I Love Goodwill

I'm a cheapskate, and I love to troll the thrift shops. Lookie what appeared before my eyes today! Something I've been looking for for almost a year. Carbon with height. Yippee!!!

Good find ! Our local charity shops often have tripods, but usually missing a vital component, like locking knobs, Q/R plate, and in one memorable instance, an entire leg !

Hi Brad. Maybe you can tell them about the Leica in the pawn shop. . . just as good as Goodwill shopping !

Well, it was advertised as an M2, and I didn't know any better for $400 cash (negotiated down from $700). Had a Summarit on the front, a light meter I couldn't get off, and the film advance lever was balky. So, seemed like an okay deal.

 

Got back to the car, figured out how to remove the light meter, and it says "M3". Totally forgot about the double stroke model ...

 

I've upgraded to the Summicron and sold off the Summarit for more than the original purchase. So the M3 was (ahem) "free" to me.

Good find ! Our local charity shops often have tripods, but usually missing a vital component, like locking knobs, Q/R plate, and in one memorable instance, an entire leg !

This is missing the plate, but it appears to be the universal ARCA Swiss type I have on my 4x5 already. In any case, totally worth an auction-site plate in a pinch.

Another plus for charity shop finds. Several years ago in a Salvation Army store I found a Nikon EM with a 50mm/1.8 lens on it, both in pristine condition including a good condition case for $8. I figured I couldn't lose...grabbed it and the next week took it out for a trial. I kept and used it for about 5 years, when somebody made me an offer in the range of $100 for it - I let it go, having lots of other Nikon gear. Recently locally I've seen very few film cameras, at SA or Goodwill. It seems these days they ship them to central marketing officer who put them online after checking for recent sales prices...making them much less of a bargain.

 

I'd say you really lucked out...congrat!

It seems that this may well be a Classic Manual Cameras special tripod, in that it seems to be the earliest Carbon Fiber tripod in history, launched in 1994.

 

"Launched in 1994, Gitzo Mountaineer was the first carbon fibre tripod"

 

URL: https://www.scribd.com/document/284768758/Photo-Life-September-2014-CA

I have way too many things from Goodwill.

 

The Mercury II in another thread came from there, for $46, including a few other cameras.

 

The nearby Goodwill used to have local pick-up for auction items, both eBay and shopgoodwill,

so no shipping charge. But now, if I can get three items together, it is still a good deal.

 

I get a Nikkor AI 80-200 for $12, which seems a pretty good price for any Nikkor lens.

It is my first push/pull zoom, which is fun, but also takes getting used to.

 

I got a Nikon F, F2, EL2, FE2, and probably too many other cameras from them.

Most recently, a Lytro Illum.

Nice find Bradley!

 

I've bought some interesting (and cheap) camera gear from GoodWill through Ebay over the years. Shame international shipping is ruining it now :(

Sometimes, a willingness to take a chance on these is well-rewarded:

 

see

Canon A-1 - A-series "professional camera"

Have never found a camera at Goodwill but discovered that it is a great place to find picture frames.

Have never found a camera at Goodwill but discovered that it is a great place to find picture frames.

 

Oh yes. Way overpriced at most stores. Sometimes they even have pictures included.

Damn

In all the thrift shops I've visited I have yet to find a working camera. Once I did find an old folder (Ansco) but it was jammed.

Congrats to those of you who are finding working gear at these shops. We have a local pawn shop but it hasn't had any camera gear in several years. From time to time I've stopped by to purchase some ammo and I always look for camera gear.

In all the thrift shops I've visited I have yet to find a working camera. Once I did find an old folder (Ansco) but it was jammed.

Congrats to those of you who are finding working gear at these shops. We have a local pawn shop but it hasn't had any camera gear in several years. From time to time I've stopped by to purchase some ammo and I always look for camera gear.

 

I rarely buy them from a store, but more often Goodwill auctions.

 

Most often they do just a little testing, such as that the shutter actually does something.

Also, some might be damaged on the shelf in stores.

 

I used to buy them local pick-up to save on shipping, but that also means that if it is

defective, I can take it back without return shipping. That has happened, but not

so many times. Since Covid times, there is no local pick-up. Still.

 

I did buy a Holga for $3 from another thrift store. I think that is about how much they are worth,

and wouldn't pay more, but it seems many people do.

 

Otherwise, statistically I have done well, and the prices are pretty good.

Well, I bid low, and win probably too many.

A few years ago at Goodwill I found a Yashica T4 in like-new condition in its box with all of its papers for $3.95! It worked perfectly. I figured a family had donated a loved one's gear to Goodwill not knowing anything about what they were giving away. I have found many wonderful cameras there in years past, including Olympus Stylus Epics in excellent condition for the same price.

Speaking of give-a-ways, I had a friend who bought a Hasselblad at a yard sale for $5.00. The woman who sold it said she didn't know if they still made film for that old camera anymore.

Wow, a $5.00 Hasselblad. All the yard sales in my area are generally clothes, tools, 8 track tapes, bicycles, etc.

With second Sunday camera show disbanded because of covid, my local flea market has been the source for camera finds and ebay of course.

 

it’s getting harder to score a deal even in flea market because junk dealers whip out their phones, check sold listing on eBay and think their corroded or rusted camera is worth top dollar… don’t even think about haggling and if the camera is inscribed “Made in Germany”, you are expected to pay a premium just for that…

I've picked up several tripods from charity shops but nothing of that quality & very rarely have they been that cheap! The only full size one cheaper than that was probably the last one I got IIRC it was £2 brought for curiosity value as it had a cable release built into the handle.

That Gitzo beats my find of a Manfrotto model 028 + 029 head, bought for £8 at a car-boot sale.

 

However, I recently bought an f/2.8 300mm Tamron in perfect optical condition for £20. Mechanically a bit worn and with an Adaptall mount stuck firm by someone that obviously couldn't match green mounting dots together. The mount was written off removing it, but I had a spare.

I'd be very happy with a good heavy duty tripod for the Speed Graphic I have. The flimsy JC Penny one I have I am afraid the wind will blow it over or I will bump it while fiddling with the lens or cassettes and boom ...down she goes with the camera. I saw one once in the US for cheap..but shipping to Europe makes it not so cheap . I am a cheapskate and though you can buy for a few hundred a nice sturdy tripod.. can and will are two very different things!! :)