Would you buy this Hassy?

[elchinosanz]

Greetings,

I take my negatives to a local printing lab for scanning. They don't get any film shooters (besides people with family pictures). Today I was chatting with the owner and he was telling me how he can't get rid of his old kit which consists of:

-a 501c with 3 lenses (80,150,40)
-three A12 and one polaroid film back
-waist-level and prism finder
-all nicely packaged in a big Pelican Case.

I (being a nice guy) told him he could CLA it and sell it for 1000+ online. He didn' seem to believe me and offered it all to me for $500.

Cosmetically everything is perfect but one lens had some fungus as did the bottom part of the camera around the tripod mount.

Would you buy this kit? Do you think a CLA will do the trick?

 

[Sirius Glass]

If I were you I would take it for $500. Check out if every thing is working. CLA those things that do not work. Because of the fungus, clean off the fungus and have the body CLA'd. Put the lenses in bright sun light to let the UV light work on any possible fungus. Shoot film with each back in bright Sun, letting the sun light shine on the left side of the camera and keep track of the film to see if the light seals need replacing. If there are light leaks they will show up the left side of the photograph.

 

[Alan9940]

Even with the bit of fungus, I'd consider this outfit almost a steal. Go for it!

Good luck!

 

[Sirius Glass]

In fact if you can get two at that price, do it.

 

[frank]

Yes, take it. Get a package for me too.

 

[benjiboy]

No, I wouldn't, there's always another good deal around the corner and with cash in your hand you can always get a bargain.

 

[canuhead]

that's a good price based on the description. the body fungus should be simple to deal with if it didn't migrate anywhere else. which lens has the fungus ? if it were the 80, that would suck. do you know if the lenses are T* coated ?

iow, I'd buy

 

[elchinosanz]

Thanks for the replies! I'm pretty sure I'm gonna go for it and follow the advice given.

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[elchinosanz]

that's a good price based on the description. the body fungus should be simple to deal with if it didn't migrate anywhere else. which lens has the fungus ? if it were the 80, that would suck. do you know if the lenses are T* coated ?

iow, I'd buy

Don't know about the coating but the fungus is on the 40 if my memory serves me right.

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[John Koehrer]

Short answer: Yes!

Depending on which lens has the fungus issue, how bad, internal/external and if there's internal fungus on the body.
Cost on cleaning the body is what? Around $300. Internal cleaning on which(?) lens, tops $300, maybe less.

Personally, after examining it; if the fungus on the body is external I wouldn't clean it unless it malfunctions.
Unless the lens fungus is between cemented elements it "shouldn't" be too expensive to clean. BUT fungus
may have etched the glass. No way to know without having someone take it apart.

I'm sure someone here would be interested in the kit if you wanted to sell it on.



Ignore the spoilsport(#6) above.

 

[Sirius Glass]

#6 does not understand what a great opportunity this is. He has had the cameras that he wanted back in the '60's [1870's, not 1970's <<wink>> <<wink>>]

 

[Theo Sulphate]

#6 does not understand what a great opportunity this is. He has had the cameras that he wanted back in the '60's [1870's, not 1970's <<wink>> <<wink>>]

Wait! Benjiboy is Patrick McGoohan?!

Ok - it sounds like a good deal. I'd make sure the other lenses have no fungus, the body's mirror and groundglass have no fungus, and neither does the prism. Then I'd check all shutter speeds on each lens while looking through the back of the camera (magazine removed). Test at f/16 or f/22 to ensure the aperture stops down quickly enough.

 

[Roger Cole]

that's a good price based on the description. the body fungus should be simple to deal with if it didn't migrate anywhere else. which lens has the fungus ? if it were the 80, that would suck. do you know if the lenses are T* coated ?

iow, I'd buy

I think the 80 would be the BEST one to have the fungus, because it's by far the least expensive to replace. If it's too extensive, or too expensive to clean, or has etched the glass then just toss it and buy another.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Roger understands.

 

[TooManyShots]

Yes.....hahahahahaha....The 501 body alone would cost more than $500.

 

[gone]

Unless you know that the fungus can be cleaned easily, and you know for a fact that the camera and back are working reliably, no dice. These are interesting cameras (and not everyone gets on w/ them), but if something is out of whack, you can spend a lot of time and money fixing them. So unless you consider that $500 just a starting point, which it may very well be,......

If the camera itself has fungus on the bottom, and the lens as well, I am thinking that everything's been stored and unused for some time. This is not good.

 

[frank]

You have to consider the strong possibility that any used gear you buy may soon need a cla (unless there is proof of a recent one.) Fungus removal will be done during a cla, but will add a bit more to the cost of the service.

 

[hsteeves]

I would be running, cash in hand, to buy this. Even with the fungus. There are very good Blad repair people around - ship everything in for a check up. Even if you spent $1k on clean-up, it would still be worth it.

 

[Slixtiesix]

This price is irresistible. Even if these are C-lenses the kit may be worth roughly 2k $. I do not understand why he is insisting on this low price although you already told him better... Seems like he really wants to let it go. You should help him to get rid of it ;-) Fun aside, it may be sensible to have a CLA done on it, especially on the lens with fungus. If it´s only mildly infested it may still be saved.

 

[CropDusterMan]

Buy it. $500 is nothing in the grand scheme of things.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I would be running, cash in hand, to buy this. Even with the fungus. There are very good Blad repair people around - ship everything in for a check up. Even if you spent $1k on clean-up, it would still be worth it.

+1

This price is irresistible. Even if these are C-lenses the kit may be worth roughly 2k $. I do not understand why he is insisting on this low price although you already told him better... Seems like he really wants to let it go. You should help him to get rid of it ;-) Fun aside, it may be sensible to have a CLA done on it, especially on the lens with fungus. If it´s only mildly infested it may still be saved.

+1

Buy it. $500 is nothing in the grand scheme of things.

+1

 

[John Koehrer]

If you like, I'd certainly be willing to give you $100 on top of the $500 if you don't want it.
Because of the humidity there, I'd store it in a cabinet, out of the case with a small light bulb to keep it dry.

 

[elchinosanz]

Well.. the guy just got smart and backed out. I told him to give me a price so we'll see. I suspect it'll be much higher If he searched online.

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[canuhead]

damn. do your research and have a fair counter price in mind if he does offer it to you again. or let them sit on it with no buyers, then maybe they'll come back with better price

 

[frank]

Sometimes if you snooze, you loose.