What Camera Gear Sells The Fastest? | The KEH Tilt-Shift Report

Welcome back to the KEH Tilt-Shift Report, where I share exclusive data and unique insights into the latest trends in camera gear buying, trading, and selling.

Previously, I looked at what happens to an item’s value with the release of a new version, I revealed the condition of most used equipment, and exploredwhich accessories are still relevant.

Today, let’s look at what kind of gear sells the fastest at KEH.

The Tilt

As a reseller of used camera gear, our inventory is always changing. And as much as we improve our gear acquisition initiatives and fight to maintain a healthy stock of items, there’s always going to be some unpredictability built in—that’s just the nature of it.

Of course, the more rare the item, the more unpredictable its availability becomes. We can’t manufacture more vintage film gear, for example, so there’s only a finite number of products out in the world that we are able to source.

Long-time shoppers know this well, and that’s why they check our website frequently to potentially snag a long-sought gem. There’s a fun treasure-hunting feel to it, and for some people it’s basically a sport.

This got me thinking about which items in inventory barely ever spend any time listed on our site because they sell out almost immediately. These items are at the four-leaf clovers of camera gear—they occupy the rarified air of low supply, high demand, and priced to move.

So, let’s run some numbers and see what comes up.

The Shift

We ran numbers for the last two years to get a good feel for what’s been flying off the shelves. First, let’s look at our top three hands-down winners for most units sold in the least amount of time.

The great migration to mirrorless must still be going strong, because at number one is the Canon Mount Adapter EF-EOS R. No matter how many of these we get in, they usually go out the very same day they are listed. And it’s no small sample field—we buy and sell hundreds of these adapters.

So many people have Canon EF lenses, going back to the film and DSLR days, that it makes sense that they would want to adapt them to a Canon mirrorless body instead of buying into a new system entirely. EF lenses also tend to be more affordable than RF glass, and there’s more third-party options too, so it’s a great way to save money.

If you’re in the market for one of these adapters, and you see one listed on our site, I suggest you buy it immediately because we can’t keep them in stock right now.

Next, is one of the few digital cameras on the list of same-day sellers—the Fujifilm X100V.

I’ve said before that it could easily be my only camera, and apparently, a lot of you must also sing its praises, because it usually sells the same day it’s listed on our site. What’s not to love? It’s a complete joy to shoot, and buying it used can certainly save you a pretty penny.

Finally, rounding out the top three is the Olympus Infinity Stylus. This legendary snapshooter with an excellent 35mm f/3.5 lens and pocketable design is one of several Olympus 35mm film point-and-shoot cameras on the list.

The whole category has really blown up over the last few years, as mostly younger people have become enamored with the film aesthetic, and the ease of use and portability of point-and-shoot cameras.

Other 35mm film compacts like the Yashica T4, the Olympus Infinity Stylus Zoom, and the Contax T3 also usually sell within the first day they are listed.

Moving past the top three, and looking at the top 100 fastest selling items, the list is mostly made up of older film gear that also sells within one day.

Medium format gear from Hasselblad sells fast, especially the legendary Xpan panoramic camera, but also the 503CW SLR body, and several of its lenses, like the 80mm f/2.8 Planar, and the 50mm f/4 Distagon.

Similarly, Fujifilm medium format gear like the GA645, GX617, and GW670II only usually last a few hours on the site before someone snatches them up.

Other medium format gear that sells almost immediately—the Mamiya M645 Pro, the Rollei Rolleiflex 3.5 MX, and Pentax 6×7 lenses like the 105mm f/2.4 and 90mm f/2.8.

The storied Leica brand also has several bodies that sell within a day, including the original M Monochrom, the M9 black-paint, and somewhat surprisingly, the ugly duckling of the M family, the M5. The fact that it’s usually more affordable than the highly-sought M6 makes it fly off the shelves that much quicker.

M-mount Leica lenses like the 35mm f/2 Summicron (version 1) with the goggles, 3.5cm f/3.5 Summaron, and 28mm f/2.8 Elmarit (1st version) are also snagged up quickly, as are the R-mount versions of the 35mm f/2 Summicron and the 24mm f/2.8 Elmarit.

For Nikon film gear, the FM2T with its durable titanium body is a fast-moving gem, as is the very popular L35AF point-and-shoot camera. While for digital, everyone seems to want to get their hands on the Z-mount 24-200mm f/4-6.3, as well as the FTZ mount adapter for adapting older lenses.

One odd duck on the list is the Ricoh GR Digital III—not the APS-C, 24-megapixel GR III, mind you—this is the one with the 10-megapixel CCD sensor from 2009. The 6mm f/1.9 lens on that GR has quite a cult following, and they can still be had for relatively cheap, if you can find one.

The Polaroid SLR 680 and SX-70 Alpha are fast selling instant cameras, as is the large format Graflex 2×3 Century Graphic. They all just stay on our shelves for less than a day.

If you’re wondering, Fujifilm Fujicolor 200 is the fastest-selling film stock, usually averaging only two days on the shelves for us, with Kodak Ultramax 400 behind it at an average of 3 days. You can be sure that if you order film from us, it’ll be fresh, because nothing sits on the shelves for very long.

So, there you have it. This was a fun list to examine, and it certainly had some surprising results. Have any thoughts? Post them in the comments below, and I’ll see you next month for another edition of The KEH Tilt-Shift Report.