what are the biggest bargains you have found?

Rick1779 · Expire: 2014-06-06

good cosmetic condition contax zeiss planar 50 1.7 made in japan for 50 euro

thebbm · Joined: 11 Dec 2013 Posts: 294 Location: France montpellier

very good condition contax planar 50mm 1.4 40euros
very good condition contax yashica 24mm 2.8 40 euros ( but the lens is not so good wide open )

Mr G · Joined: 27 Jan 2014 Posts: 187 Location: London & Essex

Was on holiday in Spain til last Friday, spotted a nova quad on eBay in wrong category, I was only bidder and won it for the princely sum of £5 GBP, drove to pick it up on Saturday, £20 GBP in petrol and its the 20/16 version not the 16/12 I thought it was, as I was leaving the lovely lady gave me a large PB 4 blade easel and focus finder, but best of all an Ae1 with a 50 f1.8 and 28-50ssc, that she had also come across, total cost with Dartford crossing £29GBP, made my summer!!

cooltouch · Joined: 15 Jan 2009 Posts: 9096 Location: Houston, Texas

Well, this wasn't a super good deal, but I think it was definitely a good buy. Some time last year, I came across a really good deal on a Nikon F3HP outfit. It included a 70-300mm ED AF D zoom, which I found out afterward is not worth all that much on the used market, mostly because it is a "D" lens. But I like it, and I especially like the fact that it has ED glass in its make-up. Also, one of the nice things about this "D" lens is it has a decently wide focusing collar with a nice feel to it, so it really makes for a nice MF lens as well. Using it with an adapter on my EOS XS (1000D), I found the photos to be crisp and contrasty, even at the longer focal lengths and wider apertures. But having that AF lens got me to thinking more seriously about picking up an AF Nikon.

Whenever I buy an outfit, I like to assign a cost to each item in the outfit. I use a fairly simple formula for doing this, and I determined that my cost on that 70-300 zoom was about $20. A very good deal, even if it is a "D" lens..

Okay, so anyway, I've been seriously thinking about buying an F4 for quite a while now because it is the last pro Nikon made that will work with the early Pre-AI lenses, and I have a few. Also, the F4 is, I believe, the last pro Nikon that uses knobs, dials, and levers to access its controls and capabilities, rather than using an LCD panel the way virtually all of its contemporaries had done. So a few weeks ago, I decided to get serious and checked out what eBay had to offer. I found a lot of F4s at great prices, but I eventually decided on one particular F4S because of its cosmetic condition, as well as its price. $169US to my door. In person, the camera looked cleaner than it appeared in the photos, so I was very happy. Plus, it works great with my 70-300 AF D lens. And best of all, I now have a nice little AF Nikon outfit that cost me less than $190.

I keep telling myself not to buy any more film cameras, but I just can't help it at today's prices.

Oldhand · Posted: Mon Sep 01, 2014 10:35 am Post subject:

That sounds like a very sweet deal Michael.
One of the great film Nikons.
OH

Himself · Expire: 2013-05-30

pavko · Joined: 31 Jan 2011 Posts: 216 Location: PL

My second copy of Canon FL 100/3.5 just arrived Very Happy

. 29 EUR with shipping - as it is far from perfect copy plan is to remove aperture lever mechanism so it will become full preset lens to be used with T70 and nex.

Mr G · Joined: 27 Jan 2014 Posts: 187 Location: London & Essex

Hi, a Nova quad is a freestanding vertical, thermostatically controlled slot processor for paper, 3 chemical baths and a wash bath, hence quad.

gmonkman1 · Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2014 6:16 pm Post subject:

I dropped in at one of the local thrift stores and went straight for the shelf where
they put the cameras. Nothing except for some cheap plastic rangefinders . Then I
noticed the " camera guy" standing beside his desk, I asked him if he had any
cameras back there. Yes , he said , one just came in and he showed me an older
Mamiya slr. I`ve seen many Mamiyas but not one this old. Then the lens that was
attached to it caught my eye. One of the first thoughts was...great , I can use this on
my pentax kx digital. The lens ring said...Mamiya-sekor 1.7 58...yes58...mm. So I
forked over the requested $10.00 and walked out a very excited GAS patient.

