Spottymatic F - Fair price nowadays?

Folks,

I have several 'F' , S-Tak and SMC-Tak lenses but only a SV and SP1 body - so some 25 years late I am thinking of buying a SPF. At fairs they vary in price (and more so in condition) but I haven't seen a decent one for over a year.

I do not know what I should expect to pay for a really nice one from a dealer (they are uncommon). Any suggestions please?

I have an offer of a SPF+55/1.8 at £99 Exc++ with 6 month guarantee - do I bite his arm off or shop around?

Many thanks

AC

If it's really nice, then £99 from a dealer is perhaps not too much. However, they do come up on Ebay from time to time, and if you wait I expect you'll find a nice one for rather less than £99.00.

Bear in mind that if you hope the camera will last another ten years (as it should if it has been in amateur ownership), a six month guarantee is only covering 5% of its life with you.

G

I recently bought a Spotmatic F on ebay for £45. It is in near mint condition - it really looks like there has never been a film loaded. It came complete with case, 50/1.8 SMC Tak, instruction book, lens and accessory brochures, guarantee and original receipt. Amazingly, it still has both flash sync terminal covers! I bought it for the sentimental reason that my own one bought in 1973 is cosmetically knackered, but still working perfectly. I got the matched lens hood and leather case for in VG condition for £1.50 too. I think I got a bargain and I might have been lucky; as with everything on ebay its a case of 'buyer beware'.

£130 in 1973? is that close to £1k today? It makes the current price of a *istDS look like a real bargain given the amount of features it has but the Spotmatic really does feel better (or am I just being sentimental?) I've decided that 'DS' stands for Digital Spotmatic, by the way.

Ken

£130 in 1973 is nearer £2,600 today. I bought an SPII that year, and it cost exactly £100, which was then a month's pay.

But then, everything is much, much cheaper now.

G

Many thanks folks

Aye, Ebay ... so far my 'satisfaction rating' with it is around 75%, ie 50% of purchases good, 25% very-good to excellent and 25% a waste of money. Good to hear of folks getting good deals though.

I have an advert (prob around 196 from Amateur Photographer for a brand new Praktica Super TL .. only £124 with Tessar lens - at the time I was earning around £19 a week so it was well over a month's wages ... but it was almost the D200/D-ist/Eos 300D of its day! I stil regret not buying a Reid that I saw in Marston & Heard's shop in Leytonstone for £60 ...