surprised by how many forumers i met at the waltham show

[roger_michel]

met at least half a dozen leica forumers at the PHSNE

photographica show. seemed like everybody was having a good

time. had a long chat with sherry about the upcoming LHSA

bylaw battle. are there many here who will be goind to

williamsburg?? apparently sherry will take to the floor again,

fighting the good fight.

 

did anybody who went to the show get anything interesting?? i

picked up a 35mm rodenstock helogon in LTM. saw a second

one that also sold. hadn't seen this great lens in years and then

saw two in one day. also picked up a mint-in-box m4-p winder

for $170, a jupiter 85 for $85 (including very nice finder, a super

cheap beater 21mm elmarit (1st -- bad -- version), and ten more

grafmatic holders for my 4x5. really nice ones with extra

septums for $25 apiece. sold enough stuff to approx break even.

also tons of useful filters at $3 apiece.

 

would love to hear what treasures others found??

 

also, sorry i did not get the name of the youngish forumer with

(possibly) eastern european accent that i met briefly in front of

sherry's booth. i had to rush off to catch someone.

 

i will really miss these shows when we are all sitting in cubicles

with laptops hardwired to our heads.

[paul_antonino]

how about a leica R 400 f2.8 APO non mudular ,A 1.4 APO x,and a monster gitzo tripod that was on saturday and a few rolls of film from hunts.............broke the bank stayed away on sunday, haha

hey did sherry sell the alpine leather case she had on her table i was going to get it for my 350.telyt but i got sidetracked and didnt remember until i was on rt. 95 oh well

paul

[brambor]

Couldn't make it.

[david_werbeloff1]

Thanks for the alert about the show. Saw some fascinating equipment, nearly succumbed to a minty IIIf but managed to pull back from the cliff edge, met the famous Sherry, and made it out the door with an intact bank balance!

[dan_fromm2]

Hmm. I have no idea what any of you characters looks like, so have no idea if I cast eyes on any of you there. That includes you, Roger.

 

I found the show a considerable disappointment. Not much there that I needed or even wanted, and little of it at prices I was willing to pay. Many, not all, of the dealers were old hands who knew the equipment they were offering and the market for it quite well. No steals at their tables. I didn't go home wishing I'd had more funds available. Not a good sign.

 

But the really upsetting aspect of it was that on Saturday morning, when I was there, there were empty benches and the aisles were somewhat empty too. I was last at that show some years ago; the one I visited was packed. A worse sign.

 

Camera shows are, I fear, dying. Dealers are being squeezed by people who sell on eBay. The competition is intense, and their potential suppliers of used gear for resale have every incentive to go to eBay themselves. I'll miss 'em.

 

Cheers,

 

Dan

[roger_michel]

well, as for attendance, it was up and down all weekend. unfortunately, the show was competing with a mighty trifecta: patriots home game, 2 world series home games, and the head of the charles regatta. the dealers that i talked to were pretty happy with their sales. the crowds are always largest first thing in the morning sat and sun, and then again at the end of the two days.

 

as for equipment selection and prices, it really depends what you went for. these shows are great for picking up odds and ends that are hard to find. in addition to the rodenstock lens that i mentioned (i had been looking for one for a while, even posted here a couple of times), i also located an accessory shoe and some filters for my bessa ii (hard to find), picked up a very nice grey waistlevel for an otherwise mint rolleiflex T, got a slew of walz filters for my RF nikkors. as for bargains, the asking prices were often high, but the prices dropped dramatically once bargaining set in. joe lippincott, after haggling, offered me a minty tele-rolleflex for $1500; i almost bought a nice 1st version 21 elmarit in box for $625; there was a battered but optically and mechanically perfect 3.5F whiteface for $250 (which i may still buy -- got the card); a nice hammertone horseman 6x9 with cammed lens for $550; a nice user nikkor 35/2.5 for $175 (with leica slip on UV -- itself a hard to find item); a like new nikkor 85/2 for $275. and these were just the things that caught my attention.

 

with shows like this, you see a sea of junk when you scan the room; you really need to look closely to find the treasures. and as for prices, they are ALWAYS marked sky high to catch the uninitiated, but always come way down upon negotiation. they are also not good places to find generic stuff. people don't bother hauling that around.

 

oh yeah, i also picked up a very mint prominent with a perfect 1.5 nokton for $185. can't wait to get the adapter from gandy. anybody want a perfect prominent body . . . i didn't think so!!

 

hey, did someone here get the other LTM helogon??

[gerry_szarek]

It would have been nice if you posted a notice that it the show was going to be held BEFORE hand.

[fay_cori]

Roger - how ever did you recognize six of the forumers? Were they all wearing Leicas?

[roger_michel]

gerry -- it would be nice if you actually checked your facts before making stupid comments. i did post before the show started and again on saturday (before the second day of the show).

[roger_michel]

fay -- i actually KNOW some of the people who post here. i met a couple of more at sherry's booth quite by chance. we were talking about photo.net and some people chimed in.

[andy_piper2]

Roger: don't forget to put quote marks around "bad" when referring to the first-version 21 Elmarit - the lens that drew me away from Contax and into Leica, and which I've now had to replace TWICE after being suckered by the ASPH 21 and 24.

 

8^)

[gerry_szarek]

Sorry Roger, I never saw the post, not as active as I used to be.

[john_r._fulton_jr.]

Roger---your name made me think of something else (someone, actually) I missed this year. You and I and many other Leica friends had a wonderful dinner last year about this time after (NYC) Photo Expo got out. Sal Di Marco organized the get-together, if memory serves. I miss our old friend.

[roger_michel]

hi -- i think about sal often. a real reminder of how quickly things change. when i arrived late, i remember sal, many years my elder, hopping up to offer me his chair. (the waiter found me another chair). sal was a real gentleman and a great photographer.