Could used LF gear be an OK investment?

[pmazolo]

Thanks all for commenting!

It seems some of you find the word "investment" so bad in relation to photography you did not read the post, only the title? Didnt realise the topic was "hot"...;-)

I am not going for LF gear as an investment, to try to guess trends and make money (but if someone does I have no problem with that either). The question was if I am likely to loose a lot of money by buying some LF gear now that I want, but that I cant really motivate that I REALLY need now.

The idea was: why not get that extra lens and have some fun with it now, sell it in 1-5 years and not be much worse off then having had the money in the bank.

/PM

[Alan Davenport]

The correct answer is: why not buy the extra lens NOW, and the devil with whether you make a profit or even break even in five years. Everything in life need not be driven by some bottom line...

[John Kasaian]

If you don't need it now, its quite likely that you probably won't need it ever. To buy things because you think you might possibly need it in the future ties up money for things you will need now. Why buy a long lens you have no need for now when tomorrow you might have a very real need for a wide (or long) lens? The more cr@p you have laying arond unused the more complicated life becomes. Believe me--I could be the poster boy for this dilemma! Hey you want a Kodak Precision "A" enlarger? I'll make you such a deal!

[Ole Tjugen]

I have a big stack of obsolete computer gear, but none of my camera gear is obsolete. Some of it may well be over a century old, but it's still as good as the day it was made.

Buying second-hand LF gear is "fairly safe": Judging by the prices over the last few years the price is not going down, and some things are selling for increasing prices ("Galli lenses" and Angulons).

I don't expect to lose money on any of my cameras either, with the possible exception of the Russian 30x40cm monstrosity...

[Nick_3536]

With the the number of things getting harder to find I have to admit buying things I DON'T need right now. Too often things I have needed have at best soared in price or worse no longer been sold by anybody. I wish I'd bought a few new 5x7 holders when they were still being made. I got a fairly reasonable deal on some newish 4x5 holders. Do I need five more holders? Nope OTOH when I do need them who knows how hard they'll be too find.

I'm not paying high prices for anything but I am keeping an eye out for good deals. I expect to use all the stuff in the future.

[erie patsellis]

Ole,
we really do need to figure out a cost effective way to ship that thing over here...


erie

[Hugo Zhang]

The answer is YES if only few people agree with you here. NO if most people agree with you. In that case, LF gears will be overbid, overbought and overowned.

On the other hand, if you live in USA, it will probably an OK investment because the dollar and houses are going down for the next few years and you can enjoy your old lenses and sell them to the Chinese for a profit a few years later.

[windpointphoto]

Not when Lenny "Buy high, sell low" Peterson is involved.

[vijayn]

First of all, by definition, an investment is supposed to yield a return; even if you do not sell it. Thus, when a professional photographer buys a camera that he uses to earn money, his purchase is an investment. Buying something with the intention that you will sell it for a higher price to someone else is not investment. By definition, that is speculation.

Therefore based on what you say, you are asking whether it is OK to speculate that prices of something (LF gear in this case) will appreciate faster than inflation so that you can make a real, inflation adjusted profit in the future by selling it. Unfortunately for you, if this is your question, then the answer is no. First of all, with a US and possible global recession or even depression looming, it seems unlikely that there will be an LF equipment bubble soon, if ever. LF - or at least true LF equipment only has meaning with film (you don't need 500mm coverage with digital sensors); and film will be mostly dead as soon as there is a short squeeze on silver. If you read about the silver industry, you will realize that above ground stockpiles of silver are at their lowest, ever. This means that silver will become more expensive as time goes by, meaning more unused film equipment in the market, which means lower prices for it.

Not to give any investment advice, but if I had to speculate about anything, it would be on silver and uranium, not LF equipment. Like houses, you can love LF equipment, collect it, wallow in it, ogle it, or use it; but recognize that it requires cash inflow to maintain, therefore it is a liability, not an asset or an investment.

[Joseph O'Neil]

You can't hardly give away enlargers & dry mount presses right now. If I had a warehouse I'd stash all the Seals, D-2s and Beseler 45s that are being given away on Craig's List for a few years.

I am amazed that in my little city (about 350,000 people), 4x5 or any LF enlarger will get snapped up very quickly at the one local camera store that sill carries darkroom supplies. A couple of really nice colour head Omegas from the local university sold that showed up about 4-5 months ago, within 2 weeks of sitting on the shelf, sold - and with local sales taxes (14% here in Ontario) the total price would of been near $1,000 each (Cdn $$$).

Now they did have one lens each and power supply and very good condition.

However, by direct comparison, I do see excellent condition 35mm and 120 format only enlargers collect dust, dust, and more dust. Just this past week, an excellent condition 35mm & 120 format Omega, with colour head, power supply, carriers, and one lens (nikkor - 50mm) at a price of $50 (Cdn. $$$) has been advertised locally for almost the whole month of August now, with no takers.


It's a paradox right now to be sure. I too see great deals and giveaways, such as the DeVere 504 in Toronto I picked up last year for $50 Cdn. Sure needed a good cleaning and some small repairs, but I love the thing.

So I am with you - grab all the 4x5 enlargers you can, stash them, because of all enlargers, I think there's a future in anything LF.

joe