Film camera prices - wow!

They've gone mental! My first camera was an Olympus OM10, not looking to buy one! But found one online when searching used cameras on websites and someone was asking over £200 with a poor cheap lens on it!

ME Super prices - through the roof! Check this one out!

https://www.ffordes.com/p/SOR-42-038426/pentax-manual/me-super-chrome-50mm-f17

Lockdown boredom might account for a rise in nostalgia.

Oh dear I wish you hadn’t shown me that!

My better half bought her OM-10 and 50mm f/1.8 in excellent nick for around £30.
My more expensive of the two MX's cost £37 (service aside).

I'm sort of hankering for a FED-1, 2 or 3 or an Olympus Trip 35... prices are quite high though.

Hi Gareth

I've sold nearly 300 cameras and lenses since 1st January, most of these being film cameras and older lenses. I have a pretty good idea of what prices gear is fetching on ebay, don't pay too much attention to what people are asking, it's all about what they finally sell for. At the moment, average prices for good condition kit are about as follows:

- ME Super with 50mm f/1.7 lens £65-£85
- MX with 50mm f/1.7 lens £85-£110
- K1000 with 50mm f/2 lens £90-£130
- KX with 55mm f/1.8 lens £125-£145

All of the cameras I sell have new mirror bumpers, hinge seals and rear door seals, all are fully tested and extensively cleaned, which is not typical for ebay sellers, it is rare that cameras I buy have even been cleaned just a little. My gear doesn't stick around for long on ebay, it sells very fast, which does indicate a bouyant market. However, there is gear on there which has been there since December last year (not mine, other sellers), which is because they are asking too much for it. That ME Super at Ffordes is far too expensive, no-one will buy at that price unless they are daft, maybe they will have to reduce it to sell?

Regards
David

My wife bought my FED2 from a chap in New York who refurbishes them. He asked whether I wanted a shelf Queen or a work horse. I got the latter which has worked flawlessly for about a decade. (Hopefully I didn't just jinx it!)

About 15 years ago I bought a used *ist (the film version) with kit lens for about £150. More a matter of having the last model of film camera that Pentax would make than attempting to find a bargain. Price must have dropped a lot since then. Or has it now become a desirable, scarce curiosity with price to match? (I don't care, I'm keeping it!:mrgreen

Steve

Hi Steve, I would expect that your film *ist would be quite sought-after as there are very few of them around. Having said that, it's a fickle market. I have a mint Pentax ME F (this is the ME with autofocus capability, the first autofocus SLR that Pentax made). I also have the dedicated 35-70 f/2.8 autofocus lens that will only work with this camera, plus a ME Winder II, the whole lot in near mint condition. As a collector's item which is rare, you would think people would snap it up, but 3 attempts to sell on ebay did not reach reserve. I will hang onto it because it will only appreciate in value.

More run of the mill stuff is even quite difficult to value, one week I can sell a MX with 50mm f/1.7 for £135, the next week the same item only fetches £60! As I mentioned in my previous comment, I've sold nearly 300 cameras and / or lenses on ebay since Jan 1st this year, so I'm pretty well versed with the market and what sells, but I'm often amazed by the variation in prices.

Regards
David

I have almost every Pentax film body I wish to own (I'm not really that interested in anything after the A series with a couple of exceptions.) Recent purchases have been older things like my Kershaw Raven and my Zeiss Super Ikonta IV where I factor in the cost of service/repair. Mostly I keep my eye out for the K series primes I am missing, or accessories like lens hoods. I do have some lenses I must move on. I'm not very good at selling things!

Film camera prices have been on the rise for some years now - I posted a thread here a while back on the prices of K1000s with M 50/2s being more expensive than an MX with M 50/1.4.

I'm lucky in that much of my collection was bought before the hipsters really started getting into film and I know how to find bargains when they're around. The thing about hipsters is that they want what everyone else has, which in Pentax-land mostly means K1000s and ME Supers. They'll pay more for one of these than they would for a better camera, in better condition and with a better lens.

And if you think 35mm SLRs are expensive then you should have a look at anything medium format...

Basically door stop territory...

I've got a nice M645 pro collection with 35C, 45N, 80/2.8, 150, 120 macro and 210/4 - all except the 35 were new, and the 120 Macro was stock clearout. Prices for this kit are a bit like bank shares, ie cost you more to sell than you will get....

Probably due to complexity of the kit and the fact cost per shot is over 2 times more than 35mm... but the results....

Not sure about Mamiya M645 gear, I'll check what mine might be worth. As to cost per shot - it used to be 2x but it's a lot closer now. Typically a roll of chrome 135-36 is now nearly £20 but similar in 120 is about £10 - if shooting 645 with 15 exposures there's not much difference (apart from a larger format).

Mono is a bit cheaper for 135-36, but good processing is more expensive if you don't do your own.

Talking of medium format, I was due to go collect a 200mm for the Bronica tomorrow but after my Covid jab I'm feeling shivery and hot all at the same time so looks like I'm staying in.

Was going to stock up on some film as the lab I go to, where the lens is, is pretty reasonable but, it's not just cameras that are getting more and more expensive, check these links out. Now bear in mind last year I bought a 5 pack for £25!

link

link

link

That'll be because Fuji have discontinued Pro 400H: link

Yeah I saw, seems some are profiteering on that! £80 for 5 rolls that last link and the middle link being £20 a roll so that's be £100 for 5