What was your best camera deal ever?

No good camera deals, but I did one buy a Nikkor 50/1.8 in excellent condition for 40 dollars. I thought that was pretty good.

I had a few: Bought a Canon 20-35 2.8L for under 300 bucks........worth twice that.

a Nikon 35-70 2.8 AF lens for 250. Worth about twice that and is in excellent condition.

Got a 40D with grip, 2 batteries & charger and a 70-200 2.8 for 800 dollars recently. ( sold the lens!)

a Nikkor GN 45 2.8 AI'D pancake lens and a Nikon F body for 100. The lens is worth 150+

a F3 + a 55 2.8 micro nikkor for about 200 bucks someyears ago; pawn shop.

A few weeks ago on craigslist, Canon 70-200 2.8 and Canon 100-400 for $1125 total (525 for the 70-200, 600 for the 100-400

The guy was the original owner and I suppose didn't know the current market value or just really needed the cash

Turned around and sold the 70-200 on ebay a couple of days later for $975 and I'm still holding onto the 100-400

Bought two mint-condition, low mileage 1Ds Mark II bodies for $5000 total.

In 2006.

taylorb48 wrote:
A few weeks ago on craigslist, Canon 70-200 2.8 and Canon 100-400 for $1125 total (525 for the 70-200, 600 for the 100-400

The guy was the original owner and I suppose didn't know the current market value or just really needed the cash

Turned around and sold the 70-200 on ebay a couple of days later for $975 and I'm still holding onto the 100-400



That was an awesome deal on those lenses.
That sounds like my 40D situation where he, I know him, was really hurting for money and sold it to me for a deal. I suggested craigslist to get the most money for the items and he did not know how to use it. Instead he mentioned 800 bucks and I got it.

Sold the 70-200 2.8 for 625 ( it had some issues otherwise I would have let it go for over 900 bucks) and still have the 40D. He wanted to buy back the 40D and I quoted market price of about 750 dollars.

I bought a nikonos about 10 or more years ago in the bahamas on close out with lens for $175. Used it a couple times and sold it years later for $200.

Good stories here!

I remembered years ago, in 2001, buying a mamiya Rb67, a 127mm-(coated) and a 90mm (uncoated) with 2 backs, a prism, and a Pelican case for 600 bucks!

The guy I got it from was an alcoholic photographer who owed someone else $400 dollars and the camera gear was mixed up in the situation. I paid $600 to the guy who loaned the $400 and walked away with a deal.

The drunk photog first offered it to me about 6 months earlier for $1500 dollars and I said NO! Later he wanted to buy it back and I said $1300 ( i really did not want to sell and knew he had no money at the time!)

That would be a mint 1D for $300.

trenchmonkey wrote:
That would be a mint 1D for $300.

Why so cheap for a mint 1D? What was the shot count?

100K and I put another 33K on it before selling....and it still looked new.
Deals pop up all the time, ya just gotta be very quick.

trenchmonkey wrote:
100K and I put another 33K on it before selling....and it still looked new.
Deals pop up all the time, ya just gotta be very quick.

Thats something I learned fast about craigslist

I've gotten three rangefinders at this one general thrift store near me (not all at the same time): an Olympus 35 SPn for $6.50, a Konica IIIa for $20 (the advance lever I actually find faster than the top lever, I just wish it wasn't double stroke), and a Voigtlander Vito III for $25, all in pretty much perfect condition; they all go for about 10 times what I paid for them on ebay. I personally like the Vito III the best, but I'm too afraid to scratch/smudge it.

dirb9 wrote:
I've gotten three rangefinders at this one general thrift store near me (not all at the same time): an Olympus 35 SPn for $6.50, a Konica IIIa for $20 (the advance lever I actually find faster than the top lever, I just wish it wasn't double stroke), and a Voigtlander Vito III for $25, all in pretty much perfect condition; they all go for about 10 times what I paid for them on ebay. I personally like the Vito III the best, but I'm too afraid to scratch/smudge it.

Dirb9,
They look like sweet deals! The Olympus kinda resembles the Canonet17 and have two of those.

Picked up my D80 a couple of weeks ago for $425 Can. Used for less than 2000 pics.

The Mark III s I just sold...but it was someone else's best deal.

June, 1992. Passing conversation with a stranger turned to photography. The girl said her father was a photographer and recently passed away. She was going to dispose of all his junk. The junk included 4 prisitine Speed Graphics, about 8 LF lenses, 2 doz film holders, 12 dozen Press 25 flash bulbs, a mint 35mm Stereo camera w/case, a M3 Leica body, Omega D2 enlarger, and tons more misc other stuff. 5 cardboard boxes full. She tried to give me the items but finally accepted $75.

P.S. I know...I'm going to hell for that one.

Vertigo2020 wrote:
June, 1992. Passing conversation with a stranger turned to photography. The girl said her father was a photographer and recently passed away. She was going to dispose of all his junk. The junk included 4 prisitine Speed Graphics, about 8 LF lenses, 2 doz film holders, 12 dozen Press 25 flash bulbs, a mint 35mm Stereo camera w/case, a M3 Leica body, Omega D2 enlarger, and tons more misc other stuff. 5 cardboard boxes full. She tried to give me the items but finally accepted $75.

P.S. I know...I'm going to hell for that one.

No, you just got the deal of the centiry. I knew there had to be a deal like that somewhere and you found it. OF all of that, how much do you have today?

MSC wrote:
The Mark III s I just sold...but it was someone else's best deal.

How much was their best deal?

canonet wrote:
Vertigo2020 wrote:
June, 1992. Passing conversation with a stranger turned to photography. The girl said her father was a photographer and recently passed away. She was going to dispose of all his junk. The junk included 4 prisitine Speed Graphics, about 8 LF lenses, 2 doz film holders, 12 dozen Press 25 flash bulbs, a mint 35mm Stereo camera w/case, a M3 Leica body, Omega D2 enlarger, and tons more misc other stuff. 5 cardboard boxes full. She tried to give me the items but finally accepted $75.

P.S. I know...I'm going to hell for that one.

No, you just got the deal of the centiry. I knew there had to be a deal like that somewhere and you found it. OF all of that, how much do you have today?


I don't have any of it today. Kept the M3 the longest. Most everything else I sold within a year. Not including the Leica, the total sales amounted to a little over $2700.