Cheap film cameras in Tokyo

[bakubo]

Today I was meeting an old friend at Shinjuku and since I was early I stopped at a small, old used camera shop that I have checked out for the last 20 years. Although the Leica and Hasselblad stuff is pretty expensive lots of other film cameras were amazingly cheap. I'm sure that is no surprise to many, but I haven't paid much attention to film cameras for a few years. They had what looked to be an excellent condition Bronica ETRs with prism finder, 75mm f2.8, and handgrip for 14,000 yen (about $150 at the current weak dollar exchange rate). They had two Mamiya C330 TLRs, one with the 80mm f2.8 and another with a 105mm f3.5 and the prices were something like 20,000 yen, I think. A Pentax 67 with 105mm f2.4 for something like 24,000 yen (I think). Of course, lots of other stuff, but I wasn't making notes.

Not too many years ago I had thought about getting a Pentax 67 or some other MF gear. Of course, in those days it cost a lot and the lenses were expensive too.

[pakodominguez]

I just got a Rollei B35 on eBay for 75 US$.
I paid the same for an Olympus XA 5 years ago -now the XA sells for half that price...

I'm keeping my manual Minolta system just in case Seagull (with the help of Sony...) bring a X700-D camera.

[David Kilpatrick]

It's worth looking at the film body prices for Minolta used AF at Ffordes for example - only one camera makes into three figures, the Dynax 7 (and that is peculiarly overpriced - about three times the nearest other contender!). No 9s there of course.

David

[bakubo]

I paid the same for an Olympus XA 5 years ago -now the XA sells for half that price...

I bought an Olympus XA in 1981. It had the little side screw on flash and was in a little black plastic box. I think I paid $200 for it. It was a nice little camera and I used it quite a bit. The last time I put a roll of film through it I loaded it with B&W in 1997 and recall walking around Shinjuku taking photos with it.

I'm keeping my manual Minolta system just in case Seagull (with the help of Sony...) bring a X700-D camera.

Yeah, that's a good idea. Seagull or someone may just do that someday.