philslizzy · Joined: 07 Aug 2012 Posts: 4745 Location: Cheshire, England

skida · Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2014 12:24 am Post subject:

sammo · Joined: 04 Jan 2012 Posts: 223 Location: CH and SI

Some recent bargains I got:
Yashica C/Y 100mm F3.5 Macro - ca. 10 USD
Pentax A 200mm F4 in mint condition - ca. 10 USD
Nikkor AiS 50mm F2.8 Macro - ca. 20 USD

cooltouch · Joined: 15 Jan 2009 Posts: 9096 Location: Houston, Texas

Hey sammo, great prices! But a question: isn't your Nikon macro either a 55mm or a 60mm? I've never heard of a Nikon AIs 50mm macro.

frogbog · Joined: 20 Nov 2013 Posts: 19 Location: Stavanger / Norway

Probably my best deal ever, on a Saturday market in Stavanger a couple of weeks ago: a really nice Linhof Technika III (or IV? I can't tell them apart...) with handle, 6x7 (56x72) Super Rollex film back, Carl Zeiss Tessar 105mm/3.5 (+ matching viewfinder mask) and Voigtländer Technika-Heliar 15cm/4.5 for a whopping £20 total!

cooltouch · Joined: 15 Jan 2009 Posts: 9096 Location: Houston, Texas

Unbelievable! Heck, just the handle has to sell for more than that!

Farside · Expire: 2013-12-27

sammo · Joined: 04 Jan 2012 Posts: 223 Location: CH and SI

KingRoach · Joined: 21 Dec 2013 Posts: 87 Location: United Kingdom

Billou · Expire: 2015-05-19

I have no idea if it's a bargain or not... I just bought this lens for 40 euros on ebay, strangely I was the only bidder (very strange given the hype of the crazy fast crap lenses)... I will try to make a mount for it and take some pictures with this thing. Can't wait ! A f/0.75 !!

Fabian · Joined: 04 Dec 2011 Posts: 254

It isn't sharp wide open and it doesn't have enough backfocus to be of any use other than macro on digital camera's. 40 euro still isn't expensive though, but don't expect any more use than paperweight.

philslizzy · Joined: 07 Aug 2012 Posts: 4745 Location: Cheshire, England

sceptic · Joined: 01 Jun 2013 Posts: 255

It could have been a great deal, turned out to be just a good deal.

Saw an ad for an "old camera" along with a grainy mobile phone photo of a Praktika with a telephoto lens mounted. The seller had no idea what lens it was, other than it being a telephoto, the aperture range was from 2.8 to 22 and mfd was 1.1 m (he never understood to take the cap off to read the name on the ring, even though I tried "coaching" him on where to find it). I realized it had to be a Meyer-Optik Orestor 100/2.8, and he was asking 15 € for it. Picked it up yesterday, along with a Pentacon 50/1.8 he didn´t mention in the ad, only to find it was the 6-blade version with auto aperture. I hadn´t done my homework and thought that all Meyers had 10+ blades and the change to six blades came when they changed the name to Pentacon...

Dirty and greasy, stuck aperture blades and a (for digital cameras) useless auto aperture, but managed to clean it and lock the pin to make it usable. All in all a good deal, now I just need to try it out.

Himself · Expire: 2013-05-30

Got a Konica Hexanon 28/3.5 for $10. I bought it because it was cheap not that I have any use for it.
Bargain or not?

kenetik · Joined: 02 Mar 2014 Posts: 521

Holy Smokes. Saw a Contax 193 on CL today, peeling and worn, but it had a Planar 50 1.4 on it that looked pristine. I talked the seller down a few bucks, $200 instead of $220, was her Grandmother's camera. I still agonized a bit, that's a good price but not the best ever for the Planar. When I got there, she said, oh yeah, I didn't mention it in the ad, but there's another lens in there. I felt around, Zeiss pouch, paid and left. There were 2 additional lenses in bag. Distagon 28/2.8 and Sonnar 135/2.8, mint with caps. My $200 deal turned out pretty good!

mo · Expire: 2016-07-30

Kenetik a very nice haul.