Check Those 1977 PopPhoto Ad MF Prices!

[CGW]

Just be sure to adjust for inflation by multiplying it all by 3.61!

Dead Link Removed

 

[thedancefloor]

That's awesome! Where did you find this?

 

[CGW]

That's awesome! Where did you find this?

They get posted occasionally on other photo sites as pdf files.

 

[David Brown]

Just be sure to adjust for inflation by multiplying it all by 3.61!

That's why I didn't own any of that stuff in 1977. Divide my present salary by 10!

 

[CGW]

That's why I didn't own any of that stuff in 1977. Divide my present salary by 10!

Scary isn't it? A 1977 month's rent wouldn't buy much--make that nothing off the list!

 

[Jerevan]

The "Turbo-drive processor" - aah - those were the days when turbo drives was all the rage...

 

[Tuan]

wow that's a great find. I bought my Hasseblad 500cm for only $100 cheaper. (not including inflation)

 

[Tony Egan]

Prices in Australia would have been at least 1.5x and the exchange rate in 1977 was about USD = 0.90AUD - back before the float and the days of the crawling peg.
I rented a 2 bedroom flat with my brother in 1979 at $60 per week so these MF cameras would have been about 4 months rent for the basic kit. I bought my first used car in 1977 for $1,500 (1972 Mazda 808) and during the oil crisis of that time I recall petrol rationing meant at certain times the spending limit was $2 per car. Ain't inflation grand!

 

[daleeman]

I was quite suprised that the Mamiya 645 eq was about the same price new as what I had in mine used. I also felt a little better that my Hassy stuff purchased used was picked up cheaper than new prices in '77.

 

[CGW]

I was quite suprised that the Mamiya 645 eq was about the same price new as what I had in mine used. I also felt a little better that my Hassy stuff purchased used was picked up cheaper than new prices in '77.

Just make sure to multiply those '77 prices by 3.61 for the 2010 adjusted levels.

 

[Moopheus]

Just make sure to multiply those '77 prices by 3.61 for the 2010 adjusted levels.

Actually, when you think about it, even holding a quarter of their "real" value over 30+ years is not too bad for used gear. It also suggests that the costs of new professional gear has actually gone up faster than the rate of inflation, presumably due to feature bloat, all the electronics and doodads that have been added over time, even before there was digital. 1977 was the tail end of the mechanical-camera era.