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So, I'm contemplating the above camera for studio portrait work exclusively (duh).
But, have no idea what the fair market value is for something like this. It comes with a
Wollensak Betax No. 5 lens. : EQ. 12" 304.8mm F4.5.
It appears to be in good condition. I haven't inspected it yet in person.
What do you think? My guess is $400 - $600??
Eddie probably has already driven there and bought it. (humour)
I would think such a nice looking example if working perfectly with a velo 2 or Raptor lens would be more in the 1000 dollar + range. The lens is certainly afew hundred dollars and poor examles of this camera seem to be in the 400 dollar range.
I've bought them in the 400-600 range like you say. When they get to 1000 on Ebay, they can sit at that price for months.
A lot depends on the condition, included accessories, and lens. The Betax #5 is the shutter, so it's not clear which 12" lens is present. The size and difficulty shipping studio cameras makes them hard to sell--which keeps the prices down. If the lens and shutter are in good condition, that's maybe $175 for a plain jane 12" up to $400 for a Velo II w/ soft focus control. I'd offer $400 and see what happens--it's a buyer's market for studio cameras. I bought my 8A in very nice condition from someone in the Detroit area for $500 with half a Verito :). The seller was very happy with the price and so was I.
I just noticed that it comes with a Century Master Studio stand--which is also what I have. The Master studio stands came after the Semi-Centennial stands and are very nice indeed. There were a number of improvements including better wheels--larger and made of rubber, rather than the small felt wheels on the Semi-Centennial stands. At some point, I'm pretty sure the entire century studio product line was reduced to a single camera and stand (Century Master Studio camera/stand).
See here for some info, particularily the bellows draw.
http://www.betterphoto.com/reviews/r...iewItemID=8514
and here (for money)
http://www.newyorker.com/archive/198...ARDS_000336561
and here about 1/3 of the way down
http://graflex.org/GHQ/GHQ-16-1.pdf
Here's one for $200 with no takers, but it's painted:
200652512577