Topic: FLEAS!!

[beck]

We all have them...some more than others...I have a few myself and I couldn't be more happier. Sometimes so much, that I'm scratching my head over it. Of course I mean the flea markets...or thrift stores. I love them and so do you...I know...I've been watching. 90% of my cameras have come from one and I don't think I ever paid over $10 or $15 for one either. My arsenal continues to grow each week and before long, I'm sure I'll be shooting myself. I think my best camera from a flea is my Polaroid Land Camera 420. The guy wanted $5 for it and I walked out a happy Barbie camper then.

What have you guys been able to find in the fleas or thrift stores? I could just imagine and I'm excited to know. Spill it...please.

Well, today, I found a rather neat complete Topcon Beseler Auto100 camera with a Topcor wide angle 35mm f/2 lens, a standard 53mm f/4, and a telephoto 135mm f/4. All in their nice leather lens cases with the camera in its leather sleeve and everything in a cool case....along with a Minolta flash and flashy fold out pan. It's spotless...and even had the old Kent 15v batteries. The camera's battery is too...a PX-13...mercury and illegal. The only bad thing, well, there are two, the telephoto is slightly fogged in-between cells and I'll have to see what can be done. Plus, the kicker, someone dropped the camera and made a huge dent along side where the film winder is and the handle fell off and was in the bag. All gone. I don't think I'll be using it anytime soon I'm afraid. But I was trying to figure out how to advance film fixing it up with something. Don't know really. I still bought it...the guy wanted $8. He even threw in a package of 5B bulbs...god I love those blue eggs.



If I can't use the camera...for sure the lenses...um, what the heck am I going to hook them up too? Any suggestions? I should sell them. He also had 5 still sealed in their boxes...Kodak Super 8mm movie film for a quarter each. Hmm...the bidding will now begin.  $;D$

[outofcontxt]

I don't get to do flea markets that often. They're usually way out in the western exurbs like Kane County and such. I have gone to secondhand stores occasionally just to check. I once got a Marshall Field's brand plastic 35 mm camera for three bucks. The lock on the hinged back was broken but I fixed it with velcro. Still haven't finished the test roll, tho. Must do that one of these days...

[Tammy]

That's an interesting set up, becky!

I do pick up a few things at a local flea market during the summer.  Last year I grabbed a Polaroid 450 for $5 in the case.  I managed a 35mm toyish camera too, for like $1, but now I forget what the name of the thing was.  I'm sure it's buried somewhere around here...

[CarlRadford]

If it doesn't work - put it on show in the house somewhere and I'm sure it'll get more comments than most people pots, vases etc!

[Janet_P]

Aaaah. The Topcon was my first ever serious camera. My dad got it for me when I was 14 - I was so proud. I think I still have it somewhere. Happy days.

I've never got the luck in flea markets but I did buy my Coronet Mark II in a charity shop for £2.50. I need to visit more flea markets, obviously because these gems deserve a loving home.

Janet

[lauraburlton]

I generally do not have luck in thrift sores or antique shops and I was going to go to the Flea Market the other week but it suddenly got really cold so we left within about 10 minutes....maybe next time I will check it out but people here usually tend to overprice stuff. I did go to a camera show a few years back and I picked up a lomo lca for $30 and I bought 5(FIVE!) polaroid cameras for $27- 2 sx-70 folders and 3 pack cameras and 4 outa 5 worked as well so that was good.I will have to try the flea market thing though....one day- although do i really need any more cameras I ask myself- you should see how many I already have, its an addiction. I could probably sell all my junk on ebay and but a nice hasselblad and an extra lens for the price....

[gary m]

I get alot of cams thru flea market/antique shops. My fave find so far has been a mint Diana in the box for 20 beans 

[This-is-damion]

ive always found the charity shops of the UK to be a total let down, ok if your after a plastic point and shoot, olympus trip kind of stuff.  But think on the ground on the cool, gritty plain wierd kind of stuff.   
I always do pop in though, plenty of box brownies going but never that cheap, always around the 5 lumps mark.

I remember a lovley saturday spent in rayliegh (??) down in the south east with mr wenn, we were in the studio and left the drummer for hours to set up whilst we scoured a high street full of shops.    5 or 6 shops in total, not one decent looking camera!!

its a con!

im off to amsterdam in a few weeks and i seem to remeber last time i was there they had a massive flea market so will have a hunt then.

 

[beck]

20 beans huh...why I oughta. I remember that story, Gary.


I just picked up a Kodak Instamatic M6 movie camera for $3 and what perfect timing as I already have the few packages of film. It looks like it was never used along with the equally nice movie light. I love that old electronic machine smell.

I'm still kicking myself in the pants for not buying this fantastic Polaroid Highlander at Goodwill, in tip top shape with case and accessories for a few measly dollars knowing roll film is no longer available. And after searching for that particular film type, I came across rwhirled.com's version of hacking one with 120 film. Ah well, too much, too little, too late, I suppose.

http://www.rwhirled.com/landlist/how2-hland120.htm

[beck]

I picked up a Voitlander pull out that takes 120 film for $5 today. I know, I know....but what the heck. It looks to be in working order and isn't bad on the eyes either. I've never used one before and feel like playing around. However, I'm not sure what the features I circled in red are supposed to do. If anyone see's this, can you please offer some info...and if you ever used one that takes 120. Appreciate any comments...thanks. It had a roll inside too....a very, very, old roll of Kodak Verichrome.

