Opinion on the Hasselblad and Price?

[The Specialist]

Hi Gentleman,
I just registered and am now jumping in for some expert advice.

I just contacted this seller on e-bay and have made him an offer.

Back in 1984 I had a 500CM kit that I paid $2300.00 for and loved. Until a divorce a whole month later.

Anyway, this link below takes you to a model 500ELX that is like new, or new. It sounds like this persons Dad was a collector and passed away.
Nothing looks used and he has sold a ton of stuff that all looks brand new with all the paperwork.
I offered $650.00 delived to my door and he accepted.
What do you guys think?
Is it a good price?
Good Unit!
Thanks,
cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=3833093221&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT

 

[Robert Kennedy]

Hate to say it, but KEH.com is selling the same body for $429.00. In "Excellent" condition. For your money a 501CM in Ex+ could be had $665.00.

That said....

If this is really a "barely used" as in "Mint -" then you may have a very good deal if you were looking for a camera in that kind of shape.
Personally, I like KEH.com because they rate in your favor, and the prices are great.

Check them out for you Hassy lenses.

 

[Fintan]

its a good price, enjoy

 

[The Specialist]

Thanks!

I spoke with the seller yesterday evening and he will be shipping it out today 2nd day air.
He also gave me a good price on a New in the box now discountinued A16S film magazine for Super Slides. ($135.00)
Hell my investment is well under 1K for a new motor driven Hasselblad and back.
All I need now is a good HQ lens.
I checked with KEH and by the looks of the items and the grade ratings you are getting pre-owned tools with a lot of miles.
High miles are not always a problem but the stupid miles are.
You can look at cosmetics in many different ways.
I used to pour house foundations when I was a teenager ( Concrete form work ) and I still have that beat and pawked marked 28oz east wing hammer.
She can do the same job as a new one off the shelf, and I wouldn't trade her for anything.

 

[Robert Kennedy]

Thanks!

I spoke with the seller yesterday evening and he will be shipping it out today 2nd day air.
He also gave me a good price on a New in the box now discountinued A16S film magazine for Super Slides. ($135.00)
Hell my investment is well under 1K for a new motor driven Hasselblad and back.
All I need now is a good HQ lens.
I checked with KEH and by the looks of the items and the grade ratings you are getting pre-owned tools with a lot of miles.
High miles are not always a problem but the stupid miles are.
You can look at cosmetics in many different ways.
I used to pour house foundations when I was a teenager ( Concrete form work ) and I still have that beat and pawked marked 28oz east wing hammer.
She can do the same job as a new one off the shelf, and I wouldn't trade her for anything.

I've bought a lot from KEH and the ratings are very much in our favor as consumers. Apparently "Ex" means "Someone took it out of the box."

Seriously.

 

[The Specialist]

Are we on the same page?
This is the rating system I got from the KEH site.
They have one 500 ELX rated at Ex for around $425.00
There rating for Ex should be more like Fine.
I would imagine one rated at Like new - perfect would run at the six or seven mark.
You think?

NEW As packaged by manufacturer. Manufacturer’s USA warranty. Never used or owned by a consumer.

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NEW DEMO As packaged by manufacturer. Manufacturer’s USA warranty. Never owned by a consumer but used as demonstration equipment. May show various stages of wear including slight dings or pecks.

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LN "Like New" Perfect. Includes original box and instructions and any manufacturer provided accessories.

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LN- "Like New Minus" 97-99% of original condition. Extremely slight wear that can only be seen upon very close inspection. Box and accessories not included.

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EX+ "Excellent Plus" 90-96% of the original condition. Shows moderate wear. May have slight marks on finish. Glass very clean.

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EX "Excellent" 80-89% of the original condition. Shows moderate wear. May have small dings, pecks and slight finish wear. Glass may have some dust, but no marks.

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BGN "Bargain" 70-79% of original condition. Shows more than average wear. May have dents, dings and a goodly amount of brassing and finish loss. Glass may have marks that should not affect picture quality.

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UG "Ugly" Very rough looking. Multiple impressions in metal, excessive finish loss and brassing are likely. Glass will have marks, fungus or haze that will probably affect picture quality.

 

[luvmydogs]

Hi,

I hope you don't mind me butting in here. I don't much about Hasselblads, but I have been doing quite a fair bit of reading over at the Medium Format web site and read in the Hasselblad Overview that the Nicad battery made by Varta for the EL/ELM/ELX has been officially discontinued. From the medfmt web site:

"This comes from Skip Cohen President of Hasseblad USA, although Varta has
stopped making the Ni-cad battery used in the EL, ELM and ELX they still
have better than a two year supply on hand. At this current time
they are looking for a new vender to make the batteries. This was not
Hasselblads choice, it was Varta's."

So maybe you should also try to find some of these batteries?

 

[The Specialist]

Yes,
I did some research on the ni-cad batterys as well.
The Hasselblad site has a link for new batterys but they recommend a AA battery conv performed by them.
Turn around is around two weeks and the fee is small.
The seller said he has two Nicads with the camera.
One is still factory sealed in the box.
He claimed he charged the other two weeks ago and it still showing a charge without loss.
Hasselblad service told me that a full charge was good fro approx 1000frames.
This doesn't seem bad for a Ni-cad of that era.
So yes, I did a little home work in this area as well and am not to worried about the power situation.

 

[Robert Kennedy]

Honestly, their EX to me is hard to distinguish from LN-. Honestly. I have bought two lenses from them, and a viewfinder and they are generous.

