What's Your Best Bargain Find?

M3

M3

Leica M3 DS, 50mm collapsible summicron, IROOA lens shade, black MR-4 meter. All (except the hood) in pretty great condition.

The asking price was $450. The shutter needed adjustment (sticking on the slow speeds), and when I pointed that out, (while handing the camera back) the owner asked me "How about $200?"

Yea. I didn't have to think too long about that. 🙂

-Brian
 
Hmmm, this was just like two weeks ago......after almost two years searching I finally found one of the rarest and most desirable "SHOOTING" LTM lenses of the "wartime" era.......

An authentic 1943 Carl Zeiss Jena Sonnar T f1.5/50 in LTM for $103 *Worth? $500+ * 😉

Tom
 
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I found quite a few here in Brazil:
mint canon 7sz with 50/0.95 and erc for 250$
mint rolleiflex T for 100$
leica 1c with elmar 50, 50 finder and rangefinder, plus erc for 100$
leica m4 with summilux 50 and summaron 35 for 1100$
fujica g690 and g670 + 150, 100 and 55mm lenses for 750$. sold the 55 alone for over 1200 euros (this is one of the rarest of lenses)
 
Ok , not a bag of 'Blads and Leicas, but a dream come true none the less.

I am in my local thrift shop when I notice some kind of Nikon F-mount lens keeping company with all the old auto-focusers and Super-8 cameras in their display counter.

Turns out to be a mint 35 f2 - but the price sticker was nowhere in sight. So I'm on my knees, peering up through the glass shelf to see if it's on the bottom when I spy, on the shelf right below, the rounded silver contour of some camera, engraved LEICA, I can't see the rest.

I wave over at one of the workers and wait for someone with keys to arrive, all the while obscuring as much of the display counter as I can with my body.

How much is this lens? "$25". Then as casually as I can manage, "and that camera"? -- "$80".

I didn't even look at them, I didn't want anyone to notice that Value Village had an "M" for sale. They put them in a bag and I carried them all the way home in a bit of a daze. Didn't take them out until I was in my livingroom, and really didn't believe it until I did. A might-as-well-be-new M6TTL with a 50 1.4 Summilux. (not the asph. in case you were wondering)

I had sometimes thought wouldn't it be nice if... and the fantasy camera in the case was usually a black M4 with a 35 Summicron, well I guess the TTL with the 50 Summilux is what I'm supposed to have.
 
Bought a Nikon FM2n with Nikkor 50mm f1.2 for EUR 50.00, that was years ago. Sold for EUR 475.00

Bought a Konica Auto S3 in mint condition for EUR 17.50, sold for EUR 250.00
Bought a Konica Hexar AF complete set for EUR 150.00, sold for EUR 517.00 within 24 hours. All years ago.

Bought a rare FED-S with FED 50mm f2.0 lens for EUR 150.00 last month. Estimated value for a mint example like mine: EUR 750.00. Best of all, it came from notoriously-high-pricing PhotoArsenal off the big Bay. They must be kicking themselves over the mistake they made, still no pos. feedback returned 🙂
 
Guy in Jessops gave me a Vito B for nothing as it was "broken"
It wasn't, shutter in these do not cock as you wind on if there is no film in the camera!! It works just fine,
my Son uses it now!!
The Vito B is probably one of the most rugged cameras ever made.
 
Nothing like the above, but I'm kinda proud of my little wins in the auction site.

An Elmarit 135mm f2.8 for $165 (nobody bid), which I later sent to DAG for goggle adjustment. I replaced it with a copy of the newer version, so sold this one for just what I paid, plus the adjustment cost.

An Elmar 90mm f4 collapsible for $180. I may send it to Sherry for cleanup and the like, but it's my latest Leica acquisition.

Other than that... I've never stumbled upon any of those garage- or estate-sale finds, and I've had my share of sales, believe me! 😱 Now, I just don't see the point of pursuing the dream of a Nikon S with a 50mm f1.4 for $25.

Must add... an Elmarit 28mm f2.8 for $647, with hood and box, from Igor's Cameras in Cleveland OH. Sure: it needed a bit of a repair, but the price was really good for a Leica lens (and I still have it!).
 
It is either:

a) my local camera repair guy who does things like take my Zeiss Ikon with a RF that had come out of alignment, and hand it back to me perfectly aligned 15 minutes later saying he was sorry it took so long but no charge. Or, several similar repairs he has done while we talked always at no charge. In return, I try to take care of him. Today I brought him some of our famous local sweet corn that had just been picked.

b) my local used camera dealer who never charges me for small things like straps, filters, lens caps. Last year he gave me a Canonette GIII 1.7 QL because he knew I wanted one. And there is nothing in the store (except maybe his new Noctilux) that he would let me borrow. Oh yeah, he got some just picked corn today as well.
 
My best deal may have been trading duplicate SLR equipment for a unique 3D camera by the inventor Douglas Winnek from WWII. It may have been used to take photos days before the Hiroshima drop of the atomic bomb.

