I wish I had $650 for a Rolleiflex!

WhaleDaughter

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There is a Rolleiflex 3.5f model 3 at an antique shop about an hour away from here for $650. I want to add a Rollieflex to my collection because I think they are gorgeous! (And because of other excellent qualities). But this would literally wipe out my entire savings account :-(.

Rolleiflex 3.5f 2285507 model 3

If anyone else is interested I'd play gopher for a small fee to cover gas.


"Rule 408: Time is not the boss of you"
 
Keep looking. There is a HUGE amount of this stuff out there. Something I've learned about buying used gear (which I do a LOT!); if you miss the deal today, another one will be along shortly.
 
I don't know Rolleis well enough to know pricing - try sites like this one.
Antique and Classic Cameras

In my area antique shops tend to overprice somewhat on cameras but this listing sounds like offers would be considered so maybe it's a possibility for someone. Not for me, I just paid property tax so no cool cameras for me for awhile! I'm just going to look at the pretty pictures and drool on my keyboard.
 
I don't know Rolleis well enough to know pricing - try sites like this one.
Antique and Classic Cameras

In my area antique shops tend to overprice somewhat on cameras but this listing sounds like offers would be considered so maybe it's a possibility for someone. Not for me, I just paid property tax so no cool cameras for me for awhile! I'm just going to look at the pretty pictures and drool on my keyboard.

Sadly I doubt they'd come down to my grad student with crummy retail job budget limitations. Or be willing to barter for an intricate hand knit lace shawl. So for now I'll just keep Rolleiflex on my "someday I'll have a real job" wishlist.


"Rule 408: Time is not the boss of you"
 
Keep looking. There is a HUGE amount of this stuff out there. Something I've learned about buying used gear (which I do a LOT!); if you miss the deal today, another one will be along shortly.

I keep going to garage sales hoping to get really, really lucky. I found a $600 Ralph Lauren sweater at a garage sale for $8, so anything is possible.


"Rule 408: Time is not the boss of you"
 
Ah, you do not really need a Rolleiflex, if you are just looking for a good TLR ... there are others that are not so jacked up in price ... unless you are just collecting the name, then that is different.
 
Maybe settle for a Rolleicord, with knob-wind instead of the lever crank advance? Or a clean Yashica 124-G? Or a Mamiya C330 or C220? Or maybe even a made in China Seagull TLR? I know, I know, none have the panache of the genuine Rolleiflex. But all are TLR cameras, if that means anything to you.
 
You could always get creative. You're a grad student, that means a degree. What the major? Offer to swap some talent/labor.
 
I wouldn't buy a vintage camera from an antique shop unless it was either guaranteed to function perfectly (which it won't be) or was dirt cheap. I know and regularly deal with many antique dealers and they price cameras by simply looking them up on eBay with no regard as to their condition.
 
You could always get creative. You're a grad student, that means a degree. What the major? Offer to swap some talent/labor.

The degree is environmental sciences and my research focus is communication of socially controversial science topics in museums and science centers. Unless it's a very diverse shop with museum quality exhibits that need evaluating, I'm not sure I've got a bargainable skill set.


"Rule 408: Time is not the boss of you"
 
I wouldn't buy a vintage camera from an antique shop unless it was either guaranteed to function perfectly (which it won't be) or was dirt cheap. I know and regularly deal with many antique dealers and they price cameras by simply looking them up on eBay with no regard as to their condition.

Yeah. I'm willing to gamble on a $5-$10 garage sale camera, but something like this I'd want checked out first.

There's an "antiques" store in the south part of my city that had a Kodak Brownie Hawkeye for sale priced at, I kid you not, $120. They don't know, and they count on the buyer no knowing, either.


"Rule 408: Time is not the boss of you"
 
Keep looking. There is a HUGE amount of this stuff out there. Something I've learned about buying used gear (which I do a LOT!); if you miss the deal today, another one will be along shortly.

I keep going to garage sales hoping to get really, really lucky. I found a $600 Ralph Lauren sweater at a garage sale for $8, so anything is possible.


"Rule 408: Time is not the boss of you"

If you're willing to tinker a bit, then definitely keep looking at garage sales and "antique" stores (the ones that could also accurately be called "junk shops".) My boyfriend got his Rolleiflex for $25. Granted, it needed some cleaning and it's not the prettiest example of a Rolleiflex that you've ever seen, but throw some Ektar into it with its uncoated lens, and you will not care what the camera looks like cosmetically. Rolleiflex Standard | Filmosaur
 
Maybe settle for a Rolleicord, with knob-wind instead of the lever crank advance? Or a clean Yashica 124-G? Or a Mamiya C330 or C220? Or maybe even a made in China Seagull TLR? I know, I know, none have the panache of the genuine Rolleiflex. But all are TLR cameras, if that means anything to you.

Didn't Kodak make a TRL Brownie? That would go well with my existing Brownie collection.

But I do have a serious love of vintage Voigtländer.

Edit: Yes, Kodak has a "TRL". It's called the Reflex, and I own one. I bought it for $5 at a thrift store in Oregon, I completely dismantled, cleaned, and reassembled it. I even photographed the process. I did not remember because I have it seen it for a year, I left it with most of the rest of my belongings in a storage unit in Oregon. Also, I may have a mild case of dumb tonight.


"Rule 408: Time is not the boss of you"
 
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I live in Oregon. I will keep an eye out for your old Kodak! But seriously, Kodak made an oldie called the Duoflex, a fixed focus twin lens snapshot- level camera back in the 1950's. I had one as a kid. Not a good shooter.

The decade of the 1950's saw an explosive growth in TLR models coming out of Japan, most from small cottage industry makers. Many were low-cost cameras.
 
I live in Oregon. I will keep an eye out for your old Kodak! But seriously, Kodak made an oldie called the Duoflex, a fixed focus twin lens snapshot- level camera back in the 1950's. I had one as a kid. Not a good shooter.

The decade of the 1950's saw an explosive growth in TLR models coming out of Japan, most from small cottage industry makers. Many were low-cost cameras.

I have a Brownie Duaflex IV as well, purchased for another $5 at the same thrift store! When I took that one apart for cleaning I foolishly took apart the shutter release mechanism. The nanosecond the cover came off the whole thing sprang apart and it took me the better part of an hour to figure out how it went back together. Gotta love a Brownie, marvels of the simplicity of engineering.

Gah, I want my stuff back! I also have a Hawkeye that belonged to one or the other of my parents, including flash and flash bulbs. All my things are probably covered in mildew after wintering in a storage unit. This Texas stint was supposed to be decidedly shorter than it has ended up (I moved down a year ago this week).

The magical Brownie thrift store is in Corvallis...


"Rule 408: Time is not the boss of you"
 

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