So much for mechanical cameras

[Sirius Glass]

About thirty years ago I ran across the set of 1953 baseball cards and some other memorabilia that I collected as a kid. They had not cost me anything because I would return soda bottles for neighbors who didn’t want to bother. The local market would exchange packs of bubble gum with the cards for the deposit money. I sold them and bought a Hasselblad with the 80mm, 150mm and 45degree prism. Out of curiosity I checked the value of the cards that are now worth over $27,000.

I have added another body and several lenses and other accessories to the kit since and enjoy using the equipment

Whatever the value of my equipment is it hasn’t appreciated as much as the cards. Check your attic you never know what might be in it.

On the other hand the Hasselblad brings you more enjoyment than 1953 baseball cards.

 

[Nicholas Lindan]

On the other hand the Hasselblad brings you more enjoyment than 1953 baseball cards.

Depends on a person's fetish. Depends on their fetish.

For some it's a baseball card, for some a Hassy. Give a Hasselblad to a baseball card collector and it will just sit in a remote corner collecting dust.

 

[Don_ih]

Give a Hasselblad to a baseball card collector and it will just sit in a remote corner collecting dust.

Just like it does for a Hasselblad collector --- but it collects less dust for a user.

It's actually hard to "use" baseball cards....

 

[4season]

IME to date, #1 problem with electronics in cameras is electrolytic capacitors, including tantalum types. LCDs can sometimes act up too, but much can be fixed, and the liquid crystals themselves don't seem to degrade, though the polarizing filters bonded to the glass may de-laminate or fade.

I have not attempted to disassemble my Canon Rebel G because it works perfectly so there's no reason to do so. And because if it's like other newer designs, I expect I will find extensive use of slippery synthetic materials which need little or no periodic maintenance. Plastic parts sometimes become brittle with age, and it's possible to reach a point where a camera might seem more like a bunch of plastic shards held together with epoxy. And when that happens, consider turning the camera into a functional art project with a kintsugi-style repair!

 

[Sirius Glass]

Just like it does for a Hasselblad collector --- but it collects less dust for a user.

It's actually hard to "use" baseball cards....

Exactly my point.

 

[Arthurwg]

The, what about the shutter?

Most mechanical shutters can be repaired, and older camera, even those that have not seen used, can be serviced if necessary, but not destroyed by inactivity.

 

[Brad Deputy]

Already established quite a way back.
I get the feeling that, here, where I was talking about, the older cars are more or less kept at home in the driveway. Or they only go short distances. You just don't see them on the highways (the real highways, the ones with 4-6 lanes on either side). You used to, though - probably when it was more reasonable for lower-income people to actually be able to drive to work (hardly reasonable now, since it costs about $300 a week for gas).

My 2004 TDI with 235k, would like to tell you otherwise. Completed a 3k mile road trip last year, still driven daily.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Already established quite a way back.
I get the feeling that, here, where I was talking about, the older cars are more or less kept at home in the driveway. Or they only go short distances. You just don't see them on the highways (the real highways, the ones with 4-6 lanes on either side). You used to, though - probably when it was more reasonable for lower-income people to actually be able to drive to work (hardly reasonable now, since it costs about $300 a week for gas).

My 2004 TDI with 235k, would like to tell you otherwise. Completed a 3k mile road trip last year, still driven daily.

My vehicles are not driveway decorations. They get driven to distance locations, no only used to pick up a carton of milk.

 

[jeffreyg]

About thirty years ago I ran across the set of 1953 baseball cards and some other memorabilia that I collected as a kid. They had not cost me anything because I would return soda bottles for neighbors who didn’t want to bother. The local market would exchange packs of bubble gum with the cards for the deposit money. I sold them and bought a Hasselblad with the 80mm, 150mm and 45degree prism. Out of curiosity I checked the value of the cards that are now worth over $27,000.

I have added another body and several lenses and other accessories to the kit since and enjoy using the equipment

Whatever the value of my equipment is it hasn’t appreciated as much as the cards. Check your attic you never know what might be in it.

 

[jeffreyg]

I collected the cards when I was thirteen and had forgotten about them. Forty years later I saw an ad of someone buying cards. Oddly enough my mother thought they might still be in her house. I found my “collection “ and put a small ad in the paper and sold them. I was already doing photography and had a darkroom. My comment was in response to the mention about how the price of used equipment has increased. No complaints I have always used my cameras as opposed to collecting. To each his own.

 

[RalphLambrecht]

After discussing this with top Hasselblad repair people, I've ben told this is not at all true.

fact is that aging oils and grease thicken with age and eventually stop mechanical parts from moving; the sure death of shelve queens; keeping them moving once in a while keeps the lubricants from getting sticky and the parts moving; I make sure to move my Hassies and their lenses through all speeds twice every six months or so; more often would be better. Never heard of a Hasselblad dying from wear and tear.

 

[RalphLambrecht]

fabulous story!

 

[MorganM]

We heard it over and over again:'keep your mechanical cameras; at least they can be still repaired if something goes wrong. My experience, including a recent Nikon FM failure, is quite different:It is actually very hard to find a repair service for old mechanical cameras. And if you should be lucky enough to find one, hope not to need spare parts, because there are none. Furthermore, The whole deal will cost you more than a new camera!

