Forget the $3,000 - what would you buy for a grand?

[Bolo Kukus]

Spend $3,000, buy what? Common sense question: Who has a spare $3,000 these days? Certainly not me. I'm retired and getting by on the OAP, with a bit of invested money left for small frills. I live frugally but well, and I travel on the smell of an oil rag, so to speak. Give me three grand, I will become a new person!

Some of you are lucky enough to be able to afford Hasselblad SWCs and Leicas. I count myself as lucky to own Rolleiflex TLRs which have always done everything I want from them. I did have 'blads (one 500C, a 500CM, and three decrepit ELs, all now sold) and in the '80s I had an M2 and an M3, also sent off to the auction house when a financial crisis hit. Long gone, not really missed (the 'blads), greatly missed (the Ms). Tempoe Doloe...

Now retiredsince 2012. Last year I bought more cameras than I had in the last decade.

A Rolleicord Vb for A$95.00 - truly a bargain, the body is a bit rough but the mechanics are almost as new. Then I blew the budget and spent A$45 on a 16 exposure kit. Already had other bits (lens hood, filters, close-ups).

By sheer good luck I also got a Rolleiflex 2.8 E2 kit and a Leica M3 kit (three lenses and accessories) at good prices, both from deceased estates. The widows wanted the gear to go to someone who would use it. I've no plans to sell either lot - I should, as we need the money, but on principle, no - and as my spare time allows (it's a sort of urban myth that retirees have an endless amount of time on their hands with little or nothing to do, believe it!), I take the Rollei out on shoots. My partner has the M3 and loves it to bits. So we are a happy family, gear-wise.

On my no-frills budget (many of us are in the same boat,I'm sure), what would you buy if you had a spare grand total of $1,000?

I haven't started a poll. I thought, better to post brief posts for the rest of us to read and enjoy.

I will start off with my three choices. In my case, all film cameras,as I find in my seventies, I'm now gradually returning to 'analog' and shooting less digital, on the, to me, sensible principle that quantity is not quality.

(I also have a huge stock of films and enlarging paper in two fridges at home and I want to use it up. My current goal is to go thru the lot and dispose of the refrigerators before I get disposed of. )

My three choices will be in the next thread.

Thank you all in advance, those who will participate. I (and a few others, I hope) will greatly look forward to learning what your choice(s) will be.

:angel: (not just yet - posted from Jakarta, Indonesia, as close to The Other Place as one will ever get!)

 

[Bolo Kukus]

My three choices

My three choices

(To the sound of harmonicas blaring in the background)...

1. Nikkormat FT2 or EL. I cut my teeth on the old FTNs in the'70s. To me they are the best camera ever, built from cast iron and held together with ocean liner rivets. The EL is regarded as "fiddly" and some question its metering, but mine have operated for 40+ years and are still shooting strong. Nikkor lenses and accessories are all standard with many generic brands.

For many years I travelled with two Nikkormats and three lenses and shot thousands of sold images. Thanks to the volume of digicrap now being given away OL, those GODs (Good Old Days) are long gone, but at least in my time (the golden age of film photography) I was there and I did it.

2. Rolleiflex TLR. Who would have guessed? If I could have only one camera in my lifetime, it would be an E/E2/E3 (the poor man's version of the F) with some basic accessories and a 35mm Rolleikin, a minimalist kit but one that lets me do everything with film that I want. 120 film prices have shot up thru the roof (at least in Australia) in recent years, but with a bit of skill and some critical thinking one can do wonders with a 12-exposure roll. Those 6x6 images are superb.

3. Hm! This one is difficult. Going truly minimalist, which has always been my way with photography, I would now be facing a difficult choice.

Maybe a Contax G1 with a 35mm or 45mm lens. The '45 Planar has superb optics (some reviewers rate it as the sharpest 35mm lens ever made), a lens hood and a UV filter.

A Zeiss Ikonta 6x6, preferably late model.

A voigtlander Perkeo I or II.

I cannot really decide on this last point, so have listed them all.

