Reasonable price for RB67 6x8 film back?

[Garratt]

Hi folks!

I bought a RB 67 SD recently, very good condition. Now I find myself becoming nervous about getting some film backs for it. Ebay doesn't have much to bid on, most stuff coming from Japan, prices about 105€/114$ for the RB 67 6x8 motor driven film back. Since I live in Germany, I hesitated to go for the Japanese offers, I could end up paying high tax and customes duty so I could have chosen another one from the EU for a higher price, but without taxes.
There are offers from within the EU are around 180€/196$. That doesn't seem cheap to me, so I wondered if that is still a resonable price? Since I'm new with the RB67 stuff I don't know what I should pay and which prices would be exorbitant.
My question is, what would you pay for a 6x8 motor cassette, or, if you own one, what did you pay for it?
The non-motor film backs seem very rare at the moment, so I'm lucky if I can get one at all.

Best regards from rainy Germany
Garratt

 

[chassis]

Schönes guten Tag Garratt!

To me, the EUR 105 / USD 114 is an OK price in the US from a US seller. I try to buy things on Craigslist if it is possible. I have not bought anything from sellers in Japan so I have no comment about this. EUR 180 seems high to me.

There are two formats of motor drive film backs: 6x7 and 6x8.

Here is some information about the power film holders:

http://rb67.helluin.org/backs/
http://www.cameramanuals.org/mamiya_pdf/mamiya_rb_67_motor_drive_roll_film.pdf
http://mamiya.org/content/RB_6x8_Power_back.pdf --> this has some German information
http://www.mamiyaleaf.com/assets/files/documentation/RB67_Pro_SD_v7.pdf

 

[Garratt]

Schönes guten Tag Garratt!

To me, the EUR 105 / USD 114 is an OK price in the US from a US seller. I try to buy things on Craigslist if it is possible. I have not bought anything from sellers in Japan so I have no comment about this. EUR 180 seems high to me.

There are two formats of motor drive film backs: 6x7 and 6x8.

That is exactly what I thought, 150€ would already be my highest pain threshold. And I bet the lady on Ebay won't sell it for this price.
I am more interested in the non-motor film backs, but since the 6x8 only comes with a motor, I'll go for the 6x7 without the motor.

Thanks a lot for your answer and also for adding the operation manuals!
Garratt

 

[tedr1]

About importation from Japan. Here in the USA we are able to receive items from Japan via the post office with no additional charge for special handling taxes or customs duty. The situation in the EU may be different, I don't know, there may be a threshold for customs duty for individuals, when the item is below the threshold it is free of duty. Some research on the web or a phone call to the customs office might reveal helpful information.

 

[Garratt]

@tedr1 Yes, I did some research, and all I found points to the fact that I would probably have to pay both VAT and customs duty, as the article is also above 150€. There seems to be uncertainty, as the page said that "could be" that you have to pay tax, or maybe even nothing.

 

[MattKing]

Be aware that there are some peculiarities about using a 6x8 back. 6x7 is a better choice for most. The Pro SD backs are certainly preferable (newer and no need for foam seals), but the Pro S backs will give you essentially the same functionality.

 

[Garratt]

@MattKing Yes, I will go for a SD back. But finding any film back at all, 6x7 or 6x8 seems rather hard. There are hardly any available, most of them come from Japan, or any other place which would make me pay customs duty. And the ones within the EU are really expensive, or you can't tell in which condition they are. To me it seems that some people want to make capital out of the fact that some people are really looking for certain stuff.

 

[Stephen Prunier]

I bought my RZ67 a couple years ago. At that time, both the Pro and Pro II film backs were plentiful, and reasonably priced. I bought a couple Pro II's to go with the Pro that came with the camera. I bought one on ebay in 2016 for $80 US, it was rated as E+ and it was. The other I bought 3 years ago and paid $110 US for a LN+ from KEH. Today, there harder to come by in decent shape, and the cost have gone up quite a bit. I like having 3 backs. If you have patience , you'll find them. Just be ready to buy when they do.