Prest_400
Multiformat
I personally know someone who was given a black M2 button rewind, with an extra heap of equipment. Her friend thought that grandma's photojournalist equipment would be better with an actual photographer.
Good thing I've spent more time on the darkroom the last quarter than photo Youtube videos!
May be believable or not: I opened YT, took a quick look without playing the video and started up the music player instead.
It's curious how a lot of the new photo (film included) following happens on Youtube. Perhaps it has to do with patience and sitting on screen, although I know photographers in Instagram do move a lot of following. Seeing some selected IG posts is much easier than sitting watching a long Youtube video.
Good thing I've spent more time on the darkroom the last quarter than photo Youtube videos!
May be believable or not: I opened YT, took a quick look without playing the video and started up the music player instead.
jbharrill1
Established
“The dang thing took a pitcher”
boojum
Ignoble Miscreant
I believe the guy 100%. How cynical not to believe him. I have a friend who picked up an old IIIc for ~$50 in a thrift store. It happens even if it has not happened to you.
Beemermark
Veteran
You only have to go to shopgoodwill.com to see what people will be bid on a Leica (or most any camera) not knowing the condition and having only a few poor photographs to go buy. I have a huge assortment of non-working cameras that I plan to donate to Goodwill. I watch the the site just to see how crazy people will get.
jorgef2002
Established
Years ago I needed to repair a gold chain, I went to a local jewelry store, near my house in Haverford PA , and notice in a display box a black Leica 3, it was like an arrangement for fall season together with leaves, pumpkin pie and other items related to the fall season, I asked the guy if by any chance it was for sale, he said not really but it is coming down to make room for Christmas decorations, he said but if you like it, I will sale it to you ,it is just a prop , I did not know if the the camera was working or not I said sure how much, he said does $50.00 sound good to you ? I said sure, the camera was perfect this was 20 year ago, the camera still working like a Swiss watch, I was a lucky guy that day.
Nitroplait
Well-known
I don't get it!
I hear no discrepancy between what he is saying and the logic of the events, except perhaps when he explains that he didn't know what model number until after he got the battery.
I'd probably have figured that out the model # to make sure I got the correct battery.
But maybe he mis-remember, the events happened 2 years prior to the recording of the video after all, or maybe he is just trying to improve the narrative by emphasising his surprise when he found out the going rate of the camera and realised his amazing luck. Imagine yourself explaining a similar amazing situation to your friends.
He is just celebrating his luck. If you don't want to celebrate with him, just ignore and move on. But why publicly second guess his bad intentions?
I find it cynical to dismiss this publicly as bogus merely based on minor details of a person recalling events that happened 2 years ago.
I hear no discrepancy between what he is saying and the logic of the events, except perhaps when he explains that he didn't know what model number until after he got the battery.
I'd probably have figured that out the model # to make sure I got the correct battery.
But maybe he mis-remember, the events happened 2 years prior to the recording of the video after all, or maybe he is just trying to improve the narrative by emphasising his surprise when he found out the going rate of the camera and realised his amazing luck. Imagine yourself explaining a similar amazing situation to your friends.
He is just celebrating his luck. If you don't want to celebrate with him, just ignore and move on. But why publicly second guess his bad intentions?
I find it cynical to dismiss this publicly as bogus merely based on minor details of a person recalling events that happened 2 years ago.
rulnacco
Well-known
It doesn't cost you anything at all to believe that what he's saying is true--and I see no reason to doubt him.
I mean, nowadays, I can identify each Leica film model at first glance, and I own an M3 and M6. But I wouldn't be able to tell the digital models apart without a bit of looking carefully, I've never owned and rarely handled one. And when I was a beginning photographer, *my* reaction would have been just this guy's: it's a Leica, I've heard the name so I know it's "good", but I have no clue what exactly it is.
(I once handled a second-hand Leica R9 in a German camera shop when I was starting off, and thought it was kinda cool--but expensive for a used camera and *huge*--and I had *no idea* of its place in the Leica lineup, or even at that point what a rangefinder camera even was let alone that *they* were why Leica was famous.)
Also, if the previous owner's relatives had no idea what his cameras were worth (I'm seriously thinking that when *I* die, because I don't have any close family, *my* cameras may end up in a thrift shop--and now, I've got *niiiiice* stuff), and the camera was obviously broken, there's a good chance they did just toss it in the Goodwill box. And the local store, who knows if they even bothered to look the camera up when it came in smashed up. *Someone* must have had some kind of idea, if they charged *that* much for a broken camera that they probably knew very little about. But it was *broken*, it didn't turn on, and who there would know how much it *might* be worth in that state? This guy almost didn't buy it, and *I'd* have hesitated, too, if I thought it might cost up to $2000 to fix--not outlandish in Leica world, and in that case, 375 wasted dollars for me.
