M, A & FA 50mm lens prices?

I've just been looking at used M, A & FA prices, they seem to be increasing rapidly. M/1.4s are hitting £100, A/1.4s more and FA/1.4s are routinely £200+. I've also seen a few 1.7s for £50+ which previously were hard to give away...

I think it's been the case for the last couple of years, no doubt due to the film revival.

Certainly when I picked up a 50mm 1.7 I paid 50 for mine from a decent shop although granted you could get them for around 30 on ebay

The Pentax film equipment market is just as strong as ever, probably also down to the K-1 being a native K-mount full frame option as well as the surge in mirrorless cameras with users adapting old classics to their new bodies.

That’s interesting, is it because the new mounts are larger? I seem to recall that the Canon and Nikon DSLR mounts are smaller than K-mount and also adding an adapter would put the lens at the right distance from the sensor. Or maybe they are filling gaps in the mirrorless line-ups.

Mirrorless has a very short distance from lens to the sensor (flange distance) so any lenses designed for a longer distance can simply be put on a long enough tube. It's pretty cool since almost any lens ever produced can be adapted onto a mirrorless body as long as the adapter is correct.

Film-era gear has risen rapidly in price, especially cameras, over the last year or two and many of the bargains are gone. I fear that should any of my less common film items break I won't be able to get replacements. This is due to the rise in popularity of film rather than the K-1 or mirrorless. The K-1 has been around for a few years, as have mirrorless cameras, and despite worries to the contrary, neither produced an increase in older gear prices.

Many old cameras that would have been sold for less than twenty quid only a couple of years ago now sell for 150 or more.

Agreed, the hipster revolution has inflated prices. Not that I'm a hipster, but I am diving into the world of film photography having missed it when it was commonplace (given I was only born in the early 90's).
That said, I've picked up two ME Supers for not a huge amount of money, which should be arriving tomorrow. Considerably less per camera than the current 'retail' prices of the equivalent. I'm hoping they're both working well, as the seller stated they do. Having a Pentax 50mm f/1.7 come with one for not a huge amount on top of that, just so I can plumb one on each camera if I'm doing a film photo day with the family (as I missed that opportunity at the beginning of lockdown).

I agree Jonathan. I'm amazed as to some body prices, not just the classic mechanical marvels but also many of the automatics (even some of the Vivitar/Cosina clones!). It wouldn't surprise me one bit in the current climate if classic Olympus body prices surge.

The lens price increases are much more recent than the K-1 launch and mirrorless trend would suggest. If anything, as the mirrorless market matures, there should be much more 'cheaper' used native glass available - avoiding the need for clunky adapters and loss of functionality.

I think the Olympus film bodies (and associated lenses) have surged already actually. My other half bought her OM10 when she was in uni around 7-10 years ago, with lenses, manual adapter, flash, filters, trigger cable etc. for around £30 (she can't remember exactly but thinks she wouldn't have spent more than that).
I've recently seen the OM10 bodies go for comfortably double that, the 50mm f/1.8 lenses going for comfortably £30, if not more... the manual adapters around £10-20... Makes her pickup a bargain by today's standards.
It does need a bit of a CLA however, but even then I think it'll be good value.

Even with the inflated prices the Pentax bodies are still offering great value. They are often half the price of a comparible camera from Nikon or Canon