Ebay listings mainly from Japan for RB's.

[conyon]

John -- do you have a sense of how much the extra cost is of buying gear from outside the EU into the UK? Does it add, say, 10% or more? How does one work out what the final cost might be? And does it include used gear too (hasn't that already had taxes paid?). I'm originally from the UK and am interested in knowing how these things work for camera related buying and selling. Thanks -- martin

 

[film_man]

John -- do you have a sense of how much the extra cost is of buying gear from outside the EU into the UK? Does it add, say, 10% or more? How does one work out what the final cost might be? And does it include used gear too (hasn't that already had taxes paid?). I'm originally from the UK and am interested in knowing how these things work for camera related buying and selling. Thanks -- martin

If they stop it at customs and you have to pay then it is, if I remember correctly, something like 6% camera duty plus VAT. Plus another £8 for handling. This is calculated in the price of the item AND postage!

 

[pdeeh]

It can be a bit of a lottery as to whether you get hit for import tax, duty and VAT as well as "handling" or "brokerage" from ex-EU to UK

And it is rather more than 6% if you do get charged.

My rule of thumb is to add 30% (which is the most you will pay extra) to the cost of the goods+shipping, and then if it still looks like a bargain, it's worth doing; On the other hand, depending on the delivery service (e.g. whether it's FedEx or similar or just sent USPS or whatever surface mail) and/or the whims/busy-ness/dilatoriness of HMRC, you might not get charged at all ... in which case you might get a fabulous bargain

 

[film_man]

It can be a bit of a lottery as to whether you get hit for import tax, duty and VAT as well as "handling" or "brokerage" from ex-EU to UK

And it is rather more than 6% if you do get charged.

My rule of thumb is to add 30% (which is the most you will pay extra) to the cost of the goods+shipping, and then if it still looks like a bargain, it's worth doing; On the other hand, depending on the delivery service (e.g. whether it's FedEx or similar or just sent USPS or whatever surface mail) and/or the whims/busy-ness/dilatoriness of HMRC, you might not get charged at all ... in which case you might get a fabulous bargain

As I said 6%+VAT, ie 6% + 20% inclusive of postage, ie probably about 30% to face goods value. I got a Hassy 60/3.5CB for £300 a few months ago, it would have been £400-450 with tax which would still be a reasonable deal (given how hard it is to find one of these in the UK) but mr taxman missed out on it and I got a fabulous bargain for £300. Made me £200 in the end when I sold it.

 

[pdeeh]

This is a useful (and pretty accurate) site for estimating the total potential cost of importing something to the UK: http://www.dutycalculator.com/new-import-duty-and-tax-calculation/

It only allows you a few goes before it locks you out and asks for a subscription, but a bit of judicious cache-and-cookie-clearing will sort that out.

 

[dynachrome]

I also use and collect other formats. I recently got another Konica FP with another 52/1.4. The FP I got was made in 1963 and would have been pretty expensive at that time with an f/1.4 standard lens. The camera and lens have since been completely overhauled. They are things of beauty in both appearance and function. If the person who first owned it was even as young as 25 then that person would be 76 today. I think that's why so many old Konica F mount cameras are showing up. Obviously professional photographers made up most of the users of medium format SLR cameras and when it became practical or necessary for them to switch to digital, they were the first ones to do it. My goal for now is to enjoy using my medium format equipment for bpoth b&w and color as long as color film and processing are available and to use it for b&w after that time.

 

[M Carter]

Fact of the matter is: now is a great time to take a serious look at what you may want/need for the next few years. In the 90's, equipping, say, an RZ with a complete set of lenses would have been like buying a small house or large car. Not so true today.

There is now such a wealth of info on reliability issues and repair techniques online. If I had just slightly less self control, I'd be putting together a Pentax 6x7 kit, and probably grabbing a Fuji GX (or whatever the MF with movements is).

As it is, I could use a nice wide lens, recessed board and bag bellows for 4x5... just in case... and a pack film back for 4x5... and a couple more RB lenses and backs.

And with the utter coolness of 3d printing, I have a nice plan to make a tilt-shift lens for 35mm using (possibly) Bronica MF glass.

The death of my favorite films still hurts, but access to some legendary gear helps the pain a bit!

