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what are the biggest bargains you have found?
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PostPosted: Tue Nov 18, 2014 5:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

What with all the moving we've been doing lately, I almost forgot to mention here what I consider to have been a really good deal. I found a Tamron 17mm f/3.5 on sale on eBay, at auction, not BIN, and the opening price was quite low. It had a lot of bidding activity, but I was determined to get that lens, so I put in a fairly high maximum bid. Well, I beat everybody else out, but they were only half-hearted bidders, as it turned out. I won the lens for $154 and change. Condition-wise, it is exceptionally clean and mechanically excellent. See it here:

Click here to see on Ebay

This is the later model, that does not have the built in filters. I kind of would have liked to have those, but I don't use filters very often in my b&w photography anyway. Now, what I really do like about it, however, is it came with the hood! There were about a half dozen of these 17mm Tamrons on eBay when I won mine, but none of them had the hood. It did not come with the front cap, but I tell you what, if I had to choose between the two, I'd much rather have that hood than the front cap.

Now, I know that a lot of folks here will claim the Tokina 17mm is better than the Tamron, and I'm not going to argue -- although I do have a Tokina-made Vivitar 17mm in Canon FD mount. And now that I have a NEX, I can directly compare the two. That should be interesting. But anyway, the reason why I prefer the Tamron over the Tokina is a simple one -- I currently have four MF 35mm SLR systems -- five, actually, including EOS -- and I can't afford four Tokina 17's, but one Tamron 17 I can afford. So I'm willing to give away a bit of sharpness for the sake of flexibility.


PostPosted: Tue Nov 18, 2014 2:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

cooltouch wrote:
What with all the moving we've been doing lately, I almost forgot to mention here what I consider to have been a really good deal. I found a Tamron 17mm f/3.5 on sale on eBay, at auction, not BIN, and the opening price was quite low. It had a lot of bidding activity, but I was determined to get that lens, so I put in a fairly high maximum bid. Well, I beat everybody else out, but they were only half-hearted bidders, as it turned out. I won the lens for $154 and change. Condition-wise, it is exceptionally clean and mechanically excellent. See it here:

Click here to see on Ebay

This is the later model, that does not have the built in filters. I kind of would have liked to have those, but I don't use filters very often in my b&w photography anyway. Now, what I really do like about it, however, is it came with the hood! There were about a half dozen of these 17mm Tamrons on eBay when I won mine, but none of them had the hood. It did not come with the front cap, but I tell you what, if I had to choose between the two, I'd much rather have that hood than the front cap.

Now, I know that a lot of folks here will claim the Tokina 17mm is better than the Tamron, and I'm not going to argue -- although I do have a Tokina-made Vivitar 17mm in Canon FD mount. And now that I have a NEX, I can directly compare the two. That should be interesting. But anyway, the reason why I prefer the Tamron over the Tokina is a simple one -- I currently have four MF 35mm SLR systems -- five, actually, including EOS -- and I can't afford four Tokina 17's, but one Tamron 17 I can afford. So I'm willing to give away a bit of sharpness for the sake of flexibility.


I would be interested in seeing your comparison of the Vivitar and Tokina. I have both, unfortunately I butchered the Tokina a long time ago trying to do a mount conversion. I feel like the Tokina Rmc model was a better lens and one of the best mf wide angles I have ever seen. Congratulations on your purchase! As mentioned I screwed mine up and I paid 200 for it. Someday I will try to get the parts together to repair it, I can still use it, but I had to unscrew the helicoid to get infinity back and the aperture only turns if I squeeze the ring. You got a good deal!


