Manuel Patino
Established
This is not mine, but a friend's. I saw this last year and took a ton of pictures. He's now talking about selling it. He does not want to "bother" with Ebay.
What advise should I give him?
What advise should I give him?
Chris Bail
Regular Guy
I can say that the zoom finder is odd...It looks to be a Nikon knockoff, but period correct. I just sold one here that looked identical, but was a "Magnon Zom Finder", where yours is a "Manon Zoom Finder".
Corran
Well-known
2.8cm f/3.5 lens with black barrel is worth $300-400
5cm f/1.4 black is worth $250 or so
13.5cm f/3.5 is worth about $100-$150 (speaking of which, I would be interested in purchasing that
)
The camera is an "S2" with black dials. This is a highly collectible model, somewhat rare. A quick glance at eBay shows them selling from $350-700. You'll have to research what the disparity is, I'm not sure myself.
You should of course test out the camera and lenses. The prices are highly dependent on condition, both cosmetic and functional.
For what it's worth, my first Nikon rangefinder kit was an S2 (not black dial) with that exact same lens kit, save the 2.8cm and 5cm lenses being chrome. I got it for a tad under $1000. This was 3 years ago. Prices haven't moved much I don't believe. Considering eBay fees and such, $800-900 or so would be a "priced to move" deal in my opinion.
Chris is right, that's a weird finder. My kit I bought came with a Nikon 3.5-13.5 zoom finder, so consider that as well.
5cm f/1.4 black is worth $250 or so
13.5cm f/3.5 is worth about $100-$150 (speaking of which, I would be interested in purchasing that
)The camera is an "S2" with black dials. This is a highly collectible model, somewhat rare. A quick glance at eBay shows them selling from $350-700. You'll have to research what the disparity is, I'm not sure myself.
You should of course test out the camera and lenses. The prices are highly dependent on condition, both cosmetic and functional.
For what it's worth, my first Nikon rangefinder kit was an S2 (not black dial) with that exact same lens kit, save the 2.8cm and 5cm lenses being chrome. I got it for a tad under $1000. This was 3 years ago. Prices haven't moved much I don't believe. Considering eBay fees and such, $800-900 or so would be a "priced to move" deal in my opinion.
Chris is right, that's a weird finder. My kit I bought came with a Nikon 3.5-13.5 zoom finder, so consider that as well.
jondotkom
Established
First thing that caught my eye were the black dials.
Nice vintage kit.
Nice vintage kit.
Shac
Well-known
Advise for your friend - register on RFF and advertise in our Buy and Sell - an excellent commuinity
alfredian
Well-known
Yes, join the Forum and our market
Yes, join the Forum and our market
I agree with the last post - have your friend join our Merrie Bande and post his kit in the Classifieds. I want the body! In a month I'll be solvent again (taxes!). The lenses can go up separately, tho the 50mm may want to stay with the body.
--alfredian
Yes, join the Forum and our market
I agree with the last post - have your friend join our Merrie Bande and post his kit in the Classifieds. I want the body! In a month I'll be solvent again (taxes!). The lenses can go up separately, tho the 50mm may want to stay with the body.
--alfredian
sparrow6224
Well-known
Selling here is a pleasure. For best success I would offer the pieces separately (perhaps not the finder, though, it might be best to include that with the camera, since it's of questionable provenance according to our friends above). You can do this with one ad. Just provide a list of the items and prices rather than one price for the whole kit.
Here's what people will want to know as they consider purchasing:
--in the camera, whether the shutter fires at every setting, and whether it's firing at an appropriate seeming speed. I test by starting at one second which is easy enough to sync ("one-one-thousand") and then see if the next few cut the previous in half. Once you're up to 1/15th you're just judging roughly against the previous. 1/250 and up are hard to tell apart. Still, if it seems reasonable that's all a buyer can ask of a 60 year old mechanical device.
--viewfinder: clear? Bright? the rangefinder patch stands out with distinct contrast and the alignment is correct when you focus?
-- film advance -- is it smooth?
With the lenses you'll need to shine a flashlight through and check for haze, which is your most likely nemesis, as well as fungus and separation. Slight haze doesn't really affect the pictures too much. Above slight, buyer should be aware that a loss of contrast is likely. Also check the surfaces of the elements front and rear for cleaning marks and scratches.
I think that covers what people ask about. A decent price guide can be found here: http://www.antiquecameras.net/nikonrflens.html
Stephen Gandy, who runs this site, is a Nikon RF collector and aficionado. An index of his writings on the subject, with links, can be found on his Cameraquest site: http://cameraquest.com/classics.htm
Good luck.
Here's what people will want to know as they consider purchasing:
--in the camera, whether the shutter fires at every setting, and whether it's firing at an appropriate seeming speed. I test by starting at one second which is easy enough to sync ("one-one-thousand") and then see if the next few cut the previous in half. Once you're up to 1/15th you're just judging roughly against the previous. 1/250 and up are hard to tell apart. Still, if it seems reasonable that's all a buyer can ask of a 60 year old mechanical device.
--viewfinder: clear? Bright? the rangefinder patch stands out with distinct contrast and the alignment is correct when you focus?
-- film advance -- is it smooth?
With the lenses you'll need to shine a flashlight through and check for haze, which is your most likely nemesis, as well as fungus and separation. Slight haze doesn't really affect the pictures too much. Above slight, buyer should be aware that a loss of contrast is likely. Also check the surfaces of the elements front and rear for cleaning marks and scratches.
I think that covers what people ask about. A decent price guide can be found here: http://www.antiquecameras.net/nikonrflens.html
Stephen Gandy, who runs this site, is a Nikon RF collector and aficionado. An index of his writings on the subject, with links, can be found on his Cameraquest site: http://cameraquest.com/classics.htm
Good luck.