"Best" 120/620 camera under $30

I always keep an eye out for Bencini cameras. The Bencini Koroll series uses 120 and no one ever bids on them. I got mine from the UK and was the only bidder. Paid $22 for shipping here to the US

Looks like there's another one on ebay

It's a Koroll 24 with a lens cap, first time I've ever seen one with a lens cap.
Features zone focussing (in feet, thank god), f.9 or f.11 depending on the lens. One shutter speed.

The Koroll 24 and 24s were the most basic Koroll cameras that Bencini had to offer. The Koroll II, III, and S had much more features. I presonally liked the Koroll S because of it was the square format shooter of the bunch.

All Bencini cameras have pretty good lenses. They're extremely easy to repair and no one ever bids on them. I would never use "Buy it now" with bencini cameras.

Also search "Argo Camera" (without quotes) on ebay. Argo flex cameras go for cheap and sometime the Bencini Argo folding 120 camera shows up (also never has bidders).

But I think I just let the cat out of the bag on my little secret.

There's no need to aim as low as a Koroll unless you want poor quality alround. My £3 ($4.80) Nettar is the better coated Novar f4.5 in a Prontor 1-1/200 shutter that Nicholas refers to above.

Ironically my next door neighbour's daughter wants to buy a similar camera in this price range, I'm certain she won't have a problem but remember people look when they are out and about anywat rather than spending time specifically shopping for bargain cameras.

Ian

Novar Anastigmat 75mm f:6.8 is an excellent triplet one can only find from Zeiss or original Cooke triplets.
I am investing quite good time to read optics books and that triplet is world apart from all other lenses. When you MTF test a lens , you see 3 curves wiggling on the graphics. Thats for example 20 40 60 lines per mm resolution.
If you invest 12000 dollars to an Leica Noctilux and have an MTF test , you find all 3 resolution graphs dancing like an crazy and apart from each other , this is real for %95 of all lenses.
Triplets and Leica Telyts are strange animals and all 3 resolution curves are like an good amp curve , all three are at the highest resolution and they are on each others curve. I mean , 3 curves are at the highest quality and does not apart from each other. I have an Polaroid 350 with Cooke triplet and I found that lens is seeing better than what eye sees.
Dont invest in tourist cameras or forgotten technology , look for Zeiss Ikon versions.

Thanks all for the replies. I just picked a Ciro-Flex for $20 (on APUG) to go with my Reflex II and Rolleicord. Not sure what I need with three similar TLRs, but what the hell. It will give me $20 worth of entertainment I'm sure.

Lot of other good ideas here...

I don't know who determines "fair value" but I got my Bronica C for about $6 complete with the Nikkor-P 75/2.8 that had a very, very tiny spot of mold that cleaned up easily.

Hatchetman said:

What camera do you think can give you the best image for super cheap?

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There were about a billion cameras sold in the history of 120 film. And used market pricing is all over the map. This thread tells me if you are lucky you might live in a place where there are flea markets, charity stores, and camera shows where there are bargains to be found. I personally checked out some charity stores near me and I didn't find anything of worth. There were certainly some interesting novelties like a Polaroid folder, but nothing I would ever use. Even if I found something that appeared to be in good shape the odds of me knowing what it was lens quality wise is small.

Other people have made some good points about light leak repairs and CLA. The thirty dollar price of admission may be just the start. You also need to figure in the cost of your time and gas driving around looking for these sub $30 bargains. It may make sense to just spend a little more and get what you want mailed to you.

sr44 said:

A Lubitel? You can find those for around $30 on ebay.

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I own a Lubitel and you might as well buy a fully automatic Canon film SLR for less than $90 and use it with all your great DSLR glass. The pictures from my 35mm SLR are infinitely better than the images from my Lubitel. And if all you care about is a consumer level Rebel SLR then you certainly can get one of those for <$30 on ebay. I just figured an extra $60 get's me top of the line prosumer so why not? A $35mm SLR that works with my lenses for my DLSR is my benchmark. If I am not getting overall better results then why would I pay more for film and hassle with a complex contraption? If you just like those kinds of cameras be my guest, but if we are just talking image quality something like a Lubitel is illogical.

Ric Trexell said:

Film is not cheap for one and developing is hard to find and expensive.

