Holga, Toy, Charity Shop, Car Boot and other Bargains (film only please)

Its nothing to do with London Bri, its just the market.
Film stuffs is no longer obsolete, and your average car bootee has cottoned on to that.
Unless the gear actually looks busted, it ain't gonna make it to the booty or a charity shop shelf...:(
 
Its nothing to do with London Bri, its just the market.
Film stuffs is no longer obsolete, and your average car bootee has cottoned on to that.
Unless the gear actually looks busted, it ain't gonna make it to the booty or a charity shop shelf...:(

..and devotees of film use are losing out as prices are going up for cameras and film....the good old days are gone (only a few years) with plenty of cheap cameras, £1 film at Poundland, Tesco and Asda doing dev and scan on a CD (with index) for £3 while you shop.
To get guys to try film I sometimes posted a shot of a Spitfire taken with a good compact bought for 50p and Color plus film 10p (from bootie) and Asda dev and scanned £3....so to try film could cost you as little as £3.60
 
Trouble was, those prices just weren't sustainable. I'd rather pay a bit more and shoot a bit less and not have to worry about manufacturers ceasing to make film because they couldn't make any money doing it. As for camera prices, it was fun while it lasted, but now they are starting to have more value it might stop people chucking them in the recycle bin because it wasn't worth their time to advertise them for sale. It's not everyone who does car boot sales, and I suspect quite a few perfectly good film cameras got binned because people thought they were pretty much worthless. See, there's always a plus point if you look for it. Besides, Brian, you've got enough cameras already! ;)
 
Besides, Brian, you've got enough cameras already! ;)

:D erm well yes :eek: but I would like a Nikon F4 but lost interest trying to get one cheap. Many people would say "if you really want it then pay the price"...but the way I look at it is: - It ain't going to be a couple of generation's leap to my F90x and shots would look the same so why pay £140 plus.
 
My Uncle just gave me this at the weekend. The smaller zoom lens has been dropped making it a bit stiff to focus with a couple of scratches. Never used a Praktica but for free I'll give it a go.

ldlkl6KHyi_OZxizlIf6RroRJxCpfY3TtqeiSg9iUUabqvmJjBnbCJOZI4SmdD2V4MV0YCu-nl5F2NxnnpYcfqPhiMsrosO1_TLqTDRkmrLqh95_5L-w0QHi5dGy7bc-2SA4z84Rp8eeNTszuyCxODrBGwCIU73kwDbfNPfcOkxFZr0c2_WqVqN6I7IBZKWk-cYq-b1nCIwknhCt2c6FAhndikIGPChNS7E59BJ8QX7kJG_NqAvUxJHKAk8ow-0v8g21XqLQhS_eTOUXB2hc96B5G6cVDZAFXh8kWNc5CRx4dpge2MvymsuxQIBBEkKMYqKSuGJVNie5WnKzawlH6U5nVvApVJqk7iWuuHBU85UUvXCe6gOREm3dktRE7pDsXFuNvrN20RMyoPIUMZfHoIV9L5kEAnEIlXJMil7lYbhv8lugakHqqGMIoYEZU_sWFNEzlZ6qfpRunlnH3Gj5Sswt1qtM_O2rvz59TKyn9TX4bOGxEM9uzU64-pC1b4tCNvBlON-N2_qfAIZisjPDdk2NTXKRqnV6xSvi-sN_sVm0jAq62asU2OU4cpU-FsqvX2B61BncxW_7O1hjuENtGznOHV-BLwVtYG0x_uPe8r9GFUeVuJ9PAF0MaqVhLdw=w652-h980-no
 
Never used a Praktica but for free I'll give it a go.
Praktica are excellent cameras. The 1970s cameras got a bit clunky but the B series I have never had a problem with.
 
I love my Praktica B's and my Jenaflex AH1 (Praktica replica) there my favorite cameras to use and produce some great results !
 
You can still get a bargain. The rubber on the handgrip has softened but isn't sticky. The camera is in perfect working order.IMG_20180925_211726.jpeg
 
For the Rollei MF SLR guys.....at the bootie 2Xs converter £50 maybe lower if haggling..if a lot cheaper I would have bought it maybe to sell on the bay.
rollei.jpg
 
Small and perfectly formed? Looks as if it has never had a film in it, not even a finger print inside or out. Have popped 4xLR44 wrapped round with sticky tape (for insulation) instead of the mercury PX27 that would have been original. Meter works and shows close to hand held meter. Now loaded with film. Will this be a fiver well spent at this morning's car boot ?

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Really nice cameras - criminally underrated. The biggest nightmare is doing the seals, so if you picked it up with new seals you've hit the jackpot!
 
