what are the biggest bargains you have found?

Nordentro · Expire: 2015-01-29

He`s only collecting light meters at the moment and are not interested in old SLR lenses Wink

I put some samples here:
http://forum.mflenses.com/kilfit-makro-kilar-e-2-8-40-t891.html

mo · Expire: 2016-07-30

Thanks, I found it after I asked the question Laughing

It looks pretty good.

alexlens · Joined: 11 Apr 2014 Posts: 3

I am shocked by some of these bargains... surely you all must live in some kind of magic place where people just throw away perfectly fine and valuable gear...?

I googled some of the last posted bargains: there are lenses here that easily cost up 20x their price on the bay! I don't get it... I've never found any good bargains online, always overpriced, or with 100 dollar shipping and import tax (coming from EU here).

!Karen · Joined: 20 Jul 2013 Posts: 837 Location: Belgium Baby

That's why I never buy online on world wide websites. All of the things I buy are bargains compared to ebay prices, I don't think I have ever spend over 50� for a single lens while they go for 500+ on ebay.

The best bargains are to be found locally, adverts in local paper, second hand antique shops that occasionally have photography stuff, public auctions of stuff from deceased persons etc. there is not much 'competition' in these kind of sales and that's why prices are low.

calvin83 · Joined: 12 Apr 2009 Posts: 7554 Location: Hong Kong

Most of the lenses here are not cheap. Sometimes, I am the one giving bargains to the local MF user. Very Happy

I have to buy my lenses all over the world. You will need the experience, knowledge, luck and patience to get bargains in eBay.

DrBB · Joined: 26 Mar 2014 Posts: 80 Location: Croatia

Hi all! I�ve finally manage to stop lurking and write something on this forum (but, still, I�m outsider in great world of photography and manual lenses). But I�ve have to say � most of my lenses are bargain (2-15� max, mostly with old SLR) mostly because I live in area where people don�t want to deal with MF lenses. Last two lenses was � Mayer Optik Gorlitz Domiplan 50/2.8 (6� with working Praktica camera) and Helios 44M (12� with Pentacon camera � I have one already but couldn�t resist). By today I�ve manage to find about 25 lenses in great shape, some of them are worthless (like that Domiplan from few days ago) but there are few great hits (rare MIR-1A with 2 row of blades, Carl Zeiss 2.8/50, few Fujinon, �). Even my Olympus E-PL1 was a bargain (30�, with stuck shutter � I�ve manage to repair it with one touch). Worst problem is � I don�t know what to do with a lot of old Zenits, Cosina, Exakta, Praktica, Altix, � cameras

Sorry for my poor english

cooltouch · Joined: 15 Jan 2009 Posts: 9097 Location: Houston, Texas

Your English is fine, DrBB. As for all those old cameras, get yourself a lot of b&w film, and shoot with them. Enjoy them for what they are. You just might be surprised by the photos they render.

As for finding good deals on photo gear, to me it all comes down to one word: patience. Okay, maybe two, the other one being perseverance. Here in Houston, which is a big city by most any measure, there are only two real camera shops left. Both of them deal in used gear. It seems as if they have little care for mf gear anymore, although they still sell it. In both shops I've run across some amazing deals. Like a four lens package deal, which included a Canon 85mm f/1.2 aspherical, Canon FL 55mm f/1.2, Vivitar S1 28-90, and a Vivitar macro focusing teleconverter -- all for $350. A Nikon MD-2 motor drive (for an F2) for $40. A Tamron 55BB 500mm mirror with hood and case for $100. And quite a bit more. At a thrift (second hand) store close to my house I've picked up several pieces of photo gear, the best deal being a Zeiss Ikonta 524/16 with Synchro-Compur shutter for about $4.00.

Even on eBay I've done well. Once again the key is patience. Or in the case of the Tamron 60B 300mm f/2.8 LDIF I won at auction with no competing bids, the willingness to take a chance. It was described as having some internal fungus, but the photos showed that it was easy to reach and thus remove. When I got the lens, the actual amount of fungus was actually much lenses than the photos showed. Sometimes, especially when using a flash, things can appear worse than they actually are. So I got that lens for the opening bid amount: $500. Patience mattered here because I waited for an auction, and not a BIN.

And let us not forget KEH, specifically the bargains that can be had with their gear graded as "bargain" (BGN). My best bargain from KEH was a Tamron SP 80-200 f/2.8 LD for $245.

As some of you here know, Goodwill's auction site, shopgoodwill.com, often has some interesting stuff. I've been the successful bidder there on stuff ranging from a stout Bogen tripod to a motorcycle helmet. I have noticed however that whenever something highly desirable shows up there, bidding can be furious. But for most other items, one can oft en find good deals. Probably my best deal there was a Canon AL-1 outfit, which included a 50mm f/1.4 SSC, a couple of zooms and a flash. I think I ended up paying about $75 for the outfit. I wanted that 50mm, I didn't care about the rest. So I put the rest up for auction on eBay, making a total of about $100. So I got the 50mm SSC for free, plus I made $25 to boot.

That's the great thing about buying outfits, by the way. I've done that same thing many times. I'm about to do it again. From Craig's List, I bought a Bolex 16mm Reflex with three nice lenses in the turret and a hand grip with trigger for $120. On eBay, I'll get about that for the movie camera alone, so the three lenses and grip, which may net me over $500 are gravy.

Hey, it's all good. Just keep your eyes open, persevere, and be patient.

