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what are the biggest bargains you have found?
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 02, 2011 3:49 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Quote:
There seems nither rhyme nor reason to their wayward pricing, I just take what I can find!

Add to that saying being at the right place at the right time... Laughing
Thanks for the link Michael.I find most of the charity store stuff here gets siphoned off before it goes on the shelf.


PostPosted: Wed Feb 02, 2011 4:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
mo wrote:
I find most of the charity store stuff here gets siphoned off before it goes on the shelf.


I often wonder about the same thing here too.

Last edited by cooltouch on Wed Feb 02, 2011 7:20 pm; edited 1 time in total


PostPosted: Wed Feb 02, 2011 5:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
nemesis101 wrote:
Oddly some of the best deals online are also in the NW, from Tacoma Goodwill and Columbia Willamette!

Maybe there is a secret cult of photographers out here who prophesied the coming of sunshine, and having been found out for the frauds they are, are now busy ditching the evidence? lol

Doug

ryan s wrote:
Why doesn't that store post all the "good" stuff online like all the other Goodwills?

I only find "broken" (Laughing) gear or stuff too big to ship. Camera deals are few and far between, but they're out there...

It sure seems the Tacoma location has the bulk of the good items on shopgoodwill...I've bought from them once or twice Laughing


PostPosted: Wed Feb 02, 2011 10:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Not sure if this is a bargain but I picked up a Minolta Maxxum 7000 for $15 plus $10 shipping.

I need to source a nice fast 50mm to mount to it now. I have a Pentax 50mm in 42mm mount can I get an adapter for this setup?


PostPosted: Wed Feb 02, 2011 10:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
If your Maxxum 7000 is an early one with the "Siamese Xes" -- ala the double-X like in "Exxon" -- then it has some collectibel value. Else, that's about what it's worth.

I'm still smarting from selling a basically new-in-the-box EOS Elan II last year that went for the opening bid amount only -- $10. Yowch!


PostPosted: Fri Feb 04, 2011 9:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
I'm new to the forum and I've just had an entertaining time reading through this thread! Some nice stories.

I guess there might have been not quite as much enthusiasm for a thread called "bargains I thought I'd made that turned out to be irreparable" Embarassed

Anyway, I'm quite new to appreciating classic lenses, but I did pick up a mint condition Manfrotto carbon fibre tripod for £20 at the local Oxfam charity store last year (my daughter was working there during her university holidays - and, no, she hadn't marked it down for me!).

I have now taken to poking around UK charity shops for lenses when I've got the time - the big charities like Oxfam clearly run a managed operation these days to pick out interesting stuff before it goes on sale in their ordinary stores, but smaller organisations seem to have less knowledge and/or resources to do that.


PostPosted: Fri Feb 04, 2011 2:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Welcome to the forum, Mark. We'll look forward to seeing some of your pics here. You might want to drop in at the Photographer's Cafe and introduce yourself there.


PostPosted: Fri Feb 04, 2011 5:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Welcome!

I am quite familiar with Cambridge (very photogenic, you lucky bugger) as I lived for years in the quaintly named "Steeple Bumpstead" just down the road!

Doug

PS I always found the British Heart Foundation places a good start... Smile

Drmarkf wrote:
I'm new to the forum and I've just had an entertaining time reading through this thread! Some nice stories.

I guess there might have been not quite as much enthusiasm for a thread called "bargains I thought I'd made that turned out to be irreparable" Embarassed

Anyway, I'm quite new to appreciating classic lenses, but I did pick up a mint condition Manfrotto carbon fibre tripod for £20 at the local Oxfam charity store last year (my daughter was working there during her university holidays - and, no, she hadn't marked it down for me!).

I have now taken to poking around UK charity shops for lenses when I've got the time - the big charities like Oxfam clearly run a managed operation these days to pick out interesting stuff before it goes on sale in their ordinary stores, but smaller organisations seem to have less knowledge and/or resources to do that.


PostPosted: Tue Feb 08, 2011 6:03 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
My latest eBay deal:

Click here to see on Ebay

I owned a lens just like this one that I sold along with the Canon RF camera that it originally came with over 20 years ago. I've often wondered why I did it, and it's cost me a bundle undoing the mistake. First I had to buy another Canon RF camera and normal lens, and now, finally, I found a good deal on this Kyoei. This is the best deal, by far, that I've found on a decent RF-coupled M39 135mm lens. The fact that it has "issues" doesn't bother me.

