Fall off in film gear availability

[matthew_newton]

<p>Is it just me or is there a lot less used film gear up for auction/sale on fleabay and KEH lately? It seems like the last 6 months or so and the market has nearly dried up, at least for old Olympus stuff. Even Nikon and Canon used film gear seems to have gone down quite a bit. Is this more seasonal (I haven't been paying really close attention to it until the last 9 months or so) or is this a bigger shift then that?<br>

I would have thought with the economy we'd actually see more used gear up on the market.</p>

[shaloot]

<p>Demand probably isn't there anymore and therefore supply is low. OR like you said, with the good weather, people are actually using their film gear more and therefore keeping it around?</p>

[randall ellis]

<p>I suspect that no one is buying right now due to the economy, and no one is really selling because values are so low (for the same reason - you can't pay a lot of luxury items when you can't make the mortgage payments)...</p>

<p>- Randy</p>

[samn]

<p>KEH is out and about trolling for used equipment. Got an e-mail from them inviting me to a camera show in Hayward CA where they will be to buy only. Must be a substantial market for used stuff, including film equipment. With new glass so expensive many might be hoarding old good glass though.</p>

[rossb]

<p> IT's like the VW bug. They used to be everywhere and cheap. Now I rarely even see one. Time moves on I guess.</p>

[mark_drutz]

<p>My guess is that since there are virtually no film cameras made any more the only source for them is the used market. Also so many people have already switched to digital and traded in their old film cameras there are fewer coming to market. Last as they wear out people go to the used market to replace them and to get parts to repair them.</p>

<p>There is also added demand for used FX lenses as the number of FF DSLRs increase.</p>

[dennisgg]

<p>I think the growing market of people using adapted film lenses is doing part of it. I have bought many used lenses for my Canon 10D, 20D, XT, and my wife's XTi. I use them more than she does. Olympus, Nikon, Pentax M42/screwmount, Pentax K-mount in particular as they adapt well to current cameras. Not to mention they are quality optics. Canon FD and Minolta MD/MC lenses are more common as they don't adapt well due to their closer distance to the film/sensor (using optics to adjust for infinity focus defeats the purpose as it degrades and reduces light). </p>

[tom_aellis1]

<p>Well, I have a different take on it. No, it's not you. More Pro's are blogging about going back to film. College classes, I can confirm, are seeing an increase demand and filled class rooms in their wet darkroom. Film was beginning to become a "fad" about a year ago and it's catching on. Less and Less product on the market because people are holding onto their film equipment and enjoying the journey.<br>

The megapixel war, which was always silly, has died down now folks are understanding, thanks to more writtings about it, that it is indeed about dynamic range, not pixels alone. scanners are becoming more robust and less expensive.<br>

Oh, I'm not alone by any means, nor are you, Sean the founder of APUG.org has quit his full time job as an engineer and now back full time on the website as the demand has increased quite a bit. He sees this as well.<br>

Want film equipment? Buy it now while the prices are creeping up every day.<br>

Not you at all.</p>

[dan_b.4]

<p>Goodness, gracious, how would you be able to keep tabs on how much film equipment is being offered on the big auction site? I know that prices are way down on most of the kinds of film equipment I'm looking to buy, but that's a pretty narrow range of stuff.</p>

<p>Have you checked out sources such as craigslist.org lately? Seems to me there's tons of stuff and it's gotten way cheaper.</p>

[d_f11]

<p>Alot of film gear has allready been snatched up, and those who might've considered selling theirs' are holding on to it.</p>

[hjoseph7]

<p>I think most of the buying and selling for analog photographic gear happened from around 2000 to 2005, when photographers began dumping their old gear like crazy and moving into digital. After that things started trailing off. Call it FleaBay if you like, but I got some stuff that I would never be able to afford if it was still on the market.</p>

[andylynn]

<p>I've been doing some great business on Ebay lately. Picked up some great Minolta manual SLR equipment, then spent some time making transactions at a profit and ended up with enough money to buy a very complete RZ67 kit (body, 2 lenses, 2 finders, 4 backs, that funky bellows hood and an auto winder for a bit over $400 - that's nuts). So needless to say I'm very happy with how the secondary market for film gear is working.</p>

[peter_ferling]

<p>I tend to agree about the weather. I do browse ebay regularely to find a deal. Usually while I'm eating lunch. I have noticed that the number of pages of FD, Mamiya and certain lenses have decreased noticeably. Posting or selling on ebay can be time consuming (my wife sells the garage sale stuff all the time), and folks are out enjoying the weather. Wait till winter drives them back inside.</p>

[dangoldman]

<p>i think supply has dropped and the price on a lot of FD has gone up. I think people are holding on to their stuff a bit now, and some of the stupid people out there are still throwing away old cameras because they arent working (and probably only need a simple fix)....</p>

[Brad_]

MIght have something to do with not much film gear being made anymore. Kind of like enlargers. Just a guess....

