Good sources for used film cameras

[Glasstream15]

I won't tell you what year I started "playing" with cameras, film was all that existed then, and used everything from box Brownies to Rollies borrowed from my dad and occasionally a Leica iiid or iiif.

I will say the President was a haberdasher from Missouri. I really enjoyed film photography, mostly B&W, for many years and had several neat darkroom setups, although none like my fathers 20 X 20 outbuilding with tanks to develop roll film up to 8X10 and 20X24 trays with a cold light Besseler enlarger. Some incredible pictures came from there.

Unfortunately, I lost interest in photography about 25 or 30 years ago and everything except the memories is now gone. I have started to get back a bit seriously now and have an XT and a K2 along with a Canon Photura from the early 90s, probably the most advanced P&S 35 ever.

I really do want to, very slowly due to severe budget and space restraints, get back into some of that fun. But looking at places like B&H for used gear is absolutely shocking. $3000 for a Rollie? I'm sure that B&H is very reputable and that is the going price for such a magnificent camera, but something more like that Yashica in another thread or some other MF, reasonably priced camera.

I will be a regular reader, if not participant in this film forum, and may add something here and there as I take as much as I can from here.

[Xia_Ke]

Hi Glassstream From all the places I have checked, I would start with KEH or Adorama for used MF gear. That said, if you want a Rollei/
Yashica/TLR, you can't beat Ebay if you don't mind taking a chance. Your best bet, budget wise, if you want a Rollei is going to be a Rolleicord or an older Rolleiflex Automat. A Rolleicord V or older will run you up to about $175 roughly for a mint one with good shutter. I paid $115 for a close to mint condition Rolleicord V, though 1/15 and slower are off and are actually about double (i.e. 1/15 is about 1/8 and so on). A Rolleiflex Automat MX or older will run up to about $250 for a mint one with good shutter. I you are leaning more towards a Yashica, I would email Mark Hama. I picked up a 124G from him for $125 with a 6 month warranty. It wasn't the prettiest but, it was mint mechanically. What kind of budget are you working with? Would be glad to help you track something down.

[Glasstream15]

Not really to sure yet what the budget will be. Not even sure I want to try MF again yet. May work up to it from the 35. Just really starting to look a little, and get some equipment ideas. I'm not even sure if I can set up much in the way of processing.

I just, for physical reasons, had to get off the bike, which kills my Dragon Dreams, and now I think photography again, would be fun and a challenge. Here we have some of the oldest and most bueatiful structures in the USA and they have been photographed from every possible angle at least 1000 times. So now the challenge. How have they NOT been taken?

So this is where I am, and I will be getting more into this. And I will appreciate any help and I'll jump in where I can.

But any new purchases will definitely have to wait until after the first of the year. Gotta pay for the Daughter and Grandaughter's presents.

And I might even like to try an old 35 RF. I used to love RF cameras. Fast and silent.

[Greg McCary]

You can get a Canon QL17 real cheap off of e-bay. They are great little cameras. But you probably know that already.

[Xia_Ke]

No worries, you're not alone. I have a few things on the wish list that will need to wait til after X-mas shopping too. If you want a cheap entry in 35mm RF, you should check out Canonets. There's quite a few of us here that use them. They are awesome for the price and if you don't ind a fixed 40mm lens. I think I paid like $35 for mine with case and flash. All it needed was new seals which is about another $10 for the material and easily done at home.

[Xia_Ke]

LOL... Greg beat me to it :thumbsup:

[another view]

Another option for an inexpensive MF rig is a Bronica SQ-A. I had one of those, an SQ-Am (with motor drive) and a newer but all mechanical SQ-B due to some enterprising trading... They're basically knockoffs of Hasselblads and quite inexpensive. It's been a couple years since I had one but I never had a problem with any of it and the lenses were very good. Just be sure to keep it turned off when it's in the bag because those little batteries are expensive...

[mtbbrian]

If you really want to have some medium format fun on the cheap, try a Holga!
The best place to get one is www.holgamods.com.
A new one can be had for $30.
Brian
Holga = FUN!

[photophorous]

There are several fixed-lens 35mm rangefinders from the 70s that are very good values. Canonet is one, but Minolta, Olympus and Yashica also made some. I'm sure there are others too.

Lots of good information (nothing for sale) on old cameras here: http://www.photoethnography.com/equipment.html

Good info on old Minolta equipment here:
http://www.rokkorfiles.com/

Another good cheap option are Russian rangefinders. They started out as knock offs of Contax and Leica RFs and then kind of evolved into something different. Quality control was spotty, but if you buy a good sample from a reputable dealer you can get a very good camera for cheap. You'll need to do a little research to decide what's best for you, because there are many to choose from. Here's one dealer (can't think of the others) with lots of info and a link to the store: http://www.fedka.com/Frames/Main_Frame.htm

This next website is run by the same guy that runs RFF. He has lots of classic camera info and he's also one of the few US dealers of Voigtlander gear. He sells mostly new Voigtlander but also has a little bit of used gear. The Classifieds section at RFF is a good place to shop too. http://www.cameraquest.com/

Hope this is helpful.

Paul

[reverberation]

I go to several thrift stores near my house a few times a week, whenever I am passing by. I would suggest you seek out thrift stores in your area. I have gotten a number of great deals on equipment.