Wish you had bought before the boom? Cameras

[Canyongazer]

yes, crystal ball would be helpful.
My uncle Fred, heretofore known as "my Rich Uncle Fred" put $1,000 in to IBM in the early 1960s.
Don't know if he bought any screw mount Leica's...but he could. 🙂

 

[Fjäll]

Skipped on a mint Plaubel Makina 67 with leather case and lens hood but a defective lightmeter for $500 5 years ago. Up until about 2 years ago Olympus MJU II cameras sold regularly for about $30 here in Sweden. These days you rarely see them below $165. An original black paint M3 sold for $2000 at a local auction house back in 2012. I will pick up a black M2 when I get the chance.

 

[NickTrop]

Never understand this logic. Is buying any digital camera for 1,5k or even 3,5k like a Sony RX1R2 which looses half of their price in 2 years then also bananas?

The value now is in full frame Canon or Nikon digital cameras with 12-24 megapixels. Same may be said of cropped sensor cameras like the D5300 that are only a few years old. Canon and Nikon because no retro appeal., mass produce, and have a rapid upgrade cycle. Supply of working/good/mint condition film cameras (especially with electronics) is dwindling. Plus they're often collectors items.

 

[HHPhoto]

Are there any cameras you wish you had bought before the boom?

A Hasselblad X-Pan.
On the other hand, I've bought lots of excellent cameras at the right time when they were extremely cheap. And in two cases I bought indeed at the lowest price point 🙂.

How do you feel about the rising prices of niche film gear?

Generally I am fine with it. Because in the long run it is simply needed to see new film cameras on the market.
And currently lots of excellent cameras are still very cheap. Good time now to get certain "dream cameras". Especially the latest, most modern film cameras from the period 1994 until 2007.
Like Canon EOS 1N and 1V, EOS 3, EOS 30 and 33 (V). Or the latest Minoltaa Maxxum / Dynax cameras. Nikon F90X, F80, F100, F4, F5. And the latest Pentax SLRs.

Mamiya 645 models and RB 67 are also still underrated and cheap for example. Some Bronicas, too.
It is still possible to get some great bargains. The best slide projectors ever built from Leica, Rollei, Braun, Kindermann, Reflecta are also still extremely cheap now. Time to get one!

Cheers, Jan

 

[sara]

A 6x7 camera 🙁

 

[harpofreely]

A 6x7 camera 🙁

Koni-Omega Rapid is still reasonably priced.

 

[JeffS7444]

Are there any cameras you wish you had bought before the boom? How do you feel about the rising prices of niche film gear?

No to the first question because many of today's hot properties didn't seem like bargains to me back then either.


As others have stated, there's still lots of film gear which is largely ignored and can be readily had for very little money.

 

[kxl]

No regrets wrt camera gear, but I wish I would have bought more shares than I did of: Netflix, Amazon, Apple and Alphabet (Google) stock.

 

[aizan]

you could say that again. bitcoin, too. a friend of a friend cashed out at the peak and now he's a millionaire.

 

[Deleted member 65559]

Should have bought another black paint M2 when I got mine for $700 (cdn) in Paris at the end of the 90s. Or the Makina 670W I saw in Toyko in the same era for under $1k (USD)

 

[Dogman]

I should have bought one of the many Hasselblad 500C/M outfits that were available for peanuts everywhere.

 

[Steve Bellayr]

Canon F-1 $32
Nikon S-2 w/lens $10
Nikon F-2 w/50mm $53
Nikon F-2 $27
Nikonos IV $20

Now, mind you all need serving.

 

[Graybeard]

There are booms and there are booms.

I bought a Leica IIc with a 50mm Summar in 1965 for $25.

Much later, 1984, an M3 for $200 - still have it and still use it.

 

[Keith]

Not so much a camera but I sure wish I'd bought a 50mm Noctilux when they were affordable!

 

[charjohncarter]

Similar to above, I bought a IIIc with a Summar f 2.0 in 1963 for $25. Sold it for $45 in 1964 and bought my IIIf still working but repairs for $50. I used it 2 weeks ago.

Leica IIIf by John Carter, on Flickr

 

[xayraa33]

Canon F-1 $32
Nikon S-2 w/lens $10
Nikon F-2 w/50mm $53
Nikon F-2 $27
Nikonos IV $20

Now, mind you all need serving.

Wow, great prices.

You beat Mattias Burling in getting super deals.

At the super low prices Mattias Burling says he gets his cameras on his YT videos always makes me believe he is either super lucky, or fibbing or he buys them hot from a drug addict 😀

 

[dxq.canada]

Ah, when I was in the camera retail business in the 80/90's ... soooo many opportunities of getting cost - reseller discount ... crap, I wasn't paid much ... missed out on soooooo many cameras !!!!

 

[Archiver]

Never understand this logic. Is buying any digital camera for 1,5k or even 3,5k like a Sony RX1R2 which looses half of their price in 2 years then also bananas? Or a M10 and so on and so on. If you buy a new car you loose the same amount of money in the moment you turn the first time the key, a normal smoker pays the same amount in one year for cigarettes. You get the idea.

I bought my T3 for around 1k USD after using a T2 for many years (still working), use it since 2,5 years every day, makes around 1 USD per day for a lot of fun, and I wouldn't hesitate to buy another one for 1,5k USD if mine would break (doubt it).

At the end, important is which value has the camera (or any other expensive item for you hobby) to you personally, the price only decides if you can afford it or not.

Coming back to the tread title, wished I had bought a Ricoh GR21a few years ago for a fraction of the current prices, now I hesitate because the Ricohs are extremely prone to failure (display and motor drive), if they were reliable like the Contax T3 i would pay another 1,5k USD for it, simply love this high end compact film cameras. Ah, also add a Pakon F135 plus which went for 300 USD 2 years ago. Missed it :bang:

Jürgen

Okay, I get where you're coming from, and it's a useful perspective.

What I think is bananas is how supposedly obsolete products using purportedly dying technologies have dramatically increased in resale value over the last ten years. How many things increase market value by three times over the course of ten years?

Having said that, current prices of Contax T3, T2 and G2 are too rich for my blood. If my T3 gave up the ghost, I'd be wary of putting almost $2k into buying another. Cost is objective but value is relative to use, enjoyment and personal budget. Some years ago, I considered getting another T3 or two, making sure they work, then putting them into storage in case mine stopped working, but that is now almost the cost of a Canon 5D Mark IV.

Fuji Klasse and Klasse W are going up. Ricoh GR1v is getting harder to find at a good price. Contax G lenses are becoming more expensive because Sony users are adapting them to the A7 series. Leica R lenses are being snapped up by film makers who know how good they look on a RED Epic.

 

[coogee]

The adage about knowing the price of everything and the value of nothing springs to mind.

 

[David Hughes]

Okay, I get where you're coming from, and it's a useful perspective.

What I think is bananas is how supposedly obsolete products using purportedly dying technologies have dramatically increased in resale value over the last ten years. How many things increase market value by three times over the course of ten years?...

It's quite simple, they went down because of the hype about digital and now they are recovering.

Over and over again, in the past, I have bought good cameras for next to nothing because they were "only" film cameras.

I used to make it a point never to pay more than about three pounds for a camera unless there was a very good reason (like an f/1.4 lens) but last year I had to increase the point to five pounds and this year ten seems to be creeping in as the base price but there are still bargains at three and below.

I wonder if all those digital cameras that dropped in price & value like a stone after a year of so will recover.

Regards, David