Benjamin Marks
Veteran
Well, I'm not to be trusted on this stuff. But my sense is that if you wait 10 years, that you may not be able to really have the fun you want to with some of these cameras. The prices are historically low because pros have dumped them in droves. There is still life in that XPan yet, though, and you will be able to find a good variety of emulsions for the next several years. I had one and loved it, but the slow speed of the lenses really made it an outdoor camera for me. And the stitching features of Photoshop made it easier to solve my occasional panny-itch digitally. I would buy the Xpan if you always wanted one. Shoot with it like a demon for a year. Sell it. Then buy the M7 with the proceeds. Think of it as an entertainment expense. I easily jettisoned my cable t.v. That's $1000 a year right there. Hello, Hassie! Be creative instead of a lump in front of the tube!
Keith
The best camera is one that still works!
Or a lump behind a keyboard!
I have to go out and get coffee ... and today I really want to try my Paterson orbital processor with some 4x5 negs ... it's been staring at me for two weeks now!
W
wblanchard
Guest
I've seen some nice things for sale in our classifieds, but when i check their profile there is little to zero postings. Not to say they won't mail the camera and stuff, just makes me look to other ads. Sort of like eBay and feedback ratings. Participation in the forums here and knowing the person a bit from posts go along way IMO.
amateriat
We're all light!
Makes me glad I put together my Hexar setup some time ago...no "shoulda/woulda/coulda" stuff to whine about.
- Barrett
- Barrett
Cron
Well-known
quality of film is better than ever, so, if viewing slides or print photos you will get cheap excellent equipment you dreamt of ten years ago!
stavros_polyviou
Newbie
I certainly fit that description (several classifieds ads, almost zero posts)
I've been a member for several years now. Checking RFF is part of my daily ritual. I just never had something important to contribute to any of the threads that I followed (except this one apparently ).I thought I'd post my 'for sale' items here where there are lots of people who would be interested in them. There is no market for used Leica gear where I live (Cyprus) and no second hand shops I could sell through. If this fails, I can just take a quick trip to Austria and sell them through a vendor I've done business with in the past. I'll lose more money due to the sales commission and my travel expenses but the buyer would probably buy the exact same item at the price that I am posting here or higher. And all because I never posted a picture of my cat...
gilpen123
Gil
And a chair as well. It''s really difficult to buy from almost zero posts but a reference will always be of help specially if the item/s are high end. No offense to lurkers though.
Cron
Well-known
internet is risky esp with higher priced items;
feedback is important to decide to buy or not, take a look into e***
Some members here burnt much money in the past, I prefer to buy personally face to face.
Stavros, good luck for your sale
feedback is important to decide to buy or not, take a look into e***
Some members here burnt much money in the past, I prefer to buy personally face to face.
Stavros, good luck for your sale
gilpen123
Gil
In most places other than US and some parts of Europe, it's very difficult to see a variety of RF cameras/lenses on sale. If there are I'm pretty sure prices are way up there. I rely heavily on online buying but I choose very carefully who and where I buy from. You'll never go wrong with online sellers like KEH, BH, Tamarkin, Adorama, PopFlash, etc. new and used though prices are more often on the high side but definitely not ridiculous as in EBay. RFF, Get DPI and other similar Forum classifieds are the best as communication is easy and most have been used by the members and are honest enough to declare positive and negative details of the item/s.
HuubL
hunter-gatherer
Stavros, it's never too late to start posting here and this one is good for a start! Now let's see those cats. Aren't they one of Cyprus's trademarks?I certainly fit that description (several classifieds ads, almost zero posts)
I thought I'd post my 'for sale' items here where there are lots of people who would be interested in them. There is no market for used Leica gear where I live (Cyprus) and no second hand shops I could sell through. If this fails, I can just take a quick trip to Austria and sell them through a vendor I've done business with in the past. I'll lose more money due to the sales commission and my travel expenses but the buyer would probably buy the exact same item at the price that I am posting here or higher. And all because I never posted a picture of my cat...
Benjamin Marks
Veteran
Or a lump behind a keyboard!
