Your Opinion: Most Over-Priced Film Cameras + Most Undervalued Film Cameras?

[Out to Lunch]

Overpriced: anything sold by Lomo. Cheers, OtL

 

[Deleted member 65559]

Undervalued ? Too many to name. Anything that works for you to produce a good print.
Overvalued? P&S cameras in general ... Rollei 35 for $400+........ Contax T3 for $2,000+.....Hasselblad Xpan for $5,000+... new Leica w lens for $10,000

 

[Darthfeeble]

Over priced, Bessa 3 an 4 and the MF Bessas. Under valued Bessa L and R, I have one of each and they are superb. Not serviced and they work just fine. I hope they stay under appreciated.

 

[f.hayek]

Overvalued? P&S cameras in general ... Rollei 35 for $400+........ Contax T3 for $2,000+.....Hasselblad Xpan for $5,000+...

The Xpan is a one-of-a-kind that falls into the same basket as the few modern 6x6/6x7 RF cameras mentioned earlier. Xpan overpriced? Name an alternative ...

 

[Deleted member 65559]

The Xpan is a one-of-a-kind that falls into the same basket as the few modern 6x6/6x7 RF cameras mentioned earlier. Xpan overpriced? Name an alternative ...

So if there's nothing else like it....it's worth the money? I have an aversion to expensive cameras that can turn into bricks. $5000+ for a 20 year old camera with that risk?.... no thanks

 

[Tim Murphy]

Dear Board,

Undervalued - Canon A-1 In the last 2 years I've bought one with the MA motor drive, one with the A winder, a Sunpak 555 with the program module for Canon and Nikon TTL cameras and a couple of lenses for about $ 350.00 total. The bodies work perfectly, as do the drives. The Vivitar 35-85 f2.8 in FD mount is definitely a keeper. The other lenses are meh.

Overpriced - The Canon AE-1 and AE-1P. They ain't A-1's and yet they sell for more money. Also, the Pentax K1000. The collectability of that camera astounds me. I bought a fully operational Nikon F4S for less than the average completed auction price on a K1000. A $ 25.00 Nikkormat with a non-working meter is still a fuller featured camera than a K1000.

Regards,

Tim Murphy

Harrisburg PA 🙂

 

[The Spastic Image]

Dear Board,

Undervalued - Canon A-1 In the last 2 years I've bought one with the MA motor drive, one with the A winder, a Sunpak 555 with the program module for Canon and Nikon TTL cameras and a couple of lenses for about $ 350.00 total. The bodies work perfectly, as do the drives. The Vivitar 35-85 f2.8 in FD mount is definitely a keeper. The other lenses are meh.

Overpriced - The Canon AE-1 and AE-1P. They ain't A-1's and yet they sell for more money. Also, the Pentax K1000. The collectability of that camera astounds me. I bought a fully operational Nikon F4S for less than the average completed auction price on a K1000. A $ 25.00 Nikkormat with a non-working meter is still a fuller featured camera than a K1000.

Regards,

Tim Murphy

Harrisburg PA 🙂

Best Canon SLR models, F1 old and new. FTb! A1 good but no F1. My first ever SLR, was a gifted Canon FTb QL, and a Canon 50mm/f1.8. Made excellent images.

 

[Tim Murphy]

Best Canon SLR models, F1 old and new. FTb! A1 good but no F1.

Dear The Spastic Image,

I'm flush with F-1's and F-1n's too. I bought them way before this thread started though. 😉

I'm going to be totally honest here. When I was about 13 or 14 years old, I bought a paperback book, The Consumer Guide Book of Cameras. I pretty much memorized the SOB, and since then have been buying, using and selling or keeping as many of the cameras that were reviewed in the little red paperback book as I can.

Regards,

Tim Murphy

Harrisburg PA 🙂

 

[The Spastic Image]

Dear The Spastic Image,

I'm flush with F-1's and F-1n's too. I bought them way before this thread started though. 😉

I'm going to be totally honest here. When I was about 13 or 14 years old, I bought a paperback book, The Consumer Guide Book of Cameras. I pretty much memorized the SOB, and since then have been buying, using and selling or keeping as many of the cameras that were reviewed in the little red paperback book as I can.

Regards,

Tim Murphy

Harrisburg PA 🙂

I used to have that book, when the cameras mentioned were then very old. My copy got dogeared too. Note: I liked the Canonets with CDS metering, and also love Canon Rangefinder cameras a lot, especially the L1, L2, L3, the VT Deluxe, and the P.

 

[Tim Murphy]

I used to have that book, when the cameras mentioned were then very old. My copy got dogeared too. Note: I liked the Canonets with CDS metering, and also love Canon Rangefinder cameras a lot, especially the L1, L2, L3, the VT Deluxe, and the P.