(One time in London I started up a photography class at school, and asked the faculty if anyone had any old cameras they'd like to donate. One guy gave me a mint Olympus OM-1n with a couple of lenses that were very desirable and went for pretty good coin--I told him about this and asked if he wanted to reconsider just giving it away, and his reply was "nah"--and someone else, I never could figure out who, dropped in a Yashica T4. *I* knew what it was, but they had no clue. That last one, I actually ended up keeping myself--I went to the thrift shop and bought a couple of point-and-shoots for the class to replace it, to assuage my guilt!)
We're geeks on here, so we know all this stuff. Leica's marketing must work--that guy knew that a Leica was somehow "special", but had no idea why or what he had, or if it was worth dropping that much cash on something that was clearly damaged and might *never* work (at least affordably). I've been there before, I know just how he felt. I vote real.
I mean, nowadays, I can identify each Leica film model at first glance, and I own an M3 and M6. But I wouldn't be able to tell the digital models apart without a bit of looking carefully, I've never owned and rarely handled one. And when I was a beginning photographer, *my* reaction would have been just this guy's: it's a Leica, I've heard the name so I know it's "good", but I have no clue what exactly it is.
(I once handled a second-hand Leica R9 in a German camera shop when I was starting off, and thought it was kinda cool--but expensive for a used camera and *huge*--and I had *no idea* of its place in the Leica lineup, or even at that point what a rangefinder camera even was let alone that *they* were why Leica was famous.)
Also, if the previous owner's relatives had no idea what his cameras were worth (I'm seriously thinking that when *I* die, because I don't have any close family, *my* cameras may end up in a thrift shop--and now, I've got *niiiiice* stuff), and the camera was obviously broken, there's a good chance they did just toss it in the Goodwill box. And the local store, who knows if they even bothered to look the camera up when it came in smashed up. *Someone* must have had some kind of idea, if they charged *that* much for a broken camera that they probably knew very little about. But it was *broken*, it didn't turn on, and who there would know how much it *might* be worth in that state? This guy almost didn't buy it, and *I'd* have hesitated, too, if I thought it might cost up to $2000 to fix--not outlandish in Leica world, and in that case, 375 wasted dollars for me.
(One time in London I started up a photography class at school, and asked the faculty if anyone had any old cameras they'd like to donate. One guy gave me a mint Olympus OM-1n with a couple of lenses that were very desirable and went for pretty good coin--I told him about this and asked if he wanted to reconsider just giving it away, and his reply was "nah"--and someone else, I never could figure out who, dropped in a Yashica T4. *I* knew what it was, but they had no clue. That last one, I actually ended up keeping myself--I went to the thrift shop and bought a couple of point-and-shoots for the class to replace it, to assuage my guilt!)
We're geeks on here, so we know all this stuff. Leica's marketing must work--that guy knew that a Leica was somehow "special", but had no idea why or what he had, or if it was worth dropping that much cash on something that was clearly damaged and might *never* work (at least affordably). I've been there before, I know just how he felt. I vote real.
Spending $400 on something you supposedly know nothing about seems extreme. Buying a battery off of eBay without knowing the model number is not easy. His story isn't adding up to many of us and perhaps we are cynical...but perhaps we are right. It could be true, but every single day people make up stories for Facebook in order to gain followers and likes. Yes, this does happen...all day, every day. It doesn't matter what the topic is... people make up stories and make videos. You even see the same people in videos over and over (not saying that is the case here).
BillBingham2
Registered User
He could remove the battery and look for like replacement batteries on Evil-Bay without knowing what camera.
I'd like to think he did make the find at the price point as we need more good news these days.
I know I've been thinking about a MF camera and I just found an old Kodak Monitor in 616 as I was trying to reduce the stuff that I will never use. Not spending money these days is critical as we were the winning bid on a house on Friday afternoon at auction for much less than we were willing to pay. So, good things can happen even to people who don't have a YouTube Channel.
B2 (;->
I'd like to think he did make the find at the price point as we need more good news these days.
I know I've been thinking about a MF camera and I just found an old Kodak Monitor in 616 as I was trying to reduce the stuff that I will never use. Not spending money these days is critical as we were the winning bid on a house on Friday afternoon at auction for much less than we were willing to pay. So, good things can happen even to people who don't have a YouTube Channel.
B2 (;->
JP Owens
Well-known
The camera had a battery in it, according to his story. It was just dead. All he had to do is find the same battery on ebay and a charger for it.
