Where has all the gear gone?

[Lanline]

I recently bought a Rollei Sl35ME and I had been looking for some time for a Rollei 35mm SLR. Now that I have one, finding lenses for it is proving to be hard. So I thought, Ok I'll be a Leica R3 or R4 - but there are no lenses to be found from KEH and the like (not a fan of EvilBAY). I want to log in to a site, do a search and buy a camera and lens - it seems suddenly a lot of gear has disappeared.

Where are all the Rollei, Contax and Leica bodies and lenses?

[BradS]

I have a bunch of gear that I'd like to sell but, prices have been so low that it is hardly worth while. I'm sure that it is the same for many others.

[Rol_Lei Nut]

Still pretty available in Europe.

At least the Rolleiflex system wasn't very popular in the US.

[John Koehrer]

There are some on craiglook.com. It's a national search for craigslist & probably not authorized. Oh well.
I haven't bought anything off it & you may have to sweet talk somone into shipping, worth a try.

[RalphLambrecht]

I have a bunch of gear that I'd like to sell but, prices have been so low that it is hardly worth while. I'm sure that it is the same for many others.

That's true.

[Lanline]

I have a bunch of gear that I'd like to sell but, prices have been so low that it is hardly worth while. I'm sure that it is the same for many others.

Maybe this explains why a lot of the good gear is just not available much if at all. I've searched eBay Worldwide for the Rollei SL and there were just 3 for sale. I know these are were not popular in the USA, but I thought I could still scare up a few items.

I had an urge to buy a Leica R3 or R4 last week - I didn't do it because there was not a body & 50mm lens available from Craigslist local or my normal online stores.

[FilmOnly]

I, too, am not a fan of EvilBay. I had an SL35E once (briefly). I bought it about three years ago. Indeed, the market for Rollei 35mm equipment seems to have diminished. While the R4 is a decent camera, I gave it up because it does not offer an unobstructed viewfinder. It has a shutter speed panel (bulge) on the right side. I would suggest an R5, but KEH has been out of these for a while (I check now and then).

[dynachrome]

The R3 is, for some people, an entry to the Leica SLR world. In the U.S. at least the R3 has a very poor reputation for reliability. It also does not have user interchangeable focusing screens. Leica SLR lenses are available but expensive so you have to consider how many of them you can afford and whether that selection wil be adequate for the kind of shooting you do. There are probably more Leica SLR users who like the lenses than ones who like the bodies. The exceptions might be the SL, SL2 (+MOT versions), the R8 and the R9.

[BobD]

Where are all the Rollei, Contax and Leica bodies and lenses?

Japan, mostly, and other parts of Asia.

[Tim Gray]

The digi folks are snapping up old manual focus lenses and adapting them for their cameras (mostly Canons). This might have an effect on the Leica lenses at least, and certainly the Contax ones.