KEH - BARGAIN

<p>I just want to share a pleasant transaction with KEH. This is a bargain FE2 - much nicer condition than expected. It makes me wonder what they consider EX ;)</p>

<p>I really love this camera. Feels very good in the hand - the controls inspire total confidence.</p>

<p>Searching for the slightest issue to explain the BGN rating, I note a slightly loose piece of leatherette on top of the film advance lever. Of course I could easily apply a drop of adhesive (suggestions?). Or, has anybody seen third party replacement pieces online? </p><div></div>

<p>#2</p><div></div>

<p>KEH describes its goods conservatively. I have been happy to buy from overseas (New Zealand) and trust their ratings. </p>

<p>I bought an older AIS bargain lens from KEH years ago and it looked like new in every regard. KEH is an excellent source for used gear. And they warranty everything too. I have purchased several items from them over the years and all transactions were excellent experiences. Enjoy your FE2!</p>

<p>Nice to hear, and see good news.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>" Of course I could easily apply a drop of adhesive (suggestions?)."</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Chip, just peel off the leatherette, clean all the existing adhesive off (lighter fluid or white spirit is good if it's hardened) and stick it back with double-sided tape. Apply the tape to the leatherette circle, snip of the excess tape with scissors, peel off the backing and stick it back on the leverwind. Job done!</p>

<p>Although the fact that it's loose does suggest to me that the leverwind has been removed for access to the interior of the camera at some stage. Maybe it's been to the repairers; hence the BGN label.</p>

<p>Edit: I just see that KEH is offering an F3HP with MD4 for over $1600! Surely nobody is going to pay that sort of money for a used F3HP?</p>

<p>That Nikon is an F3P, a stripped-down, beefed up version of the HP (unclear if the "P" stands for "Press" or "Professional"), not an F3HP - different animal, rarer and more expensive. $1600 is in line with what people are asking for on fleabay</p>

<p>"That Nikon is an F3P..." - Ah yes, I misread it the first time round and the only visible difference is the extended leverwind and shutter dial. Far easier to operate and should have been a standard feature on all F3s IMO. Even so, 1600 bucks!? It's still stuck with the severe limitation of using 35mm film. I'd want a hi-res digital conversion back thrown in for that money.</p>

<p>Rodeo, their inoperable Navy F is much more worthy of outrage. $2800 and it doesn't even include a battery :) </p>

<p>I've bought quite a bit of stuff from KEH over the years. Most of it was in BGN condition. I was browsing their site a while back and came across several off brand lenses in UG condition, at crazy low prices. So I bought 8 of them. </p>

<p><img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/17873806-md.jpg" alt="DSC_3607" width="680" height="452" border="0" /><br>

The cheapest one was a Tokina RMC 80-200/f4 in FD mount for $0.69.<br>

The most expensive was a Sigma 35-135 f3.5-4.5 Nikon AIS, at a whopping $4.00.</p>

<p><img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/17873807-md.jpg" alt="DSC_3616" width="680" height="452" border="0" /></p>

<p>The only one that had any issues was the Tokina, which had some haze on the inner elements. 15 minutes worth of disassembling and cleaning took care of that. All of them have turned out to be fairly respectable performers as well.</p>

<p>I like KEH a lot of used equipment, especially film equipment and they generally rate very conservatively. I've never gone bargain, but I usually go excellent for bodies and excellent + for lenses and they've always been really clean and working properly.</p>

I have an FE2 and an FM2n I got from their junk bin. About 40 dollars each. They work fine. I miss the KEH junk bin.

<blockquote>

<p>I miss the KEH junk bin.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>It's on eBay now under KEH-Camera-Outlet.</p>

<p>I have purchased several used items from KEH. I can write from my purchase experiences that their ratings for mechanical and cosmetics is a benchmark, very conservative, and trustworthy. I have had no complaints with the items that I purchased from KEH.<br>

Roy Ramavarapu, 11 Oct 2014</p>