Has anyone noticed a film camera sell-off??

mynikonf2

mynikonf2

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Lately there has been a rather steady stream of film related treasures showing up in our classifieds. (Not that I'm complaining) I have witnessed some rarities, in our classifieds, that are seldom seen, let alone offered for sale and the number of these sales appears to be increasing. Has anyone else noticed this trend developing? Are we witnessing the beginnings of a wholesale sell-off of those "extra" film cameras & their accessories by the "dedicated" film photographer or is this just a temporary "cashing-out" (for whatever reasons) and not the beginning of very-end of the end game for film?

If you are like me, you have accumulated a considerable amount of gear, over the years, and that stable of film kits equates to a considerable sum of money. As we all knew that the day would come when the price of film and its processing (developing, printing & enlarging, inclusive) could become unsustainable, so that all but the very wealthy and/or artistically insane, no, I mean dedicated, would continue its use at whatever the cost, leaving the rest of the flock sitting on a nest load of prized but quite useless gear. So, is this increase in the sale of rather obscure film kit an indicator to be aware of or am I just seeing things in random patterns? I'll shut-up now. 😀
 
I don't think that there has been an uptick in the amount of film gear for sale. RFF has always had plenty of film related equipment for sale in the classifieds. Business as usual, I think.
 
It's hard to say, but I think the prices for common goods, such as the classic M6 seems to be coming down in price, albeit slowly. The uncommon and rare stuff and the lenses retain their prices (if not going up, at least the lenses, as they can be adapted to almost anything digital nowadays). As the film variety decreases (try find someone who can do slide developing, let alone find the film) the surplus stock of film cameras is going to increase (thus prices pushing downwards with less demand).

But RFF is a special place and maybe these assumptions don't hold water here. 🙂
 
You have a valid point about the gear that can be adapted for digital use retaining value. I believe we'll find that these items may very well increase in value, while the digital devices they're used on lose value.

I am not referring to the volume of "common items" sales but more so the volume of uncommon items or even the uncommon grade of common items as though the cream of the crop is being cashed out before being devalued. (before it's to late). Also, I'm not saying that this is taking place as though this sell off were at some sort of flood stage. No, it is more like the beginnings where you start to notice a change.
 
I guess I've just seen some really cool stuff go up for sale that you just don't see very often (and not from just one individual) and it got me wondering why. Then when I noticed the same thing happening a few more times I thought I'd ask if anyone else had noticed this. It's really no big deal, I guess my concern is that more people have started to abandon film.
 
Not noticed any change at all, but then, I've not really been paying attention. Personally, last year was when I finally gave up on digital, and went fully film. This year I bought my first 4x5 camera, so there is no end game in sight for me.
 
I've not noticed any changes.

One of the joys (for me) of the classifieds here is that they have always had a far higher percentage of film (and exotic film goodies) than in other places.


John
 
If more film gear is selling, it must mean that more people are shooting film. Also, we have already concluded that film is cheaper now than it was before digital.
 
mynikonf2 said:
I guess I've just seen some really cool stuff go up for sale that you just don't see very often (and not from just one individual) and it got me wondering why. Then when I noticed the same thing happening a few more times I thought I'd ask if anyone else had noticed this. It's really no big deal, I guess my concern is that more people have started to abandon film.
Click to expand...

perhaps because its tax time in the US?

Stephen
 
Yes, there sure have been a few very attractive and rare items up, especially the black Nikon S2 (I don't see it any more) and the Nikon 2.1cm S mount lens.

I recently sold off a bunch of stuff, and am now down to "my keepers", but, there is a very thin line between "keeper" and "cash".

For me, it was my young son's tuition coming up, and thinking that I don't need / want all these cameras. So, some went onto the auction / sale block.

But when some of the rare stuff comes up in the ads here, it does make me think "wow, maybe I should sell mine too". And "I sure hope the demand continues to be there, for when I want to sell mine".
 
When assessing my film and digital gear, I decided to sell the film stuff, not because I don't plan on using film anymore, but because I didn't want to sell at such a high loss. I bought a Canon 50D in either late 2008 or early 2009 and it has lost 2/3 of its value. Doesn't make sense to sell at such a loss. The film stuff? Didn't lose much if any value. I use the money gained to get a digital M though...
 
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