When/how did professionals got rid of their film cameras?

rayonline_nz · Feb 19, 2020

I heard that minilab machines and enlargers some tossed them out into the trash. For professional photographers when and how did they get rid of their film cameras? There must be a lot more film cameras that is no longer being used today, where are they? Tucked away in tha attic somewhere and forgotten, moved houses and tossed out without a second thought? Maybe right with the plastic point and shoots.

Cheers.

Kino · Feb 19, 2020

In my experience, a fair amount appears to have been scrapped/trashed, but a surprising amount still resides in the closets, basements and storage rooms of prior professionals. How and when it will appear back on the market is unpredictable.

I have had the best luck just asking around. You might be surprised at who did what once and what they have saved because they couldn't bear to throw it out, but are happy to sell or even give it to someone who exhibits interest and appreciation for the items.

guangong · Feb 19, 2020

From my limited observations, among photographers that worked for AP and big news magazines, while some photographers did own their own cameras, most used cameras from company's camera bank. As with other equipment that has outlived reliability, probably put into trash. That's the way things work in big business. A friend, moving quickly before garbage truck, rescued a beautiful, huhg drafting table with thousands of dollars.
Don't buy used equipment used professionally. Best is high end seldom used equipment preowned by MDs and lawyers.

perkeleellinen · Feb 19, 2020

Former users of the equipment or their immediate managers often ensured they were placed into storage. When those users moved on or retired they ensured their replacements knew about the equipment. when those replacements themselves moved on they neglected to tell the new replacements about the equipment and so when a clearout was organised no one was left who knew what the equipment was and so it went into a skip / dumpster. I have seen this happen with both high-end photographic and audio-visual equipment. Some of it kept in excellent condition in instiutional settings. All dumped for scrap.

MattKing · Feb 19, 2020

guangong said:
Best is high end seldom used equipment preowned by MDs and lawyers.

Dentists are even better!

ic-racer · Feb 19, 2020

In the US I think many old worn pro cameras were sold to people that wanted inexpensive equipment. I think there was always a demand for high end Nikon, Hasselblad and Rolleiflex cameras, even if they were beat up. Maybe not a good analogy, but musicians did not toss away their old beat up 1950s Les Paul guitars...the all went back into circulation rather than into the dump.

perkeleellinen · Feb 19, 2020

I know of a professional lab that went into receivership and when all the workers were laid off they stole as much equipment as they could carry.

cramej · Feb 19, 2020

The photographer that I worked with for my senior portraits, engagement and wedding photos sold most of his Blads when he decided the Fuji S2 was good enough for the customers. He kept his 1600f and a couple lenses. Not sure what else he would have had in his personal collection, if any. Unfortunately for me, that was before the time I might have been able to buy any of the equipment from him. I know of another portrait photographer (probably his family) that sold everything at an estate sale. They knew the value so it wasn't cheap stuff. In some areas, there simply is no market for that equipment and it can only be stored for so long before something has to be done with it.

jtk · Feb 19, 2020

When I walked away from commercial photography I sold everything that was mainly studio-oriented to people who didn't walk away. It was all in excellent condition. As far as i know, our respective ownership decisions were all smart for all of us. Nothing got dumped. None of us worked for anybody else, we were all our own men.

I kept a pair of Canon F1 and lenses and a small (800WS) Norman strobe...because I was emotionally attached to them. Later I sold the Canons to students and the Norman to somebody who already had Normans and wanted more. I used the cash to commit in stages to digital.

David A. Goldfarb · Feb 19, 2020

I know some people who seem to have their too nice to sell gear in storage, maybe waiting for time to pursue personal projects, but by the time they retire they aren’t always in shape to shlep around a view camera.

I’ve been the beneficiary of at least one studio selling off gear, buying my 8x10” Sinar P for $850 some years back. That camera was well used in a NYC food studio, but well maintained by a Sinar rep with new P2 parts and kept as a backup for some years for at least two newer 5x7” P2s that I saw in use at the time I came by to pick up the camera. Maybe they’ve since gone high-end digital. It was a busy studio, and clearly the cost of equipment was no object.

Luckless · Feb 19, 2020

I grew up during the "Transitional Period" and rise of digital, so the entirely pre-digital professional era of photography was just before my time, but I have since met and associate with a wide number of professional photographers who were active during the 90s and through the industry shakeup.

They all seem to fall in one of a few groups:

- They didn't get rid of their film gear in the transition to digital, they transitioned to specialized film work. [Smallest group?]
- They've packed their gear away, possibly using it, but now mostly just sits on a shelf looking pretty.
- They held onto their gear initially due to being on the fence, but then sold it for cheap while everyone was dumping 'useless' gear trying to get what little they could for it. [Sadly I think I was busy trying to pay for university at this point, and missed out on a LOT of really nice gear. Was also before I realized I wanted to play with film anyway...]
- Decided to make the switch early, sold their gear while it was still worth early market value. [And bought in on early and probably paid a heft early adopter tax on their initial digital kit.]
- Decided that the value of the space the gear was taking up was worth more than the gear itself, and gave it way/sent it for scrap.

Sadly it looks like a lot of enlarger and other processing gear, and some large format cameras, eventually fell into that last group.

Pieter12 · Feb 19, 2020

Some of the pros I know just switched out their 35mm bodies for digital ones, added digital backs to medium and large format cameras when possible, so wholesale disposal or sale of gear was not really necessary. A few I know did change systems from Nikon to Canon because Nikon lagged in bringing pro gear to market. Most lenses and obviously studio gear and accessories remain viable in the digital realm. There is probably more turnover of digital gear due to technological improvements than there ever was for film gear.

