[rollei_list] Re: : Camera show decline
- From: Laurence Cuffe <cuffe@xxxxxxx>
- To: "rollei_list@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <rollei_list@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 4 Mar 2008 22:16:02 -0500
Glad to hear it, may they wear well.
All the best
Larry Cuffe
Sent from my iPhone
On 4 Mar 2008, at 21:59, Jerry Lehrer <glehrer@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Marc usw,
>
> I have been hearing some bad-mouthing about camera shows on several
> groups lately, I disagree.
>
> Let me tell you what I did last Sunday as a walk-thru customer in 1
> hours time at the San Diego Camera Show
>
> Bought:
> Gitzo monopod-like new-$25
>
> Hasselblad Pistol grip mint-$10
>
> 28-85 mm Nikkor AIS-mint
>
> Zeiss Softar filter for Hasselblad $10 (NIB)
>
> T-adapter for Leica Reflex- NIB $5
>
> Rollei Bay 1 adapter to hold small flash unit $5
>
> I also sold a Rolleiflex ERC for a 2.8C, to a dealer, for $30
>
> All this in one hours time, with no haggling. (well, almost no
> haggling)
>
>
> Jerry Lehrer
>
>
> Marc James Small wrote:
>> At 01:48 PM 2/27/2008, Austin Franklin wrote:
>>
>>> Well, for me, I used to go to the camera shows, but for the past
>>> probably
>>> four or five years, the items have been way overpriced and there
>>> is not=
>> much
>>> of interest. I typically get a better condition item from eBay
>>> for a much
>>> better price. Not all the time, but most of the time. It's not
>>> really
>>> blind either, if the pictures are decent enough, and you know what=
>> questions
>>> to ask, and the seller has decent feedback.
>>
>> I worked a number of camera shows for more than a=20
>> decade, back in the 1990's -- for that matter, I=20
>> met a number of you at these venues and I have=20
>> worked a table with Jerry Laderberg as recently=20
>> as last year. But eBay effectively ended my=20
>> interest for the simple reason that it both=20
>> coughed up a huge morass of collectibles and cut=20
>> prices dramatically, and I was able to sell off=20
>> my better stuff at shows and buy at a great=20
>> savings on eBay. Take, for example, those Carl=20
>> Zeiss 8x,30mm monoculars which could be used as=20
>> an auxiliary telephoto on Zeiss Ikon Contaflex,=20
>> Contarex, and Icarex cameras. There were three=20
>> versions of these (two Porro prism and one=20
>> roof-prsm design) and two adapters (Contarex and=20
>> Icarex: these mount directly to Contaflex=20
>> cameras). Until eBay, these guys were rare and=20
>> hard to find and, when they surfaced, the=20
>> monoculars generally went for between $400 and=20
>> $500 and the adapters for around $100. In the=20
>> later 1990's, I got all three of the monoculars=20
>> for less than $150 each in E+ condition and the=20
>> Icarex adapter for $25, while I picked up the=20
>> Contafex adapter for $5 from a guy who couldn't=20
>> figure out just what it was. Carl Zeiss Jena=20
>> Mikrotars and Carl Zeiss Luminars and Leitz=20
>> Milars and Micro-Summars and Photars are another=20
>> example: I even scored an oddball Leitz 26mm=20
>> Photar (find that one in the catalogues!) for=20
>> $25. I picked up a nice Werra III from Yuri=20
>> Boguslavsky for $75 and the Cardinar telephoto=20
>> for $35. I scored a slew of Contaflex and Retina=20
>> stuff, including both Cntaflex stereo rigs and=20
>> the stereo viewer. It was a time for hot pickin's at fire-sale
>> prices.
>>
>> eBay is not as much fun now. For one thing, I=20
>> have most of what I was seeking. For another, us=20
>> bottom-feeders have pretty much picked the market=20
>> bare of oddball collectibles. For a third,=20
>> prices have been going up since 1999 and seem to=20
>> have plateaued for the past several years at=20
>> about 3/4 of what they were in pre-eBay days. Am=20
>> I still looking for some stuff? You damnbetcha=20
>> -- a Werra and Retina stereo rig would be nice,=20
>> there are Retina and Contaflex lenses I am=20
>> lacking, und so weiter. I am still seeking a=20
>> number of accessories for my Swift 731 3"=20
>> refractor (try doing an eBay search for "Swift=20
>> telescope" for an exercise in grand=20
>> futility!). But none of these are urgent and I=20
>> really must concentrate on setting up my library=20
>> and getting all of my camera references together=20
>> again, and then on re-establishing my dark-room.
>>
>> Would I work a camera show=20
>> again? Absolutely. We are contemplating a jont=20
>> meeting of the Zeiss Historica Society and the=20
>> Binocular Historical Society here in Chester,=20
>> Virginia, this autumn, if I can get off my can=20
>> and organize it. If so, I will probably try to=20
>> get someone to host a camera show here, as it has=20
>> been a decade since Richmond had such.
>>
>> I do miss the old King of Prussia shows. THOSE were magnificent.
>>
>> Marc
>>
>>
>> msmall@xxxxxxxxxxxx
>> Cha robh b=E0s fir gun ghr=E0s fir!
>>
>> ---
>> R
>
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