PostPosted: Tue Nov 18, 2014 2:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

cooltouch wrote:
What with all the moving we've been doing lately, I almost forgot to mention here what I consider to have been a really good deal. I found a Tamron 17mm f/3.5 on sale on eBay, at auction, not BIN, and the opening price was quite low. It had a lot of bidding activity, but I was determined to get that lens, so I put in a fairly high maximum bid. Well, I beat everybody else out, but they were only half-hearted bidders, as it turned out. I won the lens for $154 and change. Condition-wise, it is exceptionally clean and mechanically excellent. See it here:

Click here to see on Ebay

This is the later model, that does not have the built in filters. I kind of would have liked to have those, but I don't use filters very often in my b&w photography anyway. Now, what I really do like about it, however, is it came with the hood! There were about a half dozen of these 17mm Tamrons on eBay when I won mine, but none of them had the hood. It did not come with the front cap, but I tell you what, if I had to choose between the two, I'd much rather have that hood than the front cap.

Now, I know that a lot of folks here will claim the Tokina 17mm is better than the Tamron, and I'm not going to argue -- although I do have a Tokina-made Vivitar 17mm in Canon FD mount. And now that I have a NEX, I can directly compare the two. That should be interesting. But anyway, the reason why I prefer the Tamron over the Tokina is a simple one -- I currently have four MF 35mm SLR systems -- five, actually, including EOS -- and I can't afford four Tokina 17's, but one Tamron 17 I can afford. So I'm willing to give away a bit of sharpness for the sake of flexibility.



I just missed one - same as yours, later model with hood - that was being sold on a local ad for €10 (it had a tiny spot of fungus, though). I rushed to call the seller just to discover he had sold the lens to someone else 10 minutes earlier. He said he had other tamrons, and in the end I got an SP 2.5/90 macro (52bb) for 50 euros from him - always with original hood and a set of extension tubes.


PostPosted: Tue Nov 18, 2014 7:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Aanything, too bad you missed out, but that was a great price for the Macro, especially considering you got a hood and rings with it.

Kenetik, I'll wager that if you dismantle and carefully "remantle" your Tokina, you'll probably find out where you went wrong. The aperture rings usually have a small, spring-loaded ball that is used to produce the clicks. I would check to see if it had fallen out and maybe jammed up against the ring, causing this condition.


PostPosted: Wed Nov 19, 2014 9:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Mir-24h (m42) mint - 10$, is that OK price?


PostPosted: Tue Nov 25, 2014 12:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Not the bargain of the century, but... A Nikkormat camera with a 35/2.8 Ais and a 105/2.5 Ais for 100 euros. 50 each one, and even a bit less when I will sell the camera. Not too bad.


PostPosted: Wed Nov 26, 2014 6:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Last Sunday on flea-market - Soligor 250mm f4,5 for $5.- and Vivitar Ser.1 70-210 for $24.-
From Goodwill store recently: Nikkor AF 35-70 for $5.99; Spiraton 300mm for $11.99 ; Kiron 35-135 plus filter for $5.99.
In the past:
Kilar-Kilfitt 40mm in m42 for $10.-
Caltar 150mm in Copall for 4x5 - $10.0 on flea-market.
Not mentioned "centipede" stile Japanese Tsuba as a plumbing junk part for $3.- on the same flea-market:))).



Last edited by Paulius on Wed Nov 26, 2014 6:57 pm; edited 1 time in total


PostPosted: Wed Nov 26, 2014 6:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Praktica ee2 - sonnar 135mm 3,5 - pancolar 50mm 1,8 - flektogon 35mm 2,4 - tubes - teleconverter - couple of flashes and bags : 50€

Praktica mtl5 - pentacon 50mm 1,8 - telemar 22A : 12€


PostPosted: Wed Nov 26, 2014 7:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Very impressive!


PostPosted: Thu Nov 27, 2014 2:07 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

My recent "good buy" was a Kiron 105 2.8 macro. It was unlabeled in a lot of 2 Yashica FX 3 with a vivitar ring flash on it. I recognized it in the photo though. The Yashicas (a super and a super 2000) were both in really good condition and the flash works but I have to figure out what type of connector to use on it. I had been watching the Kirons and lester dine and vivitar 100's for a while and the lowest auction I had seen was 260 USD. I got this whole lot for 130 including shipping. I have already sold one of the Yashica for 30. So I am happy.


