The $40 Challenge - The Contenders

archeophoto

archeophoto

I love 1950's quality
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Hi again everybody,

So here is the promised thread about our $40 (everything included) camera challenge contenders. In this thread we can all post our acquisitions. In order to make it fun, post a photo of the camera you bought, a link to the auction (or a screenshot) or website you bought it from.

Also required is a photograph you took with your acquisition. The honor system rules here, so don't post a photo taken with your M3 and tell us it's coming from the Brownie Hawkeye you just got :)

I have not received my camera, yet, and I guess many others are in the same boat, so this thread will be open for at least another two weeks.

The more people participate, the more fun it will be.

After that I will post a poll and we can all vote for who got the best/most fun deal.

For everybody that does not know what I'm talking about or what the rules are, here is the original thread:

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=132625

Here the main rules again:
1. It has to be a film camera
2. It can't be an SLR
3. It has to take photos, so it can't be totally broken
4. It can't be an autofocus camera
5. The camera has to be $40 or less including shipping, taxes etc.

Cheers!
 
Alright, I"ll throw down first.

1961 Argus C3 Standard.


61ArgusC3Standard by unky_weaz, on Flickr

Oh, great. A brick. How imaginative...

Seriously, though, I have a growing collection of bricks, but I have wanted a Standard for a while. My first C3, a 1949, will always hold a special place in my heart. It takes great photos, but lacks the accessory shoe and shutter release that doesn't stab my finger.

I tore this new one down and gave it a good CLA. Everything is running smoothly, and I plan on giving it a nice two-tone Griptac skin in the near future. I'm going to make this beauty a regular shooter.

Cost me $24.99. Normally I would never pay that for a brick, but I really wanted this specific model, with a clean leather case. It even had the plug in pc flash adapter. I went ahead and adjusted the flash contact inside to fire properly for an electronic flash.


ArgusScreencap by unky_weaz, on Flickr

And here's a shot:


GoldMedalSilos by unky_weaz, on Flickr

This proves it takes photos. I wish it proved that I take good photos, but I'm better at fixing than shooting.

OK, who's next?
 
I had resolved that I did not need any more cameras but I could not resist this challenge. I bid on and won a Sokol Automat for $39 which is described as "working". When it arrives in 2 or 3 weeks, I will post pictures of and with the camera.
 
Can you take my word that I bought a camera off of ebay for under $40? I've got an Argus C3 and a Cee-ay 35 both of which cost me less than $40, but the auctions are from last year so I have no visual proof of the purchase price.
 
Minox GL, flash, cases purchased from RFFer DaveS (Watameter not part of the purchase).




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Dave S. is offline
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Seattle, WA
Posts: 256

Re: Minox
Sounds good! With the 25% off the posted price your total comes to $29.75 which includes the shipping.....

Cheers!

__________________
"The enemy of art is the absence of limitations" ~ Orson Welles







Delta 100, May 2013
 
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I found this at a thrift store today. $21 including tax. Can't wait to run a roll of film through it.

IMAG0048.jpg
 
Aw, you did better than I. My Signet 35 was from eBay and landed at $40 on the dot. And it needed a bunch of work. The shutter mostly works but the rangefinder is way, way off. Not sure if I'll be able to shoot it in time at this rate.
 
Brian Legge said:
Aw, you did better than I. My Signet 35 was from eBay and landed at $40 on the dot. And it needed a bunch of work. The shutter mostly works but the rangefinder is way, way off. Not sure if I'll be able to shoot it in time at this rate.
Click to expand...

Well the viewfinder is a bit hazy, but usable. The rangefinder double image is dim (though the patch is easy enough to see, but I think it is fairly accurate. The shutter seems to work at all speeds, but I am not sure it is accurate.

As for your camera, why worry about the rangefinder? For this challenge, shoot it as a scale focus camera.

--
Bill
 
True, I got too hung up tinkering with it. :) If the weather keeps up like Friday over the weekend I'll be able to stop down enough to make focus irrelevant.
 
Yes, We had gentle guidelines than strict rules. It's all for fun so as long as people are in the spirit of the it we should let the entries fly.
 
Also, I can now say I have a rangefinder with a red dot on it :). If people assume the red dot says Leica, who am I to contradict them :).

--
Bill
 
Brian Legge said:
Yes, We had gentle guidelines than strict rules. It's all for fun so as long as people are in the spirit of the it we should let the entries fly.
Click to expand...

In that case, I purchased some contenders at the camera show in Toronto last Sunday, one of which is now being shot.
 
Absolutely. But it would be nice if there would be some sort of receipt. Ebay was just a suggestion so we all have a level playing field :)

Brian Legge said:
Yes, We had gentle guidelines than strict rules. It's all for fun so as long as people are in the spirit of the it we should let the entries fly.
Click to expand...
 
I must admit I bought this for the metal box but when it arrived recently, I was very pleased to see that the camera was is excellent condition It was $38.00. Shutter still slow but it should be easy to clean and get back to normal.
Bilora-Radix-004_zpsf3c91005.jpg
 
I've got some colour test shots back. The film was out of date, so a bit grainy, and it's a Snappy Snaps dev & scan, so not great, but I'm pretty happy with some of the results, so I'll post:

Olympus Trip 35



 
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