Are film cameras rebounding in price?

technicolor · Sep 26, 2015

Are film camera's starting to rebound in price? Last summer i picked up a few nikon n90 (not the s, just plain n90) for $10 each from one of my favorite ebay sellers. I went to get another one, now he has the same thing in the mid $20's.

That and what appears to be estate sale finds where peeps are tring to make 1000% markup, e.x, a clean n90s with a couple of garden variety lenses for $350.

And don't even get me started on film sales. 500+ auctions of incredibly overpriced expired films.

So what do you guys think?

Steve Bellayr · Sep 26, 2015

I use collectiblend for a price guide. Keh is good also, but on the high side; then, again, you get a good guarantee and an accurate appraisal of the condition of the item. Auction sites are all over the place as are Thrift stores. Interesting aside on Thrifts: I saw within a month in the same store a Nikon F2 no lens in the box for $29 and an Argus with lens in a case for $29. Go figure on people.

Richard S. (rich815) · Sep 26, 2015

Seems the N90 is.

benjiboy · Sep 26, 2015

In a" digital age", don't hold your breath until film camera prices recover, I can't think of a worst financial investment, and most of them will cost much more than the purchese price to repair the only reason to buy them I.M.O. is to use them

Old-N-Feeble · Sep 26, 2015

Maybe that seller just got tired of selling low-dollar items knowing that he could have to pay postage both ways if something goes awry with the sale. Unless something can be slid into an envelope and shipped via 1st Class Mail, a $10 item just isn't worth the effort and risks.

MartinCrabtree · Sep 26, 2015

For some reason many believe their stuff is worth a fortune simply because they no longer make it whatever it happens to be. And they rarely consider bargaining over price.

technicolor · Sep 26, 2015

benjiboy said:
In a" digital age", don't hold your breath until film camera prices recover, I can't think of a worst financial investment, and most of them will cost much more than the purchese price to repair the only reason to buy them I.M.O. is to use them

"and most of them will cost much more than the purchese price to repair"

That's why on the n90 and 8008, i have several of them. If one of them breaks that i paid $15 or $20 for, throw it out and go on to the next.

gone · Sep 26, 2015

My experience w/ the cameras that you mentioned is that they DON'T break, which may explain why they're so cheap. There's still thousands and thousands of them out there that are still working perfectly.

You'll go nuts trying to figure out film camera prices. Sometimes they're low, sometimes they're a little more, unless you're talking Leicas or something.

Alan Gales · Sep 26, 2015

Old-N-Feeble said:
Maybe that seller just got tired of selling low-dollar items knowing that he could have to pay postage both ways if something goes awry with the sale. Unless something can be slid into an envelope and shipped via 1st Class Mail, a $10 item just isn't worth the effort and risks.

A very good friend of mine has always had an extensive camera collection. When his father passed away he received another extensive camera collection. He of course decided to sell the items that he didn't want. I'm a small time Ebay Seller like you so he enlisted my help. He was surprised when I told him that a lot of the items just were not worth selling.

His Dad liked to tinker with broken 35mm cameras. Sometimes he could fix them and sometimes he couldn't. Well, my buddy ended up with a collection of broken cheap 35mm SLR cameras. We were wondering what to do with them when I saw a wanted add on Craigslist for cheap broken 35mm cameras. I sold the fellow the whole lot for $20.00. He used them as props for shooting video of wrestlers. A wrestler would get mad and grab a photographer's camera and break it in the act. My buddy and I split the twenty and each got ten dollars out of the deal.

Xmas · Sep 26, 2015

The estate sale camera volume may be dropping but I don't think the purchasing volume is holding up either!

It is very difficult to motivate start ups to get a changing bag and tank. Even the ex-photo students!

Ken Nadvornick · Sep 26, 2015

Depends on the buyer demographic and equipment condition. Mom's looking for Saturday afternoon birthday candle film cameras? Zero demand. Zero prices. ULF film enthusiasts looking for mint condition 11x14 Deardorffs with all the still-shiny trimmings? The sky's the limit if you have one, and I want one.

The key to higher prices is finding more targeted and knowledgeable markets. Just look at some of the esoteric and/or vintage equipment offered for sale right here on APUG, a tightly targeted and highly knowledgeable market. Three and even four-figure sales are not uncommon for stuff that the average person might drop off at Goodwill.

I recently assembled a full and complete Mamiya TLR system from scratch. It was always on my retirement bucket list, so I had been following the aftermarket prices for many years. I decided to pull the trigger pre-retirement because the prices for top-quality used samples of this system had been creeping upwards and accelerating as supplies of those same samples dwindled. I didn't want to wait any further and risk missing the boat.

