Finding old cameras in the wild.

BAC1967 · Nov 9, 2017

Today I just picked up a Contax T, Kodak Box camera, Kodak Retina III, along with a few other items for $15.

darinwc · Nov 13, 2017

Lately, it's been pretty dry. Last couple of cameras I have bought were Olympus xa2s.
Been mostly rebels or zoom compact cameras. Nothing metal and solid for 6 months I'd say.

Picking is getting slim.

John Koehrer · Nov 14, 2017

darinwc said:
Lately, it's been pretty dry. Last couple of cameras I have bought were Olympus xa2s.
Been mostly rebels or zoom compact cameras. Nothing metal and solid for 6 months I'd say.

Picking is getting slim.

Gotta agree with the pickin's part for sure. No treasures from any of the usual sources for a while.

Kevin Ekstrom · Nov 14, 2017

I picked up a fully functioning Yashica GS for 10.00 USD at our local flea market. The camera came in the original hard case, with table tripod, release cable, and two close focus attachments. Overall a very good deal.

Alan Johnson · Nov 15, 2017

Taking a chance if the meter was working (it was) when a battery was fitted, a Canon FTb + 50mm 1.8 FD + 28mm 2.8 Seimar for GBP 8 at a car boot sale.
It was in a box with junk non working cameras so unusually lucky for a Canon at this price.

Theo Sulphate · Nov 15, 2017

Alan Johnson said:
... a Canon FTb ...

Methinks that is an FTbN - you see the shutter speed in the viewfinder, yes?

Anyway, nice rescue of a fine camera. Here is an FTb I bought for $10 (I added the lens later).

Steve Bellayr · Nov 15, 2017

I haven't found anything in the last two years. But, if I listed the finds and I did not know it was true I would find it hard to believe. Pristine Nikon S2 with 50mm f2.0 lens & hood: $10. Unused: Canon F1 $32 & a Nikon F2 in the original box, never used $45. And, many more. But, here is the caveat: All needed servicing.

Andy38 · Nov 16, 2017

At a yard sale, an Olympus OM2n MD in mint condition except back seals which need replacing ; with a 50 f1,8, a Tamron 28 f2,5, a flash T20 and booklets, all nice also.
All in working condition.
For €10.

choiliefan · Nov 16, 2017

Latest thrift store find is a Cambo 4X5 with short rail and bag bellows including Congo 90mm lens for $10. It;s missing the ground glass panel. Wondering what happened to that...
My experience is when you make yourself available, good things come to you.

ced · Nov 16, 2017

Here locally we have a few flea markets and sometimes one can pick up a bargain but as the stand keepers most of them have no appreciation of the photographic stuff they have on sale.
Gear is left jumbled in cardbooard boxes and surely the cameras are scratching one another as they get unpacked & packed each day. Often the stuff is in baking sun or drenching rain.
Here is a little gem (tiny brass fitted lens) for 5€ a sought after wide angle large format lens it is

an old CZ Jena 1-18. 141mm Protar which fetches fantastic prices on "you know '-bay"

Newt_on_Swings · Nov 17, 2017

Man, I haven't seen anything nice in years at any thrift shops or garage sales or parking lot salesor antique stores in NYS to PA. You'd think NYC would be saturated but I think there are just too many people here be it photographers or collectors always buying it up even the junk. Whenever I see anything remotely photographic its always marked up way high.

ced · Nov 17, 2017

Here is another find sometime last year at a fleamarket. The seller knew it was a camera but had no idea how to open it.
While trying to get a price I opened it and saw that the camera was as good as new & a metal one at that (mostly find that they are covered wood).
He told me €40 I offered €30 and after a lot of humming and hahhing he eventually gave in, luckily I saw a few feet away the case with a ground glass but no film cassettes (later found some elsewhere).

ced · Nov 25, 2017

A nice find of a classic designed polarcam & for peanuts too!

Andy38 · Nov 28, 2017

The seller didn't know how to open the old box...
And, of course, he didn't know it was a camera...
"Le Photo-Siecle", a 9 x 12 plate french camera, made in ~1900 ; in nice condition for €20.

ced · Nov 28, 2017

Fine condition maybe due to the fact that not many know how to open them!

michr · Nov 28, 2017

Last weekend I found a Nikon F FTn with four lenses of that era at an estate sale.

veepeedeepee · Dec 5, 2017

I found a Contax I with a collapsable Sonnar 50/2 in a local antique shop for $50. Needless to say, I scooped it up on the spot.

Doug Richardson · Dec 15, 2017

I have picked up too many good deals to list by going to flea markets and other spots. To top my list: Voigtlander Bessa folder (very nice working condition) for 8 Euro, a Kowa SE for 3 Euro, fully operational and like new, and finally my best find a Leicaflex SL with the Leitz 35, 50, and 135 mm lenses for 80 Euro, all in excellent shape. I regularly pick up Polaroids for 2-5 Euro. Enjoy the hunt folks!

removed account4 · Dec 15, 2017

Andy38 said:
The seller didn't know how to open the old box...
And, of course, he didn't know it was a camera...
"Le Photo-Siecle", a 9 x 12 plate french camera, made in ~1900 ; in nice condition for €20.
View attachment 190895 View attachment 190896

lovely find, pretty camera !

blockend · Dec 16, 2017

veepeedeepee said:
I found a Contax I with a collapsable Sonnar 50/2 in a local antique shop for $50

Superb.

TheGreatGasMaskMan · Jan 4, 2018

Well, this is kind of late, but I found a Mamiya NC1000 with a junk telephoto lens at a salvation army for $80 right before thanksgiving. The body is great though.

paul ron · Jan 6, 2018

garage sales have turned up a few junkers i thought might be worth the quarter for the box. i cleaned them up and gave them to friends and relatives for their display cabnets but nothing useable or worth anything on the open market.

my best scores were the classifieds... buy broken n repair myself. where are all thesectreasures today?.... stored very nicely in my closets. gotta start dumping soon. the GAS is terrable!

mdarnton · Jan 6, 2018

I know you don't want to hear about Ebay, but there IS an Ebay junk store, and that is the land of mis-spelled and undescribed items. I have set up some searches to turn up items that no one would ever intentionally find, and found some gems where I'm probably the only person who saw that, and am consequently the only bidder. My best find was a functiuonal 8x10 Ansco view camera for about $100, carefully and precisely described as something like "camera". Also a mint-condition 50/1.4 AI-S Nikkor with bad photos and no indication of brand, speed, or focal length: "lens"

Theo Sulphate · Jan 7, 2018

mdarnton said:
... the land of mis-spelled and undescribed items ...

Clever. I'm hoping to find a 250 Lusso that way.

BAC1967 · Jan 7, 2018

mdarnton said:
I know you don't want to hear about Ebay, but there IS an Ebay junk store, and that is the land of mis-spelled and undescribed items. I have set up some searches to turn up items that no one would ever intentionally find, and found some gems where I'm probably the only person who saw that, and am consequently the only bidder. My best find was a functiuonal 8x10 Ansco view camera for about $100, carefully and precisely described as something like "camera". Also a mint-condition 50/1.4 AI-S Nikkor with bad photos and no indication of brand, speed, or focal length: "lens"

I found a lot deals on Bolex movie cameras spelled “Bollex”. I think eBay started correcting it when people tried to spell it that way so the deals dried up.

Finding old cameras in the wild.

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