Canon FT and Nikon FTn Cameras - what to do??

[KG4ONJ]

Hello all..

I happened across this forum a few weeks ago and have learned a great deal from all of you people. I have recently inherited a substantial amount of older camera equipment that I am unsure what to do with. I was hoping that some of you could give me a (very) rough idea of what it might be worth (if anything).

I used to be very interested in manual amateur photography in college however, as with many things, time and work took over and there is just no time. Now since it appears that most everything has gone digital my old camera sits idly in my closet. Add to that the recent addition of my father-in-law's equipment I now have too much to handle.

My father in law was in the US Navy and was stationed in Japan for a good part of the late 60's and early 70's. If I remember correctly he purchased his camera and all of the accessories while in Japan (a couple of things still have price tags marked in Yen).

Here is what he left to us:

- Canon FT Camera Body
- Canon 28mm 1:3.5 FL Lens
- Canon 50mm 1:1.4 FL Lens
- Canon 50mm Macro 1:3.5 Lens
- Canon 135mm 1:2.5 FL Lens
- Canon Life Size Adaptor for 50mm Macro Camera Lens
- Vivitar 283 Flash
- Sun Auto Tele-Up 2x Model CA Teleconverter
- Canon Right-Angle Finder A
- Canon T-60-2 Lens Hood
- Canon S-60 Lens Hood
- Canon W-50-B Lens Hood
- Kenko Filters (all 58mm):
Mirage Multivision
Skylight
LBC8
LBW4
LBC12
SY44-2 Y1
SR60-2 R1
LBC4
C.S.
SY50-2 Y3
ND4
P00
SO56-2 YA3
ND8
Softon (2 of these)
- Hoya PL Filter
Also, the following accessories:
- Canon Bellows FL
- Slide Duplicator + Slide Duplicator attachment
- Macro Photo Coupler FL 58mm
- Extension Tube M Set (M5, M10, M20, M20)

For what it's worth, everything functions as it should. I have taken some photos with the camera and lenses and all was well with them (despite my rusty picture-taking abilities). The camera body shows some cosmetic signs of use however most of the filters and other accessories look to have never been used, or merely taken out of the box. The lenses have all covers intact and are scratch-free. Is this set of stuff worth anything to anyone or is it more relics of a bygone era?

Here is a list of my personal camera stuff (not nearly as impressive)
- Nikon Nikkormat FTn Camera Body
- Nikon Nikkor-H 28mm 1:3.5 Lens
- Nikon Nikkor-H 50mm 1:2 Lens
- Vivitar DL 75mm - 205mm 1:3.8-4.8 MC Macro Focusing Zoom Lens

Same deal here - worth anything more than a doorstop?

Thanks for any advice you can offer on this stuff - I am truly lost.

 

[Nicholas Lindan]

If the equipment is in excellent condition you might want to consider KEH Camera Brokers. The KEH website will also give you an idea of the upper bound of what you can sell the equipment for - if you can wait for a year or so for the right buyer. The other alternative is ebay, but your equipment is pretty common so you will be competing with many other sellers and the ideal auction situation of 2 bidders with more money than sense both wanting the same gear at the same time is slight.

 

[lns]

I'm sorry for the loss of your father-in-law. And I know how hard it is to handle an estate.

Here are three quick options:

1. Sell in bulk to KEH. If you call them on Monday, you can get a price for all the equipment, which you can then ship off to them. They will likely pay less than half of what they will sell it for. This is your easiest and fastest option to get rid of the equipment quickly, though you won't get top dollar.

2. Sell yourself. This requires a lot of work and time. You could, of course, take the equipment to an ebay reseller, who will sell it for you and take a percentage, but having known people who did this with non-camera equipment while settling an estate, I worry that you probably will net approximately the same amount as with option 1, and it will take longer. Of course, you can sell it here on APUG, and that would be great. But to do so, you first have to have an idea of what these things are worth. Looking at KEH or ebay completed sales will give you an idea, but note that people pay less from a private seller. Still, I know I'm looking for a simple Nikon for my daughter who's taking a photo class, and I bet I'm not the only one who'd be interested in some of the things on your list.

3. Donate them to a photo education program. If there's a local high school or college offering film photography, they may be grateful for the equipment. On the other hand, school is usually out this time of year, so you may have to wait a few months. Or you could donate them through APUG - the ads are free.

-Laura

 

[KG4ONJ]

I'm sorry for the loss of your father-in-law. And I know how hard it is to handle an estate.

Here are three quick options:

1. Sell in bulk to KEH. If you call them on Monday, you can get a price for all the equipment, which you can then ship off to them. They will likely pay less than half of what they will sell it for. This is your easiest and fastest option to get rid of the equipment quickly, though you won't get top dollar.

2. Sell yourself. This requires a lot of work and time. You could, of course, take the equipment to an ebay reseller, who will sell it for you and take a percentage, but having known people who did this with non-camera equipment while settling an estate, I worry that you probably will net approximately the same amount as with option 1, and it will take longer. Of course, you can sell it here on APUG, and that would be great. But to do so, you first have to have an idea of what these things are worth. Looking at KEH or ebay completed sales will give you an idea, but note that people pay less from a private seller. Still, I know I'm looking for a simple Nikon for my daughter who's taking a photo class, and I bet I'm not the only one who'd be interested in some of the things on your list.

3. Donate them to a photo education program. If there's a local high school or college offering film photography, they may be grateful for the equipment. On the other hand, school is usually out this time of year, so you may have to wait a few months. Or you could donate them through APUG - the ads are free.

-Laura

Thanks to both of you for your thoughtful replies! The loss of my wife's father was very difficult - he was one of the best friends I'll ever have and it's not often you get to say that about your father-in-law! I am grateful for the time we had together.

I have actually had most of the camera equipment for a while, I was just unsure what to do with it. I had aspirations of getting back in to the hobby but it's just not in the cards for the foreseeable future.

I did contact Alan at KEH - it turns out that they are located only about 50 miles away (the other side of Atlanta from me) so that might end up being the best option. I have a VERY marginal idea of what some of the equipment is worth from researching here, Ebay and some other sites. It looks like it varies widely so I'm still a little stuck on values.

I do sell things on Ebay from time to time but I always feel that it's a major hassle, especially with piecing things out. At the same time I feel that I would not do well on Ebay selling it all as a lot.

I think that I will wait to see what KEH comes back with and then go from there. I liked the idea of donating it to a high school. I actually teach part-time in the arts department of a high school and know the photography teacher quite well. Depending on the KEH offer I may heavily consider donating it.

Thanks again for your kind words and your help..