What should a pay?

[Karl]

Hello,

This is my first post in this forum 🙂

I don't have any rangefinder camera as of today, but I've always wanted one. Now I have this urge to get a nice Canon P

I've seen a couple of theese at the auction sites and at local camera stores. The prices seem to vary alot, so what would you recomend me to pay for a very nice example?

 

[Sonnar Brian]

Anything Below $250 for a EX or better camera body is a great deal it would seem, and below $300 is reasonable. KEH wants $325 for a bargain grade camera, more than for an EX Canon 7 body. A lens will run another $100 to $200, depending on condition and speed. The F1.8 is very sharp, followed by the F1.4.

 

[Karl]

So, $650 US for a mint Canon P with a mint 50/1,2 would be a bit over the top then?

I saw this outfit at eBay, it really caught my attention because it is a very nice looking camera. I've done some research about it and despite that I only use Nikon this Canon RF really got my juices flowing 😛

 

[Sonnar Brian]

The 50mm F1.2 lens in mint condition would fetch as much as $300. I have seen them as low as $200 in EX. The 50mm F1.4 lens went for about $50~$75 more at one time as it was supposed to be sharper. But, too many people compare results of lenses wide-open only, and neglect that the F1.2 lens closed down to F1.4 improves the performance.

If the camera is Mint-, the lens is Mint-, and all is functionally perfect including the Finder, RF patch, slow speeds, and curtains, then $650 is reasonable. A camera in Mint- to Mint will fetch almost double what a camera in EX condition will go for. I paid almost $2,000 for a near Mint Nikon SP with lens and under $1,000 for my user grade Nikon SP with F1.4 lens. Both take equally good pictures, but the user goes more places.

What Nikon cameras do you use? The Canon "P" is probably closest to the Nikon S3 in features.

 

[Sonnar Brian]

USER CANON P: At $225 this is a decent deal, at $250 a little patience and a lot of watching will do better.

BUT BECAUSE OF JOE THE PRICES OF CANON P CAMERAS HAVE BEEN DRIVEN UP! If he had left the Canon P off of his all-time favorite camera of the RFF poll, this would have been $175!

Canon P "USER" on Ebay

 

[back alley]

that's not bad for that 'p'.
that seller is usually a bit on the high side of prices.

joe

 

[Karl]

What Nikon cameras do you use? The Canon "P" is probably closest to the Nikon S3 in features.

Hello Brian,

I use the FM3a and the D2h Nikon cameras. I just sold off my D100 to make room for the new F6 and the D2x.

I'd love to get a nice S3 and/or SP. I have been thinking about getting a new and boxed chrome S3 Millennium 🙂

 

[Sonnar Brian]

The prices of the original S3's in "user" (8/10 and lower cosmetic condition) have come way down. You could probably pick up a good user S3 w F1.4 for about $1,000 on EBay.

The new ones are tempting. I spent the money that I saved for an S3-2000 on a near mint SP.

Let us know how the F6 is; a detachable motor drive! An idea whose time has come back!

 

[plexi]

Brian, it not exactly a motor drive, as the motor is buildt into the camera... But removing the MB-40 batterypack brings it down to a slooooow 5.5fps 😀