What were you best gear finds of 2015?

[Spanik]

Just got my hands on a Sinar Zoom back. Have been looking quite a time to find a reasonably priced one.

 

[David Hughes]

Hi,

I think the best bargains are when you buy a box of bits and pieces or a camera bag etc and then sell everything except what you wanted and so get it for a few pennies. I've 'won' OM lenses this way and more besides...

Regards, David

 

[je2a3]

I visited Tokyo last November and got this lot from the "junk camera" bin at Katsumido Camera, Ginza. The TLRs have dirty viewfinders which I think I can clean up but the shutters work. I was told by the salesman that the only issue with the 7s was a broken light-meter. I developed a short test roll from the Canon 7s and all the frames look good. Total for all three cameras, JPY8,000 or about $67.😀

 

[Tijmendal]

That's a crazy deal for those three camera's. Especially the Canon. Wow! Nice find. You'd think they'd know better in Japan.

The best deal I had this year, and probably ever, was the great Hasselblad find:
503cx, 500cm, 500el/m, 500elx, 50mm C, 80mm C, 80mm CF, 150mm C and a ton of accessories for 225€

 

[KM-25]

A free box of New55 4X5 Instant film (plus negative). Normally costs $85.00 USD. For some reason, the company CEO gifted me a box.

Jim B.

And yet about half of us who did the Kickstarter thing have yet to receive our film. When and if I do get mine, I am giving it to a friend, these folks are blowing it in doing that, the product and their production has all all kinds of problems and from what I have seen of it in person thus far, I am not at all impressed.

As for my steals this year, their were several but I tend to not want to gloat about someone else's coming up financially short in the sale of something.

 

[drinkingeye]

What a luck guy you are! Marvellous! Enjoy it!

That's a crazy deal for those three camera's. Especially the Canon. Wow! Nice find. You'd think they'd know better in Japan.

The best deal I had this year, and probably ever, was the great Hasselblad find:
503cx, 500cm, 500el/m, 500elx, 50mm C, 80mm C, 80mm CF, 150mm C and a ton of accessories for 225€

 

[David Hughes]

Hi,

This thread knocks on the head that well known saying about getting what you pay for...

Regards, David

 

[Mackinaw]

And yet about half of us who did the Kickstarter thing have yet to receive our film. When and if I do get mine, I am giving it to a friend, these folks are blowing it in doing that, the product and their production has all all kinds of problems and from what I have seen of it in person thus far, I am not at all impressed.......

I didn’t contribute to the Kickstarter effort. I bought a box of their instant 4X5 film on a whim, curious as to what the print and neg would look like. Right now, what they’re selling, is a hand-coated, beta product not ready for prime time. The company had a very serious setback several months ago and made a decision to sell this experimental product to generate some badly needed funds and to gain experience with manufacturing film. Right now, I find the negs to be superb but the prints a bit soft.

I would encourage you to shoot at least a few sheets of film before giving it to your friend. I’m cautiously optimistic about what I’ve seen so far. This new 4X5 film shows great promise.

Jim B.

 

[KM-25]

I would encourage you to shoot at least a few sheets of film before giving it to your friend. I’m cautiously optimistic about what I’ve seen so far. This new 4X5 film shows great promise.

My friend and I bought a box while we wait for our Kickstarter reward. She as a studio shooter thought it was just ok, I saw a messy negative and very soft print. So I see no use whatsoever for the product in my future, just way too messy hassle in the field for what I need. For a few hundred dollars less than 50 sheets of what N55 is selling now, one can buy 50 sheets of Tmax 400, 100 sheet box of Ilford postcard prints, a Jobo 3010 drum, beseler motor base and the chemistry to come up with what will likely be much better images for their time and effort.

But that is not my beef...my beef is that they are "gifting" the very product that people are expecting to receive for backing the project.

That is just pure BS.

 

[Timmyjoe]

Canon A-1 with full CLA for free, and pristine 50mm f1.4 SSC for $75.

Not everyone's taste, but I'm enjoying it with some 5222.

Best,
-Tim

 

[Mackinaw]

.......But that is not my beef...my beef is that they are "gifting" the very product that people are expecting to receive for backing the project.

That is just pure BS.

