If film is dead....

Snapper · Nov 5, 2010

... why is it that I'm having trouble finding an OM2 for a reasonable price?

I want to get an OM2n or OM1n to go with some OM lenses I had left to me with a half-working OM10. Looking on E**y, they seemed to be going for around £40, but then people suddenly started paying silly prices in auctions. I put this down to that it was September and that new photo students were desperately buying them up.

The cameras on at the moment are at stupid Buy It Now prices of £150+.... but this morning I nearly choked on my cornflakes... an OM1 for a Buy-It-Now price of £315 (that's $500/Eur360/500AUD)!!! (Oh, I forgot, it does come with the oh-so-rare f/1.8 50mm lens).

One other question - does every used OM2n have the paint chipped to b*ggery on the rear door?

elekm · Nov 5, 2010

The OM cameras seem to be undergoing a resurgence in popularity at the moment. It always was a good system and a nice alternative to the gorillas that Nikon and Canon offered.

The second thing is that 1) there are greedy people and that is true on eBay, and 2) some people are delusional about the value of their cameras.

faustotesta · Nov 5, 2010

At least olympus' prices prove that film is not dead

CGW · Nov 5, 2010

Relative to contemporary Nikon/Canon sales, Oly put fewer of their cameras and lenses on the market. Trends come and go but a core of determined collectors/resellers can spike prices on clean examples, Oly cachet notwithstanding. Are you just shopping in the UK or beyond in N. America?

Snapper · Nov 5, 2010

So are we seeing Olympus as flavour of the month at the moment? If film really is 'dead' then who is buying these cameras? Collectors? Hoarders?

I'm just looking in UK right now, but now the exchange rate is on the up, perhaps I should look to N America too.

Q.G. · Nov 5, 2010

Snapper said:
So are we seeing Olympus as flavour of the month at the moment? If film really is 'dead' then who is buying these cameras? Collectors? Hoarders?

How many that are offered for sale have you counted?
Will that be enough to base a global conclusion on (either way)?

Snapper said:
I'm just looking in UK right now, but now the exchange rate is on the up, perhaps I should look to N America too.

Indeed. Let those dollar printing presses roll, mr. Bernanke!
But as with everything, nothing good will come of it in the end. We may get a few cheap cameras now. But how will we repay later?

danegermouse · Nov 5, 2010

buy it now prices, if still listed, mean that they havn't sold yet. which may offer an alternative hypothesis as to what the cameras are actually worth. if you are patient, your time will come...

R gould · Nov 5, 2010

Try looking here,www.collectablecameras.com always seem to have a good selection of om gear Richard

mr rusty · Nov 5, 2010

snapper

have a look at www.ffordes.co.uk They have several olympuses (olympii?) advertised at circa £75. As they at least provide a bit of warranty these are a pretty good deal.

If you factor in a full CLA from Mike Spencer at www.camerarepairs-r-us.co.uk you will have a great camera. Highly recommend Mike Spencer - he's done my OM1n and OM2. The OM2 needed a new prism - usual foam rot degredation, and it was only +£10 on his usual £50ish CLA

jp498 · Nov 5, 2010

I'd be inclined to think there is a bit of a resurgence. I used Olympus in the '80s for casual use before switching to Nikon when the F4s came out because I wanted to focus on sports action. Back then, Olympus was losing their direction with the SLR market coming out with crap replacement things like the OM77af. If you wanted future tech, you had to go elsewhere. Then they stuck to P&S gear till finding their way again with digital. They had sort of a tough time topping their own excellent niche of quality lightweight mechanical SLR cameras. The Olympus OM series was definitely a step up from the normal pentax k1000 which was sort of the market standard for general photography. If you have special needs like a variety of super long bright lenses or lots of frames per second or autofocus go with Nikon or Canon. The Olympus was lighter, nicely built, smoother in operation, and quieter than most competitors. It's a very good system to use for normal candid non-specialized photography. Perhaps people are rediscovering this, or perhaps people are looking to stay with the brand as they branch out from the Olympus digital cameras?

Check KEH as well for olympus items.

Moopheus · Nov 5, 2010

Snapper said:
The cameras on at the moment are at stupid Buy It Now prices of £150+.... but this morning I nearly choked on my cornflakes... an OM1 for a Buy-It-Now price of £315 (that's $500/Eur360/500AUD)!!! (Oh, I forgot, it does come with the oh-so-rare f/1.8 50mm lens).

Just a few weeks ago I got a very clean OM-1N body for $60. There seem to be a lot of dealers who put up gear with BIN prices that are 2-3 times what similar items are actually selling for in auction. From what I've seen the auctions for these cameras are active but prices are still much lower than equivalent Nikon or Canon stuff. Some of the lenses are pricey, though.

Jeff Kubach · Nov 5, 2010

You could check out thrift shops or pawn shops.

Jeff

Prest_400 · Nov 5, 2010

Certainly it has been raising. But I believe you can find them at a good price.

Two years ago I bought my OM equipment (OM-1 + MiJ 50mm for 100 pounds). Bodies have raised their price. The $5-10 prices I saw in articles about the 50mm f1.8 seem rare nowadays. I am tracking this lens because mine has grown fungus and I'll replace it once it gets severe (if it does).
Depends on what you're after, but in general, the prices have raised. Some stuff, hasn't changed that much.

Paul Sorensen · Nov 5, 2010

Keh has the OM2N with the shoe in excellent condition for $133. I have not really shopped eBay for one of these, but I often find that KEH is very competitive with eBay.

Oh, I forgot to mention, a bargain condition OM2N without the shoe is $47.