It appears from the description that I'll have to do some work on it. Sounds like the lubricants have begun to coagulate and need to be replaced. Hopefully I can remove the spots of fungus. The photos are of good enough quality, however, that it appears to me the fungus on the optics is minor.

Looking forward to receiving this lens. The one I used to own did not have original caps and certainly not the box. It's pretty cool getting the box with a lens that's probably close to 60 years old.


PostPosted: Tue Feb 08, 2011 1:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I just received my C/Y Sonnar 3.5/100 MM version for 215 Euros in Like New condition from Denmark ??? Shocked

I remember than is was costing around 300Euros one year ago when I searched for it ...

This one and the 2.8/85mm Sonnar must be the most under-appreciated lenses in the Contax range.... trully outstanding lenses for sure !!!


PostPosted: Tue Feb 08, 2011 11:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Pentax ES (with its designated case) with SMC Takumar 50mm f/1.4 for $35.


PostPosted: Wed Feb 09, 2011 1:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
cooltouch wrote:
mo wrote:
I find most of the charity store stuff here gets siphoned off before it goes on the shelf.


I often wonder about the same thing here too.

It's common enough in many charity shops. It goes entirely against the grain of their ethos, but all it takes is a lax manager or staff who see nothing wrong in bagging stuff for themselves.


PostPosted: Wed Feb 09, 2011 5:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Farside wrote:
cooltouch wrote:
mo wrote:
I find most of the charity store stuff here gets siphoned off before it goes on the shelf.


I often wonder about the same thing here too.

It's common enough in many charity shops. It goes entirely against the grain of their ethos, but all it takes is a lax manager or staff who see nothing wrong in bagging stuff for themselves.

I can't say I approve of cherry-picking behavior, but as long as the employees are paying sticker price for the items, then I guess I can't get too preachy about it, really.

Back when I was a camera dealer, many of the best deals were made long before the doors ever opened to the paying public. Fair? I dunno -- what is fair, anyway? But deals were struck, money changed hands, and presumably both parties to the transactions were happy.


PostPosted: Wed Feb 09, 2011 9:20 am    Post subject: olympus xa Reply with quote
I arrived frankfurt on 21 Jan and went to a flea market on Jan 22.
the hunting result was 2 cameras:
xa and xa2+A11 flash, each 15 euros !
these has been a lucky found!
Now i have carried this 2 gems back to China! haha!


PostPosted: Wed Feb 09, 2011 10:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Look forward your XA shoots!


PostPosted: Sat Feb 12, 2011 6:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I just picked up a mint condition Vivitar Series 1 70-210mm 3.5 Kiron version, in M42 mount, for $35. The one that does 1:2 macro.

It came with original front and rear caps, Vivitar 67mm UV filter, original leather case, owner's manual and service manual, also like new.

Oh, and it also had the original collapsible rubber lens hood.

I haven't had a chance to try it out yet, it just arrived, but I'm hoping I'll be pleased with it. It is the only mf zoom I've got, and though I normally use primes there are just those times when you only want to take one lens out and like the versatility of a zoom.

Another good buy was a Pentax Spotmatic camera, with 55mm 1.8 Tak and 28mm 3.5 Tak, for $20. I kept the 55mm 1.8 and sold the 28mm 3.5 for a profit.

And the Zenit camera with Helios 44-2 58mm 2 for $20 was a pretty good find as well, I thought.

I had a Karl Gener 135mm 2.8 that I found at a local flea market for $15 and sold for $100, which helped fund my Jupiter-9 (which I also haven't really had a chance to test out yet).

Finally, I don't know how good of a deal it was, but I picked up a Vivitar 35mm 2.8, Tokina version, for $20. Less than I'd have paid for the Hoya UV filter that came with it. I'm currently loving this lens!


PostPosted: Sun Feb 13, 2011 2:57 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Deals this nice rarely come my way, but it happened today. If you go here, you'll see the Craigslist ad I responded to:

http://houston.craigslist.org/pho/2208205811.html

I was sitting at that same table just a few hours ago, and having trouble hiding my good fortune. It seems this retired couple is moving -- out of the country -- and they are basically selling everything to the walls. I got to talking to the husband and found out that they have been very successful in business and investments, and I'm figuring that they are multi-millionaires. So, the amount of money he got for this stuff wasn't as important to him, as it turned out, as seeing to it that it went to somebody who would really appreciate it.

