Bessa II Apo-lanthar on eBay

Collectors hype...

I use occasionally a Bessa II with the cheapest lens option, the Skopar and it makes fantastic pictures, both b/w and color slides. No need for Heliar or Apo-Lanthar, at least not for me!
 
I don't know if that is really a valid price or not. I know it is way more than I want to pay for a camera. I don't need to. There are many others that I believe give me great photos. My Mamiya Super Press 23 has great lenses in MF. In 35mm, my Fujinon lenses are fantastic.

For those that have the money I guess that is OK. It just doesn't make sense to me. Of course, I wouldn't buy Leica for the same reason. (runs for bomb shelter).
 
My opinion is that it will get $7500. I've watched two other sell at this price over the last 3 months.

Personally, I am quite amazed that this camera has increased so much in value. A year or so ago, I fell off my seat when I saw one sell on 'bay for $4600.

I though there was a global economic meltdown and an exodus out of the film camera market.

Obviously not for everyone.

Vick
 
matvogel said:
Collectors hype...

I use occasionally a Bessa II with the cheapest lens option, the Skopar and it makes fantastic pictures, both b/w and color slides. No need for Heliar or Apo-Lanthar, at least not for me!
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Agreed - actually Skopars are very good lenses on those old folders and TLRs. I used to have a couple of Black Bessa Folders - one Skopar and one Heliar. Both lenses were in good condition and I liked Skopar better. I now have a Voigtlander TLR Superb with a Skopar and I like photos from it better than ones I saw from Heliars on the same cameras. Not to say that Heliar or APO Lanthar are bad lenses. Just overhyped. Collectors will be collectors. I buy cameras from a user perspective, but thats me. 😉
 
Now let's compare it to M9 ... nah, M9 comes without lens :angel:

But yes - I do remember these cameras to sell for under $2000 not that long ago. Not that $2000 would not be crazy either, but $8000 sounds really funny.

It scares me that something similar could happen to prices of Mamiya 6 ...
 
Why? The CIA's behind that again. And the KGB. No possible doubt! Why do you keep your eyes closed? Why do...
(sorry i'll take a cold shower)
(Two minutes later)
That a bit too expensive for a camera that no one ever uses. It's about the same price as 8oz of gold...
 
" I HAVE NO WAY TO PUT FILM THROUGH THIS CAMERA"

That is like trying to sell a Ferrari and saying, "I have no way to put gas in the tank."

For over 8 grand... find a way to run a roll of film.
 
chippy said:
the price is so high i'm not convinced its genuine, crazy, some bidders with 0 and low feedback, one bidder has "private" instead of a feedback number, how do they get that? and why?
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There were enough genuine bidders that the auction looks legit.

Anyone can take their feedback private, usually so you can't see a negative feedback that's over a year old. It's pretty pointless - most sellers can't screen their buyers, and no one would buy from a vendor with private feedback.

All that said, I hate the anonymous bidding on eBay and think it encourages shill bidding.
 
chippy said:
the question is, directed to people (helpful) that are more familiar with the workings of ebay than i am, how does someone get "private" feedback and why does someone have a "private" feedback score?
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It may be legally required by the privacy laws in some countries - there have been proposals to ban public feedback scoring for buyers (consumers) in the EU, and some countries may have already implemented something like that.

Sevo
 
eBay will DEFINITELY nail you for shill billing. They got me, but it was a mistake. I had a really nice Super Ikonta IV for sale there, and late in the auction noticed that the rear element had separation. When I tried to end the auction their software wouldn't let me, as it only had 11 hours to go and the reserve had been met. Not knowing what else to do, and not wanting to go through the hassle of refunding the buyer after the auction, I bid it up myself to $1600 on my wife's account, knowing no one would bid that high on a $600 camera. When I won the auction eBay sent me a warning that my account was restricted to Buy It Now auctions for several weeks due to shill bidding. I emailed them and explained what had happened, and the next day one of their reps called me at home and said they saw the large bid I had made and understood what had happened and removed the restriction. Even thanked me for being such a good seller (over 400 transactions and all positive). So you may get away w/ a shill bid once, but not often.

As for the APO lanthar, I suspect it's a very, very good lens. But the camera is a collector item (like black M4's) and the prices they bring are not realistic for a photographer. I'm happy w/ the 105 Heliar on my Bessa RF, and as others have said, the Skopar is a great lens too. I think that's what makes the APO Lanthar so unique. It combines the razor sharpness of a Skopar w/ a Heliar's 3-D imaging.
 
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An apochromatic lens to the extent is is legit, is a pretty seriously engineered item especially in a camera as old as this. Whether or not it should demand the money that it does solely on technical merits in this case is debatable, but there is no doubt that this camera is also special as a collectible which at the same time exhibits startlingly good performance, even by todays standards. My only wish is that they'd made a few more!
 
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