Picked up a lens cheap and now I'm wondering....

Chris Nielsen

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OK, long story short, I was browsing KEH's site the other day and found an RB67 180mm K/L lens in LN- condition for $109, so I figured this was a bargain and grabbed it. I've been meaning to grab a 180 for a while so that suited me just fine.

Now it's got me wondering... I see I can get a new one from Adorama for like $1600 or so, and I am led to believe KEH's LN- is pretty much brand new, maybe someone opened the box and looked inside or something. I also heard KEH has a boatload of NEW Mamiya gear they are flogging off cheap, but I am at a loss to explain such a huge difference in the two prices.

Anyone care to enlighten me?

Cheers

Chris
 

markbarendt

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I don't know why but my experience with KEH has been stellar so I would not worry.
 

CGW

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Possible that MAC offered them a clearance deal on a limited range of overstock items--a few RB/RZ lenses in limited focal lengths, extension tubes, etc.--or another dealer did the same. I got some NOS KL lenses a few years back from a distributor who was ditching Mamiya. Adorama may list a price but not actually have stock--RB/RZ lenses don't exactly fly off the shelves. The KEH merch is a true deal and won't last long at those prices.
 

jeffreyg

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My very limited experience with KEH has also been very good. Several years ago I purchased a Hasselblad 350mm lens which was in excellent condition yet approximately 30 years old from a different reputable dealer. It was exactly as represented and the dealer had a return policy. It was $750 (compare to a new one). I immediately tested it by shooting at equal settings in a constant light source and found the negatives to be the same indicating the shutter functioned flawlessly. Chris's lens may be a similar situation. I would only buy used equipment that I can test first or from a reputable dealer with a return policy.

http://www.jeffreyglasser.com/
 

MattKing

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KEH were recently selling new 180mm K/L lenses for $159.00 - I think they were clearing them out for the distributor.

The $109.00 price for LN- makes sense in that context.

I really like my new lens - the first new lens I've bought in decades.
 

shutterpuppy

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At this price I am tempted to upgrade my current (original version) 180mm lens. Is there really that much of a difference between the original 180mm and the K/L version of the lens?
 

chris_n

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i would say the older mamiya stuff has better build quality, but the optics yield more or less the same result
 
OP
OP

Chris Nielsen

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I took the 180 out twice in the last two days, and I'm very impressed with it. I have had some of the film back and it looks pretty awesome!
 
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