Film The new market for old film cameras

[kaito]

Recently I've seen adverts for "refurbished" old film cameras in my Facebook feed. I took a closer look and found Olympus Trip 35 on sale at £155, the leatherette has been replaced with non-black colour. I've been messing around in photography for over 4 decades. In the early 90's I worked in a camera shop in Bath, there was always a used Trip 35 on sale, usually around £25, they were great dependable cameras. They are great looking retro cameras, especially with a bright colour leatherette but £150?? The same company is selling a used Yashica T4 for £485. I'll write that again....£485 !!! I still have a T4, bought it in Singapore for $100 in '94, my daughter shot her first roll of film on it.

I can't help feeling that someone is taking the mick.

 

[mollyc]

This isn't really news. There is a limited supply of working film cameras, and not a huge amount of people who know how to fix non-working ones. Film is seeing a resurgence among teen-20 year olds, and with a somewhat dwindling supply, prices go up.

This is why a lot of us are really excited by Pentax and Mint making brand new with-warranty cameras.

 

[Charzes44]

And here's me asking £35 for a Voigtländer Vito B in the classifieds. Am I mad?

 

[wt21]

It seems to me there is a market for new film cameras. We're seeing some show up lately, though the Pentax is half-frame. Reportedly because film & developing is so expensive, this helps you control costs. I guess so. Wouldn't mind new FF options.

 

[re-note]

There is a huge market for second hand film gear.
You need to know precisely what you are looking for and have a feeling for the worth of used equipment.
I bought a perfectly working Ricoh XR-X with two pristine zoom lenses, a flash and a bag to hold all this and it set me back a measly €25.
Today I acquired a Ricoh 3,9/70-210 from the first owner in mint condition for €10.

To answer your question Charles: I think you are asking too much money for a truly very basic viewfinder camera.

 

[Charzes44]

There is a huge market for second hand film gear.
You need to know precisely what you are looking for and have a feeling for the worth of used equipment.
I bought a perfectly working Ricoh XR-X with two pristine zoom lenses, a flash and a bag to hold all this and it set me back a measly €25.
Today I acquired a Ricoh 3,9/70-210 from the first owner in mint condition for €10.

To answer your question Charles: I think you are asking too much money for a truly very basic viewfinder camera.

But have you seen the eBay prices?

 

[re-note]

Yes Charles, I did check on eBay prices for Vito B. They vary a lot and there is a large number of this camera on offer so it will be hard to find a buyer.
There are not many users of this type of camera around today, maybe you could interest a collector.
I myself like to buy usable gear from people who advertise on https://www.kleinanzeigen.de but this may not be an option out of D.
Reaction to my latest buy a Ricoh 3,9/70-210 at €10:
(Ja, das ging super! Ich bin froh, wenn das Objektiv ein gutes neues Zuhause hat.
Helen)
Yes, it went great! I'll be glad if the lens has a good new home.
Helen

 

[phigmov]

Film camera prices are a little silly at the moment - particularly for stuff considered 'cool' (which is also often 'good'). The mass-market late 80's to early 00's kit still seems cheap - mainly point and shoots (the non-cool variety) and plastic-fantastic AF consumer bodies (Pentax MZ, Canon EOS/ELAN, Nikon F8xx/9xx etc).

I'm guessing there will be some people out there that have done the math - with digital cameras you get all the bells and whistles for a piece of tech that will last 8-10 (maybe 15+ for a 'Pro' body) years before the failure rate picks up and batteries become scarce. But the average consumer often also has a mobile phone which they may replace every 4-5 years with a pretty good camera built in. If they pick up a premium/pro film-camera like a Nikon F or F2 or Pentax Spotmatic that has the possibility of lasting 20-50 years with careful use and putting 2-3 films through a year, then it possibly balances out the upgrade treadmill of digital tech. Just get a decent film-body and use it until you're dead rather than joining an upgrade treadmill and consigning old- digital tech (which no one really wants to repair) to landfill.

