The value of things..

Huss · Feb 19, 2016

I just bought a $15 Nikkormat. A whole camera for $15.
The problem with these cameras is the eye piece ring is serrated metal, which is really rough on eye glasses.
So I bought a replacement Nikon rubber eye piece ring. $15...

(FYI this same part fits on Nikon Fs, F2s, FM, FE2, FM3, Nikkormat Ft2, Voigtlander Bessa R3a and Fuji GW690III. So there is that.)

frank · Feb 19, 2016

It's almost unbelievable how much quality and functionality and mechanical wonder you can buy for $15.

Huss · Feb 19, 2016

frank said:
It's almost unbelievable how much quality and functionality and mechanical wonder you can buy for $15.

Are you talking about the camera or the eye piece ring?

Chan Tran · Feb 20, 2016

I really see what you meant. I bought a very nice Canon A1 with 2 lenses for $5 but the battery was dead. I had to pay more than that for the battery.

David Lyga · Feb 20, 2016

frank said:
It's almost unbelievable how much quality and functionality and mechanical wonder you can buy for $15.

I concur: it truly is astounding how mature technologies become 'garbage' in the marketplace while the precision that they are capable of becomes ignored. The situation is similar with the LP 33 rpm record and turntables. - David Lyga

Sirius Glass · Feb 20, 2016

Well now I can afford to buy cameras that I could only dream about.

DWThomas · Feb 20, 2016

Things do get pretty strange, a few years back I paid more for a Bronica SQ series waist level finder than what I paid for SQ-A bodies. Maybe it's some sort of supply/demand issue; certainly it doesn't reflect the relative complexity or design effort.

ciniframe · Feb 20, 2016

Even 'expensive' used cameras (i.e., a used Leica M) are becoming trivial compared to ongoing film and processing expenses. Using B&W and doing your own processing can cut down considerably on this cost but still, 36 exp rolls of 35mm are pushing $5 each. Gone are the days when I'd buy 100 ft of Tri-X, load and shoot the whole roll at a the racetrack the next day......in a couple of Pen F's no less.

GRHazelton · Feb 20, 2016

David Lyga said:
I concur: it truly is astounding how mature technologies become 'garbage' in the marketplace while the precision that they are capable of becomes ignored. The situation is similar with the LP 33 rpm record and turntables. - David Lyga

David, there is growing interest in LPs. Barnes and Noble, or as Flora and I prefer, Sheds and Venial, has displays of vinyl, both deluxe reissues and new recordings. Amazon has a sizeable offerings of vinyl. New turntables and pickup cartridges are on the market, many aimed at the "audiophile" market (read: expensive!) but others affordable. And cheap and dirty TTs can be found at Best Buy, etc., many of which are intended for burning LPs to one's computer.

Properly cared for, vinyl lasts and lasts. I have many LPs my parents' bought early in the days of LP, the late 40s and early 50s. They still play, albeit noisily because of the relatively primitive TT my folks had. No one really knows the lifespan of CDs.

I notice that my Acoustic Research ES-1 table which I bought in the early 1980s is now worth much more that I paid. Reassuring, but hardly an investment. I treasure my 14 feet of LPs, and enjoy the sound extracted from them by the last Shure V-15 microridge pickup. (BTW, the styli are still available from a source in Japan - for about $250.00) And I buy some new vinyl.

removed account4 · Feb 21, 2016

$25 an LP isn't a bargain, but its still around

benjiboy · Feb 21, 2016

I learned over the years that things are "worth" what someone will pay for them and don't have a inbuilt intrinsic value, ie. you may have paid $1000 for it but if $1 is the most anyone is willing to pay for it, that's what it's worth.

Sirius Glass · Feb 21, 2016

Just because something used new technology does not automatically make it better.

