Cameron
Established
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Your Faves: Ridiculously Cheap Great Film Cameras!
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Tell me more about this...
j.scooter
Veteran
I paid $230 for a recently CLA'd Minolta Autocord
This camera definitely qualifies as ridiculously cheap and a great film camera
This camera definitely qualifies as ridiculously cheap and a great film camera
sonny0205
Newbie
How did you get that in $8.29 ??!!!
bindie
Member
Canon FD and EOS film cameras are cheap for the specifications. The F1 New is not a bargain though. Nikon F90x is an undervalued camera which I prefer to my F100.
For medium format, I actually prefer my Bronica SQAi to my Hasselblad 503 - its the handling and focusing screen. The Mamiya RB67 is also undervalued.
For medium format, I actually prefer my Bronica SQAi to my Hasselblad 503 - its the handling and focusing screen. The Mamiya RB67 is also undervalued.
p.giannakis
Pan Giannakis
I got a Nikon F90x for £23 and a Olympus OM-1n in great condition for £25.
MrFujicaman
Well-known
Okay,Okay...I live about 30 miles from Scottsboro, AL-home of "Unclaimed Baggage".
They have contracts with most of the airlines to buy the lost luggage that the airlines can't match up with the owner. I generally go to town on Wednesday and I almost always stop by and check out their camera/electronics section. Sometimes stuff is a good deal and some days it's not. I've picked up things like a Nikon F2 with a 50mm f2 for $40, the Ricoh, a pair of Yashica T4's for about $10, 10 rolls of fresh Tmax for 99 cents a roll, brand new Lowepro camera bags for 40% of retail.....I just bought a Lowepro "Event Messenger 150" bag for $10.59. Near as I can tell, it's new.
I will tell you that of late, there's fewer and fewer film cameras in the store.
For anybody in the area, T & W Unclaimed Baggage across the street has a Hasselblad with a prism finder and a 120 back and a 80mm for $300 minus 10%. They also have a Nikon F4 with a lens for $60. Both of these camera were there as of Friday. They are open Wed-Fri-Sat 9-4pm. And before you ask, I've used a Hasselblad once and didn't much care for it and I already have more Nikons than I can use !
They have contracts with most of the airlines to buy the lost luggage that the airlines can't match up with the owner. I generally go to town on Wednesday and I almost always stop by and check out their camera/electronics section. Sometimes stuff is a good deal and some days it's not. I've picked up things like a Nikon F2 with a 50mm f2 for $40, the Ricoh, a pair of Yashica T4's for about $10, 10 rolls of fresh Tmax for 99 cents a roll, brand new Lowepro camera bags for 40% of retail.....I just bought a Lowepro "Event Messenger 150" bag for $10.59. Near as I can tell, it's new.
I will tell you that of late, there's fewer and fewer film cameras in the store.
For anybody in the area, T & W Unclaimed Baggage across the street has a Hasselblad with a prism finder and a 120 back and a 80mm for $300 minus 10%. They also have a Nikon F4 with a lens for $60. Both of these camera were there as of Friday. They are open Wed-Fri-Sat 9-4pm. And before you ask, I've used a Hasselblad once and didn't much care for it and I already have more Nikons than I can use !
Huss
Veteran
Yeah, we got nuttin' like those deals in LA.
My local thrift shop has a broken in pieces OM1 (not kidding, somehow the lens mount and shutter speed dial are hanging off the thing) for $130!!!
kaiwasoyokaze
Half Frame Goodness
for a film p&s: (all with 35mm lenses apparently)
nikon l35af with it's 35mm sonnar lens (always in the sub 30$usd range)
original Yashica T-AF with the carl zeiss 35mm 3.5
yashica 35 electro cc with an amazing 35mm 1.8 lens
nikon l35af with it's 35mm sonnar lens (always in the sub 30$usd range)
original Yashica T-AF with the carl zeiss 35mm 3.5
yashica 35 electro cc with an amazing 35mm 1.8 lens
NickTrop
Veteran
Nikon L35af. Got mine for a buck. Often go for less than $10, or no bidders. Meanwhile, to my way of thinking, you're getting a pretty nifty coated Nikon 35/2.8 Sonnar pancake lens attached to a hot looking all black camera that looks damned sexy with a cheap vented lens hood. And (because it's film) it's "full frame"! Takes pretty good "Sonnar-y" pics too... (You can definitely tell the difference between this and point-n-shooters with Tessars... which is all of them. Quality isn't any better/worse just the signature...)
p.giannakis
Pan Giannakis
The Minolta XD-7 can be found quite cheap and it is a high quality camera.
I bought mine for £28.
I bought mine for £28.
usagisakana
Established
I picked up a Mamiya 7, 43mm, 80mm, and 150mm all for $1700AUD ($1,323USD at today's exchange). I think that is a ridiculous price for a camera that used to cost a fortune. I love the camera and the fact that it is so cheap!
I'm looking to get a Nikon F100 off ebay for the same reason - a great camera for so little money.
