Do cameras appreicate?

[hugivza]

I have tended to hang on to cameras through the years, largely because of the low trade in values at the times when I have wanted to upgrade. My Contaflex I and Yashicamat, have been around for over 40 years and are like old friends. More recently, I have added cameras as they were ones which I wished for but could not afford at the time, like the Contax IIA. They might be worth what I originally paid for them, maybe more, maybe less, but for me they are triggers of memories. Cameras are for fun, the stock markets are for making money IMO.

 

[hugivza]

Whoops IIA = IIIA. The IIA is yet to be acquired as an investment!

 

[RJBender]

As someone else noted, prices on the most collectable cameras haven't done much more than keep up with inflation.

I enjoy my FSU cameras but have no thoughts I'll ever make any money on them. There may come a time when their value will increase--not because they are cameras--but because they are products of the old Soviet Union.

I collect books, too, but even the most valuable copies I have haven't really gained that much in actual dollar value. For example I've got one relatively rare book that sold for $4.95 when published in 1941. Today, in like new condition it's worth about $125. But what would $4.95 buy in 1941? -- probably about what $125 will buy today.

When you adjust for inflation, I don't think most cameras have gone up in value.
http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=120714&postcount=43

$4.95 in 1941 is worth about $65 today using a conversion factor of .076. $125 today would buy you $9.50 worth of stuff in 1941... two of those books if you haggled over the price.
http://oregonstate.edu/Dept/pol_sci/fac/sahr/cv2005.pdf

R.J.

 

[Will]

Thanks Guys, I will continue to keep my $ elsewhere... 🙂 🙂 🙂

Rightnow, I only buy the equipment that I want to use or keep, without the idea of investing/appreciations. I guess it is due to the low income I am on (left school not long ago). Would love to get my hands on expensive stuffs like a late Alpa with a Macro Switar, Leica M3, Nikon SP. As written on the top of the tread, what will happen to the prices when digital take over? I am not buying camera for trade or apprecations, but do worry about not getting a fair amount of my $ back when I want to sell them. I guess it is also come down to how people value their user experience too.

Thanks for introducing the idea of "Treasure Hunting", as I haven't really thought about collecting this way, let's see what I can do in HK (no garage sales)

Also, thanks for the reminder of "adding value". When I was posting this tread, I was also wondering how Classic Camera Dealers operate? They trade (buy low, sell high), but without adding value I guess the they would not get the maximum value out of it. Should have learn this from used car dealers...



😀

 

[RJBender]

Thanks Guys, I will continue to keep my $ elsewhere... 🙂 🙂 🙂

Rightnow, I only buy the equipment that I want to use or keep, without the idea of investing/appreciations. I guess it is due to the low income I am on (left school not long ago). Would love to get my hands on expensive stuffs like a late Alpa with a Macro Switar, Leica M3, Nikon SP. As written on the top of the tread, what will happen to the prices when digital take over? I am not buying camera for trade or apprecations, but do worry about not getting a fair amount of my $ back when I want to sell them. I guess it is also come down to how people value their user experience too.

Thanks for introducing the idea of "Treasure Hunting", as I haven't really thought about collecting this way, let's see what I can do in HK (no garage sales)

Also, thanks for the reminder of "adding value". When I was posting this tread, I was also wondering how Classic Camera Dealers operate? They trade (buy low, sell high), but without adding value I guess the they would not get the maximum value out of it. Should have learn this from used car dealers...

😀

Hi Will,

HK? Hong Kong? Do they have any pawn shops close to the docks?

R.J.

 

[Will]

Hi Will,

HK? Hong Kong? Do they have any pawn shops close to the docks?

R.J.

Maybe 20 years ago, I still remember the time when I was growing up back there. Nowadays, there are hardly any shops selling secondhand stuff (pawn shops), they just sell cheaper but brandnew goods manufactured from China.

 

[VinceC]

As a user-collector, I would say digital is one reason prices on classic cameras peaked a few years ago then began to retreat. For a couple of generations, the collectible 35mm market dealt in a film format that the entire world was using for everything from snapshots to photojournalism. These days, fine older cameras are increasingly a niche product, though for the time being they remain eminently usable.

Another factor is just the unpredictable whims of the marketplace, which can be as fickle as the stock market. Through the early to mid-1980s, Nikon RF equipment was really only sought after by a few die-hards. I became interested in them in the late1980s from a user point of view. During the 18 months it took me to a put together a full user kit, I watched prices double on SPs and the harder-to-find lenses. Values kept skyrocketing until the mid-to-late 1990s, then has fallen back.

 

[Sonnar Brian]

Yesterday I picked up a Nicca Type 3 with a collapsible Nikkor 5cm F2 on it. Needs work, and the lens was not "highlighted". As a fanatic, I really wanted that collapsible Nikkor. I would not have paid so much ($250) for a camera that needs CLA to be useable, or a lens that needs cleaning. The latter I can probably do, and at worst I have a front lens group made within a year of the collapsible. The engraving on the Nicca turns out to be fairly rare, "Nicca Camera Works" instead of "Nicca Camera Co." With so few "Nicca Collectors" around, it did not draw interest like an "M" on an early Nikon w Sync.

 

[kiev4a]

When you adjust for inflation, I don't think most cameras have gone up in value.
http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=120714&postcount=43

$4.95 in 1941 is worth about $65 today using a conversion factor of .076. $125 today would buy you $9.50 worth of stuff in 1941... two of those books if you haggled over the price.
http://oregonstate.edu/Dept/pol_sci/fac/sahr/cv2005.pdf

R.J.

That's a handy conversion chart.