Crazy GTN prices

That's ridiculous ... I have tried to buy a GTN on a couple of occasions only to be dismayed by the crazy attitude of bidders who are prepared to pay a premium for a black camera!

They're a good camera ... but they're not that good!
 
Here's the really weird part - "I do not have a battery or adapter for the Electros so I cannot test this camera, but it appears to be in fully functional condition."

???
 
They're a good camera ... but they're not that good!
--

I say they're better than the soccer mom digital point-n-shoots that go for about $100 US more than this one. If you think $170-ish US is cwazy for a GSN then digital PnS prices are really, really cwazy. And, let's face it, (here's where I'm gonna get flamed) there isn't really that much of a difference (if any?) between what this camera (and many other quality fixed lens RFs) deliver and (fill in the blank of your favorite $1000+ camera) delivers. Is there? I say the differences are marginal between virtually any 35mm with a competent lens. Jumping to larger formats is where the real leap occurs.

Still, this price is an exception. They still go for peanuts.
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NickTrop said:
They're a good camera ... but they're not that good!
--

I say they're better than the soccer mom digital point-n-shoots that go for about $100 US more than this one. If you think $170-ish US is cwazy for a GSN then digital PnS prices are really, really cwazy. And, let's face it, (here's where I'm gonna get flamed) there isn't really that much of a difference (if any?) between what this camera (and may other quality fixed lens RFs) deliver and (fill in the blank of you favorite $1000+ camera) delivers. Is there? I say the differences are marginal between virtually any 35mm with a competent lens. Jumping to larger formats is where the real leap occurs.

Still, this price is an exception. They still go for peanuts.
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I agree Nick, some of the best pics I have taken have been with my GSN which makes a bit of a mockery of the money invested in other gear at times.

I just hate this feeding frenzy thing that goes on on eBay at times. I saw a GTN go for $150.00 two years ago after I thought I was being extravagant by placing a bid of $60.00 on it. Shortly after that I gave up and settled on my two silver ones ... it's just black paint after all ... but they do look kind of cool! 😛
 
sitemistic said:
Nick, no flames from me. It seems that no matter what camera I shoot photos with, they still look like I took them (for better or worse).
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I've found that if your photos don't look good to you, you're not enlarging them enough. 😀
 
sitemistic said:
Nick, no flames from me. It seems that no matter what camera I shoot photos with, they still look like I took them (for better or worse).
Click to expand...

With ya there, buddy 🙂

PS Auction ended at $191.50 US.
 
NickTrop said:
Here's the really weird part - "I do not have a battery or adapter for the Electros so I cannot test this camera, but it appears to be in fully functional condition."

???
Click to expand...

even with that qoute doesn't stop "nutties" from frying up the price! 😕





Bill58 said:
I can get all the GTNs you want here in Korea for about $50.
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drooling! 😀
 
In the very beginning of watching know auction site and reading chants like "GTN is most adorable version of line" I simmered some days with idea about one, though after reading black parts can be scratched and some parts are made of black plastic instead of metal, add here price factor and -- voila, I'm cured 🙂
cool 80's black point&shoot sameras come in black finish, that's where I like black.
 
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Silver or Black

Silver or Black

I second everything there - I like black too - but my chrome GSN is perfect - it sparkles! And the pictures I am getting - goodness!

According to karen Nakamura, the GSN sold for about 3000 Yen more than the GTN, the reasoning being that Chrome was a more expensive material. I guess its just another example of perceived value over actual value.

Not to say I haven't fallen prey to this myself😉. I have had a chrome AE-1 for some time, but when the opportunity came along to acquire a mint black body AE-1, I paid easily $50 above what they should go for.
 
This is giving me ideas... My GTN only cost £5.00 (plus some elbow grease), but unlike this advert, I can verify that mine actually works - it comes with a battery and I have real pictures taken with it.

Shame the viewfinder glass is broken - it turns the collectors off (I'm sure they're the ones who drive the prices up).
 
Funny that the black ones should sell for more than the chrome versions. After all, they apparently made some of the parts in the former version in plastic to simplify manufacture. Many months ago I almost laid down the money for a well-used GTN at a local forum.

But now that I held back, I have in my hands a very lightly-used GSN for less than half the price. Good value...it's the lens that should matter, I think. And in this case they're the same in both versions.
 
As mentioned, it is the mystique (insanity) or the black camera psyche. I found a black Minolta 7s and sold it on eBay for over $100. They sell over and over and over for $20-30 in chrome (brushed). Every black camera I have ever placed on eBay has done 3-4 times more than silver. Even the little Yashica Electro 35CC, which only came in black, and is not that rare, brings large dollars.

Right now, I have a black Oly 35 EC that is all black. It's a great looking camera, and so small. I only wish I could get the meter working, so the shutter would work. I've tried all the published tricks on battery alternatives to no avail. But, it's sure an attractive little handful.
 
Check out auctions on eBay. Who cares if the camera is black? The vast majority of GSNs still - by and large, go cheap.
 
NickTrop said:
Check out auctions on eBay. Who cares if the camera is black? The vast majority of GSNs still - by and large, go cheap.
Click to expand...

I actually did buy a GSN off of eBay, it was maybe $25 or so. I was planning on finishing my test roll of XP2 this weekend, but with the weather around here I've been inside catching up with my TIVO backlog.

And I just noticed that GT went for $255.
 
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