Keith: laughed out loud when I read this. Absolutely. The main difference is that I am in front of a keyboard 8-10 hours a day -- must do for my work. To mangle a phrase: no amateur photographer at the end of his life says, "I wish I had spent less time taking photos , , ,"
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Krosya
Konicaze
It's funny, though that I see more and more of a "High End" gear for sale lately. I wonder if it's due to current poor economy and hardship or people just realize that some things are way overpriced for what they are and less expensive gear will do just as well?
Since that high end gear seems to sell fast - I suppose it's not the hardship after all. Maybe this is a way to invest your money nowdays?
Since that high end gear seems to sell fast - I suppose it's not the hardship after all. Maybe this is a way to invest your money nowdays?
stavros_polyviou
Newbie
Alas, I have no cat
And if I did, I'd probably have slapped a Leica logo on him and have tried to sell him through the classifieds as well... 
ray*j*gun
Veteran
When I see gear that interests me here and the member is new AND has very few posts (or none). I try to experiment with that seller.....E.G. pm with a valid question and gauge the response quality and quickness. Then if possible I will buy a low priced item and see how that goes. Its worked for me ...although I have lost out on some items that sold quickly but what can you do about that.....lol. I have also learned who not to deal with by taking that approach.
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
I hope I'm done for a while. I loaded up the truck as they say on Wall Street over the last two years. Because of the recession that started in late 2008, I started buying Leica at firesale prices at the hieght of the credit crisis when people with their credit extended beyond their means began selling their treasures. Bought a lot of gear at low prices and in exceptional condition.
Use to only be a Nikon only SLR shooter, but I first built a Leica M Kit, then a LTM kit, and most recently a three camera MF kit. Perhaps only a Rolleiflex 2.8F is on my wish list, but I'm good for a while.
Lately I have been even more picky about condition-condition-condition, but I have noticed that the very clean gear that has collectable appeal or rarity disappears very rapidly. Several times I've been sniped, where stuff posted at B&H or Adorama disappears before I get off work the same day, and at KEH whenever I waited a day to make the decision to purchase, the item(s) disappeared.
I wonder how many people who are not homeowners are taking advantage of zero APR credit card offers to buy gear as hard assets (treasure). Seems to me that the smart money is looking for a future time of inflation, but for now many people are taliking advantage of a sea of "Free Money" provided indirectly by governments. Hoarding at its best because paper currency will experiance a future devaluation.
Cal
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ItsReallyDarren
That's really me
hmm wish for another recession with the hopes of more cheap camera treasures or a recovery bringing back the normal (more expensive) price of luxury goods. dang wish I had more funds to buy stuff while the getting was good.
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
Darren,
Be carefull what you ask for. Many analysts and the FED say a chance of a double dip recession is remote, but I figure otherwise. To me the housing market really hasn't bottomed yet, and look out below.
It seems the FED and Wall Street ignores the most basic lesson from Statistics 101, which is regression to the mean. Took 5-6 years for a housing bubble to inflate, and I say it will take 5-6 years to bottom. Add the delays for mortgage defaults to become mortgage foreclosures (6-9 months) and don't disregard the huge "shadow inventory" (oversupply not on the market). Our economy will likely be fragile and vulnerable for many years, I say.
Look at the IMF (International Money Fund) chart on mortgage defaults. They indicate another mortgage default spike that is bigger than the one we just experianced. These are the Alternate A loans, interest only, and other mortgages that have terms that strongly resemble credit cards.
And then there is a third spike that will begin in the first quarter of 2011 that will overlap with the second spike that will occur mid 2010. Remember to add/combine the 6-9 month delay for defaults to become foreclosures. I say it might be 2012 the earliest before there is a "real" bottom the the housing bubble.
DISCLAIMER: I am not a licensed professional, but I do have a journalism background that allows me to draw out truth and form it into a narritive. I also sold all my energy stocks when oil first traded at $135.00 a barrel. Later that day oil peaked at $147.00 (Futures contract) and the house of cards fell. I closed my margin account that day. Energy stocks became uncorrelated when oil contracts hit $137.00 a barrel by the way, and I sold very near the top.
Now I sit on a lot of hard assets, while governments devalue currencies. Welcome to a new world.
Cal
I think the classifieds here are being used by more new people because ebay's fees have gotten out of control. The classifieds here are a good deal.
dogberryjr
[Pithy phrase]
This, and, to me at least, I'd rather lose a bit on the top end of a price and deal with a community.