I guess, the camera is "valuable" from a historic point of view.
 
ddutchison said:
Ok , not a bag of 'Blads and Leicas, but a dream come true none the less.

I am in my local thrift shop when I notice some kind of Nikon F-mount lens keeping company with all the old auto-focusers and Super-8 cameras in their display counter.

Turns out to be a mint 35 f2 - but the price sticker was nowhere in sight. So I'm on my knees, peering up through the glass shelf to see if it's on the bottom when I spy, on the shelf right below, the rounded silver contour of some camera, engraved LEICA, I can't see the rest.

I wave over at one of the workers and wait for someone with keys to arrive, all the while obscuring as much of the display counter as I can with my body.

How much is this lens? "$25". Then as casually as I can manage, "and that camera"? -- "$80".

I didn't even look at them, I didn't want anyone to notice that Value Village had an "M" for sale. They put them in a bag and I carried them all the way home in a bit of a daze. Didn't take them out until I was in my livingroom, and really didn't believe it until I did. A might-as-well-be-new M6TTL with a 50 1.4 Summilux. (not the asph. in case you were wondering)

I had sometimes thought wouldn't it be nice if... and the fantasy camera in the case was usually a black M4 with a 35 Summicron, well I guess the TTL with the 50 Summilux is what I'm supposed to have.
Click to expand...

An M6ttl and a 50 1.4 for $105?........whew. You win.
 
I guess I'm going to haveto make that drive up to Apopka. My dad always said that sweetcorn should be cooked no more that 20 minutes after picking if you want maximum sweetness. "The sugar starts turning to starch" was his explanation.

My local repair guy who'd do free adjustments and minor repairs while we chatted retired and closed his shop a couple of years ago. Bob, you're a fortunate guy.
 
My "Steals"

My "Steals"

Olympus 35RC $2.00. Thrift store. Appeared to be jammed. Just on Auto with dead batteries.

Leica IIIC with 50mm f2.0 Summarit and case $40 at antique show. I told the seller as I handed him two $20's, "Some people don't know the value of what they have." He agreed.

4x5 Pacemaker Crown Graphic $30 at another antique show. The seller was surprised that I knew how to open it.

Dave
 
It withers away with the competition, but...

It withers away with the competition, but...

hit a yard sale yesterday and picked up a fair sized box containing...

1. Agfa PD16 Plenax
2. Kodak Flash Bantam w/flash, bracket and 11 apparently useable bulbs. These should also work with the Kodak Brownie Hawkeye Flash I got last weekend for $1.
3. Argus C3 Brick, which brought me to this forum.
4. 8 light meters of various age and maker.
5. 5 screw on close-up lenses for my 35mm film and digital Pentax SLR's.
6. 2 Large Format lenses, one each Polaroid Pathfinder and No. 2 Kodak Supermatic.
7. Polaroid One-Step (woo-hoo)

Plus a bunch of miscellaneous detrious (shutter release cables, mini-'pod etc). All cameras, light meters and lenses are in great shape. I also found manuals for all meters and two of the cameras. None of this is earth shattering stuff but well worth the whopping $10 I paid for it all. I'm still surfing the yard sales for the ever-elusive Pentax A* 600mm for a song. 😀

Randy
 
SolaresLarrave said:
Must add... an Elmarit 28mm f2.8 for $647, with hood and box, from Igor's Cameras in Cleveland OH. Sure: it needed a bit of a repair, but the price was really good for a Leica lens (and I still have it!).
Click to expand...

It's Igor's birthday today, you might send him a belated card. ;-)

He is pretty conservative in his descriptions, and will often sell according to what he personally thinks the item is worth.

His personal collection is quite extensive.

Campus Camera in Kent, Ohio is also pretty good, they took a lot in on trade one night when I was hanging about, and turned over a couple of Nikon F's, serviced regularly by Nikon, one chrome one black, both with two finders, --the guy was using them on assignment and had used them taped. I think it was $200 for all, plus a dozen Nikon filters and cases.

I also found a couple of Black Nikon S lenses in Jackson Wy at a shop, with finders, cases, caps, hoods. $75, while on a trip with students, left the black $200 SP because it was brassed :bang:-- when I got home, one of the parents had a complete S2 outfit with three lenses a lady traded him for a new P&S AF while we were gone, so I was one upped.

A dealer at a show had to move his car as the hall folks were upset he parked on the grass. A guy in the parking lot did not want to pay the $5 to get in so he sold him a box of SM Leicas for $90, several bodies, lenses, etc.

J
 
Al Kaplan said:
I guess I'm going to haveto make that drive up to Apopka. My dad always said that sweetcorn should be cooked no more that 20 minutes after picking if you want maximum sweetness. "The sugar starts turning to starch" was his explanation.

.
Click to expand...

You city guys, we used to pull the corn, and deliver it that morning for $.50 a dozen ears. You do not pick corn, you pull it, and you leave a nice ear without the shank. ;-) Gets real starchy quickly when warm.

Regards, John
 
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