Very rare Pentax Cameras

Jozi Camera · Dec 5, 2017

Hi All,

First time posting and was referred here by the good folk on Vintage Camera Collectors on FB.

I would really appreciate some help and input on the below if possible.

I'm wanting to sell 3 of my very rare Pentax Cameras as a lot, but am getting mixed input and information from all internet sellers and auction sites I have pursued.

The cameras I am referring to are:

1: Asahi Pentar K
2: Asahi Pentar H2
3: Asahiflex H2

I have created a google drive folder with images of the cameras and to show condition and can be viewed here.

https://drive.google.com/open…

All are close to mint and are fully functional. The Asahiflex H2 has a few light usage marks on the top of the camera but other than that is fantastic. All the cameras have the original shutter curtains and mirrors as well as the correct lenses for each camera which are all scratch, dirt, and fungus free.

Very little information on them exists at all and to my knowledge, none have ever been put up for sale as a collection of 3 in the open market.

This is where value becomes a challenge and I have yet to find any reliable and up to date sold listings for mint condition examples.

Sorry for the long post, but I have never sold on eBay and your help to put me in touch with the right people or interested parties would be very much appreciated.

Les Sarile · Dec 5, 2017

I am certain they're not "ultra" as that would be the black versions. But definitely rare and desirable especially if in good working condition. Good luck.

Jozi Camera · Dec 5, 2017

hahaha, thanks for that! Corrected

puderse · Dec 5, 2017

I've an S2 store demo and a black H2, also 2 Ks., It took me forever to move a $10 S2 on a well known auction site. What makes them "rare" is that you are in South Africa where the names were changed to protect the innocent. The rest of the world (your market) has the same cameras with different nameplates.

summicron1 · Dec 5, 2017

Pentar? OK, name change for a local market, but otherwise just normal Pentax cameras? OK, what you need to find is a specialized Pentax collector who is really lusting after really clean examples of this particular variation which, i am guessing, was sold in your country in reasonable numbers at the time and so is probably not all that rare, as the word is defined.

The fact that the market was big enough for Pentax to machine up to make a run with this name tells me that this isn’t an error, just a variation, meaning they probably cranked out 10,000 examples or so. I am guessing.

Gonna be tough...look and see if there is a specialized Pentax collectors forum somewhere, join, chat folks up and see if you can find someone who really needs these, then make the best deal you can. Their value, ultimately, is what you can get for them, and that is a very individual thing.

cooltouch · Dec 5, 2017

The Pentax Forums has a rather extensive review section, with reviews to at least two of your three cameras, complete with pricing info. They also have a serial number database there. Here's a link to the M42 Pentaxes:

https://www.pentaxforums.com/camerareviews/pentax-m42-screwmount-film-slrs-c5.html

They also have reviews on the earlier M37 Pentaxes, in case you're interested in reading about them.

Tony-S · Dec 5, 2017

They sure look beautiful.

Marco Gilardetti · Dec 6, 2017

In my opinion selling them as a lot is not a good idea: you might loose potential buyers looking for just one of the three, and not willing to go under the stress of resell the others, pay the extra charge for the heavy wheight of the packet, pay threefold the import duties, and so on. Personally I would sell each seperatedly, stressing in the ad that there are other cameras of the same type available, with direct links to the other sale pages. Ebay gives you anyway the possibility to review the total due and evaluate a combined shipping cost, should one buyer purchase more than one camera, so you'll not loose this possibility.

Again in my opinion, as anticipated by others, they will sell well mainly because they look (and seemingly are) in pristine, near-mint conditions. I would stress that out, with very good pictures etc. The "rarity" associated to the name is secondary, again in my (possibly wrong) opinion.

Ian Grant · Dec 6, 2017

I wouldn't class the K and H2 as rare, less common maybe, but they do appear for sale quite regularly. The Asahiflex H2 is quite different as it was rebadged for the South African market but the difficulty is finding a collector who wants one.

Ian

blockend · Dec 6, 2017

Does Pentax mean something rude in Afrikkans? There's no price variation between the Japanese Nikomat and the Nikkormat used elsewhere.

Les Sarile · Dec 6, 2017

blockend said:
Does Pentax mean something rude in Afrikkans? There's no price variation between the Japanese Nikomat and the Nikkormat used elsewhere.

