Great SLR cameras and lenses, all found at my local charity shop.
I'm always popping into my local charity shops in search of a bargain and as long as I have the spare cash I am happy to fill my shelves with anything from F1 Scalextric cars to antique sewing machines. I even have a beautiful Bandolina somewhere in my collection of things.
Recently I have found myself searching high and low for vintage cameras and these places are seemingly over-stocked, so much so that I have begun asking if they have any old cameras stored away in the back of the shop. Most of the time I get a strange look after which the cashier scuttles away and returns with a carrier bag covered in dust... Now to the untrained eye, this discarded collection of unsellable items is worthless but I have been playing this game long enough now to know that beauty is most certainly in the eye of the beholder...
Usually, I find one or two cameras that are worth a punt and make an offer that both I and the cashier are happy with, but one day last week I came across a collection that required my best poker-face. You see, I'm not the richest guy in the world and on this day I only had a limited amount to spend. Also, my budget normally only ever stretches to around £10, so when I opened the dusty bag I knew I was going to have to work some magic in order to secure a bargain.
As the lady reached into the bag and pulled out the first camera my heart-rate almost tripled... A black leather case with the words "PENTAX" on the front... This turned out to be a Pentax P30, a camera I had drooled over while window-shopping on eBay. How I managed to contain my excitement is beyond me, but then she pulled out a second camera with the words "OLYMPUS" written on the front and I very nearly lost my shit completely. Each camera presented itself with a lens attached and I soon realised I had struck gold! Delving deeper into the bag the cashier then pulled out 3 more lenses, a box of filter screens and to finish off with, two detachable hoods. All I had to do was to keep my cool and pray that nobody behind the desk knew how valuable this collection really was...
"So how much would you accept for all of this?", I asked in my most nonchalant voice. The cashier then replied, "Well I really don't know what it's all worth, I'll just have a look on eBay"...
At this point, my heart began to sink and I thought my chance had gone, but after seeing the confused look on the cashier's face I then realised how many of these cameras get listed for parts, or without any lenses attached. Plus(and I should have mentioned this earlier) the cameras appeared to be broken, but, unlike the cashier, I knew that this was only due to a lack of batteries. All these variables meant that the ball was now firmly in my court and the only battle left to fight was one with my own conscience(This was a charity shop after all). After checking my wallet and debating with the devil on my left shoulder and the angel on my right, I decided to offer her all I had to give, which was £30... Surprisingly, the cashier nearly snapped my fingers off when I pulled the 3 tenners from my wallet. Then she quickly threw the money into the till while giving me a look as if to assume I was some kind of philanthropist ready to squander my millions on some nostalgic urge.
So, it seems both parties left feeling very happy with the deal and, most importantly, my conscience is still intact.
All that's left to do now is show you my new toys...
Hope you all enjoyed this post and for those of you who are new to photography, like me, you might want to check out @beautifulbullies blog. She has recently enrolled in a photography course and has kindly decided to share this experience on steemit. Her first post, explaining how aperture affects your shots, is a great read and I am looking forward to being schooled some more.
Peace to you and yours
I didn't realise these old pre-digital SLRs were worth anything. I've got a couple of old Canons (A1 and AE1 if I recall) and two or three Tamron lenses.
Would they be worth much? They are still in good condition but not used for 20 years at least.
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Seems the prices are rising a little but the money seems to be in the lenses really. The cameras in this collection can fetch around £30 each but the lenses I got with them seem to double the price. The large lens I have is a Tamron, but I think they could be on the cheaper side of things. Saying that I am a novice on the subject so don't take my word for it. I guess the best way is to check out the price on eBay, buddy.
I will do some eBay surfing...
Both Canons A1 and AE1 are worth a bit now primarily because they are very popular with the kids that are exploring film photography for the first time.
Like @article61 said the money is in the lenses. Prime lenses (non-zoom) are worth more than zooms because they tend to be better made. Lenses from known manufactures like Canon, Olympus, Nikon and Minolta sell the best.
Anything from Leica, Hasselblad, Bessa or Carl Zeiss is worth a kidney or two!
Alas my lenses are plain old Tamrons mainly.
You jammy bugger you, nice deal bro nice deal indeed.
Jammier than a direct hit on a strawberry farm :)
Does the Olympus work ok?
As I just took it for a spin today, I'll let you be the judge :)
Looks a little on the over contrast side, though that may well be the digital conversion rather than the actual photo?
Does that mean the light/dark balance and is that something that I could tweak with my camera settings, I'm new to the game so any advice would be good to hear... At the mo I am just getting them put onto CD, so maybe it is just this that is affecting the quality.
Yes, a little on the overly white side. Are you setting the ISO to match the film? Silly question I know, though you never know.
Or possibly the exposure time is a little long.
The iso is set to the film but I am a playing around with the f.stops so probably that mate. I am trying to follow the guide inside the viewfinder but maybe the light meter needs better batteries as I've heard they don't like alkaline batts...
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