Minolta Film SLR Bargain

[Don Schaeffer]

Last month I purchased a mint condition Minolta X-370 SLR for $100 (apparently the going price nowadays). It came MInolta MD 50 and 28 mm lenses and a dedicated flash. Yesterday I bought a 135 Minolta Roccar Lens for $30. What bargains!

[Xia_Ke]

I know, it's great! There are some great deals out there right now for 35mm and MF cameras. My Canonet QL17 GIII w/ case and original flash and my Nikkormat w/ case and Nikkor 50mm F/2 were both only like $35 each. Spent $10 on a seal kit and they are both in perfect working order now. My Rolleicord I think was only like $115 with case. Slow speeds are little off but, it's mint cosmetically and is good to go at any handholdable speed. Now if I could just find a nice 8x10 field camera with lens and film backs for under $2,000 :cryin:

[another view]

Now if I could just find a nice 8x10 field camera with lens and film backs for under $2,000 :cryin:

Find two of them, please!

It seems like with LF cameras (not so much the lenses, boards and film holders) that buying new is the best route. Bellows replacement is expensive, and a lot of used cameras sell for close enough to the price of a new one anyway - one problem and you'd have more money wrapped up in a repaired good used one than a new one!

And actually I was surprised about Nikon 50 f1.4 AIS lenses. I have one that's almost unused (long story) that has a big piece of something inside of it. If I could buy another one for less than $50, I might just try to take it apart and see if I could put it back together again (odds are not in my favor). However they're going for three times that so I guess I'll send it in... Seems like some of the "newer" film stuff might overall be on the way back up but I'm glad I got $400 out of my F100 two years ago! They're going for less than half that these days.

[Xia_Ke]

...I'm glad I got $400 out of my F100 two years ago! They're going for less than half that these days.

You are very lucky there. I saw a couple not too long ago go for $199 with motor drive

[photophorous]

I've been doing lots of research on Minolta manual focus gear. It's one of the best values available right now, because these lenses can't be used on any DSLRs, like the Nikon's can. I got a 50/1.4 BGN grade from KEH for $18, and the glass looks great. I have an X-370, and I'm thinking about getting an SRT101 or SRT201 because they have mirror lock up. I also just ordered a 24mm f2.8 Rokkor. It's supposed to be one of the best lenses in the line up, and better than the Nikon version. The one I got was in almost mint condition, so I paid more for it, $160. Christmas present to myself. I have a couple of vivitar lenses too, including a 135mm f2.8. It's not as sharp as I'd like, but I like the focal length, so I'm thinking about buying a $40-50 Minolta version that's supposed to be very sharp.

This is fun, because you can afford to build a complete kit.

[Xia_Ke]

Now that I'm getting a little more used to my Oly, I've been checking prices on lenses and other bodies and there are some very good deals out there. A lot less compared to shopping for Nikon or Canon. For 35mm, my next purchase will probably be a 24mm or 28mm prime for the Oly and I would also like to pick up a nice rangefinder at some point. I'm leaning towards an old Zeiss Contax II or IIa but, those are little out of the budget range at about $600 - $700 with lens

[photophorous]

Now that I'm getting a little more used to my Oly, I've been checking prices on lenses and other bodies and there are some very good deals out there. A lot less compared to shopping for Nikon or Canon. For 35mm, my next purchase will probably be a 24mm or 28mm prime for the Oly and I would also like to pick up a nice rangefinder at some point. I'm leaning towards an old Zeiss Contax II or IIa but, those are little out of the budget range at about $600 - $700 with lens

Those old Oly SLRs have a great reputation, and I think the lenses are supposed to be very good too. They're also about the smallest SLRs you can get. Nikon and Canon manual SLRs are very good, but not the best values.

As far as RFs are concerned, I like my Bessa very much. Contax are of course great too, but you have a lot smaller selection of lenses to choose from, so the prices will be higher. There are tons of Leica screw mount and M-mount RF lenses out there.

[Xia_Ke]

...Contax are of course great too, but you have a lot smaller selection of lenses to choose from, so the prices will be higher. There are tons of Leica screw mount and M-mount RF lenses out there.

Yeah, I know It's a distant pipe dream at this point. LF and darkroom have to come first. (note to self, buy Powerball tickets on the way home from work )

[photophorous]

Yeah, I know It's a distant pipe dream at this point. LF and darkroom have to come first. (note to self, buy Powerball tickets on the way home from work )

No kidding about the Powerball. I started thinking LF wouldn't be too expensive until I remembered I'd need a new flatbed scanner and a new computer to handle those 100 MP files. Doh!

[Xia_Ke]

I just wish I could find a good 8x10 field camera in the same range as an 8x10 studio camera I've scene some nice 8x10 monorails for around $800 - $1000 but, no way in hell am I lugging one of those through the woods...LOL

[another view]

Those old Oly SLRs have a great reputation, and I think the lenses are supposed to be very good too. They're also about the smallest SLRs you can get. Nikon and Canon manual SLRs are very good, but not the best values.

The Olympus OM series are great cameras, and great glass to go with them. I think a lot of the price situation is the compatibility with current stuff (the "D" word). I can use five of the six Nikon lenses I have with my 21 year old FA, or a brand new DSLR. This isn't true with Olympus - or hey, not Canon either (FD series, anyway...).