Should I Buy All This Stuff?!?!

[sm4him]

I've been watching my local Craigslist for a few things I want to get. This morning, I saw THIS Ad for a huge lot of camera gear.
I am meeting the guy around 6 pm today to look it over and see if I want to make an offer. He's willing to sell ALL of it (but NO idea how much he's gonna be willing to take for the whole lot) or just some of it.

I want to look at it for TWO reasons:
1. To see if there's anything I can use on my existing equipment
2. I may buy a big lot of it if it looks like stuff I could then resell piece by piece and make something off of. I *think* he just wants shed of it, so I'm hoping he'll be willing to sell it on the cheap just to get rid of a lot of it.

I know you can't tell all that much from the photos, but here's the opinions I'm looking for:

1. If you CAN tell anything about any of the gear from the photos and see anything that is especially worth looking at, let me know.
2. LENSES: What should I look for, condition wise, over all? I know to check lenses for mold, but what else should I check them for? I'll have one of my Nikon DSLRs and one of my Nikon SLRs with me, as well as my Pentax K1000. But I don't have a Canon body or other brands--so, should I just stay away from anything I can't actually test on a camera body?
3. BODIES: Anything specific I should check to make sure it doesn't have a big problem? With SLRs, I won't have any film in them to really test them--plus, with that much equipment, it would take until midnight to test everything!
4. This stuff has been stored in a self-storage unit (which makes me think he may not even be the owner; he may have gotten them at a self-storage auction). That worries me a little, mostly because it could mean they were subjected to a good bit of heat and then cold for who knows how long--would that concern any of you enough to just walk away from the whole lot?
5. Anything else I need to consider when I look at this stuff?

 

[runnah]

With the film cameras light leak would be a concern but even without film the mechanical parts should work just fine.

I'd say 50% of that lot would end up in the trash, 30% on a shelf to look pretty and maybe 20% would be useable.

It's hard to say which lenses would work but I would say most would require and adapter and maybe 1 or 2 would fit without.

 

[PWhite214]

There may be some usefull items in the pile. I have used my phone to check prices at KEH and EBAY when looking at that sort of thing.

Remember that listing items on EBAY can be a pain. Then all the fees, packing and shipping add up. Doesn't mean you can't make a few bucks, but think how much time it takes to list everything.

Worth a look though.

Phil

 

[sm4him]

With the film cameras light leak would be a concern but even without film the mechanical parts should work just fine.

I'd say 50% of that lot would end up in the trash, 30% on a shelf to look pretty and maybe 20% would be useable.

It's hard to say which lenses would work but I would say most would require and adapter and maybe 1 or 2 would fit without.

Just to clarify: Are you saying that you think most of the lenses would require an adapter to be used with ANY brand of DSLR, or just to be used with a Nikon camera?
I guess I'm hoping that some of the lenses will be good quality lenses that would be worth someone getting an adapter for (or reselling to someone who still uses film).

 

[sm4him]

There may be some usefull items in the pile. I have used my phone to check prices at KEH and EBAY when looking at that sort of thing.

Remember that listing items on EBAY can be a pain. Then all the fees, packing and shipping add up. Doesn't mean you can't make a few bucks, but think how much time it takes to list everything.

Worth a look though.

Phil

Yeah, but I've done it before, and it CAN be a decent way to make a few bucks. I wouldn't be in a big rush to recoup my money either, so I could take my time and list a few things at a time.
The fact that it can be a bit of a pain to sell big lots like this piece by piece IS the reason most people don't bother. But that's also partly why it interests me--because I AM willing to do the work, if I can get the initial lot for cheap enough to make it worthwhile in the end.

Checking some of the equipment on my phone is a good idea.

 

[runnah]

Just to clarify: Are you saying that you think most of the lenses would require an adapter to be used with ANY brand of DSLR, or just to be used with a Nikon camera?
I guess I'm hoping that some of the lenses will be good quality lenses that would be worth someone getting an adapter for (or reselling to someone who still uses film).

As long as the lenses are f-mounts they should fit. You won't be able to do anything like auto focus and auto aperture.

 

[tirediron]

If you could get the lot for $50 - sure, why not? Otherwise, I see a lot of junk, with a few potential diamonds-in-the-rough.

 

[Derrel]

I see a good deal of junk also...MOST of the lenses appear to be 1970's third-party stuff...Asanuma, Quantaray, Focal (K-mart's brand), and so on zooms...$7-$12 type pawn shop dust-collector type lenses with in Canon and Minolta's case, a "dead" lensmount with almost zero modern day resale. Pentax and Nikon F mount has some resale these days simply because there are still cameras being made in K- and F-mount; of course, Pentax has like 2.3% of the d-slr market so...

