Your Great Garage Sale 35mm Find?

[skruft]

Over the years, the best has been a Leica M2 with a 35mm f2 Summicron for $15. Also a near mint Nikkormat FTn with 35mm f2 for $5, a Yashicamat 124 for $5, a Spotmatic with lens for $25, a Pentax Spotmeter V for $2 and a Nikon SB-600 with some other things for $15. I have found studio flash equipment at garage sales and flea markets also.

 

[elekm]

At a church's annual sale in September (2008), I bought an Olympus XA for $3. A few years ago, I bought a Praktica FX3 with a nice Meyer Primoplan for $9.95.

 

[jon koss]

Long time back I picked up Nikon F number 64004xx at a flea market.

 

[Chaplain Jeff]

My best find yet

Minolta 570
Minolta MD 70-210mm, f/4 zoom
Minolta MD-1 Motor Drive
Minolta 280PX flash
generic bag and a handfull of filters and odd accessories

$65.00


This past winter I found a Minolta Rokkor-X 28mm, f/2 for $50

For savings, percentage-wise I'm not sure which is a better deal. Between the two, my Minolta buying days are pretty much over. There's nothing left (for me) to get.

Now I need a new excuse to lurk in thrift stores.

 

[unohuu]

Minolta 570
Minolta MD 70-210mm, f/4 zoom
Minolta MD-1 Motor Drive
Minolta 280PX flash
generic bag and a handfull of filters and odd accessories

$65.00


This past winter I found a Minolta Rokkor-X 28mm, f/2 for $50

For savings, percentage-wise I'm not sure which is a better deal. Between the two, my Minolta buying days are pretty much over. There's nothing left (for me) to get.

Now I need a new excuse to lurk in thrift stores.

Between us Jeff, I think we may have had all the normals, simple WA, and short telephoto lenses in both Nikon and Minolta. But this last steal of yours was grand. I am envious as I have been shopping for the old beercan...let me know what you think of it.

Luke

 

[Steve Smith]

This morning at a car boot sale, a Kodak Autographic 2A for £8. It's in good cosmetic condition but the shutter is a bit sticky.

It doesn't have the stylus but there is a 116 take up spool so with some spacers, I should be able to use 120 with it.


Steve.

 

[benjiboy]

I bought a Nikon F with the plain prism and 1.4 lens for £40 ( about $65 US) from a market stall, this is cheaper than you think because it was more than twenty years ago, when an F was worth money.

 

[alanrockwood]

A month or so ago I bought a Ricoh 35 ZF (to replace my ailing 35 ZF), an Argus, and three light meters (two of which are questionable), all for $5.

 

[Pumal]

I bought a Nikon F with the plain prism and 1.4 lens for £40 ( about $65 US) from a market stall, this is cheaper than you think because it was more than twenty years ago, when an F was worth money.

If the gear is in good shape; I think you got a great deal. I bought mine in 1959 ( I have 3). It's 50 years.
http://www.cameraquest.com/fhistory.htm

 

[benjiboy]

If the gear is in good shape; I think you got a great deal. I bought mine in 1959 ( I have 3). It's 50 years.
http://www.cameraquest.com/fhistory.htm

I know the F is a great camera but It was pretty well worn but still worked OK, I'm a Canon FD user,and had no Nikon gear, so I sold it for a good profit and put the money towards another Canon F1 body that I still use more than twenty years on.

 

[Pumal]

I also like the Canon F-1. I have a couple.

 

[Simplicius]

At a large car boot sale this weekend: lots of rubbish, no cameras to be seen, walking around bored following my partner while she browsed with delight. then at one stand buried amongst playstations etc. A Rank Mamiya rangefinder in very good condition in original case. Glass is perfect, shutter sounds ok time wise, when fired. seals have aged and will need replacing. All for the princely sum of €4. Didn't know anything about the camera, googled it, very little on it. not a turkey though and worth more than €4.

 

[Steve Smith]

I went to a boot sale earlier today and saw a nice Canon EOS1000 outfit. I'm proud of the fact that I convinced myself I didn't need it and walked away.

Anyway, after a cup of tea, I went back to get it but it had gone!


Steve.

 

[John Koehrer]

I went to a boot sale earlier today and saw a nice Canon EOS1000 outfit. I'm proud of the fact that I convinced myself I didn't need it and walked away.

Anyway, after a cup of tea, I went back to get it but it had gone!


Steve.

That's Karma telling you that you didn't really need it.

 

[kivis]

A mint Leica IIIa (Circa 1936) and matching 50mm/f2 lens for $15.

 

[Towermax]

Excellent condition Werramatic--$20.

 

[Simplicius]

of a guy today advertising on a local website. a Nikon FM in good condition, fully functional ( haven't checked meter yet) an old flash unit and the coup de grace a mint micro nikkor 55mm f/1.8 ai-s lens all for the sum of €25.

 

[doomtroll]

A Yashica Electro 35 GSN for $20 in mint condition, including cover, case & flash (Weston W18)

 

[mudman]

I just found a yashica T4 in box for $30. I turned around and flipped it for $185.

 

[Eric Rose]

I just picked up a minty Olympus XA with flash for $15! Now I have two, but the other one the meter needle doesn't work very well. Still has bang on exposures though. I guess I will keep both of them and use one for parts if I have to.

 

[Marc Akemann]

I just picked up a minty Olympus XA with flash for $15! Now I have two, but the other one the meter needle doesn't work very well. Still has bang on exposures though. I guess I will keep both of them and use one for parts if I have to.

Great little camera for $15. I have one with me at all times. Nice find!

Marc

 

[Steve Smith]

At a boot sale today, 100 sheets of Ilford Multigrade RC Glossy, 12" x 16" in two un-opened 50 sheet boxes for £1.00

Perhaps a bit old and may be a bit foggy but at £0.01 a sheet it was a risk I was prepared to take!



Steve.

 

[Peter De Smidt]

Voightlaender Vitomatic II, a nice little rangefinder.

 

[djohnfot]

A beautiful Nikkormat FTn with attached 55mm Micro Nikkor f/3.5 lens for a whopping $20. I sold it a few years ago when I stupidly got rid of all my film SLRs. Well, I'm back into them with a vengeance, albeit without that sweet Nikkormat and that splendid lens - one of the greatest primes ever made, imho. I'm not crying too hard, though, for I did get a very nice Canon T90 with 50mm 1.8 for $20. Odd thing about that is it was sitting right next to a nice Yashica stop-down SLR that they wanted $30 for. The seller had no idea the T90 was worth 10 times their asking price and I did not volunteer the information. I reached for my wallet so quickly that I almost threw my arm outta joint. SO TOO WOULD YOU!

 

[djohnfot]

My fried Alec is a watch and vintage radio collector. A couple years ago he was visited a local thrift store and grabbed a camera bag out of a cart one of the employees was using to carry stock from the back room to the sales floor. Inside the bag was a Leica M2 with the collapsible 35mm lens. The camera and lens were in exceptionally fine condition. He bought it for $4.95!

He called me and told me about his find and I really thought he was trying to pull a joke on me. No one in their right mind would sell a Leica for $5 but they did. I saw the camera and the bag and his receipt for $4.95. Within a week he had sold the camera and lens to a dealer for $600 who, I'm sure, made a tidy profit reselling it.

I have gone into that same thrift probably a hundred times and have never found a single item worth buying. It's almost always just recycled clothing and old appliances. But Alec! He once bought a genuine Philip Patek (sp?) watch in that same store for $10! He made a tidy profit from that one, too.

Lucky guy, that Alec.