PostPosted: Thu Nov 27, 2014 2:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Tamron BBAR SP 2x lens converter #01F for $10....a very nice addition to the 70-210/3.8-4 (46A) lens...
With my new Nikon D610's ability to get high IQ @ ISO 3200 I can use the combination stopped down a bit and still have a fast enough shutter speed....(-4EV = 1/400 @ F11...)


PostPosted: Fri Nov 28, 2014 3:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ever since the very first time I saw a Pentax 6x7 over 30 years ago, I've wanted one. But I was always put off by the price. And even after the plummeting prices of used medium format film gear, it seems that the venerable old 6x7 has maintained a higher price than many of its contemporaries. I mean, a few years ago, I bought a Bronica ETRSi with normal lens, prism finder, 120 and 220 backs for about $130 at auction on eBay. You can't even touch a properly functioning, stripped down 6x7 body for that much. But still, all in all, they're a lot cheaper than they used to be.

Well, the other day, I got an email from KEH, telling me that they were offering 10% off all their Pentax gear for one day only. So I was interested. I've done business often with KEH. Typically their "BGN" items are priced as low as or lower than most anything you'll find on eBay, so I went over there and had a look at what they had to offer. I found some very good prices, especially with the extra 10% discount tossed it. So, anyway, I ended up putting together a decent "starter" package -- a 6x7 mirror-lock-up body with a 135mm f/4 macro SMCT lens and a TTL metered finder for $368 to my door. Now, to me, that is one helluva Bargain! It arrived a few days ago, and everything is in nice shape and works as it should. I'll post pics once I've had the chance to give this baby a whirl.

You know, all too often I completely forget about KEH and I really shouldn't. They have some of the best prices around on used gear and their BGN-rated stuff is often so clean, it would pass as EXC or even EXC+ at other places with their ratings. So, just a reminder -- when you're looking for a a particular piece of gear and maybe you're not finding it on eBay or not finding it for a price you like, don't forget about KEH.


PostPosted: Fri Nov 28, 2014 11:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well, Omega View 450 in pristine condition on flea-market for $40.-


PostPosted: Sat Nov 29, 2014 6:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Today a guy had 2 Hexanons advertised for $20, the 52/1.8 and 35/2.8. Both were in excellent shape. He had a box of other stuff, long story short I walked out with more than 30 lenses for 50 bucks. The bad thing is, looks like someone with no skill tried to open several of them and messed them up.

Here's some of the stuff:

2 Hexanons above
Makinon 28/2.8 (ding in filter ring, otherwise fine)
Kiron 28-105 - shroud was loose and aperture is declicked, I think it was opened. Fixed shroud, glass is good and took a few test shots, am going to test tomorrow.
Vivitar 75-205 (Kiron) very good
Vivitar 85-205 (Kiron) very good
Vivitar 200/3.5 (Komine) very good
Super Lentar 28/2.8 (nice version, looks good)
Tele Lentar 135/2.8 (looks new)
Tamron 80-210/3.8 (very good)
Super Yashinon Auto 75-230/4.5 - Cosmetic fair/glass very good, I laughed when I read Luis' comments about this monster
polaris 80-210/3.5 - lens good, interchangeable mount holding on by a thread

The biggest heartbreaker was a Pentax Smc 50/1.4 M. Glass looks great takes nice shots, the front ring was scratched up and removed for some reason and it totally removed the value of this lovely lens. There's more, Access, Cpc Phase 2, Fujinar, Sigma etc. After cleaning off all the dust and determining what was good and not good, I wondered if there wasn't a better way I could have spent my Friday. I just wanted 2 cheap hexanons. My LBA revolted for a moment. Still, it was a bargain if you don't figure my time... Smile


PostPosted: Sat Nov 29, 2014 12:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

This morning at the local fleamarket I got:

Zenit T3c-2 nightvision lens, 100mm f/2 in M42 mount: 10 euros
Nikkor 35mm f/2.8 Ais: 60 euros
Minolta 35-70 f/3.5 Macro for 15 euros.

