most + least expensive

[removed account4]

what was the most expensive piece of photographic equipment you have ever bought, was it worth the price you paid ?

also

what is the least expensive piece of photo equipment you ever bought ( does NOT include stuff gotten for free ) was it worth it ?

( don't put prices)

 

[Ian Grant]

Can't remember spending more than about £600/4900 on any items, maybe bit more for a new 300mm f9 Nikon M, not the best buy as I rarely use it. Otherwise £600/$900 for a De Vere 5108 enlarger with 4 lenses and aa colour head was a great buy.

Least expensive lot's of things for £1 each, Kodak Beehive safelight, 2 filters for it 3 months later (same seller)., Paterson dev tank for 4x 35mm.

Ian

 

[darkosaric]

Leica M6 - yes it is worth every euro cent and more.
Many cameras I got for 1€: (like 20 or more cameras - Olympus, Agfa, Voigtländer, Canon, Nikon ...) - all are worth it, and many got sold on ebay for 2-3 or even 5€ .

 

[Lee Rust]

Leica M6 was the most expensive, almost 20 years ago. Cheapest was a wind-up Kodak timer that I use all the time.

 

[TheToadMen]

The answer to both questions would be my Leica M7 with Motorwind. It's the most expensive camera I've got (new in 2004 or 2005) but didn't have to pay any cash for it. I made and supported the website for a local 2nd hand camera store for several years and received the M7 as payment. I was very happy, since I didn't have the cash but plenty of time to build websites.

 

[snapguy]

F

In the early 1960s I bought a Nikon F with electric motor drive, and 200mm and 50mm and 28mm Nikkor lenses. They cost a lot of money considering my peanut salary at the time. But it was the best money I every spent on camera gear because it was state-of-the-art equipment and helped me go from a small town newspaper photographer to a photographer for a world wide photo news service and to work as a magazine photographer. I have sold photos to newspapers and magazines in dozens of countries including Germany, Japan, Australia, England, Finland, Spain, Italy -- you name it. I used the Nikon F to photograph the Olympics in Mexico City, A Muhammad Ali title fight in Madison Square Garden, all major league sports, presidential visits, the United Nations, and Hollywood and Broadway backstage.
Recently I have been buying film and darkroom gear at a local camera shop that is going all digital. I have bought first class enlarging lenses, new, for nickels and dimes and all kinds of other stuff.

 

[darkosaric]

In the early 1960s I bought a Nikon F with electric motor drive, and 200mm and 50mm and 28mm Nikkor lenses. They cost a lot of money considering my peanut salary at the time. But it was the best money I every spent on camera gear because it was state-of-the-art equipment and helped me go from a small town newspaper photographer to a photographer for a world wide photo news service and to work as a magazine photographer. I have sold photos to newspapers and magazines in dozens of countries including Germany, Japan, Australia, England, Finland, Spain, Italy -- you name it. I used the Nikon F to photograph the Olympics in Mexico City, A Muhammad Ali title fight in Madison Square Garden, all major league sports, presidential visits, the United Nations, and Hollywood and Broadway backstage.

You should write to nikon and make commercial for them (let them pay you good). Seriously, you should do that.

 

[MattKrull]

Keeping to analogue equipment, my most expensive purchase was a Bronica ETR-Si setup from KEH. Was it worth it? Yes. I love enlarging from 645 negatives.

Least spent yet awesome: While I've spent less on stuff, the Olympus OM40 I got it off the bay for the price of a nice dinner, takes the cake. I took it on my honeymoon, I've carried it at weddings, hiking, everything. It works exactly how I want a camera to work, and it works perfectly every time.

 

[Ghostman]

Most expensive - Leica M9-P, Summilux M 35mm f1.4 @ +- $12'500 - Biggest regret and waste of money.

Cheapest - Holga - It is dear to my heart

 

[removed account4]

my most expensive is split between 2 cameras that cost about the same amount
1 is a szabad 8x10 camera ( it is one of 5 that exist )
i got it off of eBay from the original owner's assistant
1 is a 11x14 century 8a portrait camera and centennial stand, 8x10,, hand made 11x14 and 7x11 back
i traded 2 single edition prints for it


least
probably a new in box olympus stylus epic from keh shipped for like 19$
its being used by one of our up and coming local film users...

 

[David Brown]

Most expensive: Not in actual dollars, but in dollars adjusted for inflation (and relative to my income at the time), it would be the Mamiya C220 and 2 lenses I bought used in 1971 or 72. Worth it? Oh yes. I shot many weddings with that camera, which more than returned my investment and got me into medium format - still my medium of choice. (And I still have and use the camera)

Cheapest: The entire professional darkroom of a pro gone digital: Beseler 4x5 enlarger, lenses, sink, trays, timers, tanks, reels, paper, chemistry, etc.

 

[BradleyK]

Most expensive would be either my 50mm F1.4 Summilux M ASPH or my 600mm F4 IF-ED Ais Nikkor. Pricey, yes, but no regrets: both are used on a regular basis.
Cheapest? That would be either the Marchioni Tiltall or the MD4 I won on eBay.