 

[conyon]

Thanks for the answers on the issues of importing to the UK. Very helpful. It looks a little complicated as it seems to depend on whether the items is `picked up' in transit by the authorities / or the type of shipper etc. But adding the 30% rule-of-thumb is a nice way to think about it, because that way there aren't too many adverse surprises. And if it goes well then you get a bargain!!!!! Thanks again for the info..... -- martin

 

[250swb]

. Let's stick to facts. People are moving to digital. .

You are years behind the times, people have moved to digital. There is no more decline in the film market, it is at rock bottom. But in saying it is at rock bottom it doesn't mean it is doomed, it just means the new parameters have been set. If you can't see that companies like Lomography are still introducing new cameras and films to new young customers who have never used a film camera before, then you are being completely blindsided to modern film use, and its renaissance. The counter would be that film camera's are not going down in value to the scrap levels your reasoning would expect them to reach, but they are going up again. So if new companies are coming back into the film market, and camera prices are stabilising and going back up for the desirable equipment, it doesn't really equate that people are still moving to digital, they've gone already. Digital cameras have their own problems with the iPhone, but the iPhone doesn't even touch on declining sales of film anymore, and with it's 'nostalgia' and 'artistic' settings it could well encourage even more people who have never used one to have a go at the real thing and buy a film camera.

Steve

 

[flavio81]

Japanese people showing their love for mankind by giving away the RB gear at really low prices. An act of kindness, gentlemen.

 

[Old-N-Feeble]

Japanese people showing their love for mankind by giving away the RB gear at really low prices. An act of kindness, gentlemen.

Give it a few years. As the supply of these cameras dry up in Japan they'll see the error of their ways and within 10 years they'll be paying 3x the price to buy them back.

 

[flavio81]

Give it a few years. As the supply of these cameras dry up in Japan they'll see the error of their ways and within 10 years they'll be paying 3x the price to buy them back.

Definitely. Reason will prevail over romanticism: They will sell their Hasselblads and "downgrade" back to Mamiya.

 

[250swb]

Give it a few years. As the supply of these cameras dry up in Japan they'll see the error of their ways and within 10 years they'll be paying 3x the price to buy them back.

In the meantime 'they' have been charging the metorphorical 'you' for your new Canon's or Nikon's and laughing all the way to the bank. That is something to laugh about

Steve

 

[Old-N-Feeble]

In the meantime 'they' have been charging the metorphorical 'you' for your new Canon's or Nikon's and laughing all the way to the bank. That is something to laugh about

Steve

I don't buy new equipment. I haven't bought new for at least forty years. And I haven't bought 135 format for as long. Let them laugh about that.

 

[250swb]

I don't buy new equipment. I haven't bought new for at least forty years. And I haven't bought 135 format for as long. Let them laugh about that.

Well your washing machine or TV then, keep laughing.


Steve

 

[Old-N-Feeble]

Well your washing machine or TV then, keep laughing.


Steve

I haven't bought a new washer/dryer for the last fifteen years... but I did buy a new TV about a year ago. Rapidly changing television technology merits buying new... anything digital does for the most part.

 

[Prest_400]

If it hasn't changed for 6 months, RB67s from Japan were just about one of the cheapest and best price/machinery ratio MF camera around.
Some other cameras also benefit from this, I got my Fuji 6x9 for a nice price. Too bad that customs got a slice of the film budget.
Pentax 6x7 + 105 2.4 looks nice for the optical signature... but doesn't quite go down in price as the RBs do, the 645 is quite inexpensive as well.

 

[Nuff]

The Japanese cameras are pretty cheap in Japan, on the other hand, Leicas, Hasselblads, Rolleiflexes or any of the more collectable/desirable/etc cameras fetch the same prices as the rest of the world or are even more expensive. Sometimes there are bargains to be found.

 

[Dr Croubie]

Sometimes there are bargains to be found.

That's the way I work, just hang around and something will come up. I just scored a 135mm Nikkor W for less than $100 shipped here (including an extension-lensboard that I don't need and will probably sell), and the lens elements of a 150mm G Claron for less than $50 (I've got a few working press-shutters lying around that cost me about that much again).

CF other 135mm Nikkor Ws have gone on fleabay for 2.5x to 3x what I paid, and 150mm G Claron elements have gone for double what I paid, or triple in shutters. The next-cheapest recently-sold of both of them, compared to what I paid, is about double.

I've been hanging around for something in the 120-150mm range for about a year now, it just so happened that these two came up last week (still not sure if I'll keep both, although my record on re-selling stuff I don't need is pretty poor).