Your best deal ever?

[dpurdy]

A b&J 4x5 with 135 Steinheil lens for 25 bucks at a garage sale.
An M3 SS Leica with 50mm dual range Summicron for 450 and a garage sale.
A 2.8E2 Rolleiflex with optical glass in place and all in mint condition at a camera swap meet for 600.
A mint condition, probably hot, Pentax digital spot meter with Zone 6 conversion for 125.00 on Craig's list.

I sold everything except the spot meter for a profit. Made 800 dollars on the Rollei.

 

[Kav]

I've been very lucky and have had a few good deals. My most recent one was a very nice Nikon F3HP with a motor drive and a 85mm f2 for $115. The lens looks like it's never been on a camera.It was a tax free weekend here in NC for school supplies. And photographic gear counts as school supplies so it was tax free as well. The main camera store I go to held on to it and waited for me to come in to give me first dibs on it. They had another 85mm f2 for about $200 in their display case. I get along with the folks that work there very well, and I questioned the low price. They responded that I was a good customer and thought I would like the camera/lens. So they sold it to me for $10 more then they paid for it.

I was also given a Hasselblad ELX500 with a 80mm f2.8, 45* prism finder, and two film magazines last year.

 

[ambaker]

I think this is going to be someone's great deal. Too bad it is pickup only.

Even if it needs more than a fuse, there is plenty of room there for a big savings.

http://www.shopgoodwill.com/viewItem.asp?ItemID=11287182

Sadly I live within four hours of there, but am headed to Pennsylvania on vacation...

 

[Andrew K]

my best buy has to be a SX-70 - original model in fitted leather case for $25 at a flea market a couple of years ago. Have you seen what these go for now?

Mines worth a bit more though - seeings it's one of the Gold Plated ones

 

[edibot42]

The best deal I've ever gotten was probably an Ektagraphic III ATS for $5 from a neighbor that was moving away.

 

[Ian Grant]

A Petzval lens for £20 at a flea market very dirty lens elements full of spiders - now pristine.

A £3 Prontor SVS shutter with some lens cells, only a mint 203mm f7.7 Ektar - the more desirable UK made version which fits #0 shutters.

Just off to the flea market . . . . . .

Ian

 

[Steve Weston]

Durst Modular 70 Colour, 2 x Kaiser 4 Bladed easels, 50mm f2.8 and 80mm f4 APO Rodagons plus a load of other bits and bobs £110.00. I had to transport from Austria which added another £80 but it was worth it.

Steve

 

[John_Nikon_F]

Lately, it seems that KEH has been giving me real good deals through their eBay store. Picked up four Nikkormat camera bodies for $33.70, plus the $6.95 shipping charge. Only one had enough issues to make me decide to purge it. The other three were in good working order. One will eventually need some repair work done to the meter - since it's a little erratic in response, and the other two mainly just needed refoaming.

-J

 

[ambaker]

I think this is going to be someone's great deal. Too bad it is pickup only.

Even if it needs more than a fuse, there is plenty of room there for a big savings.

http://www.shopgoodwill.com/viewItem.asp?ItemID=11287182

Sadly I live within four hours of there, but am headed to Pennsylvania on vacation...

Turns out that I was able to arrange a pickup on the way back. So a Novatron 440 Plus, with four heads, is mine for $16.75.

 

[summicron1]

rolleiflex 2.8 E in cherry condition for $17 at a thrift store.

 

[ambaker]

rolleiflex 2.8 E in cherry condition for $17 at a thrift store.

Ok, now I am jealous! Sweet find!

 

[John_Nikon_F]

Black Spottie for $5+tax, and chrome Nikon FM, also for $5+tax. Spottie was marked as "parts" because of a "dead meter". Put a battery in, and it responds to light. FM needed to have the parts for the rewind crank extracted from the film chamber and reinstalled. Also needs a bit of a cleaning and refoaming. Someone got an F3HP with a meter that was off a stop, and with MD-4 for $5+tax. Even I would've gone for it. Even though I don't care for the F3 meter readout.

All these were @ the Glazer's Camera sidewalk sale today.

-J

 

[werra]

$50+shipping 5x7 top handle Speed, fully working, would probably qualify. As well as 150/2 Darlot petzval from 1863, for about the same sum, with shipping.

 

[afrank]

150 meters of Ektachrome 60mm unperforated for 30eur.

 

[pbromaghin]

Not my best deal ever, but yesterday I got 40 rolls of expired Portra 120, 1/2 iso 400, 1/2 iso 160, out of a pro-gone-digital's refrigerator for a buck a roll.

 

[Kav]

Best deal update for me. Out of the blue I was contacted to see if I want some darkroom equipment. So far I know it has a Durst 4x5 enlarger with a color head, a Jobo CPE-2 with lift, numerous Jobo expert drums for film and prints up to 16x20, timers, paper safes, paper, lenses, maybe some Nikon gear, etc, etc. All I have to do is go get it. Lucky for me, work was sending my that way anyways. So I will be packing it up and shipping it all from Cali to NC. Depending on what all I find and get I will give the extra gear that I currently own to some one that needs it.

 

[mwdake]

Best deal update for me. Out of the blue I was contacted to see if I want some darkroom equipment. So far I know it has a Durst 4x5 enlarger with a color head, a Jobo CPE-2 with lift, numerous Jobo expert drums for film and prints up to 16x20, timers, paper safes, paper, lenses, maybe some Nikon gear, etc, etc. All I have to do is go get it. Lucky for me, work was sending my that way anyways. So I will be packing it up and shipping it all from Cali to NC. Depending on what all I find and get I will give the extra gear that I currently own to some one that needs it.

Pretty much the same set up I got for free also, but I only had to drive 15 miles to get. Plus mine was a CPP2 and I also got a bunch of like new film holders in 4x5 and 8x10.

Then not long after I went to a local auction where they had an Omega D5 with a bunch of stuff including a Saunders 16x20 easel. The easel was pretty much the only thing I wanted and nobody seemed to know what the stuff was as most were there for jewelry and furniture etc. nobody bid at $50 so the auctioneer lowered to $25 so I bid, I should have waited as he probably would have dropped to $10. Nobody else bid and the auctioneer said he did not know what I had bought but it was mine for $25.