bruni wrote:
Leighton - I hate to say it but it looks to me like the 55mm f2.8 suits you better than Nikki. That's a great series. I like the last one.
Samy - you too, the lighter kit suits you. Love the bridge shot. You have the Z6II don't you? That and one of the LTM mount Nikkor makes for a very small kit.
Ken - I love your story but there were no old camera shops in Sydney and there are none in Rome, not cheap ones anyway. I've never got a bargain on Ebay or Keh. I've always had good experiences and everything I've bought turned out to be exactly what I expected. But, it was never cheap and never in the pristine condition Rafael seems to score so routinely. It's obviously very different in the US. I see a lot of lenses listed from there so there must be quite a few about.
I rarely buy from US on eBay. Have been burned by description a couple times. Luckily on low dollar items. Japan sellers are much better and in a lot of cases, ship cheaper and faster than here in the US. And if there is any issue, they do what ever they can to rectify the situation.. I have had the best luck at local shops in the US, but over the last few years those “finds” are few and far between. KEH has slipped in my opinion. Last two items went back. Physical description was accurate, but if the lens doesn’t function I don’t care how pretty that pig is
By far the best experience in used gear has been here on FM
Parrot: Fujifilm X-S10 + adapter + Nikkor 300mm f/4.5K ED non-IF, hand held, ISO 800, f/5.6 at 1/1000s. 42% cropped (11/26MP).
Immature seeds: Fujifilm X-S10 + adapter + Micro-Nikkor 55mm f/3.5 ai, ISO 2500, f/11 at 1/100s. 46% cropped (12/26MP).
Thanks Jose. I love mine, looks like you're loving yours too. I love Parrots. remind me to tell you the story someday about the time we had one in the trees in our front field!
GeorgeBo wrote:
I rarely buy from US on eBay. Have been burned by description a couple times. Luckily on low dollar items. Japan sellers are much better and in a lot of cases, ship cheaper and faster than here in the US. And if there is any issue, they do what ever they can to rectify the situation.. I have had the best luck at local shops in the US, but over the last few years those “finds” are few and far between. KEH has slipped in my opinion. Last two items went back. Physical description was accurate, but if the lens doesn’t function I don’t care how pretty that pig is
By far the best experience in used gear has been here on FM
Nice combo Samy. Have you shot much color film with that lens or on digital? I find those old lenses do much better with black and white. Film or digital.
The Leica II has worked fine for the last several years after I acquired it, without any CLA or any other repair (now maybe I am jinxing it). This roll was slightly over-exposed on some frames but that may be my lack of light meter skills. The extra step is to clip out a portion of the film leader so it can be loaded into these older Barnack Leicas.
Lieutenant Z wrote:
Samy : Leica II ? how is it possible for such a prehistoric cam to still work ?
Not sure I have any 35mm Provia left, if there is one roll or so somewhere I will try to catch some fall colours next week. Slide film has disappeared from this country.
GeorgeBo wrote:
Nice combo Samy. Have you shot much color film with that lens or on digital? I find those old lenses do much better with black and white. Film or digital.
Not sure I have any 35mm Provia left, if there is one roll or so somewhere I will try to catch some fall colours next week. Slide film has disappeared from this country.
Good results for sure.
Re: film, I see where Fuji just discontinued Velvia 50 for 4x5 and 8x10 and Pro 160NS 120.
The run on slide film started when Fuji cancelled 35mm Velvia. People really went crazy and Provia and Ektachrome also started to vanish. There's some stuff available but the prices are 2-3X or more, compared to just a year or so ago.
GeorgeBo wrote:
Good results for sure.
Re: film, I see where Fuji just discontinued Velvia 50 for 4x5 and 8x10 and Pro 160NS 120.
bruni wrote:
Speaking for myself, I'm loving all this gear talk, and especially the gear pics. Not sure how "addiction" and "weakness" and "shame" come into it, but hey......to each his/her own.
The 18mm has a bit of flare but the real king is the 20mm f3.5 UD. I'm posting this now while Philippe's away because he hates these flare pics.
bruni wrote:
Leighton - I hate to say it but it looks to me like the 55mm f2.8 suits you better than Nikki. That's a great series. I like the last one.
Samy - you too, the lighter kit suits you. Love the bridge shot. You have the Z6II don't you? That and one of the LTM mount Nikkor makes for a very small kit.
Ken - I love your story but there were no old camera shops in Sydney and there are none in Rome, not cheap ones anyway. I've never got a bargain on Ebay or Keh. I've always had good experiences and everything I've bought turned out to be exactly what I expected. But, it was never cheap and never in the pristine condition Rafael seems to score so routinely. It's obviously very different in the US. I see a lot of lenses listed from there so there must be quite a few about.
Ben,
I use a local shop that has tons of older and trade in items. He has a NFS NOCT, in Raphael condition. It does not even have dust on it. Most stuff can be had at a reasonable price.
I learned something from Curtis who used proxy bid on eBay and sometimes he got lucky at the end of a bidding war. My “system” which I’ll give away is searching “Newly listed” plus “Buy it Now or Make Offer” items. Sometimes real deals and excellent values pop up and if you jump on them then and there. I don’t get into any bidding wars and time is on my side.
I also make counter offers on KEH and usually they’ll accept or counter with a lower amount. In fact I got my NOCT with a 20% off coupon which I sprung on them after a counter offer. I got it cheap plus they did a full CLR before shipping.