There are three light meters I think...one might work...or not. $100-$150 would be my top offer. I see nothing that was ever high-end. Of course, there **might be** a gem or two in there...the pics are low-rez and distant,and I just CLICKED THRU EACH ONE...oops, CAPS LOCK!

 

[runnah]

I see a good deal of junk also...MOST of the lenses appear to be 1970's third-party stuff...Asanuma, Quantaray, Focal (K-mart's brand), and so on zooms...$7-$12 type pawn shop dust-collector type lenses with in Canon and Minolta's case, a "dead" lensmount with almost zero modern day resale. Pentax and Nikon F mount has some resale these days simply because there are still cameras being made in K- and F-mount; of course, Pentax has like 2.3% of the d-slr market so...

There are three light meters I think...one might work...or not. $100-$150 would be my top offer. I see nothing that was ever high-end. Of course, there **might be** a gem or two in there...the pics are low-rez and distant,and I just CLICKED THRU EACH ONE...oops, CAPS LOCK!

I bet the seller think's he/she is sitting on a gold mine.

"ooo look it's old so it must be worth a fortune."

 

[The_Traveler]

I would doubt that you could make enough money on selling these bits and pieces to make the effort worthwhile.

 

[sm4him]

If you could get the lot for $50 - sure, why not? Otherwise, I see a lot of junk, with a few potential diamonds-in-the-rough.

I see a good deal of junk also...MOST of the lenses appear to be 1970's third-party stuff...Asanuma, Quantaray, Focal (K-mart's brand), and so on zooms...$7-$12 type pawn shop dust-collector type lenses with in Canon and Minolta's case, a "dead" lensmount with almost zero modern day resale. Pentax and Nikon F mount has some resale these days simply because there are still cameras being made in K- and F-mount; of course, Pentax has like 2.3% of the d-slr market so...

There are three light meters I think...one might work...or not. $100-$150 would be my top offer. I see nothing that was ever high-end. Of course, there **might be** a gem or two in there...the pics are low-rez and distant,and I just CLICKED THRU EACH ONE...oops, CAPS LOCK!

Oh, good! I was hoping you two would chime in and might be able to make good guesses about what some of that stuff actually is! Between my vision and a lack of extensive knowledge about different brands, etc. I found it impossible to tell from the pictures whether most of that stuff was cheap third-party stuff or nicer brand-name.
This gives me a much better idea of a ballpark area to start bargaining with and good information with which to help the seller understand that he is NOT sitting on $1000 worth of camera gear here.

Derrel: How would I tell if a lens is a K-mount? I'd be interested in those anyway, for my Pentax K-1000, but I wouldn't want to have to try every single lens there just to see if it fits. Do they SAY K-mount on them somewhere?

Also, what would I look for to see if the light meters might actually work?

Unless I see more brand-name stuff than what ya'll are seeing in the pics, I'll likely offer him $50-75 for the lot and maybe end up as high as $100. It'd be worth that just to play around with some of it.

 

[Derrel]

I bet the seller think's he/she is sitting on a gold mine.

"ooo look it's old so it must be worth a fortune."

I agree a hundred times over with that! LOL...at "one time"...when Carrie Fisher was still in Star Wars movies, and Ronald Reagan was president...some of this stuff was worth $50-$125...but today...the stuff is the kind of gear sold by the Rubbermaid tub and bin in big lots...it's absolutely SHOCKING how low film cameras and lenses have gone.

I stopped by a pawn shop on McLoughlin Blvd a two summers ago, and asked if I could go through a locked cabinet FILLED, and I mean FILLED with old 35mm cameras and lenses...I told the guy, "I can see this stuff's not selling at all. How would you like to sell $100 worth of this junk today?" I told him I would make REALISTIC offers on anything I found...but it was all crap...the ONLY thing I found that I even remotely wanted was an Olympus 28mm f/2.8 OM mount lens, and he had it at priced at $119...I told him I'd give him two twenty dollar bills for it...he accepted.

He had a BUNCH of old 35mms...Minolta,Canon, Nikon,Pentax...but the market for 35mm SLRs and basic lenses has utterly COLLAPSED...the cameras just do NOT move out of the stores that bought them. The above collection sm4him is going to check out has a ton of stuff like 70-210mm f/3.8~4.5 Quantaray zooms and 35-70mm f/3.5~4.5 Focal and so on...as well as a Vivitar 285 flash missing the vari-power module: now THAT is likely a 'keeper', but it needs to have the Vari-Power module.

