amateriat
We're all light!
So...I had a tech gig with a regular client of mine, to sort out the new laptop I advised her on purchasing; she's moving from a crazy-big apartment to a smaller one (more manageable for her as she's "of a certain age"), and is in the process of some serious downsizing.
As she let me in, I nearly tripped over several lens cases that I hadn't seen before in all the pre-move hustle n' bustle. I told her that, being a photographer, I was a little curious as to where these came from. She told me that these were her father's. He was apparently into photography from the early 1950 until his death in the mid-80s, and he'd left quite a bit a gear with her, and she had no idea what to do with it all.
Of course, my curiosity was piqued: that's quite an interesting stretch of years in photographic terms, especially regarding hardware.
There were three bags of gear. The first had a pair of binoculars and an empty Canon lens case that I quickly ID'd as from the FD-lens period (yeah, you had to be shooting the stuff at the time to know this trivia). Digging into the second bag confirmed this, as I found these two examples:
Early Canon F-1 & AE-1
The F-1 brought back many fond memories; the AE-1 brought memories of "They're replacing my Canon EF with this?"
So, her Dad had (mostly) decent taste in SLRs. This was confirmed some minutes later when, digging into yet another bag, I came up with this:
Nikon FE, with 35mm Series-E lens, 105mm Micro, Tokina zoom
This would be regarded as having a catholic taste in SLRs (hard-case Nikon & Canon aficionados might disagree). The cameras and motor drive still had their batteries in them, and they'd been in storage for about 23 years; I quickly fished all the batteries out; thankfully, the Alkaline batteries of the time were quite well-jacketed by then, so there was minimal leaking (a bit of cleaning is still required).
This was taking on the patina of an archaeological dig. Which brought up the seemingly absurd question: what would Indiana Jones do? A victory-lap happy-dance, even though the find wasn't originally his?
I thought about the fact that these cameras were obviously purchased within the last decade or so of his life, and he had to have older gear than this. My client agreed, but said she was bewildered at the number of cameras he'd amassed. This was hardly everything he'd owned.
There was another zippered compartment of the bag the Nikons came from. Opening it up, out came these:
Two old-but-mostly-intact Kodaks
Both seemed to be operable, though I wouldn't vouch for the shutter-speed accuracy of the one on the right. They were in fairly clean shape.
It started to dawn on me that I wasn't just sifting through assorted hardware: I was assessing someone else's long photographic history, and life, though his choices in equipment through roughly three decades. Not that many people hang onto this much gear in their lifetime. (I certainly didn't.)
At this point, my client asked what all this gear might be worth. I told her that, while all these cameras were very good in their own right (and that I paid damned good money for a new Canon F-1 like her Dad's, in 1974), the digital age had rendered the value of these cameras somewhat moot. They're all worth something, of course, but there was no hidden pot-o'-gold here. Unless, of course, he'd been smart enough to buy a Leica way back when...
She told me that he'd talked a lot about Leicas in the 60s, but she didn't know much about them. I told her that lots of photographers fantasized about Leicas back in the day, and, in fact, still do. I told her I'd explain the phenomenon to her later, but also promised her that I'd help her assess the value of all this gear, and mentioned having a passing interest myself in the F-1 body and 50 macro.
I came across a few more lenses for both Nikon and Canon bodies: nothing earth-shaking, but there were macro lenses for each brand, by each brand, so he was more than a little choosy about this stuff. One of the camera bags had a compartment with a stuck zipper. "Almost like it was hermetically sealed", I joked to her. It took a surprising amount of force to get it open. Once opened, we were both in for a shock at what tumbled out:
Wetzlar Surprise
It was probably the most-mint of M4s I've come across in a dog's age. Nary a scratch on the top or bottom plates. Vulcanite clean as a whistle, and pressure plate and film chambers whose condition told me that very few rolls of film had passed through this thing.
It was the mother lode of finds. And it wasn't going to be mine.
"How much is this Leica stuff worth?", she asked.
"In two words, 'a lot.'", I answered.
"Why, when the other cameras wouldn't get so much money"?
I explained the Leica story to her, boiling it down as much as I could, detailing the history and lineage of the company, and the photographers (and, for better or worse, collectors) who held the M-series of cameras in such high regard that the cameras' value have survived every onslaught from the advent of the SLR to digital photography (so far). I told her that this M4, in working condition, could certainly fetch a grand, easy. However, when testing out the shutter, it appeared that it only wanted to behave as if it was set to "Bulb", meaning it definitely needed service.