Really nice cameras - criminally underrated. The biggest nightmare is doing the seals, so if you picked it up with new seals you've hit the jackpot!

The fact the door wraps around the back of the frame, I can imagine it being a right pain.

Looking forward to getting out with this, will post a shot or two, when they're back!
 
The 500G is a cracking camera, small and very capable.
 
Picked up a Canon Sureshot Supreme from a local charity shop today - just £2.95.

New battery and all seems well, just need to pop a roll through it now to see if it works! It’s actually quite a quite little ball of 80’s plastic :D
 
So, about an hour after buying an XA3 off the forum classifieds, I found myself walking past Dougie Mac's.

Popped in of course.

There, waiting for me, was a dirty, scruffy XA.

Paid the £3 and brought it home.

Working perfectly in every respect and has the best rangefinder patch I've ever seen on an Olympus.

Just need to scrape out the former, now ex, light seals and replace them.
 
So, about an hour after buying an XA3 off the forum classifieds, I found myself walking past Dougie Mac's.

Popped in of course.

There, waiting for me, was a dirty, scruffy XA.

Paid the £3 and brought it home.

Working perfectly in every respect and has the best rangefinder patch I've ever seen on an Olympus.

Just need to scrape out the former, now ex, light seals and replace them.

Jammy *******
 
Got lucky at the bootie today with a ME super with wind on jammed also with mirror up so thought like the Olympus it just needs new batteries and reset...h'mm not so with new batteries and no reset feature :eek: Anyway took the bottom plate off and played around and bingo (y)
Looks good as new and so far the only thing wrong with it is the exposure meter is a stop out, but really the only way of testing is with a film in
 
Also at the bootie a guy had packets of Vivitar filters anyway looked at one packet and it said 3R o_O never heard of it :rolleyes: and the guy was, I assume, telling me what they are for, but with a foreign accent and me not wearing my hearing aid it was hopeless :rolleyes::)
 
LOL the ME super has a design flaw..on auto if you press the shutter with lens cap on or in very low light with aperture closed down, then the shutter never closes (raspberry). Well Pentax realising there would be idiots firing the shutter in very low light or with lens cap on, put a design feature in where all you have to do is close the shutter by just turning the knob off auto.
All I wanted to know was what the ME was capable of in low light as some cameras, set on auto, go way past what you can set manually.
 
Only about 2 miles from my home if anyone want me to check it out for them ;)
 
After my time in Scotland,scratching my head working out exposure for difficult landscapes, I decided to invest in a spot meter and was delighted to win this,not cheap,but, from first tests very accurate.

 
Good prices on 7dayshop, I never think to look there! Just bought 3 rolls of Tri-X 400 for £19.96 delivered from eBay.
 
Got to love an icy day at the carboot as the sun just rises. Should have worn crampons.

20181216_083951.jpg

This time NOT an empty box :banana:

Quick inspection - it needs some TLC. "How much?", I ask.

"£4", he says.

"Done" ,

:exit:


Back at home - actually better than I'd thought - only downside - meter not working - which I had suspected as could not get battery cover off !!!

Out with the screw drivers for a bottom-ectomy,

20181216_102949.jpg


That is a job for a long winter evening but not too much of a hassle. New light seals and test the speeds (which sound OK) and this 1978 model will have new lease of life.
 
Simples compared to stripping down a F4 https://www.photrio.com/forum/threads/nikon-f4-aperture-lever-repair.114701/

Come across this site https://www.photrio.com/forum/ and they ask similar questions as here e.g.

https://www.photrio.com/forum/threa...ing-paper-problems-emulsions-affected.137251/ h'mm 14 pages and the later ones might be of more interest
That's the site that used to be called APUG Brian, (Analog Photography User Group) and there's absolutely stacks of information tucked away there.
 
That's the site that used to be called APUG Brian, (Analog Photography User Group) and there's absolutely stacks of information tucked away there.

Well you learn something every day....haven't been to APUG for a long time and I suppose if I can remember my membership details it would carry over to this site......
 
I wondered what had happened to APUG too. I have an OM10 with the same battery cover issue. Unfortunately when you remove the base the cover stays screwed in place, it isn't screwed into the base itself.

You could try a bit of white vinegar, as the battery is alkaline, the acid may free it up. It does work to clean contacts.
 
I wondered what had happened to APUG too. I have an OM10 with the same battery cover issue. Unfortunately when you remove the base the cover stays screwed in place, it isn't screwed into the base itself.

You could try a bit of white vinegar, as the battery is alkaline, the acid may free it up. It does work to clean contacts.

Vinegar was first port of call, HCl was next. It will get a good soak in WD40, have some applied heat, if all else fails I can drill out the old one and replace with a cannabalised one from a donor camera.
 
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