found a 55mm lens with f1.4. I bought it for 50 euros, that's around 60 bucks. It's a great price for such a quality lens. Of course a bit of searching is involved but I'm sure you will be happy with the results.

Buying old lenses can broaden your possibilities, you can buy good macro lenses, bright lenses for night photography, etc. It will help you take better pictures without investing too much. I think it's the best way to learn to work with different lenses, using them for different applications.

Old lenses are used lenses. Depending on how it was used, a lens can lose it's quality over time.Usually photographers take good care of their lenses. So, what to look for when buying an old lens?

The optical part is most important and must be in great condition. Look for scratches, dust or fungus inside the lens. I like to buy products which have a good description and clear images with the product. Aperture and focus are set manually, so, you have to check if these are o.k. It's important to read what the seller has to say about the product. The 2 lenses which I've bought are free of scratches, focus well and aperture is working great.

Depending on your DSLR camera the focal lenght of old lenses is not the same with the one you get on your camera. If you have a 4/3 system like me - you multiply the focal length by 2. So a 55mm f1.4 lens is actually a 110mm f1.4 lens on my camera. For the other systems excepting the full frame DSLR's you multiply the focal length with 1.6. Aperture remains the same on all cameras.

After purchasing my first old lens I started to search for lenses almost everywhere :). So, one day I was at a flea market and I saw someone selling old camera equipment. I saw this beauty from the photo. A 135mm f2.8 Beroflex prime lens. As a reminder, on my camera, this is a 270mm f2.8 lens which is bright tele. I asked for the price - he asked the equivalent of 25 bucks. Eventually I've bought it for 20 :). Another proof that there are great lenses out there at a very low price.

Next, I plan to buy a good macro lens and a backpack for all these lenses. I will do a lot of hiking this summer, so, I will keep you posted with images. You could also check out my Flickr images here .

O.K. so you've found that you have some old lenses lying around somewhere. You want to sell them on eBay. What should you do before selling?

1) Check the optical part of the lenses for: scratches, dust or fungus inside the lens. If there are small amounts of scratches or fungus on the edge of the lens is not really a problem because modern cameras do not use the whole lens, (because the lens is farther from the sensor than it was on the original camera) but specify this on the description of you're auction.

2) Check if the aperture is working. You can do that by turning the ring witch selects the numbers (22, 16, 11, etc.) and look inside the lens to see if it's moving (lets more or less light).

3) Check the focusing by turning the focus ring (usually it's above the aperture ring) and look through the lens to see if the image focuses.

4) Check the brand written on the front of the lens (Revuenon, Beroflex, Pentax, etc.), the minimum aperture number (you find this on the front of the lens ex: 1:1.4) and the focal length in mm (on the front of the lens ex: f=135mm) and search eBay for similar or the same lens (ex: Revuenon, 55mm, f1.4)

5) Now you can sell it. Write a detailed description with all the data you've gathered and take some photos of the lens.

It is a known fact that the most marketed cameras are Nikon and Canon, however choice should be made based on a little research. Which DSLR camera would be the best to use with old lenses? In my opinion it should be a camera with Live View for an easier focus and built-in image stabilization system. Also you should choose a camera based on the focal length multiplier. 4/3 system for double focal length (Olympus, Panasonic) or 1.6 multiplied focal length (Canon, Nikon, Sony, etc.).