[outofcontxt]

Looks like a shutter speed dial to me. Then again, it's hard to see these things from a great distance... like bayou country. LOL

[lauraburlton]

Yep, top is shutter speed, bottom is aperature. B is bulb, T is time then all the rest of the shutter speeds- 1 sec to 1/125 of a sec. Aperatures f6.3 to f25. Cool find!

[Ed Wenn]

Becky, I picked up a nice new Ansco Pix Pano in a thrift store in Hilo (Big Island, Hawaii) for $1. Was very pleased with that. I also nabbed one of my fave ever cameras, an Agfa Isola II, for something cheap like £3.00 from under the gaze of Mr leon Taylor when we were in a charity shop (that's what we call thrift stores over here in the UK) a couple of years ago. Boot fairs are good for cameras in the UK...they're the equivalent of flea markets.

Re your Topcon and its lenses; don't ditch the lenses whatever you do. They can definitely be modded and stuck on the front of any old SLR to give you a bit of blur/shift/tilt. The photos below were both taken with an awful Zenit SLR (I mean really, really bad) and an old 28mm lens with a few bits hacked about, turned round, lopped off etc. I'm still at the 'getting to know you' stage with the setup, but it's very promising so far.

[attachment deleted by admin]

[beck]

Eddy, I've had the same thoughts with fumbling around with those lens and will have to figure out a formula to see which optics does what to make such enhancments. I've seen a few descriptions and performing surgery here and there and will give it a try one day. I dig how your two images here look, and really want the same, but I'm going to see how to take it a step further without landing myself the same style of blur, etc. and possibly turn it on its head and hope for something different. Still, your work with your latest is quite inspiring and does indeed look promising and I appreciate your sharing a word with me. Keep us updated with new developments....oh my.

[beck]

I thought about Gary and him finding his beloved Diana camera from the flea market....I had such luck today with TWO Diana cameras. Oh man, they were like a mirage when I spotted them sitting there. One is the original Di with her PERFECT lens and body and shutter...the other is the Stellar with a few minor spots on the inside of the lens, but nothing to lose sleep over...and I got both for $11. One has the box and the other does not. Both are super looking and look and appear to work a lot better than my F. I'm so stoked and loaded the Di immediately. It was a good day...

[lauraburlton]

Damn, you got some luck! I am going to have to hit the flea markey here soon. I tried to go a few months ago and we had a freak cold front...

[Tammy]

OMG.  Becky, you have to be kidding.  I've never seen such things at my local flea market.  I did pick up a nice Polaroid Land 440 last year, and a cheap Kalimar 35mm plastic thing for $1.  But, 2 Dianas!!!    

[Francois]

Unbelievable... I can never find anything good at flea markets in my area. The sellers always seem to want too much for their stuff or only have "real junk" cameras... you know, the plastic subscription type... and I'm not talking about the world famous Time Magazine camera, I'm talking about the real horrible stuff.
 
For me, I usually get extra lucky at church rummage sales. Two weeks ago, I went to one of my favorite sales (I wait for it all year). This time, it wasn't the best. But then again, there were some cool things. I got a Yashica Lynx-5000 that has an aperture blade with a broken pivot (didn't see it with all the hustling), an Argus C-33 (I think) which had a powerful stench. I ended up spraying it inside and out with Lysol and put it to dry in the hot attic. That should get rid of the musty smell. But my favorite find was an Ansco B2 Cadet. Some will say it's just another box, but this one belonged to another photographer that took extremely good care of it. When you manipulate it, it's really obvious. The box is mint. The leather was waxed with shoe polish. He added a tripod mount. The job was so well done that you could almost swear it was original. Under the front plate lip, he even scribed the shutter speed! Just seeing the love and care that was put in this camera made my day. And with 3 cameras for 12$... I couldn't loose.

There's also another reason why church rummage sales are my favorite. When people ask me why I needed another camera, I can tell them that the money went to a good cause!

By the way, Polaroids usually go for less than 5$ (SX-70 usually a bit more) in my area. That's the rummage sale price.

And Becky, for those Topcon lenses... What a deal. I went through my paperwork I found that they need to be at 44.7mm from the film plane to focus at infinity. So, you can hack the mount to fit them on Leica and Canon screw mount, Alpa bayonet, Konica autoreflex, Rollei35, Voigtlander, Leica M, Canon FD and earlier, Minolta, Exacta, Ikarex BM and Miranda. Anything else will turn them into Macro lenses (like if an extension tube was used). So happy lens hacking!

[beck]

I'm still tingling from that find of mine...I didn't think no one believed me! That is no lye, I assure you. I haven't fooled around with those lenses yet and they'll probably stay in their sleeping bags for some time to come. That didn't sound right. I appreciate the tip, though, AO, and when I find a nice body, I'm sure I'll screw and mount it. Har har...