 

[kaito]

And here's me asking £35 for a Voigtländer Vito B in the classifieds. Am I mad?

Charles, maybe strip the leatherette off and replace with a fancy colour?

Olympus Trip 35 Turquoise Lizard Leather 35mm Film Camera

Olympus Trip 35 Turquoise Lizard Leather 35mm Film Camera is in excellent condition, fully serviced with brand new light seals and produce fantastic photos

filmcamerastore.co.uk

 

[Panolyman]

If you look on the LCE website, a good used Trip 35 goes for around the £100 mark.
On Gumtree you might be able to pick one up from £30.
I managed to pick one up off eb*y for £70 last year, in pristine condition, that works a treat.

Sadly, I traded in my T4 for £100 a couple of years ago, though it was a bit mangled and the battery cover was bust.

 

[phigmov]

Charles, maybe strip the leatherette off and replace with a fancy colour?

Olympus Trip 35 Turquoise Lizard Leather 35mm Film Camera

Olympus Trip 35 Turquoise Lizard Leather 35mm Film Camera is in excellent condition, fully serviced with brand new light seals and produce fantastic photos

filmcamerastore.co.uk

I remember picking up one from Tripman for about 35ukp with green leatherette 10 years ago. Was my first film camera since digital. Prices have certainly gone up. They are a great camera though. Fingers x-ed the selenium cell holds-up over the coming years. These things must be pushing 30-40 years old now.

 

[DaveNJ]

Yes certain film gear prices have gone through the roof. For example a local shop is selling "basic" Canon AE-1s for over $300, the FD 50/1.8 kit lens for $100. He said there is no room for negotiations because they can't keep them on the shelf at those prices.

Edit: Also the compact camera market is booming as well.

 

[BenG]

Having had training in overhauling mechanical watches among other things, I would not trust anyone that says they "refurbish" or overhaul camera bodies and lenses unless they have transparency that lets you see exactly what they do for the money you spend. If someone is overhauling camera bodies and making enough money to pay their bills and earn a living, then they are going to have to charge a LOT of money per hour for any real workmanship to the point where nobody is going to be able to afford them except for the wealthy or very serious enthusiast. I sent the well-known Youxin Ye a Leica IIIb body a couple of years ago for an "overhaul" and the work he did on it was horrific, when I got the camera back it was still full of so much dirt I could stick a q-tip cotton swab in it anywhere and it would come out filthy. The job he did, for less than $300 including shipping, was laughable and it was fraud. In contrast when you send a Zeiss camera to another very well-known serviceman for that marque, the camera body is restored to better than new functionality and as near as new cosmetically as possible, and is so spotless inside and out you could use it as an eating utensil or surgical tool. And yes the Zeiss technician charges much,. much more than Youxin Ye, but at least you get something for your money besides a lighter-fluid overhaul.

 

[AlwaysOnAuto]

Yes certain film gear prices have gone through the roof. For example a local shop is selling "basic" Canon AE-1s for over $300, the FD 50/1.8 kit lens for $100. He said there is no room for negotiations because they can't keep them on the shelf at those prices.

Edit: Also the compact camera market is booming as well.

All you need to do is follow the Goodwill auction site to see how prices have jumped up for those cameras, as well as others.

 

[Bozzie]

It seems to me there is a market for new film cameras. We're seeing some show up lately, though the Pentax is half-frame. Reportedly because film & developing is so expensive, this helps you control costs. I guess so. Wouldn't mind new FF options.

Hi and agree , there seems to be a new market for film cameras, Fuji have there instax range for people who want an actual photo to keep as a momento rather than an image on a screen.
I still use film on occasions, and have noticed the black plastic bodied film cameras are often cheaper than the older metal bodied cameras , but they're all very capable if in good working condition, and yes, the price of film has shot up, so I bulk load now.