Your Great Garage Sale 35mm Find?

[Pumal]

I recently found an Olympus M-1 with Zuiko 1.4 for 25 US$

 

[Carlb]

I recently found an Olympus M-1 with Zuiko 1.4 for 25 US$

Now that's a deal and a half

My best deal wasn't at a garage sale, but I did buy an FE2 with MD 12 and a 35-105 Nikkor zoom (all in excellent condition) for $250 from the guy who CLA's my cameras

 

[Simplicius]

I think I posted here before about a previous coup.

More news kinda just in:

A few weeks ago I was at the local camera repair place, this guy works out of his house a total gent and a wonderful array of cameras everywhere, his and customers fully serviced awaiting pick-up. A real play ground and a great place to hold some out of budget pro stuff as well as cherished oldies.

I was shown a Konica Auto S3 rangefinder and told that it would give any Leica a run for it’s money in sharpness, The camera felt tiny and puny to me. I got the history of hexagon lens and their legendary sharpness. It was a camera I'd have ignored completely if I saw it.

Fast forward two weekends later in a small town in West Cork, the local charity shop, there is the usual 3 or 4 Haminex plastic crappy point and shot 35mms hanging by their cords in the corner gathering dust, sometimes you find a decent case, always worth a look. There amongst them was an Auto S3, with original case. The lens was mint as a filter was wedged tight on. They said €20, I knew I could have haggled for less but thought a steal is a steal.

I've tried it and wow what a lens, if we get sunshine in Ireland this summer (5% probability!!) I can't wait to try this fill in flash feature.

That night I also got to hold a few Hasselblad Systems…this is the dangerous part … “Dear Santa Claus ………….

 

[Carlb]

Not really a garage sale find, but it still qualifies as a great find in my book.

A Pentax M 120mm f2.8 lens for 120 Aussie dollars - and it's in pristine condition. These things seem to be rarer than rocking horse poo, I can't find that much info about them on the net. Looks like a perfect companion to my 100mm.

I love the M series lenses, the build quality is fantastic.

 

[billh101]

Last summer I found a beautiful Olympus OM1n w/ 50 1.8 for $20. It was super clean with a working battery. The lady said she had bought it in England. Also, I used to work at a camera store years ago when I was in college. An elderly lady came in one time and gave me a nice Kodak Bantam Special with the leather carrying case and strap. She said that she was going to a nursing home and had to get rid of it, and if something is special to you, you give it away, not sell it. She said that the camera went around the world with her twice in her younger years. I wish I could find film to take pictures with it, but it is a treasured part of my collection anyway. I'm still watching garage sales for a great Leica deal.

 

[kavandje]

An 85 year old lady today sold me a ~1954 Zeiss Ikon Contaflex Beta with working light meter (w00t) and both wide angle and tele attachments, with original receipts, shutter regularly exercised, super clean. US $40 (equivalent).

 

[BetterSense]

Here in the US, sellers at garage sales (and Craig's List) seem to have one of the following two mindsets about 35mm SLR cameras: They think they are completely worthless because they use film (which is dead), or they think they are worth the exact same amount of money that they originally paid for them 10-20 years ago.

Luckily, most people fall under the first category.

You mean most people where you live fall under the first category. Around here they are all in the second.

 

[darinwc]

hoo-haa!

At denio's market i picked up a pentax me super 50mm f1.7 m and me winder for $25.

The camera had problems with the advance lever but after asking over on a repair forum I got the answer I needed. Was a pretty easy fix.

Now its working perfectly. The camera is sighly worn but it was mainly just dirty. The lens had a filter on it so the glass is perfect. And the winder works, but its not very impressive.

Wow I would have paid 25$ just for the winder alone on ebay, and I got the satisfaction of fixing a great little camera. What a deal!

 

[EdColorado]

828 film

I found this link that you might want to look at. Tells you how to re-spool 35mm for use in an 828 camera. Harder than 120 - 620 but doesn't look too bad.

http://www.daniel.mitchell.name/cameras/index.php?page=spool828

Last summer I found a beautiful Olympus OM1n w/ 50 1.8 for $20. It was super clean with a working battery. The lady said she had bought it in England. Also, I used to work at a camera store years ago when I was in college. An elderly lady came in one time and gave me a nice Kodak Bantam Special with the leather carrying case and strap. She said that she was going to a nursing home and had to get rid of it, and if something is special to you, you give it away, not sell it. She said that the camera went around the world with her twice in her younger years. I wish I could find film to take pictures with it, but it is a treasured part of my collection anyway. I'm still watching garage sales for a great Leica deal.

 

[billh101]

828 film

I found this link that you might want to look at. Tells you how to re-spool 35mm for use in an 828 camera. Harder than 120 - 620 but doesn't look too bad.

http://www.daniel.mitchell.name/cameras/index.php?page=spool828

Thanks! It looks like a lot of work for a roll of film, but I will have to find another 828 spool and try it sometime.

Bill

 

[leicarfcam]

I picked up a Minolta Maxxum 5 with 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 D lens with cap and hood today at a local flea market for $20 and a Minolta MD 70-210mm f/4 macro zoom for $10..