At least with Bronica.

That said, if you got the boxes and all and it was more of a demo model, and that is what you want, then you did fine.

And as for your lenses, KEH is great.

Personally, and this is me, I like KEH because I can count on quality as opposed to EBay where it varies widely (still waiting for one delivery...*sigh*...). That said, i got an ETRsi body for $300.00 new in the box from EBay.

 

[The Specialist]

I hear what you are saying.

This is my third online auction purchase and twice I have been burned.

Though I am a seller on Gunbroker.com and not e-bay I hardly ever visit the comsumer side.

If there is a Rip-off out there I always find them.

This time I have my fingers crossed.

If this one goes good I hope to be looking for a standard 80mm CF lens.

I am watching two on e-bay right now with no reserve.

Bidding is less then three hundred.

BH price on a new 80mm almost 2k!

 

[Robert Kennedy]

Dont you just love that! It is enough to make you squemaish about ever taking a camera outside! In fact until I was turned onto the used options out there I thought all LF systems cost a few grand and the lenses at least $1,500.

Thank you Speed Graphic!

 

[gr82bart]

Personally, I'd never buy anything over $20 on e-bay, but that's just me. I've bought a couple lenses from KEH and I have to agree that they are pretty generous with the ratings. One lens I compared with a brand new one at the local camera store and I couldn't tell the difference. I had the owner check out the optics and he said it's in perfect condition. What I like about KEH is the 10 day inspection period and the 60 day return policy - no questions asked - for a $50 re-stocking fee.

The horror stories I've read on other sites about e-bay purchases really makes me wonder sometimes.

Best of luck to you. Hope you get the ELX and that's in the condition the seller claims. If so, you got a good camera.

Art.

 

[The Specialist]

Thanks guys,

Cool Web-site Art!

 

[skahde]

Yes,
I did some research on the ni-cad batterys as well.

Me too. I sold my ELX because I needed a smaller camera but not because of the batteries. New NiMH batteries for the ELs are available but expensive. Closest thing to the Varta-Cell I found and made was to interconnect 5 AAA-NiCds, and put them in a Kodak (Ilfords or Fujis won't fit) plastic film can. Make the contact-wires stick out of either end of the can and use this as usual. With the cells I used capacity was a bit lower but the greatest loss in capacity was still in self-discharge as the ELs do not consume that much energy per cycle.

best

Stefan

 

[Todd J. Bertolini]

Don't buy an ELX unless you intend to use it in the studio. I personally wouldn't buy anything on EBay. I agree KEH is good and believe the ratings are accurate. George Ury is also trustworthy. Adorama is great provided you deal with Fred Wasser. Just remember ,that especially on lenses- even some CF 's are 20 years old. I recently purchased a mint CF and took it to hasselblad to have the speeds checked-they were all off and the lens needed to be clean,lubed and adjusted. Older bodies,generally need new mirror foam. Time isn't necessarily the enemy as much as no or little use. Buyer beware. Ebay is full of fraud.

 

[Dave Parker]

As 90% of my business is based on ebay, I have to disagree on it being full of fraud, although there are bad sellers, the majority are not bad.

I have become the number one seller of ground glass screens in the world and most of our sales have come from ebay, you have to be very careful in dealing with people on ebay, but most, and I would say 90% + are honest, it is like anything else, be careful and make sure you do the research and you will be fine..

Blanket statements do not alway tell the whole truth..

Dave Parker
Satin Snow(TM) Ground Glass

 

[bobfowler]

As 90% of my business is based on ebay, I have to disagree on it being full of fraud, although there are bad sellers, the majority are not bad.

I have become the number one seller of ground glass screens in the world and most of our sales have come from ebay, you have to be very careful in dealing with people on ebay, but most, and I would say 90% + are honest, it is like anything else, be careful and make sure you do the research and you will be fine..

Blanket statements do not alway tell the whole truth..

Dave Parker
Satin Snow(TM) Ground Glass

Dave, the difference is you sell good stuff, not used junk!

Seriously, I've bought and sold a lot gear (both photo and musical instruments) on ebay. I've been burned twice, but there was a silver lining in both of those purchases...

 

[Dave Parker]

Hi Bob! Long time no talk, hope things are well with you.....

I always took the same attitude on my used gear selling as well, if I would not use it, then it was not good enough for the web..

Hope things are well, give me a call to chat when you get a chance.

Dave

 

[ksmattfish]

I've had pretty good luck buying cameras on Ebay. There have been a lot of cheaper vintage cams for my collection, but I've also purchased a Hassy 500C/M with all the fixin's, A Pentax 67II with all the fixin's, assorted 35mm, medium, and large format lenses, a Super Graphic, a Sekonic 508 light meter, darkroom equipment, etc...

I've been pleased and haven't had any problems, except for once when a guy described an item as a Hassy A16 back, and when it arrived it was an A16S back (for 4x4cm super slides), and refused to refund. Just look for good feedback and a 100% gauranteed return policy.

I also check out KEH and Midwest Photo Exchange before I bid on anything. I'd gladly pay more for their service, but sometimes you can find some great deals on Ebay.

 

[Nick Zentena]

Personally Ebay is too expensive for MF stuff. It's hit and miss with LF stuff. Too expensive on lenses and the odd time okay on bodies. I'd rather buy from KEH etc and it seems lately for less money then Ebay.