 

[DannL.]

About three weeks ago I thought I would splurge and put together a Pentax 6x7 outfit piece by piece. The camera and a boatload of lenses. I had never handled one, yet always thought I wanted one. The goal from the start was to buy everything in as close to pristine condition as possible. To me that meant buying direct from Japan, which adds a substantial amount to the overall cost. My suspicions were correct . . . It was worth every penny.

 

[BrianShaw]

Money has little to do with good photography, but since you asked:

Most expensive = Hasselblad 501CM kit, new. Probably worth less than I actually paid.

Least Expensive = Anniversary Graphic, complete and in fully usable condition.
Worth 10x what I paid.

Most favorite = Nikon F3 (somewhere in the middle of most and least expensive.)
Worth exactly what I paid.

Best image maker = Rolleicord Vb (somewhere between F3 and least expensive.)
After having it overhauled it was probably worth less than the total cost... but in terms of a photographic tool it was priceless.

 

[E. von Hoegh]

what was the most expensive piece of photographic equipment you have ever bought, was it worth the price you paid ?

also

what is the least expensive piece of photo equipment you ever bought ( does NOT include stuff gotten for free ) was it worth it ?

( don't put prices)

Most - Deardorff V8, the 54th one made with front swings. Least - a Spotmatic F at a yardsale, easily the filthiest camera I've ever seen. Cleaned up it has immaculate class and an accurate meter, all else works as it should. The Spotti was less than a cup of (cheap) coffee and the Deardorff was worth every cent - twice - it's the one camera I'd keep if I could have only one.

 

[Dan Fromm]

Most? Two candidates. 35/4.5 Apo Grandagon, bought used. Specialized lens but when I need what it does nothing else will do. 900/10 Apo-Saphir, bought used. I've paid more for other pieces of gear but its list price when Boyer folded in 1982 was $4,898.80. Worth what I paid? Well, I won't part with either.

Least? Cambo SC-1 kit, a gift that I'm delighted to have.

 

[NB23]

Paid 12,000$ for a 35mm summilux aspherical.

Got stolen 2 months later.

Was is worth its price? Well, I can tell you I was frustrated 12,000$ worth all right.

 

[Ric Johnson]

My complete darkroom including a Beseler 45 MXT enlarger, all neg carriers from 35 up to 4x5, 8 trays, 2 softlights, 2 easels, multiple trays & a print washer, developing tanks & reels. All it took was a tank of gas to drive to & back home.

 

[Trask]

Most expensive single item -- my Hasselblad SWC

Least expensive operating quality camera -- Polaroid 180 for around $2.50

Single item with highest ratio of probable market value/actual purchase price -- the Polaroid 180

Single item with highest market value, regardless of price paid -- a Noct-Nikkor

 

[ozphoto]

Most expensive: A Tamron 300mm f2.8 ($5,500)- not cheap, but worth every penny! I loved that lens, was sad to let it go when I had to trade my entire kit in for EF for work.

Cheapest: A spirit level ($5.00) that slips onto the hotshot (actually several) to ensure my horizontals & verticals are absolutely straight; invaluable for my architectural & interior work - clients love them too.

 

[blockend]

The most I ever paid for a film photographic item was about £300, for a new Nikon F601. Pretty remarkable considering I've owned some immaculate pro-Nikon gear over the years, as well as medium and large format equipment. Lots of bargains, the best was probably someone's darkroom for £1! Small beer compared to those people who are given Leica M outfits by indulgent relatives, or find a Plaubel Makina in a junk shop. Personally speaking, I'd rather take a truly great photograph than find a great camera, but I live in hope of either.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

Canon 50L is the most. I went through the bunch of cheaper 50mm primes, but this one is the best for film EOS system.
The rest of the gear I have and went through is cheap comparing to modern fancy cameras/lenses. I use 50L on old cheap then, cheap now film Canon Rebel camera, for example.

 

[Jim Jones]

Most expensive was a White Lightning 3200 studio strobe at maybe $600, and certainly worth it. It has served well with many cameras.

 

[blockend]

I think the best new bargain I ever acquired, was a Mamiya C330s. At the time everyone wanted medium format SLRs, and TLR cameras seemed Jurassic by comparison, so they were sold cheaply. Complete with a blue spot 80mm lens I paid £180 brand new. That lens stands comparison with anything I've used since. Even the accessories like Porrofinders, Paramenders and hoods cost buttons and were really well made pieces of kit. I can't imagine Mamiya made any money on their TLRs in later years.

 

[Matt Fattori]

I bought a Makina 67 when I was flush and probably paid a little too much for it. I did, however, fall in love with it immediately and you can't put a price on that. It's a strange and charming camera, and the lens has a really special quality all it's own.
The cheapest was probably a Polaroid 360 kit that someone was struggling to get rid of at a camera show...I had a ton of fun with that until Fuji did that thing they do.
Best score: Saunders 4x5 enlarger with 4 negative carriers, adjustable table and hundreds of dollars worth of Pyrocat, HC-110 and various other unused chemicals: thank you digital revolution!