I'm pretty skeptical about these stories; but, he seemed believable to me,
I'm pretty skeptical about these stories; but, he seemed believable to me,
That's true...
santino
FSU gear head
Yeah.. you type in the battery number and voila... eBay tells you „battery for Leica xxx“. Sounds reasonable to me.
Imagine ultra rich people. They probably throw away broken things without even bothering to try to sell them.
Imagine ultra rich people. They probably throw away broken things without even bothering to try to sell them.
jukka
Established
While not saying anything of this particular case, people tend to brag quite a lot on social media about rare/desired/expensive film gear that they apparently acquired cheaply.
Speculating a little here, given the amount of stories, not all can be based on facts.
Now, I am not entirely sure why anyone would do that. Yes, acquiring followers on Youtube may be the primary motivation, as stated. Then again, Ive seen this done by random individuals on FB film photography groups just as well.
In any case, you have to ask, are people finding it difficult to justify spending so much money on film gear that is trendy but unpractical?
I mean, if you want one, get one – and maybe use it and maybe show us the photos. Why come up with weird stories (as if lying to your mom how you met your tinder date)?
It's the same with this fake brassing; why would you artificially do that? I guess, getting a brassed Leica cheaply seems to be the ultimate story currently – and social media stories are what matters.
ps. this point here that I find valid, did cross my mind too:
pps. I do understand that digital gear is the topic on this video.
Ko.Fe.
Lenses 35/21 Gears 46/20
The question is are morons lucky or morons are believers.
David Hughes
David Hughes
If you feel guilty about buying for pennies what is worth a lot more then tell them and see what they say. Sometimes they are rude and make it clear they know all about these things and the price is right and sometimes they don't. One or two will even suggest we toss a coin to decide between my price or their price...
Regards, David
Regards, David
BillBingham2
Registered User
rulnacco
Well-known
Like I said above, I see no reason to doubt the story. The guy got *really* lucky, but it's always possible to get lucky when buying camera gear, simply because most people don't really know much about it.
I myself bought a nicely working Polaroid SX-70 camera for $35 (back when they were going for upwards of $350 online) in a second hand shop in Florida, and a very nice grey Rolleiflex T at a second hand shop in London in exchange for £65 and a couple of Zenits I had fished out of a skip after my studio partner used them as props in a shoot and then tossed them out. I later sold it for several times what I paid for it.
When I say second-hand shop here, these were *not* camera shops. So the proprietors thought they were nice old cameras, but didn't know *how* nice--and pricey--they were. Not as pricey as an M240, certainly; but as a percentage of the real "worth" of the cameras, I paid a lot less above than this guy did for a really battered M240. (And the cameras I bought were in perfect working order--they didn't have a smashed LCD protective cover that will cost quite a bit to get replaced, if he chooses to do that.)
I myself bought a nicely working Polaroid SX-70 camera for $35 (back when they were going for upwards of $350 online) in a second hand shop in Florida, and a very nice grey Rolleiflex T at a second hand shop in London in exchange for £65 and a couple of Zenits I had fished out of a skip after my studio partner used them as props in a shoot and then tossed them out. I later sold it for several times what I paid for it.
When I say second-hand shop here, these were *not* camera shops. So the proprietors thought they were nice old cameras, but didn't know *how* nice--and pricey--they were. Not as pricey as an M240, certainly; but as a percentage of the real "worth" of the cameras, I paid a lot less above than this guy did for a really battered M240. (And the cameras I bought were in perfect working order--they didn't have a smashed LCD protective cover that will cost quite a bit to get replaced, if he chooses to do that.)
BillBingham2
Registered User
You could take the approach that every so often happens at McDonalds on this side of the pond, you pay for the next person's in line meal. Pay for the next person in line stuff.
B2 (;->
analoged
Well-known
My Epson R-D1 was an untested $200 eBay purchase, seller was a camera shop selling used gear on eBay. Anyway, ordered battery, charger, and my wifey had a 2gb card (most the Epson can handle!), she fired up and been one of my best purchases!
David Hughes
David Hughes
Interesting; didn't know that one...
Many, many years ago - I was single then - I worked in a bank in the city. We used to have a shillings and pence raffle every now and then. The price of a ticket was the odd shillings and pence below 10/= on your (staff) account at the close of business the previous day and so you didn't know what you'd pay and the prize was the money collected.
So if you had - using decimals so as not to confuse the youngsters - so if you had thousands of pounds and 56p pennies as your balance you paid 6p for your ticket and if you had 2 pounds and 19 pennies you paid 19p.
All good, innocent fun...
Regards, David
PS About those charity shop people who indignantly told you they put the right prices on things; from then onwards I just paid pennies for things.