David Lyga · Feb 21, 2016

GRHazelton said:
David, there is growing interest in LPs. Barnes and Noble, or as Flora and I prefer, Sheds and Venial, has displays of vinyl, both deluxe reissues and new recordings. Amazon has a sizeable offerings of vinyl. New turntables and pickup cartridges are on the market, many aimed at the "audiophile" market (read: expensive!) but others affordable. And cheap and dirty TTs can be found at Best Buy, etc., many of which are intended for burning LPs to one's computer.

Properly cared for, vinyl lasts and lasts. I have many LPs my parents' bought early in the days of LP, the late 40s and early 50s. They still play, albeit noisily because of the relatively primitive TT my folks had. No one really knows the lifespan of CDs.

I notice that my Acoustic Research ES-1 table which I bought in the early 1980s is now worth much more that I paid. Reassuring, but hardly an investment. I treasure my 14 feet of LPs, and enjoy the sound extracted from them by the last Shure V-15 microridge pickup. (BTW, the styli are still available from a source in Japan - for about $250.00) And I buy some new vinyl.

Well, the 5,000 classical music LPs that I have in various storage venues cost me an average of about 25 cents each!!! (Classical music does not sell in Philadelphia's thrift stores!)

Back in the 90s each thrift store had multiple turntables that they could not sell. NOW, a turntable lasts about 10 minutes in such store. We seek things that can be readily understood: film (vs digital), vinyl groves (vs laser etchings), whole foods (but not at Whole Foods!) - David Lyga

GRHazelton · Feb 21, 2016

David Lyga said:
Well, the 5,000 classical music LPs that I have in various storage venues cost me an average of about 25 cents each!!! (Classical music does not sell in Philadelphia's thrift stores!)

Back in the 90s each thrift store had multiple turntables that they could not sell. NOW, a turntable lasts about 10 minutes in such store. We seek things that can be readily understood: film (vs digital), vinyl groves (vs laser etchings), whole foods (but not at Whole Foods!) - David Lyga

I remember hitting a mall record store which was selling off its LP inventory at 33 cents each item, including box sets! Bonanza!

And Whole Foods is more aptly known as Whole Paycheck.

blockend · Feb 21, 2016

ciniframe said:
Even 'expensive' used cameras (i.e., a used Leica M) are becoming trivial compared to ongoing film and processing expenses. Using B&W and doing your own processing can cut down considerably on this cost but still, 36 exp rolls of 35mm are pushing $5 each. Gone are the days when I'd buy 100 ft of Tri-X, load and shoot the whole roll at a the racetrack the next day......in a couple of Pen F's no less.

I buy 30m rolls of Foma 100 for about £36. Rodinal is £11 a bottle and lasts a year @ 3mm per film 1:100, semi-stand developed. Fix comes in a 5 litre container. Colour film is Agfa Vista (Fujicolor) in 200 and 400 ASA from the Pound Shop, dev'd in a Tetenal kit which gives at least 25 films to a litre. The maths say about £2 per film including processing. A six film weekend is roughly £12. My time is another matter, but the process is therapeutic.

I sometimes shoot Fuji Pro400H, 5 x 4 and chromes, which are somewhat more expensive!

Naples · Feb 21, 2016

Market value needs to be distinguished from personal value. For instance, about a year ago I bought a used Nikon F100 from KEH in "LN-" (Like New Minus) condition, and paid around $300 for it. Recently, I spent another $200 on it for a CLA and the replacement and repair of the focus mode selector. Now, an economist would say that spending that additional $200 on my F100 was irrational, as the camera was probably worth only $200 in its then condition. However, new F100s are unavailable - I would have bought new if I could - and I really, really want a like-new F100 in perfect working condition, so to me, spending a total of $500 to get it is definitely worth it. Doesn't matter that the camera does not have a market value of $500. Because to me, it's worth much more than $500. I wouldn't sell it for $1,000, though the market says it might be worth only $300.

frank · Feb 21, 2016

The camera I have with the biggest disconnect between value and cost is my Nikon F4. What a bargain these days.

benjiboy · Feb 27, 2016

All this goes to prove the old axiom "some people know the price of everything and the value of nothing".

The value of things..

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