Film camera sales

Ranchu said:
I'm pretty much set, though I flail around in front of the computer when one of those Plaubel Makinas pops up. I just can't afford one.
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I get weak whenever I see a Rollei 35... I am still learning how to use a rangefinder effectively, not sure why I want a scale focus... but I do as a pocket camera... just can't justify spending over $100 on a camera right now.

--
Bill
 
MarylandBill said:
I get weak whenever I see a Rollei 35... I am still learning how to use a rangefinder effectively, not sure why I want a scale focus... but I do as a pocket camera... just can't justify spending over $100 on a camera right now.

--
Bill
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Consider an XA too, I love mine. f2.8 is unusable to me, f4 ok, and f5.6 excellent. It's really a great lens and camera design.
 
MarylandBill said:
Well, I see a few interesting things, I just can't justify spending money on it right now... or at least as much as is being asked :).
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Prices in the classifieds seem to be higher than online stores and ebay. I suspect an emotional attachment to the gear is the cause.
 
I can say with some certainty that here in Japan there are probably more film users than anywhere else. Still on a visit last week to one of my favourite very small Collectors used camera shops in Osaka I'd never seen so many rows of M-Leicas crowded on the shelves, must have been 70 or more, and some of those I remember from a long while back. Also, prices seem to have even gotten [for Japan] reasonable. On the other hand the lens shelves where not stocked heavily and not much interesting. Put 2+2 together and yes I see a trend. (for rare cameras there still is a market, but know how some collectors shops hold gear in the back to not flood the market, 20 or more black M3/M2s on display do not make them seem as desirable as 'rare' cameras)

I love a good Leica just like the next person here, and my heart still does a pitter-patter at a beautiful rare camera, but for some time now my personal mantra has been "no more film cameras", and its kept me out of trouble ;)
 
Another trend that I became aware of more so last week... Went to visit one of my used camera shops here in Kyoto and it had closed! This is a place I'd bought a lot of great gear at over the years and it will be missed. Since coming to Kyoto about 10 years ago when the rounds of visiting used shops was about 10 shops, its now down to a few, and those have all moved to small spaces. Just don't sell enough to stay in business I guess. Even the one authorised Leica Shop with new equipment closed a few years ago.
 
I don't think the issue is that digital is taking over... half the kids in my class want to shoot film, and my girlfriend and I shoot mostly film nowadays. It's just that we can't afford the gear we want... so we wait till we have enough :)
 
Film an processing is cheap compared to today's income.
Ask your father how much film cost in 1970 and how much he earned.

And all film cameras I wanted to sell during the last two months went within days. All is good :)
 
Film development is a PITA here in my area. But I'm going to try out a mail-in-lab in the next days

As far as film gear is concerned, there is a distinct dichotomy between high quality gear and "normal" items (esp. compact AF cams). A Leica M6, a M4 or a NikonfF4 is still pretty expensive, but e.g. a Nikon L35AF - which can produce more than decent results - goes for a fistful of bucks.
 
dreamsandart said:
Another trend that I became aware of more so last week... Went to visit one of my used camera shops here in Kyoto and it had closed!
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Camera shops in general are doomed - general consumer electronics and computer shops turned into fierce competition with the advent of digital, and now even these are succumbing to Amazon and internet mail order. Many cities now have not a single dedicated camera/photo gear shop left. Twenty or thirty years ago, every small town had one or two, and any respectable size city used to have a entire camera shop quarter, with dozens next to another.

All the used camera shops I know already have withdrawn into ebay - if they have a physical presence at all, it is by appointment, hidden in some flat rather than in a visible shop.
 
Hi,

If we are talking about film camera sales, then we mean second-hand prices, surely, and they vary a lot. Factor in the charity shops and the prices becomes even lower.

Film is still cheap, I'm paying under two pounds for Fuji film at my local supermarket and D&P prices seem reasonable to me, plus I can get scans done for less than a pound for a CD of 36 or more frames (that's 40 for APS).

Better still, often when people see me shooting with film I get offered old cameras and sometimes spare batteries, the flash gun and all the film in the fridge. Am I the only one to see this happen?