"I'd make you an offer for the thing "as-is", but I don't even have the cash for that. It's worth that much."
She was astonished. She was thinking about handing the whole lot over to one of those local shops that puts items on a Certain Auction Site for people. I told her that might be okay in terms of the other stuff, but not the Leica gear: the M4 needed service, and the lenses might need checking out as well. And, if she was seriously thinking of selling it all, she should get as much as possible for them.
I dearly coveted that M4, but I also believe in Karma, and doing right by people I deal with, including, of course, the folks who trust me with their computers.
So, now I've saddled myself with helping get the M4, and lenses, in the right hands for checking out and/or fixing up, then selling off for her (though she's now considering hanging onto all the Leica gear, if it's worth as much as I mentioned; let's just say she doesn't exactly need the money, and is fascinated by the camera's history). She did appreciate all the information I gave her, and mentioned that, if I help her sort all the above camera matters out, she might let me have the last item I dug up:
"But if you try sometimes, you just might find..."
Remember when, in some previous thread earlier in the year, I mouthed off about how nice it would be to have and use a MF camera if one just happened to fall into my hands? (Nope, didn't think so.) Well, this ZI Super Ikonta BX needs a VF cleaning, and maybe a shutter-speed check, but otherwise seems in scarifyingly-clean condition. Yep, I love that M4 (just remembered: I didn't check out the framelines on that baby, and I was wondering why it had that 35 with "Eyes" on it...did some M4s only have 50mm framelines at their widest?*), but my Hexars cover that turf more than respectfully enough, while the Ikonta takes me where I haven't gone in a long, long time. And it'll be a no-guilt trip to boot.
So, again, what would Indiana Jones do?
Possibly something at least a bit less ethical than what I chose to do. But for me, it's all about Karma. And he's not even a real guy.
- Barrett
(*Note: since then, I've discovered that there was also an M3 among this collection of gear, but we haven't found it, at least not yet. That might explain the existence of the "goggled" 35.)
As she let me in, I nearly tripped over several lens cases that I hadn't seen before in all the pre-move hustle n' bustle. I told her that, being a photographer, I was a little curious as to where these came from. She told me that these were her father's. He was apparently into photography from the early 1950 until his death in the mid-80s, and he'd left quite a bit a gear with her, and she had no idea what to do with it all.
Of course, my curiosity was piqued: that's quite an interesting stretch of years in photographic terms, especially regarding hardware.
There were three bags of gear. The first had a pair of binoculars and an empty Canon lens case that I quickly ID'd as from the FD-lens period (yeah, you had to be shooting the stuff at the time to know this trivia). Digging into the second bag confirmed this, as I found these two examples:
Early Canon F-1 & AE-1
The F-1 brought back many fond memories; the AE-1 brought memories of "They're replacing my Canon EF with this?"
So, her Dad had (mostly) decent taste in SLRs. This was confirmed some minutes later when, digging into yet another bag, I came up with this:
Nikon FE, with 35mm Series-E lens, 105mm Micro, Tokina zoom
This would be regarded as having a catholic taste in SLRs (hard-case Nikon & Canon aficionados might disagree). The cameras and motor drive still had their batteries in them, and they'd been in storage for about 23 years; I quickly fished all the batteries out; thankfully, the Alkaline batteries of the time were quite well-jacketed by then, so there was minimal leaking (a bit of cleaning is still required).
This was taking on the patina of an archaeological dig. Which brought up the seemingly absurd question: what would Indiana Jones do? A victory-lap happy-dance, even though the find wasn't originally his?
I thought about the fact that these cameras were obviously purchased within the last decade or so of his life, and he had to have older gear than this. My client agreed, but said she was bewildered at the number of cameras he'd amassed. This was hardly everything he'd owned.
There was another zippered compartment of the bag the Nikons came from. Opening it up, out came these:
Two old-but-mostly-intact Kodaks
Both seemed to be operable, though I wouldn't vouch for the shutter-speed accuracy of the one on the right. They were in fairly clean shape.
It started to dawn on me that I wasn't just sifting through assorted hardware: I was assessing someone else's long photographic history, and life, though his choices in equipment through roughly three decades. Not that many people hang onto this much gear in their lifetime. (I certainly didn't.)