Ken

Sirius Glass · Sep 26, 2015

Film camera prices were dropping for years and then they leveled off. Now a few models has crept up some.

RobC · Sep 26, 2015

with all the hype about young people getting into film it follows that demand for film cameras will go up. When demand increases then so do prices.

Ian Grant · Sep 26, 2015

I'll disagree, some film cameras are increasing in price and it's because there's no new equivalents and there's an increase in new film users. However the bottom end cameras aren't increasing in value, I paid £10 ($15) for a brand new Canon EOS 300 4 or 5 years ago and it's worth no more now.

Good condition TLR's and some MF SLR's have bounced back, and LF equipment has definitely risen the most, as well as LF enlargers. It's about supply and demand. 10-15 years ago there was a glut of LF equipment being sold off by studios etc that had gone digital or out of business, now prices have risen again as far fewer items are for sale.

An example is De Vere enlargers, when I was looking for one 10 years ago there were at least 40 504's listed and usually 2 or 3 5108 (10x8).

In the UK the prices LF cameras fetch has risen, MPP cameras go for far more now than 10m years ago, more than double, it's the same with other LF cameras.

The market is changing, the better film camera are rising in value, but with smaller formats it's the cameras with a reputation for reliability, Leica and Rolleiflex etc.

Ian

ic-racer · Sep 26, 2015

Old wooden field cameras are on a slow rise in price in the last 5 years or so. Used to be able to get an old Century 8x10 or Kodak for $100 or so and replace the bellows. Not any more.

Ko.Fe. · Sep 26, 2015

I'm not seller nor gearhead. But I'm buying, trying and selling film cameras. Few every year.

Currently my local market is buyer market for film cameras. I purchased Minox B and Crown Speed recently for very good price and nobody wanted them for weeks if not months. If I ever will go for another M, most likely best deal will be waiting for me locally.
Film is not part of hipsters culture here, next to none film labs as well.

Ebay is different story. Buy it now deals seems to be expensive for really working camera and not so many offers from knowledgeable re-sellers. If you want to gamble and bid for it, you'll get it cheap, but all of the cameras I have under cheap bid were due to CLA or repair.

Cheers, Ko.

Nodda Duma · Sep 27, 2015

They've bounced up slightly from where they were in '07 or so. Sometimes crazy things happen like Ken Rockwell reviewing the Olympus 35RC and the typical price shooting up significantly. It's just all supply and demand.

cuthbert · Sep 27, 2015

In the UK it seems there is a price recovery in comparison to the last two years, at least for certain film cameras,in 2013 I bought from a guy a Nikon FM with a 50mm f1.4 S-C Ai'd from factory at £30, now it's unrealistic to think about getting such a good price.

The local LEC wanted £300 for a Bronica ETR with two lenses with waist finder, that's a lot of money for such a simple camera.

blockend · Sep 27, 2015

Five years ago a very clean Mamiya Press 6x9 with lens, multi format back all the trimmings sold on ebay for £173 and one bid. I kicked myself for not bidding. Haven't seen one close to that price or condition since. I shot one in the 80s and 90s, lovely camera. The Eggleston clones have been buying them up, no doubt.

Richard S. (rich815) · Sep 27, 2015

blockend said:
Five years ago a very clean Mamiya Press 6x9 with lens, multi format back all the trimmings sold on ebay for £173 and one bid. I kicked myself for not bidding. Haven't seen one close to that price or condition since. I shot one in the 80s and 90s, lovely camera. The Eggleston clones have been buying them up, no doubt.

Looking at eBay sold auctions they don't seem to be going for that much more....am I looking at the wrong one?

Xmas · Sep 27, 2015

No just being cynical!

jspillane · Sep 27, 2015

I don't think camera prices are increasing - if anything I've noticed body prices going down a little (but I only look at a few specific types of camera...).

Lens prices however have risen quite a bit, as many people adapt 'legacy' film lenses onto a-certain-type-of-camera-which-does-not-utilize-film...

Sirius Glass · Sep 27, 2015

The prices for used Canon and Nikon film camera lenses which work on digital cameras have not dropped as much as similar Canon and Nikon lenses that do not work on digital cameras.

analoguey · Sep 27, 2015

Specific marquee brands are increasing. Medium format more so - TLRs have gone up by between 100-400% in 3yrs.
On medium format system cameras not that much. I think Lomography's directions will tell Us which way prices go

sent from tapatalk

blockend · Sep 29, 2015

Richard S. (rich815) said:
Looking at eBay sold auctions they don't seem to be going for that much more....am I looking at the wrong one?

I checked again and you're right. When I last looked a while ago good examples were selling for £290-400.

Are film cameras rebounding in price?

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