Would you buy this camera

[timing]

Yesterday I was mooching around some antique shops in Istanbul and at the back of one found 2 old studio cameras. The one that took my eye was clearly the older of the two, complete with stand.

I could not find any plate on the camera which told me its identity but it looked very much like the one in the picture below (camera and stand). The lens was a Dallmeyer 2D in what looks to be in good condition with 1 waterhouse stop and also a very battered lens cap. The gear which ratchets the lens back and forth was missing but that's no bother.

Condition wise, the camera clearly needs work. The bellows will need to be replaced and the wood work stripped and treated (wood worm).

Asking price? 250 Turkish Lira which I guess is around $140ish. As that was the guys first price I think I can knock that down.

So, would you go for it? I have to recognise that I have never reconditioned anything in my life before so the camera restoration might well be beyond me - but I'm up for doing it. But I think even the lens is worth more than 140 bucks.

Oh, the camera was like this one:



a picture on found on the vintage-cameras.com website.

[IanG]

For Turkey that's cheap. Usually cameras like this sell for considerably more than the UK or US, sometimes 3 or 4 tomes the price.

I found an antique shop near Cesme (Aegean cost near Izmir) with 3 or 4 large LF cameras and all were over $1000, in fact the prices was quoted in dollars.

Many of the vintage LF cameras I've seen in Turkey were made in Germany, for many years there were close ties between the two countries.

Where is the antique shop ? I'm not back for 2 weeks so I'm not going to go and try beat you too this one we haven't room in the apartment for it anyway.

Ian

[goamules]

Look at it this way. Worse case, in a good market if the rig looks like the picture, the stand is worth $200, the lens $200, and the camera $200. I say "worse case" because no one wants to pay shipping on large studio cameras, so their prices are often low. The lens could be worth more, if it's in good shape, but you say parts are missing....

If you want to shoot it, that may be another problem. Building or buying a bellows is expensive, and finding the right holder/back can be also. When you are done you may have double or triple your buying price in the camera. If it were me and I had a truck to move it to where I lived, I'd buy it.

[Ari]

I almost bought something like this in Hungary this past summer. It was more expensive than yours, at $400. What stopped me was that I would have to find a buyer who would come and pick it up, as shipping it would be prohibitively expensive.
But if you're going to use it, or at least just keep it around, it's a worthwhile expense.

[timing]

Thanks for the comments - it's been on my mind all day and I think I'll go for it.

Ian, the shop is between Taksim and Tophane.

I'm also keen to try the lens on the speed graphic and see what it can do. There's nothing missing that would stop me using it.

If I get it then I'll post some pictures.

[IanG]

Thanks Tim, I was in that area about 6 weeks ago as it's not far from the Museum of Modern Art. I;ll go looking next time I'm there.

As others have said the lens alone is worth far more than the asking price, it's a real bargain,and there are people who can make the missing parts quite easily.

Ian

[Felix Ackermann]

i remember a photograph in a blog, i visit from time to time with astonished / amused / sometime disgusted fascination, showing a "stylish" appartment (architect? designer? i don't remember...) decorated with an old studio camera like the one you posted!

So you could always go for it, experiment with the lens on another camera and trade the studio camera as a trendy accessoire!

[dsphotog]

Go get it! The time to get things like that is when you find them.
You may not get another chance.
Hurry!!

[Steven Tribe]

The usual range of prices on old studio camera sets in antique shops are horrible!
When in Mallorca, there is an upclass shop I always seem to drive past in a roundabout by Pollenca. It has a very poor studio camera and the price is so out of this world that I don't remember it! It has been for sale for a very long time as it was still marked with the old Psetas price as well.

The illustration is of a very sensible type, like the Herbst & Firl's Studio Globus. Price is very attractive - transport less so!

[timing]

Ah, it's probably time to point out that I'm living in Istanbul so transport involves me pulling my finger out and driving over and picking this thing up. Something tells me that the guys might not deliver.

Time also to update my profile!

Tim