Ko.Fe. · Feb 19, 2020

Film usage quickly diminished once decent digital DLSR were introduced. Around 2007-2009 DSLR became very good and not expensive anymore. Not only professionals were able to afford it.
Plenty of digital P&S with awesome portcard size quality come in earlier 2000. This kicked film out from consumer market.

Here is recent interview with camera shop, known globally now, person from Finland. Available on youtube.
About current state of film cameras market. Most of them needs service and parts now.
One of the videos:

jrhilton · Feb 19, 2020

The EOS 20D in 2004 seemed to be a turning point, a lot of people got excited about that DSLR!

If I think back (and look at photos taken/shared), by 2005 all my friends who had a camera, had a digital P&S or DSLR, no one used film for everyday stuff in social situations. I picked up some very cheap used Bronica and Mamiya gear (bodies, lenses and accessories) around that time, eBay was flooded with the stuff at irresistible prices, so clearly people were ditching the stuff then in big numbers. Looking back at my photos 2004/2005 seems to be the year when friends started to use/have phones with cameras - good old VGA resolution.

AgX · Feb 19, 2020

I know of some professionals who keep their Hasselblads for nostalgic reason, to look at them once in a while.

rayonline_nz · Feb 19, 2020

cramej said:
In some areas, there simply is no market for that equipment and it can only be stored for so long before something has to be done with it.

In NZ that is true. We don't have the same selection of variety and quantities as you guys. Often when things are available they do not sell because the people here are not willing to pay international market prices for them, still often if they are cheaper than market prices they still fail to sell. The ones here that sell are often lesser condition and cheaper stuff like the RB and a earlier model Pentax 67. LF for example barely get any buyer interest. Well also a lab issue in the country here is only 1 lab that develops any sheet film. Also with our isolation on the bottom of the pacific ocean, overseas buyers won't buy in NZ unless we have a extreme rare item due to freight and import tax.

Eg here. A Hasselblad 500CM with a 80mm at say $900US equiv doesn't come on very often but when it does it would still take a while to sell.

takilmaboxer · Feb 19, 2020

I rescued a Beseler 23Cii and 45MCRX from a dumpster behind a shop that closed. Sold the 23 to a college student for $25, and kept the 45. They sold most of their stuff for pennies but they threw those two away. Go figure!

Mainecoonmaniac · Feb 19, 2020

Over 25 years ago, I worked for photographers that had their gear for decades. Rarely photographers got rid of their gear. There was a change when digital photography became common and a lot of photographers felt the need to upgrade. There were tons of film gear on eBay for little money. I was able to buy film cameras I dreamed of having in the 80's and 90's. Now the price of old cameras has gone up. No more Hasselblad 500CM kits with 2 backs 80mm lens and a prism for $800. I also shoot digital. Pros and amateurs are selling their old gear to buy new gear. I decided to get a used Fuji XT-1 for half the original price. The camera is like new. GAS is driving the churn in photo gear and eBay is one fo the outlets.

rayonline_nz · Feb 19, 2020

jrhilton said:
The EOS 20D in 2004 seemed to be a turning point, a lot of people got excited about that DSLR!/QUOTE]

Canon 300D and Nikon D70 sub $1000US.

rayonline_nz · Feb 19, 2020

cramej said:
The photographer that I worked with for my senior portraits, engagement and wedding photos sold most of his Blads when he decided the Fuji S2 was good enough for the customers. .

Here in NZ the Fuji dslrs were also popular for portraits including to these days with limited work like passport studios.

BobD · Feb 19, 2020

They simply sold their film gear. I was buying/selling at Southern California camera shows during that period and many pros brought their film cameras in and sold them to us. KEH was there too and bought up the lions share before us "little guys" could get to them.

Cholentpot · Feb 19, 2020

Quite a few were left on shelves or in closets collecting dust. The owners tried to sell when it was too late and realized the $2k kit they bought back in the day is going for $50-100 and rather then selling or throwing out they shelved it.

I've run across this many times. Just this week I got a call from a house clean out. A gentleman had passed away and the kids were cleaning out and found a camera. I went over to look and found a closet full of photographic equipment just sitting there. It had been put in the closet one day and never removed. Film and batteries still in. I don't know the age but one camera had a roll of Portra 400UC and the other Royal 200. So that would date how long ago this stuff was shelved.

Along comes young whippersnapper me and made an offer and got it all. I'd like to think this is what happens to equipment but I know it most probably gets tossed. Anything I didn't buy is going to get thrown away. Why? Because they won't give it away for free and rather have it thrown out. So much for that Russian 100mm f/10.5 lens. Sorry, the tiny Nikon 100mm 2.8 is worth more. And you told me it's worthless because it's small.

Sirius Glass · Feb 21, 2020

When I decided to upgrade from the Mamiya C330 to Hasselblad about eleven years ago was about the time that the professional photographers started trading in their film equipment for digital and I was forced to buy up all the Hasselblad lenses I could at Samys. Even the Hasselblad bodies were at give away prices.

Dennis-B · Feb 21, 2020

I worked as a stringer for a fair-sized newspaper in the mid-late 60's; they were just moving from Speed Graphics to 35mm Nikons. I had a chance to buy a Speed Graphic from the surplus, but they were so beat to death, that the cost to repair was way beyond what they were worth. Taped bellows, jury-rigged flash sync, non-functioning focal plane shutters, scratched lenses, you name it.

removed account4 · Feb 21, 2020

a lot of the people i know sold their pro film gear and have tried to give away darkroom stuff but no one wants it.
i've given a lot of things gifted to me to community arts centers so they can keep being used by people who want and need them.

When/how did professionals got rid of their film cameras?

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When/how did professionals got rid of their film cameras?

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