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About $1.50 at Sam's Club to develop 36 exp roll of C-41 with no prints.

Less than $0.90 to develop a roll of C-41 120 film through Walmart's send out service, again no prints.

B&W costs pennies to develop yourself at the kitchen table... wouldn't even pay anyone to do this for me.

At a certain point we have to be realistic. The people we ask to develop our film have to eat too. Tossing them less than a wrinkled dollar bill is not unreasonable.

They are out there, all one has to do is look around....

I managed to get hold of a fully functional Zeiss Ikon Ikomat 520/2 for £20 a while ago, slightly out of budget but came from a reputable and experienced ebay camera seller so I don't consider it to have been underpriced.

Put it on a tripod, use another camera as a rangefinder to get the focus spot on (and as a light meter), and it'll do amazing things.

Not sure about elsewhere in the world but charity shops in the UK are getting cunning. The staff are now under instructions to check any donations against web prices and sticker them accordingly.

Problem is, they're not a camera shop and do not have the same test or repair capabilities. They see a lens priced at £60 on ebay and don't understand that it's a chancer hoping someone will pay far more than the lens is actually worth. They often can't check for fungus or other faults, so they end up asking more than an item is worth and end up with an angry buyer who's been sold an item with mushrooms growing inside it.

Best bang for the buck I ever got was the often mentioned here Zeiss Nettar. Mine was $25 and has the 75mm f6.3 triplet and 3 speed shutter.

Hatchetman said:

2. Must have a good probability of working properly "as is."

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A pinhole camera.

Agfa Billy Record

I have had very good luck with the pre-war Agfa Billy Records. The bellows appear to be a much higher quality than the later Agfa examples. Shutters, apertures and focusing setups are much simpler, but simple is good after eighty years.

Nobody has yet mentioned the Hapo 66e. Mine was 15 bucks, has a great Enna lens (75mm f/4.5, but some came with f/3.5 models), uncoupled rangefinder, and a somewhat counterintuitive but very handy auto film advance. It worked great out of the ePay box, still does, and is my MF carry-around of choice. They are still cheap, and the sister camera the Balda Baldix (or is it the mess-Baldix?) is not quite as cheap but still affordable.

--nosmok

A few months back, I scored the best deal that I've ever had since I started buying in 2000. Six classic cameras for $300.

- Super Ikonta 531/2 with a coated Zeiss-Opton Tessar
- Super Isolette with a coated Solinar
- Isolette III with a coated Solinar
- Voigtlander Bessa I with a Color-Skopar
- Baldina with a coated Schneider-Kreuznach Radionar
- Certo 6 with a coated Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar.

All of the cameras had been well cared for, although the Super Ikonta needs its lens lubed, and the Certo 6 needs a rangefinder adjustment.

I own, have used, and am fond of both the Nettar and two of the Bencinis (Koroll S and Koroll 24S). The image quality of the Nettar is superior technically. The Bencinis offer more of a distinct character and greater opportunity for serendipitous occurrences, if you like that sort of thing. For what it is worth, my Nettar recent broke while in use-- a spring associated with the film advance knob evidently popped. The Bencinis... well they are built like rocks and seemingly hold up beautifully. I was shooting on Monhegan Island (coast of Maine) with the Koroll S on a tripod when suddenly it came loose from the tripod, fell onto a granite boulder, bounced off and onto another rock, bounced off that and into yet a third boulder. I was bummed and worried, needless to say. Well, it seemed to still function so I finished the roll, developed the film and... the images came out beautifully. I've used the camera for a couple years since and it is still rolling. Pretty terrific. Finally, for a beginner, the Bencinis are incredibly easy to use and understand.

The Ciro Flex is a great choice. It has fantastic glass and shoots in the 6x6 format, so you get a dozen shots per roll. Mine has a shutter issue where it doesn't completely close, leaving a pinhole. Someday, I'll work in it, but the shots that did work were top notch. There are many many choices of similar cameras with focusable lenses in 620 format like the argus 40 or Kodak duaflex (Kodar lens) , but in straight 120 format for $30, I don't think you can do better than the Ciro Flex. The older Argoflex by Argus, before the 620 days has good glass too. Enjoy your new 120 workhorse.

I was thinking about a Ricohflex. They used to go for $30 until people fell in love with its swirly Bokeh. Still they’re available near your price.