At this point, my client asked what all this gear might be worth. I told her that, while all these cameras were very good in their own right (and that I paid damned good money for a new Canon F-1 like her Dad's, in 1974), the digital age had rendered the value of these cameras somewhat moot. They're all worth something, of course, but there was no hidden pot-o'-gold here. Unless, of course, he'd been smart enough to buy a Leica way back when...
She told me that he'd talked a lot about Leicas in the 60s, but she didn't know much about them. I told her that lots of photographers fantasized about Leicas back in the day, and, in fact, still do. I told her I'd explain the phenomenon to her later, but also promised her that I'd help her assess the value of all this gear, and mentioned having a passing interest myself in the F-1 body and 50 macro.
I came across a few more lenses for both Nikon and Canon bodies: nothing earth-shaking, but there were macro lenses for each brand, by each brand, so he was more than a little choosy about this stuff. One of the camera bags had a compartment with a stuck zipper. "Almost like it was hermetically sealed", I joked to her. It took a surprising amount of force to get it open. Once opened, we were both in for a shock at what tumbled out:
Wetzlar Surprise
It was probably the most-mint of M4s I've come across in a dog's age. Nary a scratch on the top or bottom plates. Vulcanite clean as a whistle, and pressure plate and film chambers whose condition told me that very few rolls of film had passed through this thing.
It was the mother lode of finds. And it wasn't going to be mine.
"How much is this Leica stuff worth?", she asked.
"In two words, 'a lot.'", I answered.
"Why, when the other cameras wouldn't get so much money"?
I explained the Leica story to her, boiling it down as much as I could, detailing the history and lineage of the company, and the photographers (and, for better or worse, collectors) who held the M-series of cameras in such high regard that the cameras' value have survived every onslaught from the advent of the SLR to digital photography (so far). I told her that this M4, in working condition, could certainly fetch a grand, easy. However, when testing out the shutter, it appeared that it only wanted to behave as if it was set to "Bulb", meaning it definitely needed service.
"I'd make you an offer for the thing "as-is", but I don't even have the cash for that. It's worth that much."
She was astonished. She was thinking about handing the whole lot over to one of those local shops that puts items on a Certain Auction Site for people. I told her that might be okay in terms of the other stuff, but not the Leica gear: the M4 needed service, and the lenses might need checking out as well. And, if she was seriously thinking of selling it all, she should get as much as possible for them.
I dearly coveted that M4, but I also believe in Karma, and doing right by people I deal with, including, of course, the folks who trust me with their computers.
So, now I've saddled myself with helping get the M4, and lenses, in the right hands for checking out and/or fixing up, then selling off for her (though she's now considering hanging onto all the Leica gear, if it's worth as much as I mentioned; let's just say she doesn't exactly need the money, and is fascinated by the camera's history). She did appreciate all the information I gave her, and mentioned that, if I help her sort all the above camera matters out, she might let me have the last item I dug up:
"But if you try sometimes, you just might find..."
Remember when, in some previous thread earlier in the year, I mouthed off about how nice it would be to have and use a MF camera if one just happened to fall into my hands? (Nope, didn't think so.) Well, this ZI Super Ikonta BX needs a VF cleaning, and maybe a shutter-speed check, but otherwise seems in scarifyingly-clean condition. Yep, I love that M4 (just remembered: I didn't check out the framelines on that baby, and I was wondering why it had that 35 with "Eyes" on it...did some M4s only have 50mm framelines at their widest?*), but my Hexars cover that turf more than respectfully enough, while the Ikonta takes me where I haven't gone in a long, long time. And it'll be a no-guilt trip to boot.
So, again, what would Indiana Jones do?
Possibly something at least a bit less ethical than what I chose to do. But for me, it's all about Karma. And he's not even a real guy.
- Barrett
(*Note: since then, I've discovered that there was also an M3 among this collection of gear, but we haven't found it, at least not yet. That might explain the existence of the "goggled" 35.)
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steamer
Well-known
Good on ya for doing the right thing.
Spider67
Well-known
Well done!
Morca007
Matt
It belongs in a museum!
oscroft
Veteran
You can't take the goggles off a goggled lens (the focus is different), so even if the body has a 35mm frame you still have to use the goggles (I have a goggled 35mm Summaron, but on my M6 and M2 it still needs the goggles).
PS: Many congrats on doing the right thing - there are far too many people who would have blagged that stuff for themselves.
amateriat
We're all light!