 

[Roger Thoms]

I picked up a Rollie Prego 70 for 10 bucks, had a little damage to the body, striped screw, fixed it with tape. Otherwise the camera look brand new, with box, users manuel, case, strap, etc. Half way through my first roll of film so I don't know if I wasted my money or not. The seller did throw in 20 sheets of 8x10 Ilford RC paper and a Marshalls oil pencil kit that hadn't sold on craigs list. Have a friend that can use the oil pencils and I can use the paper for WPPD. If the cameras good it's going in the truck for those time I don't have a real camera.

Roger

 

[Steve Smith]

An Olympus XA4 at a car boot sale today for £0.50 which is about $0.80 US.

Seems to be fully working. I have just put a film in it and I'm going out with it now.



Steve.

 

[dougjgreen]

I once picked up a Yashica Mat 124 for $25. It was fully working.

 

[Marc Akemann]

An Olympus XA4 at a car boot sale today for £0.50 which is about $0.80 US.

Seems to be fully working. I have just put a film in it and I'm going out with it now.

Steve.

Steve, I'll pay you 10x the price for your XA4 (if it works). ;-)

My brother gave me his latest garage sale find for $20. A chrome Pentax Spotmatic F with a 50/1.4 SMC Takumar, a 135/3.5 Super-Takumar with the correct lens hood and a 28/2.8 Montgomery Ward Auto Wide lens. Also included was a nice quality and original Asahi Pentax Spotmatic Operating Manual (more like a nice booklet) and a Magic Lantern Guide for the Pentax classic cameras (K2, KM, KX, LX, M Series and Spotmatic Series. All in great condition. He paid $10 for it all.

Marc

 

[Matthew Rusbarsky]

Voigtlander Bessaflex with the 50mm skopar, $18, close to mint. Been using it almost everyday since.

 

[Steve Smith]

Steve, I'll pay you 10x the price for your XA4 (if it works). ;-)

Thanks. That's quite a nice profit margin.... I think I will keep it though!

It seems to work. The shutter speed varies with the light as far as I can tell by listening and the battery check works.

And it came with the flash too!


Steve.

 

[mudman]

Not 35mm but Rolleiflex MV-EVS from 1956 for $40.

 

[Gnomad]

The last few weekends have been target rich opportunities. $5 K1000, and another $15 K1000 with bag, 135mm, and flash. $25 Canon AE1-P with 28mm and 50MM Fd lenses, and a Canon AE1 with Vivitar series 1 28-90, bag and another FD 50mm for $15. Minolta XG with a bag for $10 and a SRT102 with a Hoya zzom and 28mm prime for $10. Some of the pieces I've bought have been mainly for lenses and such, I'm thinking I need to figure out which cameras I want to keep and fleabay the rest.

The Minoltas came from garage sales within walking distance. It's getting to the point where I leave anything more than $25 on the table.

 

[Ektagraphic]

While it is not 35mm, my best find is an SX-70 with a case and about 30 flashcubes for my other Polaroids all for $25!

 

[nicefor88]

Back in 2005, a guy at a flea market in central Brussels was selling cameras he had bought (probably for peanuts) from an old lady who's husband had passed away. She didn't know the value of this collection. Turned out the seller didn't either...
Among lots of Praktika, Chinon and the like ... a Nikon FM in beautiful condition. So, Beauty among the Beasts, a flower surrounded by rubbish.
Got it for 45 euro. He he, didn't need it but the bargain was just too hot to be missed.

 

[mrladewig]

I see quite a bit of stuff out at my local flea market, from junk to real good stuff.

I have two very good photography oriented flea market finds.

1) 1st edition of Eliot Porter's "In Wildness..." in good condition for $1. Its not everyone's cup of tea, but its certainly worth more than a dollar.

2) 4X5 Calumet rail camera with a 65/8 Schneider Super Angulon and 150/5.6 Schneider Symmar-S and 12 film holders, a case and a tripod for $100. I never planned on shooting 4X5, but now its my primary format.

The one I let get away was a Minolta setup with a Rokkor-X 35/1.8 and 85/1.7 and a body in good condition. The guy wanted something like $40 for it. I've also seen lots of FD mount Canon cameras and a few Nikons and quite a few Pentax m42 mount bits.

 

[Pumal]

Pentax Super Program with a 50mm Pentax-A for 5 bucks. (WORKING!)

 

[Chazzy]

The one I let get away was a Minolta setup with a Rokkor-X 35/1.8 and 85/1.7 and a body in good condition. The guy wanted something like $40 for it.

I can't believe that you let those lenses get away. You could have sold them on eBay for $200 each, in nice condition. I ought to know—I've been waiting for a bargain to happen on those two lenses, and they always go for more than I can afford.

 

[mike c]

At the county land fill somebody had thrown out many boxes of older 35mm cameras and lenes. I started grabing as much as I could before the dosezer plowed them under ,ended up with a Regula RM,Kodak Signet 40,two small selinim cell lite meter(both work),a 58mm 1.4 mc Rokkor PF Minolta lens (aperture blades are sluggish) misc. camera straps and stuff. Alot more stuff there but they chased me off as your not suppose to salvage any thing. Keep thinking that there was more treasure there but could not get to it.

mike c.