So anyway, the pics are poor, as they almost always are with CL items, and I don't have the room to spread everything out and take pics of it all, so I thought I'd just give you a run-down instead.

In the photo, you'll see a bellows with slide copier attachment, and what looks like a macro lens attached to it. Turns out it wasn't, but can't have everything. Across the top of the photo is a Braun F900 flash. Now, if you've never had a chance to use one of these, you've really missed out. GN of 200 (in feet). Huge amount of light. I own two, but that's okay. Now I have three. Couple of slide viewers, a 110 camera (with film!), and some other Nikon stuff.

The bellows outfit turned out to be a Nikon PB-4/PS-4, with PK-3 and PN-1 extension tubes, plus BR-2 and BR-3 adapters. That pile of small Nikon boxes in the middle is two focusing screens -- one plain matte and one 45 degree diagonal split-image -- plus a DG-2 2X eyepiece magnifier. The black rectangular box toward the bottom left is the charger for the lump sitting behind it, which is a DS-2 auto-aperture device Nikon developed to allow shutter priority exposure with the F2S and SB. The Braun F900 is complete with battery pack and charger, as well as a remote sensor for off-camera work, plus it has a really nifty adjustable bounce reflector.

He was asking $100 for everything. Now, here I am, thinking, geez, that PB-4/PS-4 is worth $250-$350 just by itself, and then he pulls out his trusty old Nikon F2S. With MD-2/MB-1 motor drive/battery pack combo. And shows it to me. It's black, 74xxxxx, and very light wear on most all surfaces. The motor drive is missing its battery holders. And because of that, he's thinking it probably has little value. So, he says he'd really like to sell it all. Well, I only had about $125 on me, and I just told him I didn't have it. So, he says, well since he just really wants to get rid of the stuff, he'll sell it ALL to me for $100.

Man-0-MAN! If I were to put all that stuff up on eBay, on a good day, I could probably get $1,000 for it all. But I'm not! I'm probably gonna keep all of it. I will sell my Vivitar bellows in Nikon mount though. Might sell that DS-2 if it has any market value. But just from selling the Vivitar bellows I should be able to recoup most, if not all, of my cost on this deal.

Ahhh -- deals like this just make ya feel good! Woot Woot!


PostPosted: Sun Feb 13, 2011 5:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
cooltouch wrote:
Deals this nice rarely come my way, but it happened today. If you go here, you'll see the Craigslist ad I responded to:

http://houston.craigslist.org/pho/2208205811.html

I was sitting at that same table just a few hours ago, and having trouble hiding my good fortune. It seems this retired couple is moving -- out of the country -- and they are basically selling everything to the walls. I got to talking to the husband and found out that they have been very successful in business and investments, and I'm figuring that they are multi-millionaires. So, the amount of money he got for this stuff wasn't as important to him, as it turned out, as seeing to it that it went to somebody who would really appreciate it.

So anyway, the pics are poor, as they almost always are with CL items, and I don't have the room to spread everything out and take pics of it all, so I thought I'd just give you a run-down instead.

In the photo, you'll see a bellows with slide copier attachment, and what looks like a macro lens attached to it. Turns out it wasn't, but can't have everything. Across the top of the photo is a Braun F900 flash. Now, if you've never had a chance to use one of these, you've really missed out. GN of 200 (in feet). Huge amount of light. I own two, but that's okay. Now I have three. Couple of slide viewers, a 110 camera (with film!), and some other Nikon stuff.

The bellows outfit turned out to be a Nikon PB-4/PS-4, with PK-3 and PN-1 extension tubes, plus BR-2 and BR-3 adapters. That pile of small Nikon boxes in the middle is two focusing screens -- one plain matte and one 45 degree diagonal split-image -- plus a DG-2 2X eyepiece magnifier. The black rectangular box toward the bottom left is the charger for the lump sitting behind it, which is a DS-2 auto-aperture device Nikon developed to allow shutter priority exposure with the F2S and SB. The Braun F900 is complete with battery pack and charger, as well as a remote sensor for off-camera work, plus it has a really nifty adjustable bounce reflector.

He was asking $100 for everything. Now, here I am, thinking, geez, that PB-4/PS-4 is worth $250-$350 just by itself, and then he pulls out his trusty old Nikon F2S. With MD-2/MB-1 motor drive/battery pack combo. And shows it to me. It's black, 74xxxxx, and very light wear on most all surfaces. The motor drive is missing its battery holders. And because of that, he's thinking it probably has little value. So, he says he'd really like to sell it all. Well, I only had about $125 on me, and I just told him I didn't have it. So, he says, well since he just really wants to get rid of the stuff, he'll sell it ALL to me for $100.