[william_livingston]

<p>i have a bunch of nikon stuff i dont use: 4 bods, 2 with motors, 10 lenses, bellows, filters, etc, etv. i am holding on to them cause they are not worth much on the market. would rather keep, and perhaps use at some point, than to give it away. for now, i will use the h'blad and leave the f's to rest--they dont eat much and are pretty quiet.</p>

[lex_jenkins]

<p>The better AI and AIS Nikkors will be attractive again, especially the wide angles, with the relatively affordable FX sensor D700 making those older lenses a viable option.</p>

<p>While prices seem low overall, for some odd reason Nikon 35mm SLRs, manual and autofocus, appear to be slightly higher priced than comparable Canon EOS models. The pro level EOS film bodies are real bargains now, compared with the F5.</p>

[thomas_sullivan]

<p>If the equipment can be used on a DSLR, then it's being bought up. But if that brand's lenses can't be fitted to present day new DSLRs then there seems to be plenty of choices. At least that's what I notice. At least in 35mm format. Medium format does however appear to be getting depleted. I think a lot of people are like me, using 35mm digital and medium format film these days. </p>

[Andy Collins]

<p>I talked to a camera store owner in the Chicago area who said that he has a hard time hanging on to film gear for too long because a lot of students are snatching it up, and there is now a whole new generation of photographers who started out with digital and would now like to try film. I also think that even though very high-quality digital cameras are now much more affordable (affordable is such a relative term these days), a lot of folks are realizing the value of their film gear (from a creative standpoint) and are hanging on to it. And, as mentioned above, they also realize that they won't get anywhere near the price they paid for it. More savvy photographers are realizing the bargains to be had and are taking advantage of that fact. I also noticed that KEH doesn't have as many of certain kinds of older cameras as they used to, but I also know that for a number of those cameras, the collector appeal has increased dramatically. An example is the Canonflex cameras. They used to have a lot of those on their site, but those seem to have become more of a collector item, driving up the price and depleting available supplies. Another example is the Canon QL-17 GIII. Prices for those have been creeping up and a nice one at KEH goes for somewhere in the neighborhood of $175 (I bought the one that I have currently on ebay 3 years ago for $15 in great condition!). Mind you, I'm not knocking KEH at all; they simply respond to supply and demand. I shop there a lot actually and consider them to be a great source of used gear at pretty good prices. I tend to agree with Tom, above. Film was becoming a fad a short while ago, but is catching on a bit more. I'm glad about that, but I do intend to buy, buy, buy before prices go up significantly due to increased demand. At least that's the excuse I'm sticking with for buying more stuff!;)</p>

[gt1]

<blockquote>

<p>MIght have something to do with not much film gear being made anymore. Kind of like enlargers. Just a guess...</p>

 

</blockquote>

<p>That doesn't explain the recent drop in availability of film gear. Most film gear hasn't been made in years but I've seen much less supply just in the last 12 months on Ebay.</p>

<p>Also, the market seems to be flooded with enlargers right now. I'm seeing Beseler 4x5 enlargers on CL now for pennies. Before the best cheap enlargers you could find were 2x3.</p>

<p> </p>

[andylynn]

<p>Maybe it's Ken Rockwell :)</p>

[matthew_newton]

<p>Good thoughts. I am glad its not just me seeming to notice a drop off. Really the thing I am looking for the most is a Sigma 14mm f/3.5 in Olympus OM mount. Only ever seen one of them and it slipped through my fingers. Hopefully if another one comes up it won't. I'm also thinking of getting a Pentax K mount lens and swapping the bayonet mount and trying to adapt it, possibly ending in failure, but I am pretty darned handy mechanically. Of course there are others I am looking for, that is just my 'crown jewel'.</p>