Decline in prices for used SL 24-90?

[PDP]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

I see a decline in prices for used SL 24-90 at least in Germany, step by step prices went down, I recently saw one for less then 3000€ at a dealer in Düsseldorf (not a cheap city), is there any explanation? The (effectively Sigma) 24-70 too good or drastic aging of the 24-90? Or expected new arrival? I do not really understand.

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[LocalHero1953]

I've had a 24-90 since launch and I haven't noticed a drastic deterioration due to age.

It might be attributable to the 24-70 being about half the price. 

Edited January 16, 2023 by LocalHero1953

[Andreas Korb]

I don't really care if the price for a used 24-90 drops. I won't sell mine. It is an excellent versatile lens.

[Psrkn]

I consider 24-90mm is my best lenses for my serious photo shooting event. It's not for my walk around lenses due to its weight. I don't look back at the current price.

[robb]

I would guess that Leica sold a lot initially as it was one of the first SL lenses out there and also paired in kits.  and those buyers are shifting over to more apo summicrons and shedding excess weight.  It is a great lens for portraits to reportage and everything in between.  But it is not light.

more used on the market means prices drop.  I don’t think the 24-70 is affecting them.  
 

Robb

[Photo.JLG]

I was able to get one recently for less than $3,000 USD (closer to $2,000 actually). I still see that MPB.Com has two listed under $3,000 USD. I think that a few people are taking advantage in the US of the Leica promotion on the SL primes, which are now discounted by $1,000 new until February 7. This may also be a factor in cheaper pricing for the 24-90 and in fact other used SL lenses as some may be selling their older zoom for new discounted primes. 

[Photoworks]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

I think there are many out there now, Leica was selling many kits camera+lens and I can imagine many of them have the 2.8 and found it lighter.

I got 2 MPG.com 24-90 a wile back. the company does not do any testing, bot lenses where defective and they took them back, it was a waist of time.

[RBB]

I use this lens mostly for landscape and think it's the perfect tool when I'm out there. 

Don't mind second hand prices

Edited January 21, 2023 by RBB

[Einst_Stein]

The best brand new price of 24-90mm I can find now is slightly below $3300. The best price of SL + 24-90mm kit is slightly below $7000.

 

[Virob]

8 minutes ago, Einst_Stein said:

The best brand new price of 24-90mm I can find now is slightly below $3300. The best price of SL + 24-90mm kit is slightly below $7000.

 

Where are all these inexpensive lenses? Couldn’t buy used for that price around here.

[Jean-Michel]

 

13 minutes ago, Virob said:

Where are all these inexpensive lenses? Couldn’t buy used for that price around here.

My dealer, Camtec, in Montreal, currently shows a 24-90 in A+ condition, complete with boxes, warranty, etc. for $4885 Canadian, or about $3,650 US dollars. 

I recently purchased their demo Leica 24-70 recently, and have a 90 Macro-Elmar, so a 24-90 would not be on my wanted list.

[Einst_Stein]

33 minutes ago, Virob said:

Where are all these inexpensive lenses? Couldn’t buy used for that price around here.

I had new Leica from price.Com.HK. Look for 4 or 5 star stores, though I had dealt with 2-3 stars equally happy. 
The issue is most of them only deal with in person, they do not ship. Not a problem with me as I either get it while I am in HK or ask friends to help.

A FAQ is the authentic and quality reliability and future maintainence. I talked to a Leica New Jercy before my first purchase. Would  I get faked stuff? would I get second class grade ( such as the swift-floor bin grade as warned by some stores). Leica at New Jersey told me this:

1: As soon as getting the serial number, (while still in the store, do it in front of the sales) register the item to the Leica office website ( use your cell phone, on-line, of course). If registered successfully, nothing to worry. 
2:  Leica does not have practice binning. All samples are equal. He joked “We don’t have enough volume!”

3: All items are treated equally with the official international warranties. The so called US warranted is offered by the local agent.  

Edited January 21, 2023 by Einst_Stein

[beewee]

I can see how before there was the L-mount Alliance and the 24-90 was the only standard zoom on the market for L-mount, people were willing to pay a higher price if they had an SL body. However, with Sigma and Panasonic offering much more affordable 24-70 options and Leica also offering their version of the 24-70, I do wonder how much longer the 24-90 will be manufactured for. I expect when Leica first designed the 24-90, they had some rough manufacturing cost and retail price in mind but with more lenses on the used market, at what point will it no longer be economical for Leica to keep manufacturing the 24-90 due to the manufacturing cost and the drop in demand and pricing pressure from the 24-70 options.

It could be interesting to see what happens to the 24-90 if Leica decides to discontinue it without a replacement. Would it reach some kind of special status in the used market kind of like the original Tri-Elmar?

[LocalHero1953]

I would still buy the 24-90 over the 24-70. That extra 20mm is valuable for portraits - it makes the lens that much more versatile for complex situations. 