Man-0-MAN! If I were to put all that stuff up on eBay, on a good day, I could probably get $1,000 for it all. But I'm not! I'm probably gonna keep all of it. I will sell my Vivitar bellows in Nikon mount though. Might sell that DS-2 if it has any market value. But just from selling the Vivitar bellows I should be able to recoup most, if not all, of my cost on this deal.

Ahhh -- deals like this just make ya feel good! Woot Woot!

Wow. You have struck gold. It is the best bellow for Nikon SLR. Wink


PostPosted: Sun Feb 13, 2011 8:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
The photos have been removed but well done,what a score. Cool


PostPosted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 12:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
mo wrote:
The photos have been removed but well done,what a score. Cool


Oh well. Once I get the stuff sorted out and organized, I'll take some pics and post 'em.

Yeah, I didn't mention it in my post, but Calvin is right. The PB-4 is the most desirable set of bellows that Nikon has ever made. Why? Because the front standard has horizontal swing and shift movements. No rise/fall or tilt, though. Too bad. For that, you gotta get a Hama/Spiratone, and those puppies sell for even more than the PB-4 does. When you can find one, that is.

Actually, now that I think about it, the PB-4 does have rise-fall and tilt. You just have to rotate everything 90 degrees. But you can't have all four movements (or even three) at once.

On a completely separate note, today the wife and I went to a swap meet that we hadn't been to since shortly after moving to Houston, some 12 years ago. Boy, has that place changed. We have a LARGE immigrant population from south of the border, probably 90% or better of whom are Mexican, and this swap meet caters to them in a very big way. All sorts of Mexican foods and produce and boots and shirts and jeans and hats. And used tools. Lots of venders of used tools. Well, me, I kinda like old tools, so I stopped at one booth and was looking through his stuff, and my eyes fell upon an old Majestic tripod.

Ever heard of Majestic tripods? They were built in Chicago and are very stout. Used for 35mm movie cameras and 4x5 and 8x10 and larger view cameras. This one was in good condition, but had lots of paint chips missing and didn't look as nice as its condition actually was. So anyway, I got interested -- my mercenary instincts kicking in -- and ended up buying it for $30 after a bit of haggling. Now, I don't know what Majestic tripods like this one sold for new, but I'll bet easily for over $1,000, especially is you adjust for inflation.

So I figured I was safe. Get home and do some searches, found an identical model on eBay that sold just a few days ago for about $50. Oh well, I'm not gonna get rich off this one, so I guess I'll just keep it. Still, it's a really cool, massive tripod that oughta do a good job with my really long lenses.


PostPosted: Wed Feb 16, 2011 11:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Helios 40-2 for 35 euro, just last week. It's missing the tripod collar but otherwise it looks fine.


PostPosted: Thu Feb 17, 2011 12:10 pm    Post subject: canon FD 50mm f1.4 for $20 Reply with quote
canon FD 50mm f1.4 for $20


seller said that there were dust or haze inside of the lens. zoom was smooth. when i got back to my place, i just opened up the front face plate (more about that below). removed 3 screws and got the front element out. used alcohol to clean the dusts and haze away. opened up the aperture and was able to clean the front of the rear lens from the front. reassembled everything back and i now have my 2nd f1.4 lens. my other is from my father's collection, a rokkor mc 50mm f1.4.

with regards to the face plate. i read somewhere off the net that it was supposed to uncrew. i used double side tape on the rear cover and used this as a friction tool. the plate turned but DID NOT come off. i then used a small screw driver and stuck it under the face plate and forced it out. it was held in place by several teeth. just be careful prying it open. use a toothpick instead of metal screwdrivers.


PostPosted: Thu Feb 17, 2011 12:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Welcome Jun!


PostPosted: Thu Feb 17, 2011 12:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
EricR wrote:
Helios 40-2 for 35 euro, just last week. It's missing the tripod collar but otherwise it looks fine.


Whaaaaaat!


PostPosted: Thu Feb 17, 2011 1:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
BIGEST bargain - MTO-1000 Very Happy i changed it for old unused AF sigma 18-200 Smile
Now i`m looking for next deal, anyone need MTO-1000? Smile
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