May I say, I own (1) and (2) and the Contax and Perkeo in (3), so it wasn't a difficult choice for me.

As for the rest, I had Leica Ms, and loved them but lost them. Ditto Hasselblads, which I found I couldn't really get on with - mostly to do with the ergonomics, no battle over lens quality or final results. Component cameras are, to me, fiddly and prone to needing expensive repairs. The Rollei dispenses with removable everything and a good service every ten years will suffice if it isn't dropped.

Them's my choices. Your mileage will differ. Please post and let us know your choices.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

Do I read you correctly?:

You have one 120 film camera. Rolleicord.
You have M3 with three lenses.
You have film and paper.

And you still want to buy something for one grand? And start another thread about it?

😕

Did you lost M3 because you gave to partner?

Whatever you'll spend money for on film gear here is one practical note.
Before film will gets disposed, very likely any film camera in your list might become disposable itself.
Forums are now full of theoretics who rarely put roll of film in any camera or in opposite many people who have dozens of film cameras and each camera gets one roll half-a-year.
But if you are going to get used film camera this time and use it to dispose two fridges of film... Maybe only Nikon F3 will take it and not become disposable at half of the first fridge, if not sooner...

 

[laurentb]

Film, as much as possible for the price.

 

[David Hughes]

Obvious, you could buy three of them* instead of one and some film...

Regards, David


* That's charity shop cameras and three or more times as many as I wouldn't be so worried about wasting the money...

 

[al1966]

Sony A6000 and an 85mm preferably both used, though if a free grand landed on the door mat it would go on a holiday. I am in a position of not really desiring any cameras that are expensive and apart from the 85mm or a reasonably priced 135mm what I have can do all I require. Being a tight git the purchase of said 85mm is waiting until one comes up used at a silly good price, for some reason ultra bargains make me happy. The change would be spent on other interesting cameras that could be found for bargain prices.

 

[Prest_400]

Most probably to cover travel expenses and film+processing.

Gear wise I'm quite happy, I also should move homes later this year and shouldn't accumulate stuff. Last month I got two Nikon AF Bodies (F90+F801s) for cheap and quite possibly they'll have to stay so no 35mm after the move for a while.

My digital gear is minimal and aging. I've got a basic EPL2 that seems combat hardened now. A GX80 or Olympus EMD seem great upgrades of that side.

 

[johannielscom]

I'd still buy peace of mind first, and a Sony A7 second. If I didn't already have one, that is.

😀

 

[michaelwj]

$1000?

Well I've needed an ND filter and an orange filter for a while, so I suppose if get them. But money isn't holding back that purchase, I just can't be bothered with the details at the moment. So from the balance;

1) A short trip away with my family, or
2) Film, chemistry, general photography consumables, or
3) Some of the bigger photo book volumes that I can't justify normally, like Egglestons Chromes for example.

The order of 2 and 3 would depend on how much film stock I have floating around.

 

[jsrockit]

Nikon D610 w/ 50mm 1.8d used
Fujifilm 56mm 1.2
Voigtlander 58mm 1.4 for F Mount
Fujifilm X-E3

I don't need any of those though...

 

[Bolo Kukus]

Ko.Fe,

From one Canadian to another - you said, did you read me correctly? Well, it depends. From your viewpoint, maybe no or yes. From my viewpoint, maybe yes or no.

My question (my verbiage may have confused you) was IF you had $1,000 to play with and not $3,000 like in an earlier post, what would you buy?

My answer, in a long-winded way, was I'm content with the gear I have now and if I had to, likely I would buy the same. Maybe not the Contax G1s, tho' I love the results from the Zeiss G lenses.

The film I intend to shoot, with whatever I have to land. I also intend to take my sweet time doing it, as to quote an old Aussie saying, I intend to be very late for my own funeral...

The enlarging paper I may sell as a bulk lot later this year.

What would YOU buy with your thousand? A shipload of FEDs or a third of a Leica? Please post and tell us. .

Theorists or not, most of us buy cameras to use them. I have always made sure every one of my cameras gets at least one roll of film put through it every year.