Dear The Spastic Image,

I bought that book after I got a Canonet 28 and Canonlite D for Christmas one year. I was still a young teenager and it may have been in 1975, time is blurry to me, just like many of my film pictures! 😉

Regards,

Tim Murphy

Harrisburg PA 🙂

 

[Pál_K]

Definitely the FTb, FtbN can be bargains. The F-1, F-1n, F-1N are great, but can get a bit expensive in top condition.

But an often overlooked gem is the EF.

The Canon Rebel series is also a total bargain. Featherweight and you can have total control if want it. Very well thought out.

 

[The Spastic Image]

Definitely the FTb, FtbN can be bargains. The F-1, F-1n, F-1N are great, but can get a bit expensive in top condition.

But an often overlooked gem is the EF.

The Canon Rebel series is also a total bargain. Featherweight and you can have total control if want it. Very well thought out.

View attachment 4824635

I prefer M&M (Manual and Mechanical). EOS does not appeal to me. And Rebel is too frail for me to get out and run film through. EF is nice in terms of electronic cameras, never owned one, but always admired them. One day, hopefully I'll find a cheap one which works well but slightly brassed. So my mind is open on the EF.

 

[wlewisiii]

Saw a Xpan at a local shop for over $5k. That's way overpriced to me.
Rolleiflexes are all overpriced considering the service they'll probably need.
The AE-1 with it's issues is way over priced as are most older Pentax cameras to my eyes.

My Nikon F4 OTOH was nearly a theft at $116 😉
My Rolleicord III was equally silly cheap because everyone "knows" only the flex's are good 🙂 Hasn't needed any work because it's simple and reliable. I did put a Rick Olsen bright screen in but that's just for convenience.

 

[Tim Murphy]

Definitely the FTb, FtbN can be bargains. The F-1, F-1n, F-1N are great, but can get a bit expensive in top condition.

But an often overlooked gem is the EF.

The Canon Rebel series is also a total bargain. Featherweight and you can have total control if want it. Very well thought out.

View attachment 4824635

Dear Pal K,

I'm sorry, I'm old and not well versed with accent mark use on message boards. I apologize for that.

But I do have a fully operational Canon EF if that helps!

Regards,

Tim Murphy

Harrisburg PA 🙂

 

[Pál_K]

I prefer M&M (Manual and Mechanical). EOS does not appeal to me. And Rebel is too frail for me to get out and run film through. EF is nice in terms of electronic cameras, never owned one, but always admired them. One day, hopefully I'll find a cheap one which works well but slightly brassed. So my mind is open on the EF.

The EF will work fine mechanically without batteries. What you lose is the metering and the slow speeds (1 second and longer), which are electronically timed.

My first few Canon EOS cameras were $15, about 12 years ago. So for casual neighborhood walks, it was leightweight and more than adequate. The inexpensive 50/1.8 EF II is cheap-looking and noisy, but - yow - it is sharp and focuses accurately even wide open.

 

[Pál_K]

Dear Pal K,

I'm sorry, I'm old and not well versed with accent mark use on message boards. I apologize for that.

But I do have a fully operational Canon EF if that helps!

Regards,

Tim Murphy

Harrisburg PA 🙂

"Pál" means Paul and sounds almost like that. But I can be your pal, too 🙂

The Canon EF "Black Beauty" seems to be fairly unknown on the internet. It was introduced in 1973 and I was totally unaware of it until about 10 years ago.

I love its viewfinder display with shutter speeds along the bottom and apertures on the right side. It uses the "trap needle" system so popular in the early 1970's before camera electronics started to get sophisticated. Trap needle works amazingly well.

 

[f.hayek]

So if there's nothing else like it....it's worth the money? I have an aversion to expensive cameras that can turn into bricks. $5000+ for a 20 year old camera with that risk?.... no thanks

Is it worth the money nowadays? I don't think so. But sheeple are paying $2500-3000 for a Contax T3, arguably less unique or interesting. At least the Xpan's lenses can be adapted for use elsewhere.

 

[Deleted member 65559]

Is it worth the money nowadays? I don't think so. But sheeple are paying $2500+ for a Contax T3, arguably less unique or interesting. At least the Xpan's lenses can be adapted for use elsewhere.

f.h., if it were a repairable mechanical camera i'd likely have two. I agree about the T3.... i wouldn't go near it.....eve n when they were $1k. Honestly i have chosen reliable cameras to use.....that's where it ends for me.

 

[das]

An X-pan could theoretically be replaced by a 35mm mask on any number of far cheaper medium format systems. But I don't quite understand 35mm pano photos. Much cooler in medium format.

 

[das]

Is it worth the money nowadays? I don't think so. But sheeple are paying $2500-3000 for a Contax T3, arguably less unique or interesting. At least the Xpan's lenses can be adapted for use elsewhere.

But what are rich people going to use for their ski vacation photos?