Cool


PostPosted: Sun Nov 30, 2014 5:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yesterday I bought a Canon IIb rangefinder with Serenar 50mm f1.9 collapsible lens.
Lens is in very good condition except for a ding to the filter ring. Not too sure yet about the camera operation but cosmetically very nice.
£1 from a charity shop!


PostPosted: Sun Nov 30, 2014 6:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Braddanman wrote:
Yesterday I bought a Canon IIb rangefinder with Serenar 50mm f1.9 collapsible lens.
Lens is in very good condition except for a ding to the filter ring. Not too sure yet about the camera operation but cosmetically very nice.
£1 from a charity shop!


Sad Sad Sad I'm watching one on ebay for a little more. Actually a lot more, well, quite a lot more.


PostPosted: Sun Nov 30, 2014 7:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Braddanman wrote:
Yesterday I bought a Canon IIb rangefinder with Serenar 50mm f1.9 collapsible lens.
Lens is in very good condition except for a ding to the filter ring. Not too sure yet about the camera operation but cosmetically very nice.
£1 from a charity shop!


Amazing! I paid $250 at auction for my Canon IIIa w/50/1.8 Serenar and thought that was a good deal. Actually it was, the lens alone frequently sells for that much. But not quite the phenomenal good deal such as yours.

One thing to look out for in the old Canon rangefinders is pinhole light leaks in the shutters. They were rubberized when new but now they're all dried out and cracked. They seem to time out fine still, but don't be surprised if your IIb has some light leaks. What works very well to repair this condition is a product called PlastiDip here in the States. It is a synthetic rubber compound which is designed for dipping tool handles into to provide them with insulated grips. It is available in cans for dipping or in aerosol sprays, and is available in different colors. I decided on the aerosol and had to shop around a bit before I found it in black.

To apply, I sprayed some onto a paper plate, then used a small, moderately stiff, artist's paint brush and dabbed it onto the curtains, small amounts at a time. I dabbed it onto the first curtain with the shutter uncocked, let it dry completely, then charged the shutter and dabbed it onto the second curtain, then let it dry completely before releasing the shutter. I repeated this entire process several times. Then loaded the camera up with a test roll and took it out and shot it. As it so happened, with my camera, I had to repeat this process a second time. When I got the film back from processing, the number of pinholes had dropped from about a dozen down to a couple. So I repeated the process, exposed a second roll of film and this time, success.

Good thing about PlastiDip is it is synthetic and never hardens. Because it is synthetic it should last much longer than rubber and should remain pliable. But you want to be careful not to use too much because you're increasing the mass of the shutter when you're adding material to it, and if you add too much, you'll affect the shutter's timing. I found that by lightly dabbing it onto the shutter, I could see it actually soaking into the cloth, and what I did was make sure not to add so much that the cloth was no longer soaking it up.


PostPosted: Sun Nov 30, 2014 7:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

A few days ago I spotted a lovely 1950s aluminium CZJ Tessar preset, 50mm f2.8.
It was being listed as broken, and sold for parts. Glass and focus were fine, so I suddenly guessed that the owner did not understand how preset lenses work, and assumed the aperture mechanism was faulty.

I put in a low bid and got the lens for less that £10!

Sure enough, it works perfectly fine Very Happy




PostPosted: Sun Nov 30, 2014 8:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

philslizzy wrote:
Braddanman wrote:
Yesterday I bought a Canon IIb rangefinder with Serenar 50mm f1.9 collapsible lens.
Lens is in very good condition except for a ding to the filter ring. Not too sure yet about the camera operation but cosmetically very nice.
£1 from a charity shop!