Yeah I hear ya. I haven't had much success with the FE, FE2 and FM. I'm about 3 for 8 on reliability. I have an FM2 and an F for the love the mechanical genre. Love shooting with them but I often wonder if Nikon was the best choice. The problem for me isn't so much the cost as I don't mind paying for the talent and good CLA can keep them going for awhile. It's just finding someone that can work on them. Ironically my old 8008s is still working perfectly...albeit its only worth $40. On a good day.

 

[GregY]

Already established quite a way back.
I get the feeling that, here, where I was talking about, the older cars are more or less kept at home in the driveway. Or they only go short distances. You just don't see them on the highways (the real highways, the ones with 4-6 lanes on either side). You used to, though - probably when it was more reasonable for lower-income people to actually be able to drive to work (hardly reasonable now, since it costs about $300 a week for gas).

That may be what you're seeing on the roads, driven by the Ontario commuters spending hours to and from their jobs in Toronto, but i'd bet it's not representative across Canada.....

 

[Don_ih]

That may be what you're seeing on the roads, driven by the Ontario commuters spending hours to and from their jobs in Toronto, but i'd bet it's not representative across Canada.....

No, it's not representative across Canada....
But 26 million vehicles are registered across Canada, and, according to Statistics Canada, 18.5 million vehicles were sold in the past ten years, with over a third of those being sold in Ontario. Also, the average age has been bumped up not by reliability, but by the fact that over 2020, 2021, and 2022, new vehicle sales fell annually by as much as 500000 units compared to the highest immediate previous year (2017 - with over 2 million new vehicles sold). So, if not for the Covid anomaly - which, incidentally, drove the price of used cars through the roof (if you could find a used car to buy, that is) -, you could've expected 20 million of the 26 million vehicles in Canada to be ten years old or less.

Average age doesn't matter much, when you consider the 7.5 million vehicles older than 10 years includes cars that have been made since 1900.

The majority of cars in Canada -- 71% of them -- are ten years old or younger.

 

[GregY]

No, it's not representative across Canada....
But 26 million vehicles are registered across Canada, and, according to Statistics Canada, 18.5 million vehicles were sold in the past ten years, with over a third of those being sold in Ontario. Also, the average age has been bumped up not by reliability, but by the fact that over 2020, 2021, and 2022, new vehicle sales fell annually by as much as 500000 units compared to the highest immediate previous year (2017 - with over 2 million new vehicles sold). So, if not for the Covid anomaly - which, incidentally, drove the price of used cars through the roof (if you could find a used car to buy, that is) -, you could've expected 20 million of the 26 million vehicles in Canada to be ten years old or less.

Average age doesn't matter much, when you consider the 7.5 million vehicles older than 10 years includes cars that have been made since 1900.

The majority of cars in Canada -- 71% of them -- are ten years old or younger.

all of which has what relationship to mechanical cameras, if you don't mind my asking?

 

[Pioneer]

Threads sometimes take very mysterious turns...

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

all of which has what relationship to mechanical cameras, if you don't mind my asking?

I've got a 50,000-mile warranty on my camera.

 

[Don_ih]

all of which has what relationship to mechanical cameras, if you don't mind my asking?

About as much as your comment (the one I was responding to) did.

My initial response was to something said by Koraks and was anecdotal - not meant to spur links to the average age of cars or how everyone has 50000000 miles on their 1974 Dodge Dart.

 

[GregY]

About as much as your comment (the one I was responding to) did.

My initial response was to something said by Koraks and was anecdotal - not meant to spur links to the average age of cars or how everyone has 50000000 miles on their 1974 Dodge Dart.

You should go into politics....

 

[Don_ih]

You should go into politics....

Well, I could've just asked why you bothered to write:
"That may be what you're seeing on the roads, driven by the Ontario commuters spending hours to and from their jobs in Toronto, but i'd bet it's not representative across Canada....."
when that obviously has nothing to do with cameras.
Just like I can now ask why you bothered to write:
"You should go into politics...."
when that just seems to be said for your own satisfaction.

Instead, I answered your question.

 

[ph]

Summing up this meandering thread one can conclude that all mechanical devices need maintenance and that the skills and parts to serve those needs become rarer when the devices themselves become rarer. Electronics may not have the same needs, but depend on complicated and expensive fabrication which once deserted by the orginal maker will not be resurrected.

Alltogether our various treasures are perishable and should be enjoyed while functioning.

p.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I've got a 50,000-mile warranty on my camera.

My 100,000 mile warranty on my car is way past being valid, but at 240,000 miles, it only had one big repair.

 

[Arthurwg]

fact is that aging oils and grease thicken with age and eventually stop mechanical parts from moving; the sure death of shelve queens;

Old camera not subject to mechanical wear and mishandling can usually be serviced and put into use. Anyway, I'll bet most of my mechanical cameras will out live me by 100 years. Death stay thy phantoms.

 

[Axelwik]

This is why I keep a never used NOS Hasselblad on my shelf.

And with dried up lubes etc. that unused Hasselblad is likely to not work unless you keep it serviced.