Gift Cameras

[Cork]

I've been reading the Garage Sale thread, and thought I'd relate something that happened to me last week. One of my friends, learning that I still shoot film and don't own a digital SLR, said "I have a film camera I don't use anymore. I'll give it to you." Last Thursday he brought it over: a Nikon N8008s with a 50mm f/1.4, manual, and about five rolls of 36 frame Kodak print film (expired, of course). I took one look at it and told him it was quite a good camera and he should sell it on Ebay, but he said he wasn't interested in the hassle. Oh, and he couldn't find the "big flash" but he'd keep looking for it.

It was stored in a small camera bag that kept it clean. The batteries (AA's) had leaked, so I need to do some work there, but a quick initial cleanup and a fresh set of AA's and it perked right up. I rewound the roll in it and sent the film to him. A cursory inspection leads me to believe he's only run a handful of rolls through it; his main camera was an F3, I think.

So here I am, a life-long Minolta user with my first Nikon and one lens. Oh, and the aperture ring is backwards. (grin) But the point of this ramble is that just being a "Film Maverick" can lead to some interesting situations.

One more thought related to the "nice camera" thread - I took one of my XD-11's to a Renaissance Faire over Memorial Day weekend, and had several people make positive comments on it, including a vendor who pulled out an even older rangefinder.

Cheers!
Cork

 

[Whatadame]

Being a 'film maverick', I've been given a Mamiya C220 with THREE lenses, a old folding Zeiss, and a treasure trove of dark room supplies. Oh, and a (dead, hole in the curtain) low-end Nikon with two lovely lenses that I can use on my d*g*t*l camera.

It's great!

 

[Brian Legge]

The average age of the people I work with is probably around 30. Not much in the way of film gear around unfortunately.

I bumped into a guy recently while shooting who commented on my Rolleicord. It turns out he use to be into photography on a borderline pro-level. He had a Rolleiflex 2.8, M3 and a bunch of lenses, some large format gear, etc sitting at home unused for the last 20 years. I told him I was interested but his plan was to take it back up once he retired.

Someone else came up to me and mentioned giving away a mint Rolleiflex "with big lenses" to a friend recently.

 

[fschifano]

Recently got hold of a Nikon F with 50 mm f/1.4 and 85 mm f/1.8 (non-AI so I can't really use them to good effect with my F3, F100, FM2n, and N90s) for the same reason. The friend who gave it to me likes my work and was glad the camera got a good home. He also threw in a Canon FTb body for which I have a 50 mm f/1.8 FD lens. The Nikon's slow shutter speeds weren't working well, but with a little cleaning and exercise it's back to normal. The meter is another story. Even with the correct batteries, it's three stops high. No big deal. If I get ambitious, I can adjust it. If not, no matter. It's always 3 stops high. The Canon has shutter capping problems at anything higher than 1/250th second. Not sure how to fix that, but I'll get around to it eventually.

 

[drkhalsa]

I was thinking of a thread like this earlier today.

I recently returned from my annual pilgrimage to New Mexico.

While there, a friend who saw me carrying my (gifted to me by a neighbor) Spotmatic F asked me if I used film cameras and I said yes. He said if I would use them, he would give me some cameras that he owned, and to come over to his home in a couple of days. So, I did and now have returned home with a Nikon F Photomic, Nikkormat FTN and a Nikon FG. He also gave me some lenses. A Nikkor 50mm f1.4 non Ai, a Nikkor 43-86mm f3.5 non Ai zoom, a Nikkor 50mm f1.8 for the FG, an 80-200mm f4.5 Ai or Ais Nikkor and a Toyo Optics 75-200mm f4.5 zoom Ai or Ais. Also, a Nikon SB-18 Speedlight.

The Nikon F has a broken out mirror. Some pieces jammed the shutter as it wouldn't work until I noticed a large piece in the corner and pulled it out. I am hoping a local repair shop will be able to replace it. Each has cleaned up nicely on the outside and I am in the process of running some film through them, except the F.

I wasn't planning on collecting cameras, but as such nice ones have come to me, I can't turn them down.

 

[TheSohnly]

There is a website in the US (possibly other places) called Freecycle.
There are Freecycle's for a lot of cities. You can get free cameras and film stuff there (tons of other stuff too).
Read and follow the rules when you visit this site.

I was gifted several cameras from there. Mostly point and shoots.
I got a Yashica Electro-X ITS and a couple of screw-mount lenses for it on there. Works perfect.