![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.cpricewatch.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ef_lens_price_index.png\")
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The above graph shows the 3 year performance of the benchmark Canon EF Lens Price Index<\/strong>, which tracks the retail price of a basket of 78 Canon Lenses<\/a>. Prices are normalized, so each lens has an equal weight in the basket. Over the past three years the index has grown an astounding 20.2% and 8.1% YTD, outperforming the NASDAQ (4.5% and 5.8%) over the same period. If only we could resell a Canon lens at the new purchase price after a few years! Lenses have appreciated in value at a faster rate than most stock portfolios.<\/p>\n Although the \u201cL\u201d in Canon\u2019s red-ringed lenses stands for \u201cLuxury\u201d, most of the increase has been in the line-up of consumer grade products. Non-L lenses have seen a steeper increase of 22.4% over the three year period, compared to 17.8% for \u201cL\u201d lenses. The largest hit is in standard focal length primes at 50mm and 85mm, which has seen an increase of 45.8% over three years, with a staggering 23.3% increase just in the first three months of 2011 alone.<\/p>\n Over the last three years the top three performing Canon lenses are:<\/p>\n Camera bodies, on the other hand, continue to be poor investments. The above graph shows the 3 year performance of the benchmark Canon EOS Body Price Index<\/strong>, which tracks the retail price of Canon digital SLR bodies<\/a>. Prices are normalized, so each body has an equal weight in the basket. In 2008 and 2009, bodies rapidly decreased in price as the technology improved and older bodies became obsolete. The last few years have seen an interesting trend with high-end bodies not decreasing in price after introduction, or in some recent cases, like the EOS 7D<\/a>, actually increasing.<\/p>\n The average Rebel series camera drops in price 11.3% per year after introduction. The prices of higher-end bodies such as the 1D-series and 5D-series only drop an average of 2.6% per year, on average.<\/p>\n So there you have it. From a value point of view, Canon lenses beat the stock market. Used Canon lenses<\/a> are excellent at keeping value, and it\u2019s not unheard of for photographers to sell lenses used for more than their new purchase price after a few years. So next time you\u2019re trying to convince a spouse to let you buy a new lens, don\u2019t forget to point them to this page and remind them: it\u2019s an investment<\/strong>.<\/p>\nThe Top Three<\/h3>\n
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![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.cpricewatch.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/eos_body_price_index.png\")
<\/p>\nEOS Bodies continue to make poor investments<\/h3>\n
The Final Word<\/h3>\n