Oh, one more thing -- if you shoot with Nikon lenses, here's something to watch out for. For some reason that I don't entirely understand, Nikon's D-series AF lenses seem to go for cheap on eBay. The D-series were Nikon's second generation of AF lenses, weren't they? I've found that they often sell for less that their MF and later AF counterparts. But the good thing about them, for us MF users is they were designed with MF use in mind. Last year I bought an F3 outfit, which for some odd reason came with an 85-300 ED D-series lens. I looked it up on eBay and saw that it was selling for as cheap as $70. Seventy bucks for an 85-300 ED lens? I couldn't believe it. So I went to try it out on my EOS DSLR with an adapter, and I was very impressed with the photos. What's more, it has a relatively wide focusing collar that is well damped, so it ends up feeling like a quality 2-ring MF zoom . . . which it is, but one that also just happens to have AF capability with Nikon's older MF cameras, such as the N90s and F4. Just one more thing to keep in mind . . .

Olivier · Expire: 2015-08-06

Thank you Michael for the Nikon D lenses' tip. Smile

I like Nikkor lenses very much as they work great on my Canon dslr.

Speaking about bargain, you show that we must give a definition for what we mean as bargain.
Many consider a bargain as a 1$ to 25$ buy. I had some, such as 1� bid, no other bidders...
And a bargain is also several hundred bucks paid for a lens which generally goes for thousand. I have some of these too.
I found some in batches, or with cameras.

mo · Expire: 2016-07-30

I bought an Angenieux 3,5/135 for just over $100au it cost me another $100 to get it serviced and cleaned of fungus. It still has internal issues (from someone who previously opened it incorrectly) but now I can use it.

For me it is what I call a bargain (for how hard it is too obtain this lens), but in my economic "world" it still cost me a lot of money. It broke my lens piggy bank Smile

Olivier · Expire: 2015-08-06

Hood · Expire: 2013-09-16

cooltouch · Joined: 15 Jan 2009 Posts: 9097 Location: Houston, Texas

This is very true. Bargain is a relative term. As Olivier and Mo wrote and I've shown, even an item that costs hundreds of dollars (or Euros or pounds) can often be a bargain. That Tamron 300mm f/2.8 that I bought for $500 typically sells for $700 and more on eBay. Another Tamron I bought most recently was the huge 200-500mm f/5.6 zoom. That lens typically has BINs of $500, $700, even $1,000 or more on eBay. I found mine on eBay at auction for cheap and won it for a bid price around $250. It didn't come with a case, but so what? I'll. take the savings over a case any day.

This reminds me of another factor in obtaining a good deal: know the market for the item you're interested In. Doing the due diligence for an item you're interested in before you bid or buy makes you an informed bidder or buyer. I realize I'm probably preaching to the choir here, but it never hurts mentioning just in cases someone who is new to this whole game may not be as experienced as most of us are.

Oldhand · Posted: Wed Apr 23, 2014 8:10 am Post subject:

I am embarrassed to list this post, but have always watched this thread with interest and indeed envy.
However today I was given some surplus equipment from a photographic acquaintance who knows of my interest in all things MF.
Yashica Minister 35mm rangefinder camera.
A complete Toyo View 45G and two accompanying Schneider lenses.
Zenza Bronica ETRS with 50, 75 and 150mm lenses prism finders and multiple backs.
Sundry darkroom equipt incl Beseler enlarger and lenses to suit.
It is going to take me a few days to sort through, but to say I am lucky is probably an understatement.
Please don't throw anything ....... Very Happy

OH

mo · Expire: 2016-07-30

Nice haul,OH...some even came prepacked! Cool

Oldhand · Posted: Wed Apr 23, 2014 8:21 am Post subject:

mo · Expire: 2016-07-30

It sounds like a nice solid tripod...they always come in handy.

Olivier · Expire: 2015-08-06

Merry XMas Oldhand !!! Very Happy

konicamera · Expire: 2014-06-14

[quote="Oldhand"]I am embarrassed to list this post, but have always watched this thread with interest and indeed envy.
However today I was given some surplus equipment from a photographic acquaintance who knows of my interest in all things MF.
Yashica Minister 35mm rangefinder camera.
A complete Toyo View 45G and two accompanying Schneider lenses.
Zenza Bronica ETRS with 50, 75 and 150mm lenses prism finders and multiple backs.
Sundry darkroom equipt incl Beseler enlarger and lenses to suit.
It is going to take me a few days to sort through, but to say I am lucky is probably an understatement.
Please don't throw anything ....... Very Happy

OH

My goodness, is it Christmas already? Where do people get friends like that? Very Happy

Congratulations! I hope you have great fun with it.

Oldhand · Posted: Wed Apr 23, 2014 8:43 am Post subject:

Thanks for all your kind words.
Yes, it does feel like Xmouse.
Here is the tripod - solid it is.
OH

konicamera · Expire: 2014-06-14

Oldhand · Posted: Wed Apr 23, 2014 9:49 am Post subject:

cooltouch · Joined: 15 Jan 2009 Posts: 9097 Location: Houston, Texas

My gosh, Oldhand, I wish I had some friends like that. Closest I've ever come was a fellow who I bought a Nikon PB-4 from, decided to give me a black F2 with photomic finder and a MD-2/MB-1motor drive. I was elated, but it falls well short of your haul.

I own an ETRSi -- it's a helluva camera, I think you'll like it . . . A lot. If your Bronica gear doesn't include the Speedgrip, I recommend you pick one up. You can usually find them on eBay in the $40 range. With the grip attached, it handles like a big 35mm SLR.

Oldhand · Posted: Fri Apr 25, 2014 3:15 am Post subject:

cooltouch · Joined: 15 Jan 2009 Posts: 9097 Location: Houston, Texas

Very, very nice! You've almost a complete outfit. I bought an AE-II prism for my system, couldn't afford the AE-III. It works well enough. Looks like your outfit doesn't have a metering prism.

Also you mentioned your Toyo 4x5 came with two Schneider lenses. Just curious, which ones did you get?

Oldhand · Posted: Fri Apr 25, 2014 5:22 am Post subject: