Cameras in Antique Stores

[j. caputo]

I have noticed in alot of old antique stores have wood large format cameras sitting on the shelf. Are these just for

show or do some of them actually work? I am not asking you all directly since I understand you would not have an

answer for that. What I am asking is if there is a market for people who buy their large format camera's in antique

stores? Now that I am educated on what a large formatt looks like and does, I can remember seeing them in the

antique stores. Have any of you ever purchased one of these?

[sattler123]

Typically those are collector items and way too expensive for what they are. Many of them probably need the bellows replaced. I would stay away from them unless you are a collector.

[leicaglow]

I did many years ago. It was a 5x7 Burke and James, but the bellows were shot from the age and I never bothered to use it... especially since holders, film and processing tanks are pretty hard to find.

[SteveH]

I've bought a couple of smaller ones. Mostly because I thought they were cool looking, but also because I thought I might

use them. Unfortunately most of the time the camera format isn't one that is easily available now, so you have to either

custom cut sheet film or jury rig some sort of holder, making the camera not very useful. Probably not a good way to get

into large format photography.

[razondetre]

Have seldom, if ever, seen a woodie in an antique store. Mostly they are full of furniture reeking of too much linseed oil. The few cameras that I have seen were folding cameras for rollfilm or 9x12 plate. Lots of people are using the odd film sizes like 5x8, etc. 5x7 is not exactly a rare format. Mostly, when I have gone in antique stores looking for cameras, the shop owner gives me a look like I have two heads because cameras don't fit in their concept of antiques. For them it is all furniture, plates, paintings, vases, etc.

[brucecahn]

Nonetheless if you get one that takes a currently made film size, such as 4x5, 5x7 or 8x10 inches, they are very usable. Make sure you get a lensboard that fits currently made lenses. A no. 3 takes shutter sizes from 2.4 to 2.7 inches wide, a #1 takes those from 1.5 to 1.8 " and a #0 from 1.3 to 1.5. Check the bellows by putting a bright flashlight inside. You see any light leaks, expect to pay at least $300. + some nuisance for a new bellows, or tape it. If you need filmholders google them. They are no longer made, but are still available. The film is still being made. Enjoy! Do not be intimidated.

[colin carron]

Yes, you can get almost all these old camera working if you put some effort into it as the technology is quite

straightforward. However there are a number of questions you need to ask yourself before you plunge in :

 

1) Is the camera format one where you can readily obtain film for it? ie mostly we are talking 4x5, 5x7 or 8x10

If the camera is not one of these sizes then you will need to get the next biggest film and crop it - not so easy in the

dark!

 

2) does the camera come with film holders? They are often difficult to get hold of as they were often not standardised.

Note that old film holders were designed to use glass plates so some ingenuity is required to get film to work in them

but often a bit of packing will do the trick.

 

3) Is the general condition OK? Bellows can be replaced though at a cost. Are all the knobs present and correct?

Nothing bent or warped?

 

4) Is there a lens board? could it be copied if more than one lens is used?

 

5) What sort of movements can the camera cope with?. Usually in old cameras you get loads of rise and cross front

movements and some restriced tilts but swings are usually minimal or non-existent compared to a modern camera. If

you are thinking of doing anything requiring large movcements especially swings and tilts then an old camera is

probably not a good bet.

 

6) Is there a shutter? Is it working> If it is a roller blind shutter they will often work a few times then age and decay

sets in and the material goes. Most vintage shutters are temperamental and restricted especially at the faster end.

 

7) Is the lens OK? fungus? scratches? Does it have a working iris and are the aperture numbers in one of the various

weird old systems?

 

The shutter and lens can of course be replaced with modern lenses in shutters. This works well but defeats any

aesthetic idea of using an old camera.

 

Having comsidered all the above most LF shooters will look at the antique shop price and decide the vintage camera

is not worth the effort and buy a 'modern' camera instead. There are a number of older modern designs which easily

beat most vintage models and are fairly inexpensive. The Graophic series for example or, in UK where I am, the MPP

can be picked up fairly cheaply .<div></div>

[jim_galli4]

Most antique store cameras are "as found". That typically means it has been cast off for some years or was set aside because something quit working. I would say it depends on you. Some people are helpless if some little thing goes wrong. Others can keep an old piece of machinery working for eons with bubble gum and duct tape. I'm the kind of person that can pick a clothes dryer up at the dump and use it for 10 more years. This dis-pleases my wife. After 33 years she has learned to not ask, just buy a new one when she's really tired of looking at the old one. In an Oregon antique mall 2 weeks ago I spied a gorgeous 8X10 Agfa Portrait camera with 3 wheeled stand and an extremely rare soft focus lens. Too big for me to haul home, but the price was actually fair.

[craig_shearman1]

Cameras in antique stores -- regardless of format -- generally go for one extreme or the other of pricing because the store owners generally are not photographers and have no idea what the camera is worth. I've picked up good, working solid cameras for anywhere from $5 to $25 that should have sold for $200-$300. More often I've seen stores asking $100 for a plastic 620 snapshot camera from the 1950s that wouldn't bring $5 at a camera store. Antique stores work on the assumption that old and valuable are the same thing.

[jtk]

Some of Bill Brandt's most famous work was shot with junk store camera/s. Nobody's greater than Brandt.

 

http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/search/citi/artist%3ABill+Brandt

 

Check the filthy old portrait studios, camera stores, and camera repairs...they typically have these things gathering dust, are desperate for $$