DONATING 35mm Camera w/ 55/1.4 & 28/2.8

[pixmedic]

Ha Jason, helping people get on SLR for cheap is a nice thing to do, but I'm sure most people will hit a brick wall when they realize the prices on films and the cost to develop or even print/scan them. For regular folks, this may be fine. For people who like to keep shooting and shooting, the cost adds up VERY quickly.

so...are you suggesting I stop donating film equipment? I do have another brand new tele-zoom lens for digital cameras i plan to donate at some point but figured i would get some of the older stuff out of the way first. My donation threads haven't garnered much attention lately. I guess everyone is full up on gear.

 

[MK3Brent]

I'll take every film donation if that's the case.

Going out tonight to shoot some ilford 3200, can't beat it for 35mm!

 

[panblue]

Is the prism housing of the GAF split open on one side?

 

[pixmedic]

Is the prism housing of the GAF split open on one side?

nope. prism housing is intact. that "split" you are seeing is just a corner of the rubber overlay peeling up a little.

 

[BrianV]

There are posts on the film forum asking for advice on buying film cameras for classes. (PostScript: That student is getting a free Canon FTb w 50/1.8 AND a Hippie Strap) People, and students without a lot of experience or money- looking to spend money on cameras.

I've given away at least 15 SLR's, TLR's, and RF's in the past few years, and those receiving the cameras tried them out. Some students, some just out of interest in trying out the medium. They got working cameras rather than Ebay Junkers- and had more money to spend on film. Roll of film with processing, a lot less than a Pizza.

I think this is great. Hopefully some more students discover the classifieds here and post some "want to Buy, Don't have much money to spend".

 

[DannyLewis]

Ha Jason, helping people get on SLR for cheap is a nice thing to do, but I'm sure most people will hit a brick wall when they realize the prices on films and the cost to develop or even print/scan them. For regular folks, this may be fine. For people who like to keep shooting and shooting, the cost adds up VERY quickly.

so...are you suggesting I stop donating film equipment? I do have another brand new tele-zoom lens for digital cameras i plan to donate at some point but figured i would get some of the older stuff out of the way first. My donation threads haven't garnered much attention lately. I guess everyone is full up on gear.

Shooting film is still alive and well. And has it's benefit's. Out dated is not allways a bad thing. I still use my Pioneer home stereo I got from mowing yard's and saving allowance. I bought it in 1975

 

[nmasters]

I would be genuinely happy to receive this donation. I was recently given my step-dads old darkroom equipment and I've recently learned to develop my own B&W film thanks to youtube. Now i just need to learn the art of printing with an enlarger. I'm a huge fan of black and white photography, so I've started shooting with Tri-x, and ever since developing my first roll, I've been hooked!

 

[pixmedic]

ok...going to update this a little.
In the interest of full disclosure, I have been going over this camera a little more thoroughly today and I am not certain I am comfortable sending the camera to someone with the impression that it is in good working order. The lenses are all clean, and working properly, but when i put them on the camera, it looks....dirty through the viewfinder. specks of stuff, even hazy, darker than it should be. off camera, in light, i cant see anything in the lenses. no dust, no fungus, no haze...looks good. I am not 100% sure what i want to do about this yet, but I felt it best to post here that if you wanted this set to get into film photography, it might be a bust. I have been thinking about my options here and wanted to get some opinions, if some of you are willing to indulge.

#1 simply let the stuff go as-is and whoever gets it can hope for the best. its free stuff.
this is the most obvious and simplest answer, but i really don't like how it feels. these donations are done in good faith. faith that the people receiving the gear will use it in the manner we had intended, and faith that the gear we send is as we described it.

#2 Remove the camera and just donate the lenses.
another somewhat obvious choice. but then we are left with just throwing the camera away, and since i have very limited experience with these things, I have no way to tell if it is easily fixed or not. I would hate to toss a camera that just needs a CLA to work properly again. (assuming the CLA was even cost effective, which is doubtful in this case)

#3 send all the gear as planned, with any interested party's fully aware that the body is probably bad.
maybe a more practical choice? but with this option, it really comes down to people that are just interested in the lenses if the body probably isn't going to be salvageable, and more than likely tossed anyway, which just puts me back at option #2

#4 just scrap this donation, sell the lenses, and try again later.
maybe not the worst option of the bunch. not really in the spirit of my usual donations. I just don't want it going bad because i sent someone equipment that is broken. I have a reputation to maintain. maybe not a great one...but still, I like to think that our donations are regarded as a good thing here.

I think at this point in time, I would highly discourage anyone from asking for this stuff if you want it to start doing film. I think someone that has the ability to use the lenses on a body they already have and know is good is a better candidate. that way, if the body can be cleaned and works, great. if not, the lenses can still be used and don't get put up on ebay for sale, because if i wanted that, I could just do it myself and pocket some money.

My apologies for this mess, I really should have gone over everything with a much finer toothed comb than I did before I posted. our next donation is new in box so there shouldn't be any issues. hopefully this donation doesn't go too far south, and MAYBE even work out ok.

 

[rexbobcat]

Donation of the 55mm f/1.4 to me, maybe?

I use an m42 adapter for my 60D ad 1D to mount an SMC Takumar lens with a broken aperture.

 

[MK3Brent]

I'll take the whole setup and use it as is.

If you want to break it up though, that of course is up to you.

 

[pixmedic]

I'll take the whole setup and use it as is.

If you want to break it up though, that of course is up to you.

that's great, but what are your plans if the body winds up being totally unusable?

 

[ronlane]

Put me in the running for this give away. From what I've read, shooting film with an slr would only help me improve with my photography.

To answer your question about what would I do with it, if it were totally unusable, well it would look good as decoration and a subject of pictures or a prop for them.

 

[MK3Brent]

I'll take the whole setup and use it as is.

If you want to break it up though, that of course is up to you.

that's great, but what are your plans if the body winds up being totally unusable?

I've repaired range finder bodies before, and could try repairing this one.
Sometimes these older cameras have light leaks that create some interesting effects on the film.

If it's totally unusable, I could put the glass back up here for donation and you or I could decide who gets them next.

I'm open to anything.

 

[swoosh]

Awesome stuff yet again. Really liking the look of the camera too.

 

[pixmedic]

Put me in the running for this give away. From what I've read, shooting film with an slr would only help me improve with my photography.

To answer your question about what would I do with it, if it were totally unusable, well it would look good as decoration and a subject of pictures or a prop for them.

i was actually more concerned with what you would do with the lenses if the body was trashed. the lenses are actually in good working order.