MattKing · Nov 5, 2010

The OM to 4/3 lens adapters are probably affecting the market - sadly this may mean that people are buying the cameras for the lens alone.

Do you have Craigslist or something similar where you are? A "Want to Buy" listing might work.

michaelbsc · Nov 5, 2010

MattKing said:
The OM to 4/3 lens adapters are probably affecting the market - sadly this may mean that people are buying the cameras for the lens alone.

I suspect this is true. I know it's true for the Yashica market. I swear you could make decent money scrounging eBay looking for broken cameras with a lens on them, throw the camera away, and sell the lenses with a lens adapter. I saw one dolt who had a Yashica DSB 50mm lens listed for $299. It didn't even come with a broken FX-3.

Unfortunately for us, the Digiheads are finally beginning to figure out that the light doesn't know if it's a "digital" lens or not. I used to think that was so hilarious to see "digital" lenses, like they were better somehow because the word "digital" was on the box.

Maybe we can go a marketing campaign to let them know that the reason the 1970's lenses were so awesome is because the old film technology, which we've blown past, was that good. And maybe they should try looking at the new film!

MB

mablo · Nov 5, 2010

All film camera prices are on the way upwards. Only two years ago you could be the only bidder for a lovely 35mm film camera on *bay. It's all over now. I think LF and some MF are the only brackets where you can still make good deals.

Moopheus · Nov 5, 2010

mablo said:
Only two years ago you could be the only bidder for a lovely 35mm film camera on *bay. It's all over now.

As I recall, two years ago, you might have been the only bidder on a sack of beans. About four years ago, I bought a Nikon F2 off ebay, and prices for those are certainly not higher now than they were then. If anything, it's less now. A few years ago I got a Speed Graphic, same deal. (though with those it's hard to say for sure--the prices vary so much with condition and what comes with.) I would have to say that prices for film gear have not increased all that much over recent years.

Of course, the flip side of that is supply: over time, the available inventory of working vintage cameras is not going to increase. New film cameras are not being produced in great quantity. It does seem to be the case (without hard figures to back up the statement) that some categories of gear are actually less available than even a few years ago.

CGW · Nov 5, 2010

Moopheus said:
As I recall, two years ago, you might have been the only bidder on a sack of beans. About four years ago, I bought a Nikon F2 off ebay, and prices for those are certainly not higher now than they were then. If anything, it's less now. A few years ago I got a Speed Graphic, same deal. (though with those it's hard to say for sure--the prices vary so much with condition and what comes with.) I would have to say that prices for film gear have not increased all that much over recent years.

Of course, the flip side of that is supply: over time, the available inventory of working vintage cameras is not going to increase. New film cameras are not being produced in great quantity. It does seem to be the case (without hard figures to back up the statement) that some categories of gear are actually less available than even a few years ago.

Not sure there will be much of a trampoline effect, especially with cheap and easy commercial processing vanishing quickly in many markets. Suspect this will kill demand outside our crazed community for film gear. I know that 120 back prices for some dead medium format systems(e.g., Bronica SQ) are rising but it's the exception and not the rule. Collectors' appetites are another matter entirely. There seem to be spikes in demand for some lens mounts as the digital 4/3s crew starts playing with their adapters.

IloveTLRs · Nov 5, 2010

My local shops here in Japan have them starting at around $200 all the way up to $1300 (seriously) for the OM-4Ti. I suppose I should have bought the OM-4Ti I saw at a fair earlier this year for $400, but I'm perfectly happy with the "junk" OM-2 I bought last year

And yes, the paint is coming off the back of mine (chrome, not black.)

mopar_guy · Nov 5, 2010

Sold this morning on eBay: OM-3Ti for $2249.

Colin Corneau · Nov 5, 2010

CGW said:
Relative to contemporary Nikon/Canon sales, Oly put fewer of their cameras and lenses on the market.

Fewer sales tend to have that effect.

FWIW, I have had nothing but good luck here, on these forums, re: camera sales. Always a good variety of items. There's always KEH as well, I suppose. Plenty of places other than the 'bay.

Sirius Glass · Nov 5, 2010

snapper,

Since the OM prices are rising faster than the Hasselblad prices, you should jump into getting a Hasselblad setup and selling the OM lenses. [My bad!]

Steve

Moopheus · Nov 5, 2010

mopar_guy said:
Sold this morning on eBay: OM-3Ti for $2249.

Meanwhile Pentax K1000s, Nikkormats, and canon AE-1s are going for peanuts. One crazy sale does not a market make. On the other hand, these cameras are actually selling, if not necessarily for a lot of money. Which would seem to really be the most important thing. These aren't collector's items; these cameras are coming out of closets and estates and going to people who might actually use them.

I guess what we really need is for someone to create a database of sales of film cameras on ebay, sorted by brand and type, with lenses and so on. Then over time you could make a kind of market index.

mopar_guy · Nov 5, 2010

Moopheus said:
Meanwhile Pentax K1000s, Nikkormats, and canon AE-1s are going for peanuts. One crazy sale does not a market make. On the other hand, these cameras are actually selling, if not necessarily for a lot of money. Which would seem to really be the most important thing. These aren't collector's items; these cameras are coming out of closets and estates and going to people who might actually use them.

I guess what we really need is for someone to create a database of sales of film cameras on ebay, sorted by brand and type, with lenses and so on. Then over time you could make a kind of market index.

The OM-3Ti is a Hand made camera and only a few thousand were produced, unlike the K-1000. The price in today's auction is not really that "crazy".

Apples and oranges.

If film is dead....

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