According to http://www.aohc.it/_old/slr02e.html, "Since the name Pentax was registered by Pentacon in South Africa, Asahi sold their cameras with either Pentar or Asahiflex trade marks for some time, untill they could use Pentax."

Ian Grant · Dec 6, 2017

blockend said:
Does Pentax mean something rude in Afrikkans? There's no price variation between the Japanese Nikomat and the Nikkormat used elsewhere.

There were quite marked price differences between cameras sold in Japan being more expensive than in Europe/UK, and the lowest prices were in the US.

Ian

blockend · Dec 6, 2017

Ian Grant said:
There were quite marked price differences between cameras sold in Japan being more expensive than in Europe/UK, and the lowest prices were in the US.

Ian

I have a number of Nikkormat and Nikomat cameras, and prices are identical today. The name plate is the only difference.

ic-racer · Dec 6, 2017

List them as an 'auction' and see what the market will bring. Personally I'd pass on the older cameras and look for a Pentax LX.

Ian Grant · Dec 6, 2017

blockend said:
I have a number of Nikkormat and Nikomat cameras, and prices are identical today. The name plate is the only difference.

I was referring to the original sale prices. In general though second handcamera and lens prices are higher here in the UK compared to the US and Japan cn be cheaper still.

Ian

blockend · Dec 6, 2017

Ian Grant said:
I was referring to the original sale prices. In general though second handcamera and lens prices are higher here in the UK compared to the US and Japan cn be cheaper still.

Ian

That's true, Japanese owned cameras and lenses tend to be in better condition, too. The same cameras with different names may have a slight premium to a collector, but I'm not sure Pentar branding has more than novelty value over Pentax variants.

Les Sarile · Dec 6, 2017

ic-racer said:
List them as an 'auction' and see what the market will bring. Personally I'd pass on the older cameras and look for a Pentax LX.

Then you can certainly appreciate that Pentax went all the way back to the original for the LX for it's design cues.

Alan Gales · Dec 6, 2017

I used to sell a lot of film camera gear on Ebay. Mostly medium and large format but some 35mm gear. From my experience Marco in post #8 is correct. You will make more money selling them individually then as a group.

Selling rare gear is hard because as you have found, there are very few examples if any to base your price on. I'd just ask what I wanted and see if there are any bites. You can always come down in price later. I once sold a rare lens on Ebay doing this. Fortunately, there was one bidder at the price I initially asked. A collector who was very happy to get the lens.

Good luck with your sale!

cooltouch · Dec 6, 2017

Les Sarile said:
Then you can certainly appreciate that Pentax went all the way back to the original for the LX for it's design cues

Remarkable. I own an LX and I would have never noticed this -- mostly I guess because I don't own any early Pentaxes.

BradS · Dec 6, 2017

Assuming the H2 are the same as the Honeywell Pentax H2 and the Asahi Pentax S2, then those two bodies are far from rare and, honestly, not even very desirable.Even the K is not really all that rare .

I'd list them separately on eBay and see what happens. I'd be surprised if the H2 fetch more than ~$50 each. Certainly you wouldn't get more than that for a good used H2/S2.

Les Sarile · Dec 6, 2017

cooltouch said:
Remarkable. I own an LX and I would have never noticed this -- mostly I guess because I don't own any early Pentaxes.

Pentax grew in size over the years but went back to it's original form . . .

paul ewins · Dec 6, 2017

The price range for these is probably going to be quite wide, since they will appeal primarily to someone who wants a complete collection of Pentax M42 bodies. That will probably be a small pool of potential buyers so you run the risk of not catching the attention of the right set of eyes. I would hazard a guess at $300 - $400 each being the actual value. They do show up on eBay now and again, but you could be waiting months and months for any one of them to appear. In terms of standard production bodies (as opposed to special orders like motor drive or databack bodies) they are about as rare as a Pentax body gets.

John Koehrer · Dec 6, 2017

Search "sold listings" on the bay. they'll give you a realistic idea of recent prices.

Jozi Camera · Dec 11, 2017

Thanks very much for all the invaluable insights and all info.
I am happy to report that the Asahiflex H2 and the Asahi Pentar H2 have both sold to a collector in California and will be shipping out today.

Very rare Pentax Cameras

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