$12,100 for a Calypso!

Amazing...
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Kiu
 
Jeez, this means we probably should have kept that original "Aqua Lung" that Jacques Cousteau shipped from France to my dad back in the early '50's.
 
Now I feel really bad about having dragged one of mine behind a car for 1/2 mile. It got caught on a "bumper" horn of a station wagon. Not to much damage - the protective glass over the Berthiot 35f2.5 got bashed and the advance lever broke. It did get repaired and about a month later it slipped out of my hand and rolled down four flights of stairs in a highrise buildings emergency exit. Broke another protective glass, broke the advance again and the viewfinder never really got back to "normal". Still worked though!!
Gave it away and later got a Nikonos II - sold that one after a couple of years and now, particularly with the weather being what it is here in Vancouver, I miss it! $12000+ is a bit steep though for one!
 
I borrowed a lens off of a non-working one at Campus Camera, then swapped it back when my lens came back from repair. I think the Calypso was going for $100 with lens, and non working shutter.

Then there was the pair of Exactas in a fitted case, complete with sets of French Leitz glass--- same price.

Sometimes you eat the bear--

Regards, John
 
I spent many years doing U/W photography. These used to be 200 bucks in prime shape.

Being a diver, I wonder if spare light seals are available. Also the prices of the Nikonos Camera are VERY low. I guess it's a digital world now.
 
Is the Calypso a first class camera that it ultra rare in this condition? Something is not right here. Can people be that silly?
 
It's the box! Not many people save the box. Also it wasn't on the market very long as the Calypso before Nikon took over, made a Nikkor lens for it, and called it a Nikonos.
 
I bought my first Nikonos II (used) w/35 lens, for $75, back about 25 years ago. Yes O-rings are still available. Had lots of U.S. Divers scuba equipment, too. Their double-hose regulator was my favorite, so my scuba bubbles would not cloud the front of my cameras, when shooting. The original Calypso had a reputation for being a dog, which improved when Nikon took over. Don't know about the value of the U.S. Diver's Calypso box, though :)
 
Al Kaplan said:
I think the Nikonos was like $169.95 brand new!
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Al: my Nikonos III is engraved "Tim Chapman - Miami Herald - 350-2657" When I got the camera several years ago, I dialed area code 305 and that number. The guy answered "photo department". And Tim Chapman was still working there. We had a nice chat about that camera and his long career at the Herald.
 
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