Biggest "steal" you ever made...

[Greg Blank]

I have a working ATL 3 which was given to me for the cost of hauling it away, as the result I may have become one of the last trained Jobo technicians in the US. It's like a fever once you get one, you have to know exactly how they work

[kpphoto]

I have had a few steals over time but recently searched through my local Craigslist (Toronto) for enlargers and picked up a DeVere 810 wall mount with the colour head and all necessary timer/voltage reg/power supply/810 carrier and insert....for $250. All in working condition but quite filthy inside the head. Those fans do suck up more than fresh cool air. I think a filter should be standard on these intake fans...like the Durst CLS heads have.

[kpphoto]

I almost forgot about my Linhof 8x10 Bi with an additional 5x7 standard for $350. It was missing the rail and clamp but I pick them up for around $100. Bellows needed repairing but that was the cost of some contact cement and Mars black acrylic artists paint. This was the lonnng bellows.
Then I found a 5x7 back to fit it for $50 incl shipping from Germany. Now I just need the 5x7 bellows. I found one, $17, again from Germany, but it never arrived?!?

[kpphoto]

Durst 184 -wall mounted with Pavell 403 head and electronics $200
DURST 184 carrier - Nega 205 - refurbished - $53
El Nikkor 240mm on a Vapla board -mint- $175

[Vascilli]

I narrowly missed a Contax G1 with 45mm and 90mm lenses for $100. Tiny format, but I would've liked to have a pocket camera for once.

[patrickjames]

Last week I picked up a Saunders/LPL 4550XL with all of the neg carriers and everything else I needed along with some related items, like a Rototrim paper cutter and a Luna Pro meter, for $200. It had never been used.

[engl]

I have yet to make something that would qualify as a total steal, but I'm pretty happy with picking up a multicoated Fujinon A240/9 for 190$ in Tokyo yesterday. A convertible Symmar 135mm for 40$ got to be the donor of a nice Copal 0 shutter, I even noticed that the extra aperture scale happens to be perfectly accurate for the A240 (since the Symmar converts to 235/12).

So in all 230$ for a A-240/9 EBC in great condition and a convertible Symmar 135/5.6 with ugly glass and a shutter that acts up on 1s and 1/2s, both on Linhof boards I can use.

[Rick A]

A Calumet cc-400 w/150 Caltar S, film holders, case, and other extras, for a handfull of old 35mm M-42 cameras and junk lenses.

[Erik Larsen]

I traded a huge process camera that was given to me that came with a 19" RDA for an 11x14 camera. I sold the lens and came out a couple hundred ahead. Both parties were happy. A couple free dry mount presses, sink, timers and other assorted darkroom goodies picked up along the way. My best purchase I guess would be a 240mm rodagon for 30 bucks. I've been lucky sometimes, but I have also over payed many times on things that I just flat out thought I couldn't live without
Regards
Erik

[Greg Y]

4 3/8" Dagor in a working Rapax shutter on the *bay for $100. It's an absolute charm on the 5x7....if you took the cells out of the shutter and put them in your pocket they'd get lost w/ the spare change. It's a gem!