In 2017 I shot just over 400 rolls of film, so a little less than one every day.

Bulk 35mm film has a lot going for it.

I have four Rolleiflexes and one Rolleicord. My 3.5E2 has lens separation and is worthless, but still shoots well. Two Ts I bought new and will keep to give to my stepsons. A 2.8E2 I bought this year, looks as new but needs a CLA. The Rolleicord is being used now but maybe sold later this year.

The M3 is for family use. The higher speeds are fine but the lower speeds are all over the place. Proceeds from the Rolleicord sale will go to fixing this up, whenever. My partner uses it.

I have several Nikkormats and lenses, not worth anything on the sale market now, so I will keep them.

I also have several Contax G1s with lenses. Likely to be sold later.

Before I retired in 2012 I had more money and bought cameras. At one time I had about 40. Now down to less than 20. Selling off one by one as time and opportunities allow.

(This will be my last long-winded thread, I hereby swear on my copy of Ansel Adams' 'The Camera'!)

 

[Ko.Fe.]

OK. 🙂
One week ago I spend almost one grand to get NiB Bessa R2M kit. Moneygram and shipping included. Because I'm done with M film Leicas for one grand. One grand Leica here is Leica due to CLA.
If I'll have another grand, it will be 21mm M lens made in Midland.

Please, put me on the waiting list for your darkroom paper!

 

[Godfrey]

Hmm. My M4-2 cost me $720 to buy and $100 to have the viewfinder cleaned, lubed, collimated, and adjusted for accuracy. That was in 2011; still working perfectly (although it could use a shutter overhaul: high speeds are slightly out of spec, but it's not been an issue yet).

But if I were going to spend $1000 on photography right now ... I have enough (too many!) cameras, I have most of the accessories I need, I've even just come back from a couple of trips and am tired of traveling for the moment so I don't need plane fare or train money just right now. So I'd likely spend the money proofing two or three new Blurb photo books over the next month or three (it usually takes two/three proofs each before I get them the way I want them, at about $70-90 apiece).

G

 

[Dan]

Hmm. My M4-2 cost me $720 to buy and $100 to have the viewfinder cleaned, lubed, collimated, and adjusted for accuracy. That was in 2011; still working perfectly (although it could use a shutter overhaul: high speeds are slightly out of spec, but it's not been an issue yet).

But if I were going to spend $1000 on photography right now ... I have enough (too many!) cameras, I have most of the accessories I need, I've even just come back from a couple of trips and am tired of traveling for the moment so I don't need plane fare or train money just right now. So I'd likely spend the money proofing two or three new Blurb photo books over the next month or three (it usually takes two/three proofs each before I get them the way I want them, at about $70-90 apiece).

G

This is the best suggestion, by far. Finish the gear cycle and produce tangible photographs.

 

[Out to Lunch]

Finish the gear cycle and produce tangible photographs.

My thinking exactly.

 

[jsrockit]

I love practical answers to light fantasy threads... 😉

$1000? I'm buying a pair of sneakers! 😉

 

[Godfrey]

I love practical answers to light fantasy threads... 😉

$1000? I'm buying a pair of sneakers! 😉

LOL! $1000 would buy me 11 pair of my favorite shoes ... I don't have the closet space for that: my closet is too full of camera bags! :angel:

G

 

[splitimageview]

A recent under $1k kit for me: Nikon FE2, 25/2.8 Zeiss ZF Distagon, 50/2 Zeiss Makro Planar ZF, 105/2.5 Nikkor. I have lots of other cameras, but this would suffice for the duration...

 

[cz23]

Maybe I'll put it toward my 2018 income tax bill after the greatest tax cut in history goes into effect.

John

 

[Fjäll]

If you're patient for deals on sought after gear you'll make a small profit if you're reselling again. I might have a considerable amount of gold invested in gear but it's a lot more fun than the stock market. You're not spending 3 grand per se.

EDIT:

I always put out gear on auction starting bit $1, ending on a Sunday evening after pay day. Works every time.

If I wanted to spend a grand now I'd be on the lookout for a clean Summicron V3.