That's what I understood. I was just initially confused about this setup being on an M4, which, near as I could recall, always came with 35mm framelines unless someone, somewhere, had them taken out. The possible existence of an M3 body among these cameras would likely explain the presence of the Goggled 35mm. It's speculated that someone in the family might've made off with the M3 a while ago...
- Barrett
robin a
Well-known
Great story and a happy ending,Well Done..........................Robin
HuubL
hunter-gatherer
Barrett, I really love these threads. How many more treasures would be waiting in dusty atticks and forgotten briefcases to be found by someone who appreciates the value of it. I wonder how many of these treasures end up in the hands of ruthless pawnshop owners offering 50 bucks for the lot only to bay it for a huge profit.
That M4 looks gorgeous. I guess the Elmarit is a 90 mm lenshead sitting in a Visoflex mount? Together with the two crons this set should fetch 2000 US$ (after a CLA, of course).
I'm still looking for a nice F1. Actually, the one you got there would exactly fit my needs....
And congratulations with the Super Ikonta. It looks like a beautiful camera!
That M4 looks gorgeous. I guess the Elmarit is a 90 mm lenshead sitting in a Visoflex mount? Together with the two crons this set should fetch 2000 US$ (after a CLA, of course).
I'm still looking for a nice F1. Actually, the one you got there would exactly fit my needs...
.And congratulations with the Super Ikonta. It looks like a beautiful camera!
amateriat
We're all light!
Big thanks for helping me sort that Elmarit out; not being at all experienced with the Visoflex setup, this explains why it looked too wide to properly fit the M4 on its own. (But, now that brings up the matter of where the Visoflex itself went...probably with that missing M3?)
And, aside from all this...I wonder where the pictures are that this man took? The Leica gear appears to have low mileage, but the SLRs show obvious signs of use, which I suppose shows a typical pattern for many photographers of the period: get some Leica gear, shoot with it a little, buy shiny new SLR later on, stow Leica kit in closet and promptly forget about it.
In a sense, it's not all bad news, since it means there are likely more than a few Leicas tucked away thusly. Finding them is the hard part. And, in this case, I wasn't even looking!
- Barrett
oftheherd
Veteran
Congrats on doing the right thing. There is often temtation to do otherwise. Whatever you may lose in camera gear, you will more than get back in self satisfaction. This story makes for much better reading than "guess what I got for a steal?" And any other treatment would have been a steal.
Again, congrats.
Again, congrats.
swoop
Well-known
Ha. Awesome. My first real cam was an F-1. Good memories.
SolaresLarrave
My M5s need red dots!
You were good and honest, Barrett, and will reap further rewards. Good!
gavinlg
Veteran
Good on you for being a decent human being. A good number of people would have bought it for a few dollars and sold it for a mint on ebay. I believe in karma too so I would have done the same as you.
pachuco
El ****
Bravo! Indy would be proud!
By the way, I have an Canon F1-N that i am trying to get rid of. Damn things weighs a ton.
By the way, I have an Canon F1-N that i am trying to get rid of. Damn things weighs a ton.
rxmd
May contain traces of nut
Well done, Barrett.
IGMeanwell
Well-known
Even though the circumstances are not the same, this reminds me both of the Simpsons and the movie "High Fidelity" (a deleted scene)
High Fidelity: http://youtube.com/watch?v=O6Esanwk37c
I can't find the clip for the simpsons, but from the epsiode "Worst Episode Ever" a woman brings in a box of goodies of what she thinks is junk into the Comic Book Guy's store, but in reality is full of all this star wars memorabilia (as they say hilarity ensues)
But anyways, good for you... very benevolent of you
High Fidelity: http://youtube.com/watch?v=O6Esanwk37c
I can't find the clip for the simpsons, but from the epsiode "Worst Episode Ever" a woman brings in a box of goodies of what she thinks is junk into the Comic Book Guy's store, but in reality is full of all this star wars memorabilia (as they say hilarity ensues)
But anyways, good for you... very benevolent of you
swoop
Well-known
Ha. I'd never seen that scene. God I love that movie. It's the only break up movie for guys.
"You f-ing bitch! We can work this out!"
Michael I.
Well-known
Well Done!
I hope I would have your moral fortitude when such a chance arises
I hope I would have your moral fortitude when such a chance arises
urban_alchemist
Well-known
Well done... may you now find a mint M4 of your own in your attic
K
Kin Lau
Guest
Bravo Barrett!