I don’t know why I was gifted a box of their instant film. Purely a guess on my part, but on another forum I frequent, I defended the company and their efforts from a barrage of naysayers who seem to be rooting for the company to fail. Maybe the company CEO saw that exchange and sent me the film as a gift. But again, this is just a guess.

The company has steep challenges ahead. They need to work on print quality and lower their cost dramatically. I understand their goal is $6.00/print. If they can deliver a good-to-great print along with the superb negative at that price, I’ll add their product to my arsenal. As a portrait photographer, this stuff would definitely come in handy.

Jim B.

 

[KM-25]

I don’t know why I was gifted a box of their instant film. Purely a guess on my part, but on another forum I frequent, I defended the company and their efforts from a barrage of naysayers who seem to be rooting for the company to fail. Maybe the company CEO saw that exchange and sent me the film as a gift. But again, this is just a guess.

The company has steep challenges ahead. They need to work on print quality and lower their cost dramatically. I understand their goal is $6.00/print. If they can deliver a good-to-great print along with the superb negative at that price, I’ll add their product to my arsenal. As a portrait photographer, this stuff would definitely come in handy.

I backed them because I believe in them too, defended at first but they have stopped giving updates as to where they are at with backers and just post the for sale stuff, general PR and what not.

They took our money so the least they can do is really up the pace and details on our status.

 

[Mackinaw]

I backed them because I believe in them too, defended at first but they have stopped giving updates as to where they are at with backers and just post the for sale stuff, general PR and what not.

They took our money so the least they can do is really up the pace and details on our status.

Not much I can say about that. Their blog on their website is a good place for info. They update it frequently. Maybe you can get answers to your questions there.

Jim B.

 

[bobkonos]

NOS Nikon RF S-36 motor drive, version 6 (chrome-on-chrome), along with NOS Nikon F battery pack and cable, bundled with a mint red dot chrome 65xxxx Nikon F, in box, and three mint Nikon RF boxes (SP, S3, S4) each containing a mint leather ER case…and some Canon RF accessories in that package, too.

 

[Coopersounds]

Canon F1 with 50 1.8 for $30 was pretty darn good. Oly OM1n with a nikon flash (now on my F90x) and odd lenses for $45.

 

[AZPhotog]

Finds of 2015

Finds of 2015

I had two great finds in 2015.
A like new Canon EF for $40 with dead electronics. Ken Oikawa repaired it quickly on the cheap, replaced a cushion, and checked the shutter for accuracy. The Canon EF has always been a favorite camera of mine, and I have several.
The other find was a rather cheap ($450) Leica M3 DS from 1957 that came with a working(!) and accurate(!) old Selenium LeicaMeter. The interesting thing is the camera was sold to a local camera shop by its retired photographer owner, and it had been serviced in the not too distant past. (The slow speeds had the "Buzz" familiar to us as a clean and lubed mechanism.) I did pass on the separate sale collapsible 50 SUMMICRON whose outer lens was badly scarred.
This M3 was sent to Gus Lazzari for restoration of the Vulcanite and also a CLA, and it is just about to return. This is my 3rd M3 -- I just could not pass up a working M3 for a mere $450. It looked so lonely and obviously needed a good home with siblings.

 

[Darthfeeble]

A used VIII CV 15. Works spectacularly on the M9

 

[pschauss]

Minolta 600si for $34.
Kiev 60 with TTL prism (no lens) for $45.
Retina IIIc from Kehoutlet in full working condition for $53.95.
Nikkormat FT for $5.95. Fully functional except for a non-working meter.
Above prices included shipping. I need to stop looking at Ebay and the classifieds.

 

[seakayaker1]

Leica-M Monochom V1, new with full warranty at 58% of the retail price, last April. Pricey but still thought it was a great deal.

 

[Greyscale]

$1200 got me a Leica M4 with Summicron, Leica IIIc "K" (which became another forum members best find) with collapsible Summicron, Nicca type 3 with Nikkor 50/2, Elmar 90 and Hektor 135 in M mount, Kodak Retna IIIc type 021 Ausf. II, a bunch of Visolflex stuff, Leitz 50mm bright line finder, Lietz VIOOH vario Finder, Nikkor P.C. 85/2 LTM with case and finder, plus various filters, light meters, and ephemera. I sold the IIIc, the Nicca, and the Retina and recouped more than half of the original purchase price.

Even though I practically gave away that IIIc "K", I'm pretty sure that I still did OK.