Sad Sad Sad I'm watching one on ebay for a little more. Actually a lot more, well, quite a lot more.


lol;) that's a funny way of putting it Phil


PostPosted: Tue Dec 02, 2014 8:16 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yesterday I bought an excellent condition Steinheil Cassarit 100mm f/3.5 (m42 mount) with a lens hood attached for around 25 EUR Smile


PostPosted: Tue Dec 02, 2014 10:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

cooltouch wrote:
Braddanman wrote:
Yesterday I bought a Canon IIb rangefinder with Serenar 50mm f1.9 collapsible lens.
Lens is in very good condition except for a ding to the filter ring. Not too sure yet about the camera operation but cosmetically very nice.
£1 from a charity shop!


Amazing! I paid $250 at auction for my Canon IIIa w/50/1.8 Serenar and thought that was a good deal. Actually it was, the lens alone frequently sells for that much. But not quite the phenomenal good deal such as yours.

One thing to look out for in the old Canon rangefinders is pinhole light leaks in the shutters. They were rubberized when new but now they're all dried out and cracked. They seem to time out fine still, but don't be surprised if your IIb has some light leaks. What works very well to repair this condition is a product called PlastiDip here in the States. It is a synthetic rubber compound which is designed for dipping tool handles into to provide them with insulated grips. It is available in cans for dipping or in aerosol sprays, and is available in different colors. I decided on the aerosol and had to shop around a bit before I found it in black.

To apply, I sprayed some onto a paper plate, then used a small, moderately stiff, artist's paint brush and dabbed it onto the curtains, small amounts at a time. I dabbed it onto the first curtain with the shutter uncocked, let it dry completely, then charged the shutter and dabbed it onto the second curtain, then let it dry completely before releasing the shutter. I repeated this entire process several times. Then loaded the camera up with a test roll and took it out and shot it. As it so happened, with my camera, I had to repeat this process a second time. When I got the film back from processing, the number of pinholes had dropped from about a dozen down to a couple. So I repeated the process, exposed a second roll of film and this time, success.

Good thing about PlastiDip is it is synthetic and never hardens. Because it is synthetic it should last much longer than rubber and should remain pliable. But you want to be careful not to use too much because you're increasing the mass of the shutter when you're adding material to it, and if you add too much, you'll affect the shutter's timing. I found that by lightly dabbing it onto the shutter, I could see it actually soaking into the cloth, and what I did was make sure not to add so much that the cloth was no longer soaking it up.


Thanks for the heads up about pinhole repair!


PostPosted: Tue Dec 02, 2014 4:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've just unboxed my latest find - a Russian night vision device together with a nice little Cyclop 85mm f/1,5 lens. It cost me 69 EUR Smile


PostPosted: Tue Dec 02, 2014 6:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Five Nikkor 50/1.8 (latest AIS "pancake" version) at 15 USD (equivalent) each. They all have defective focusing rings (stiff or loose), but that should be fairly easy to fix.


PostPosted: Thu Dec 04, 2014 8:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Found a guy on the local craigslist who was selling an original Canon F-1 with a 55/1.2 SSC for $225 that looked to be in decent shape. . So I drove out to take a look. That was the biggest issue, the drive. About 130 miles round trip. I told myself, by the time I got out there that the distance I had to drive would be a bargaining factor. The lens has light wear, the body a bit more. I told him I was disappointed, that I thought the set would have been cleaner based on his description. I pointed out a couple of minor problems. And then there was the drive. Said I didn't want to insult him with a low ball offer. But he said to go ahead. So I offered him $150. He hemmed and hawed some, but eventually gave in.
..
The camera will clean up nice and make a good spare for the one I already own. The lens will go into my collection. I'll pull the chrome nose 55/1.2 out of my collection and sell it on eBay and likely get more for it than I paid for this outfit. So that means that not only will I get an old F-1 and a 55/1.2 for free, but I will most likely make a profit off this deal. I just love it when I can pull off deals like this.



Image taken with my Samsung Galaxy 4 smartphone. I haven't a clue why it's displaying upside down. Part of the upload process here is to specify an orientation for the photo, so I tried again and specified 180 degrees. Didn't make any difference, though. Funny thing is, if you click on the photo, it displays it right side up. Strange.


Last edited by cooltouch on Sun Feb 22, 2015 10:59 pm; edited 3 times in total