I suppose if there are some F-mount zooms, a fair price might be $7 to $12 per lens. sm4him might also consider that this collection might be had for say, five cases of beer, or maybe four min-kegs of Heiniken beer...

Oh, while I was typing you waz posting! Lens mount checking: a camera works; if it fits, that's what it is! ALSO, a rear lens cap is my "checker" for boxes of pawnshop junk: if a rear lens cap fits PROPERLY and snugly, then THAT is what the lens is. This is helpful. Nikon stuff of that era has "the buckhorns", and maybe an Ai-ridge and a secondary aperture scale if it's Ai-era or newer.
But the rear lens caps and a quick TEST-FIT is the easiest way to run thru a bunch of old lenses in a box or tub.

 

[sm4him]

I would doubt that you could make enough money on selling these bits and pieces to make the effort worthwhile.

Thanks; I'm glad some of you more experienced with different equipment have looked at this. It gives me a much better idea of whether I should bother or not. I think I'll amend my original goal--I'll not count on being able to resell ANY of it, so unless I can get it for a price that makes it worth just playing around with some of it, I'll pass.
Or, if I find a couple of decent lenses that would work on my Nikon or Pentax bodies, I might make an offer on just those pieces.

 

[runnah]

I bet the seller think's he/she is sitting on a gold mine.

"ooo look it's old so it must be worth a fortune."

I agree a hundred times over with that! LOL...at "one time"...when Carrie Fisher was still in Star Wars movies, and Ronald Reagan was president...some of this stuff was worth $50-$125...but today...the stuff is the kind of gear sold by the Rubbermaid tub and bin in big lots...it's absolutely SHOCKING how low film cameras and lenses have gone.

I stopped by a pawn shop on McLoughlin Blvd a two summers ago, and asked if I could go through a locked cabinet FILLED, and I mean FILLED with old 35mm cameras and lenses...I told the guy, "I can see this stuff's not selling at all. How would you like to sell $100 worth of this junk today?" I told him I would make REALISTIC offers on anything I found...but it was all crap...the ONLY thing I found that I even remotely wanted was an Olympus 28mm f/2.8 OM mount lens, and he had it at priced at $119...I told him I'd give him two twenty dollar bills for it...he accepted.

He had a BUNCH of old 35mms...Minolta,Canon, Nikon,Pentax...but the market for 35mm SLRs and basic lenses has utterly COLLAPSED...the cameras just do NOT move out of the stores that bought them. The above collection sm4him is going to check out has a ton of stuff like 70-210mm f/3.8~4.5 Quantaray zooms and 35-70mm f/3.5~4.5 Focal and so on...as well as a Vivitar 285 flash missing the vari-power module: now THAT is likely a 'keeper', but it needs to have the Vari-Power module.

I suppose if there are some F-mount zooms, a fair price might be $7 to $12 per lens. sm4him might also consider that this collection might be had for say, five cases of beer, or maybe four min-kegs of Heiniken beer...

Oh, while I was typing you waz posting! Lens mount checking: a camera works; if it fits, that's what it is! ALSO, a rear lens cap is my "checker" for boxes of pawnshop junk: if a rear lens cap fits PROPERLY and snugly, then THAT is what the lens is. This is helpful. Nikon stuff of that era has "the buckhorns", and maybe an Ai-ridge and a secondary aperture scale if it's Ai-era or newer.
But the rear lens caps and a quick TEST-FIT is the easiest way to run thru a bunch of old lenses in a box or tub.

Any flea market/antique shop I go to always has "the camera corner". All with inflated prices.

Good tip about the rear lens cap test, so simple.

 

[sm4him]

Yes, VERY good tip about the rear lens cap, I'd never have thought of that! Might at least be a good way to narrow down the ones to even bother to actually try to fit on the camera!

I suspect you are all right on, that he's going to think he has something worth a LOT more than I'm going to be willing to pay. I'm just hoping that there ARE a few "jewels" in there!
My guess is he's not going to be willing to sell it for what I'll offer. But who knows, maybe in a week or two, when he realizes nobody else wants it either, he'll change his mind. We shall see. I'll let you all know whether I end up buying it.

If I were REALLY lucky, there'd be a couple of nice filters in there. But judging from what some of you are seeing with the lenses, I'm not hopeful any of the filters are going to be brand-name.