Neither of these qualify for the sub-$50 bargains mentioned above, but I think they are good value nonetheless.
I'm looking to get a Nikon F100 off ebay for the same reason - a great camera for so little money.
Neither of these qualify for the sub-$50 bargains mentioned above, but I think they are good value nonetheless.
oftheherd
Veteran
A Contax 139Q new off the shelf for $90.00. The 50mm T* f/1.4 new off the shelf for $20.00. The next week, a Yashica FX-3 for less, and the 50mm T* down to $15.00.
I also agree with the Yashica TL Super if the meter is working, and even if it isn't, for the Yashica 50mm Yashinon f/1.7 lens. Other Yashinon lenses tend to be reasonable considering their quality, if they haven't been abused. I also have the Yashinon 35mm, I think mine is the older f/3.5 model.
Somebody mentioned Chinon. They did put out some useful cameras, but by then, M42 was losing favor.
I have 3 Pentax ME-Supers, one with the 50mm f/1.4 lens, for $15 - $20. Nice cameras.
But the truth is, if you are patient and look diligently, you can eventually find a bargain for any camera. I got a Super Press 23 50mm lens for about $200 off ebay several years ago. Missing the view finder, but there are fixes for that. May not sound like a bargain, but it sure was at the time.
Others just sort of fall into your hands. I got two really cheap 35mm, along with a Pentax SV, and a Rolleiflex, all for $25.00 in the late 70s.
I also agree with the Yashica TL Super if the meter is working, and even if it isn't, for the Yashica 50mm Yashinon f/1.7 lens. Other Yashinon lenses tend to be reasonable considering their quality, if they haven't been abused. I also have the Yashinon 35mm, I think mine is the older f/3.5 model.
Somebody mentioned Chinon. They did put out some useful cameras, but by then, M42 was losing favor.
I have 3 Pentax ME-Supers, one with the 50mm f/1.4 lens, for $15 - $20. Nice cameras.
But the truth is, if you are patient and look diligently, you can eventually find a bargain for any camera. I got a Super Press 23 50mm lens for about $200 off ebay several years ago. Missing the view finder, but there are fixes for that. May not sound like a bargain, but it sure was at the time.
Others just sort of fall into your hands. I got two really cheap 35mm, along with a Pentax SV, and a Rolleiflex, all for $25.00 in the late 70s.
tunalegs
Pretended Artist
I remember buying a Zodiac Diana clone for $1 in the era when boxed Diana cameras were selling for $200 on ebay. I guess even today that's still a bargain.
NickTrop
Veteran
Ha... growing senile. Forgot I already posted on this thread about the Nikon L35af. Thanks for the reminder. Needless to say, "You can say that again..." And I did!
jamin-b
Well-known
Mamiya DSX
Mamiya DSX
I picked up a Mamiya DSX 500 for $20 and change - clean, fully functional, including the spot and averaging meter, even with a battery installed. The spot meter is a feature I am becoming more and more attached to in film cameras - I wonder why there are so few good examples of cameras with this feature. The others I have being the Leica CL (sort of) and Olympus 35SP.
Mamiya DSX
I picked up a Mamiya DSX 500 for $20 and change - clean, fully functional, including the spot and averaging meter, even with a battery installed. The spot meter is a feature I am becoming more and more attached to in film cameras - I wonder why there are so few good examples of cameras with this feature. The others I have being the Leica CL (sort of) and Olympus 35SP.
Austintatious
Well-known
You mean like this ?
Nikon L35AF & vented hood by carlosyashinon, on Flickr
I got this from one of our Forum members in the RFF Christmas giveaway. Great little shooter !
ssmc
Well-known
The Nikon N70/F70 comes to mind. I paid a small fortune for mine new in '97 and I see them in EX condition at KEH for less than $40 (ouch!) I still have mine; AF, decent viewfinder, built-in power winder (3.8 FPS, wow! 😉) and power load/rewind, 1/4000s, an early form of matrix metering, powerful built-in flash, and so on. I removed the sticky gunk from the back and cleaned the base of the prism a while back, and it's still going strong. The only thing missing that I would really liked is a DOF preview button (a weird omission).
Going up the price ladder a bit, the Minolta X570/700 for around $100. Superb viewfinders that make me ache for 35mm cameras when I look through any DSLR 🙁
Going up the price ladder a bit, the Minolta X570/700 for around $100. Superb viewfinders that make me ache for 35mm cameras when I look through any DSLR 🙁
NickTrop
Veteran
You mean like this ?
Nikon L35AF & vented hood by carlosyashinon, on Flickr
I got this from one of our Forum members in the RFF Christmas giveaway. Great little shooter !
Hey -- that's my camera!
Austintatious
Well-known
I picked up an N70 with the data back for a tenspot. This model has the
"panorama" switch on the back. I pair it with a 28mm and call it a poor man's X-Pan.
Shrimper Pano by carlosyashinon, on Flickr
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