[Stuart Richardson]

I don't see them discontinuing it any time soon, unless they come out with a replacement. It is the flagship SL zoom, and the only standard zoom that Leica makes themselves. They have already designed the lens, built the tooling, packaging etc. All the work is done...they just have to occasionally make another batch of them. I also don't think Leica pays much attention to what is going on in the used market when it considers pricing. Just look at the S line. The 35mm Summarit, for example, now retails for 7900 or 9500 for the CS version. On the used market it is 2000-2500 from a dealer. The used market may basically slow down or nearly stop the sale of new lenses, but Leica will not chase the prices to the bottom. Just try arguing to a Leica store that they should charge less because you can get it cheaper used... Leica has enough buyers who are price insensitive or who don't even know/bother to look at used lenses at all. In the case of the 24-90 I think the price reduction is basically that it is the oldest SL lens and the only one available on launch, so a lot of people bought them who may have preferred a prime or different kind of lens, but were left with no choice. Now that it is years later, the L mount is full of lenses and naturally a number of those expensive, big and heavy 24-90s will come onto the market. We are also at the end of the lifecycle for the SL2 and SL2-S, as well as the S1 and S1R. As the new cameras come out, interest might perk up again with a rise in the price. I think it is very premature, however, to suggest the lens is ready to be discontinued.

[Einst_Stein]

13 hours ago, LocalHero1953 said:

I would still buy the 24-90 over the 24-70. That extra 20mm is valuable for portraits - it makes the lens that much more versatile for complex situations. 

24-90mm has stabilization, 24-70mm doesn’t. SL2 has stabilization, but SL doesn’t. 
The price of SL2 +  24-70mm kit  is slightly lower than SL + 25-90mm. (About 52000 vs 55000 HKD). 
For new comer, SL2+ 24-70mm might make more sense than SL+ 24-90mm. For SL owner without SL2,  I would go for 24-90mm. 

[Einst_Stein]

I wonder what a 28-90mm would be like.  Lighter?. Faster? 

24mm perspective is weird to me. No, not the distortion, though it looks like a distortion. 28mm is as wide as a normal lens should be. For super wide exaggerated perspectives, leave it to the super wide zoom, such as 16-35mm. 

As a Leica M user, 90mm is must-have. No, even 85mm is not enough. 

Keep the image stabilizer. 

[LocalHero1953]

I use both ends of 24-90. Yesterday I was shooting dance rehearsals in a small hall, where the group took up most of the space. I crouched on the floor trying to avoid flying feet. I used 24mm (and the 16-35) for the wider group shots, and the 90 for close-ups. (16-90 would have been even more useful😉!)

On the SL, the size/weight 16-35, 24-90 and Summicrons are just not an issue for me. The 90-280 is definitely big and heavy, but its performance........🥰.

If you are a M shooter, anything in L mount is big and heavy.

Edited January 22, 2023 by LocalHero1953

[Advertisement]

Hallo,

Look here: Leica L-Mount

[Luke_Miller]

49 minutes ago, LocalHero1953 said:

If you are a M shooter, anything in L mount is big and heavy.

And if you are also a Nikon D5/D850 shooter the L Mount bodies seem ... normal. 🙂

[Stuart Richardson]

I think a lot of this stems from the fact that a lot of photographers, especially amateurs, only want to have one major system camera, rather than choosing systems on the basis of the particular usage case. Certainly from a cost perspective that is understandable with Leica. But the purpose of the SL within the Leica ecosystem is not to be compact. If you want a compact, high image quality camera, clearly that is what the M system is for (and the CL, Q and X systems are/were). The SL and S cameras are designed to be professional systems for photo specific tasks, rather than something you just have along with you while you vacation etc. People can certainly do that, but that is not really how they were designed. Sure, maybe you can use them as a travel camera, but more when you are "on assignment" to photograph, rather than just a casual camera you have along with you. In that sense, Leica has prioritized capability, handling and optical performance over size and weight. I agree with Paul that if you are used to an M, then anything in L mount is going to be big and heavy. Similarly, coming from the S system, the SL2 and summicrons in particular are svelte. The 90-280 certainly is big and heavy, but there are few lenses that encompass that range and speed with such high image quality. The 24-90 is indeed big and heavy, but its range and capabilities are a good trade-off for a lot of professional work. For my own work, I prefer primes, but in faster moving situations or ones where it is difficult to change lenses, the 24-90 makes a great case for itself.

My own choice would be one extreme or the other: I would likely look at the Panasonic 20-60 as an extremely inexpensive and light lens for those situations when I really just wanted a useful zoom range and a lens that is easy to carry, or I would look to the 24-90 to have a zoom lens that could stand in better for a prime. The 24-70mm is more of an in between lens to my eyes, and not one I would really look at. It is neither truly compact and light nor as optically capable as the 24-90mm.

Edited January 22, 2023 by Stuart Richardson