How I got a complete M6 system for $1120...

K

Kyle

Guest
Some of you might remember my thread from a couple weeks ago about me picking up a Mamiya 6 plus 50 and 75 lens for $1000.

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23521

Today I was at a local camera shop (not the same one mentioned in another thread) getting some film and there was a gentlemen in there trying to sell some of his gear. The owner really wasn't interested, as the store is shifting their focus to digital and processing. The guy kept saying he wasn't interested in getting a lot for the stuff, he just wanted to get rid of it. The owner told him he'd make a lot more on ebay than he'd get from him, but the guy said he never uses ebay and rarely even looks at the internet. Anyways, I asked to see what the guy was selling and in his bag was a 150/4.5 for the Mamiya 6 (along with a body and a 75/3.5). I told him I'd love to buy the lens, but couldn't afford it. He asked me to make an offer, and I told him "all I can give you $120, which is what is in my pocket). He said he'd take it. I tested it out on my body and all the speeds look good. The glass is flawless, and the body of the lens is in excellent shape (looks like he rarely used it). I asked the owner a few questions about the stuff, and he seemed to really know what he was talking about, so I had no reason to believe it was stolen. He was an older guy who really just wanted to get rid of his unused film gear because of a move to digital. Apparently selling it at a lesser cost was better than dealing with the internet and ebay!

So now I have the Mamiya 6 with all three lenses. I was NOT planning on getting this lens at all, it was just stupid luck! I think Joe's right, I must be sleeping on horse shoes...
 
BTW, thinking about it now I wish I would have gotten his phone number. I'm sure the Mamiya 6 could have been sold cheap, but I didn't think of it at the time. The other stuff he had really wasn't that interesting. Just some manual focus Canon SLR stuff and a Yashica TLR.
 
kyle said:
. Just some manual focus Canon SLR stuff and a Yashica TLR.

Argh. I'd have happily helped him find a home for those.

You did good to get that lens, but I'd rather have seen what FD lenses might have been hiding there :D

Congrats!

William
 
Can I send you a trincket of some sort? Maybe a silver talisman that I can wear around my neck while browsing camera stores?

You just need to hang out with it for a couple days, maybe bless it or something, then mail it back.
 
Yo Dude, go back and tell the camera shop ower if he sees the guy again to give him your number. There are lots of places that would love to get a good deal on older camera for teaching kids who have nothing. Free is better, but I buy bargins on ebay every once in a while and send them along.

Post them on the classifieds here and I know they would move.

Good luck with the M6, it looks like a beautiful system.

B2 (;->
 
wlewisiii said:
Argh. I'd have happily helped him find a home for those.

You did good to get that lens, but I'd rather have seen what FD lenses might have been hiding there :D

Congrats!

William

I'm the FD stuff is of interest to some people, but I know absolutely nothing about any of that gear so I wouldn't have known what anything was or what it would have been worth.

I will go back to shop and see if he would be willing to get info from the guy in case he shows up again. I feel like a dope for not getting any contact info, though. I could have easily helped him unload the stuff. :bang:
 
yashica tlr - should have offered $25 - great cameras.

Your My6 - essentially you got the 150mm and the 50mm for free. sounds great.
 
35mmdelux said:
yashica tlr - should have offered $25 - great cameras.

Your My6 - essentially you got the 150mm and the 50mm for free. sounds great.

I have a Yashica D, thats the only reason I wasn't interested in that one.

I just got home from my university darkroom. My entire final project was done using my Mamiya 6, and the 150mm lens was the most used lens! Its a great camera and I love all the lenses, I'm happy to own it.
 
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