Even on ebay you can get a decent SLR for a pittance these days. Look at (say) the Minolta X-300's and Olympus OM-10's. And most of them come with lenses. I've even seen a bidding war over an Olympus 35 SP with its box and everything end at £70 which must be cheap, and P&S's can't be given away on ebay.

Just my 2d worth.

Regards, David

PS But how can they afford digital? I sold a digital SLR and worked out that my prints from film were cheaper than the files I down loaded from the camera. Then add in the cost of my printer and its ink and paper and the cost becomes a lot higher. Then there's the software and storage for the digital files ...
 
I don't know about what is selling/buying here, but there are a lot of people buying cameras on ebay. And not all of them are only collecting, because often the pieces being sold are not super rare or anything like that. I am sure film will continue to co-exist next to digital….

A good friend of mine, who does professional photography for the luxury industry uses digital as well as film for all of the books he has published. The choice just boils down to what is needed, the type of subject and the cost analysis. So in his books for Hermes and van Cleef and Arpels, film was used next to digital. I think in actuality, there are probably more people like that out there...

Everyone said books would die - they didn't.

Everyone said radio would kill the concert hall - it didn't.

And I don't care what anyone says: film is still better for many areas where digital is just not good enough ;-)
 
Another thing is that digital has come of age. The quality even in the cheaper systems is really nice add that with software like Lightroom one can emulate any film with just a click of a preset. It comes down to only a love for film that keeps one in it.
In my case for some reason since I have went full frame I just don't care to shoot film at all. I have looked hard at the RX1 it could easily get me out of film for good. It would be my carry all camera.
 
Tadeyev said:
I don't know about what is selling/buying here, but there are a lot of people buying cameras on ebay. And not all of them are only collecting, because often the pieces being sold are not super rare or anything like that. . . .
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The trouble is, a lot of people tend to work from what they think ought to happen -- 'Film OUGHT to die', 'Film cameras OUGHT to be worth more (especially Leica M5s)', "New Leicas OUGHT to be cheaper", "Film processing OUGHT to cost less" -- instead of paying any attention to such tiresome facts as what people are willing to pay; the relationship between supply and demand; what things cost to make; or what services cost to perform.

Cheers,

R.
 
cosmonaut said:
Another thing is that digital has come of age. The quality even in the cheaper systems is really nice add that with software like Lightroom one can emulate any film with just a click of a preset. It comes down to only a love for film that keeps one in it.
In my case for some reason since I have went full frame I just don't care to shoot film at all. I have looked hard at the RX1 it could easily get me out of film for good. It would be my carry all camera.
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Not always convincingly, however.

Cheers,

R.
 
Roger Hicks said:
The trouble is, a lot of people tend to work from what they think ought to happen -- 'Film OUGHT to die', 'Film cameras OUGHT to be worth more (especially Leica M5s)', "New Leicas OUGHT to be cheaper", "Film processing OUGHT to cost less" -- instead of paying any attention to such tiresome facts as what people are willing to pay; the relationship between supply and demand; what things cost to make; or what services cost to perform.

Cheers,

R.
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Another tiresome fact is that some cameras are luxury goods, and they can not be that unless they are so expensive that most people can not buy them......
 
Well I agree new Leica cameras should be cheaper. At least compete with other full frame systems. I am sure Leica's cost is high considering how each is made. But at that I think Leica should have more enthusiast driven cameras and pricing. More models than just the one or two.
 
The thing is, what is cheap enough? If you want a Ferrari, should that be cheaper too? Or does it only apply to cameras we on RFF want to buy? Most people I know could not afford an M9 even if it was 50% of what it is now, or 25% of what it is now.

The fact is, most of us can't afford what we want. I want a house in Hawai'i, but I can't afford it. That's not the problem of the real estate market in Hawai'i, it's my problem.
 
dreamsandart said:
Went to visit one of my used camera shops here in Kyoto and it had closed! ...
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Used camera stores closing in Kyoto??

OMG, what would we do without Fujiya? or the numerous little hole-in-the wall places near Shinjuku with acres and acres of equipment?

Japan is used-camera-buyer heaven! If you haven't already, then go now while it lasts!
 
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