124G pricing crash?

[cmedin]

I seem to recall the 124G going for $250-300 in nice shape, but after I scored one for $132 in excellent condition I scanned through ads/auctions and I'll be damned if the prices didn't plummet recently. What the heck happened? (I was all excited about the 'deal' I got!)

 

[illuminati_02]

It seems the same thing has happened to the Mamiya C330, unfortunately the same cannot be said for the Rolleis. I have been wanting a TLR for sometime, but wanted to get my other kits settled first. I just got my 124G in. A beauty, easily Exc+, possibly NM-. With a working meter that is actually darned accurate.. may not need a handheld meter unless under extreme conditions. They seem like fantastic bargains right now. The Mamiya C330 isn't much more either.. Kits with 3 lenses (55 or 65, 80, 180) are hovering in the $300-400 range.. possibly more or less depending on condition. It definitely appears to be a fantastic time to get into a MF kit.

 

[cmedin]

I posted a while ago about the C330 pricing, doesn't seem long ago since they were $800 for a basic setup. Now $200 seems reasonable for a nice condition example with the 80mm (I found mine for $95 locally 🙂 ), so yeah, it's definitely a fantastic time for the buyers.

 

[mervynyan]

I sold mine for $100, bought it around $130. I think the battery is very hard to find these days. it is not an expensive camera to begin with...

 

[nikon_sam]

Have you seen the prices at KEH??? They're still up there...
I have a 124G and have the mercury batteries for it but decided a while ago not to use the meter...I will either use my F2's meter or my Luna-Pro...

 

[cmedin]

As much as I love KEH, sometimes they seem to be pufffing the magic dragon when pricing certain gear. 🙂 What battery type does the meter use?

 

[nikon_sam]

The Yashicamat takes a PX625/EPX625, GM625 or equivalent 1.35 volt mercury battery...I have 6 of them in the fridge but would prefer to use them in a light meter or Minolta SRT 102.
I tried the meter when I first got the camera but wasn't too thrilled with it...

 

[cmedin]

Wonder if the schottky diode works on this too (guessing it probably does). I had a 124G CLA'd by Mark Hama back in the 90s and the meter on it worked well enough for slide film. 🙂

 

[nikon_sam]

I normally don't go out with the 124g without my Nikon F2a...I'll use the Nikon to meter anything tricky and then set the Mat to it...it's a fun camera to shoot with and you do get funny looks from people and at times the square format works just right...
I got mine in mint condition with the full leather case...traded a couple of Pentax MG bodies with winders for it...just recently put the back half of the camera case back on to keep it safe...

 

[oftheherd]

The Yashica MAT 124 G was my first serious MF camera. I loved it. The large negative of course. But the meter was accurate and it just seemed easy and fun to use. I never got the same feeling from my Rolleiflex, but that is probably because I had the Super Press 23 by the time I got it. If the price is coming down, more people will probably get into film MF and love doing it.