Combi Plan - where to purchase?

[Janko Belaj]

Well, it seams that "Combi Plan" might be what I'm looking for (from my previous (http://largeformatphotography.info/lfforum/topic/498859.html) question). But now, where to get one? I'm in Croatia, and we do not have any importer, so I have to buy it on-line. Any one know some good place (better than B&H) were I can buy it? Europe, USA?
Btw, that doesn't have to be HP Marketing Corp's tank... have nothing against them or their product, but if something else is cheaper or easier to buy... I have found Nova's system, but that is much bigger and probably several times more expensive... or do they also have a small system?

Tnx,
Janko.

[ramin]

Janko:

Take a look at this link: http://www.foto-mueller.at/shop/pi763122801_2.html?categoryId=163 I need to get one my self soon but i think Mullers price is still high. If you find a better price please let me know.

Cheers.

[Calamity Jane]

Got mine from Porter's. $88 and in stock to.

[Ted Harris]

Some of the prices have me confused as BH seems to sell it for $57.50. In Europe it is sold under several labels; NOVA and I know it used to be sold by Gepe (same parent as HP here I think).

[ramin]

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=23845&is=REG

Here you go Janko. $57 sounds good. You may want to ask them for the cheapest shipping possible.

[mark blackman]

Janko, there seems to be two types of people who've used the Combi Plan tank - those who like it and those who sell them on ebay. I'd try the latter before buying new.

[Barry Wilkinson]

They are available in the UK from Silverprint...

http://www.silverprint.co.uk/

You have to search for 'Combi'.

Barry

[Nature Photo]

I got mine from B&H. They seem to have the best price and have a well established reputation.

[Michael McBlane]

Calumet carries them.

[Gem Singer]

B&H sells the Combi Plan tank for the lowest price in the USA. They call it a "Combina" tank. That may be the source of the confusion. It's the identical tank to the Combi Plan tank. I wonder if B&H is forced to call them "Combina" because they import the tanks themselves and do not buy them directly from HP Marketing. Therefore, the lower price. (Bob?).

Calamity, sorry to be the one to inform you, but you paid $30 too much for your Combi Plan tank. Two days ago, Jim, at Midwest Photo Exchange, quoted a price to me of $175 for a set of three Combi Plan tanks.

[Bob Salomon]

The name of the tank is the Combi-Plan-T. Depending on who owned the tank it could have been the Krause Combi-Plan-T (the original model made in Germany be the inventor, Krause) or the Gepe Combi-Plan-T (Gepe bought the system from the invetor and moved the production to Sweden) or the HP Combi-Plan-T (we bought the system from Gepe and moved production to Newark, NJ originally and then back to the factory in Sweden.

Combina is the name of the developing tank system that the Combi-Plan T and L 4x5 tanks and the Combi-Plan 5x7 system were part of.

There were also 35mm and 120/220 single and multiple processing tanks with self-loading center feed reels (like stainless steel but far easier to load then any other type of metal or plastic reel).

We discontinued all of the systems except for the Combi-Plan-T 20 odd years ago and destroyed the tools to make any of the other versions.

All Combi-Plan or, as some still call them, Combina products are sold and billed, worldwide, through HP Marketing. North American dealers, including B&H as well as ditributors such as Daymen in Canada are shipped from our warehouse in Germany. All European distributors are dropped shipped from the factory. All Asian suppliers are shipped from the U.S.

There is no Grey market Combi-Plan product in the U.S. as the factory is part of the Gepe Group of companies which include HP Marketing Corp. and only ships to our authorized distributors in Europe, or their own dealers in Sweden. They do not ship to addresses in the U.S. Additionally production quantities are controlled by HP Marketing Corp.

[Gem Singer]

Thanks for your timely explaination, Bob.

I find it interesting that B&H and Midwest Photo can sell the Combi Plan tank for $58 and still make a profit. The full list (retail) price is $89. Calumet sells the tank for $75, and Porter sells it for $88.

I guess it depends on how much profit the dealer wants to make. It certainly pays for us consumers to shop around. Thanks to the internet, we can even shop internationally.

[Bob Salomon]

Our M.S.R.P. (list) is $83.00

[Janko Belaj]

tnx to everyone for help.
btw, for prices: there was one very high on ebay... AU $132.50, what is about US $92... isn't that a little bit too much for "used" stuff?! :-)) Well, I think I will tray B&H once again, last time they just didn't answer on my 3 days fax calls. Now they have e-mail, maybe they can read..?

[Gem Singer]

Bob,

B&H lists the MSRP at $89 when I clicked on "more information about the product", where the picture of the Combina Tank is shown on their website. Since your company is the manufacturer and supplier of the product, perhaps you should set them straight on the actual MSRP.

[Nick_3536]

Janko Ebay is an auction. People get auction fever or they don't know what something is worth or maybe they have other reasons. Then you've got stuff that slips by that nobody notices. With Ebay you take your chances. Some times you win some times you don't

[Janko Belaj]

Nick, I know what eBay is, have been shopping there for several years. Not much, just few lenses and some smaller cameras, probably just because prices know tho go up without any visible reason. And my post of price I have seen on eBay had to be just like "footnote", not a price recommendation... ;-))

[Carlos]

I agree, a few month ago I was bidding on Combi developer on Ebay and the action finish around $58. You can get the same thing from B&H, Adorama, etc for about $57. You have to check prices on new and used things, the problem with ebay is that you can not see the item before you buy it.

[europanorama]

The name of the tank is the Combi-Plan-T. Depending on who owned the tank it could have been the Krause Combi-Plan-T (the original model made in Germany be the inventor, Krause) or the Gepe Combi-Plan-T (Gepe bought the system from the invetor and moved the production to Sweden) or the HP Combi-Plan-T (we bought the system from Gepe and moved production to Newark, NJ originally and then back to the factory in Sweden.

Combina is the name of the developing tank system that the Combi-Plan T and L 4x5 tanks and the Combi-Plan 5x7 system were part of.

There were also 35mm and 120/220 single and multiple processing tanks with self-loading center feed reels (like stainless steel but far easier to load then any other type of metal or plastic reel).

We discontinued all of the systems except for the Combi-Plan-T 20 odd years ago and destroyed the tools to make any of the other versions.

All Combi-Plan or, as some still call them, Combina products are sold and billed, worldwide, through HP Marketing. North American dealers, including B&H as well as ditributors such as Daymen in Canada are shipped from our warehouse in Germany. All European distributors are dropped shipped from the factory. All Asian suppliers are shipped from the U.S.

There is no Grey market Combi-Plan product in the U.S. as the factory is part of the Gepe Group of companies which include HP Marketing Corp. and only ships to our authorized distributors in Europe, or their own dealers in Sweden. They do not ship to addresses in the U.S. Additionally production quantities are controlled by HP Marketing Corp.
Only totally silly people can destroy unique stuff.
optical data of Kern of Switzerland were destroyed too! Idiotic compatriots!
i have the 35/120/220-system for 1&2x 35mm/1x120/220-reels. see two- threads not by me in apug.org. with loader-reel-image

[Bob Salomon]

Only totally silly people can destroy unique stuff.
optical data of Kern of Switzerland were destroyed too! Idiotic compatriots!
i have the 35/120/220-system for 1&2x 35mm/1x120/220-reels. see two- threads not by me in apug.org. with loader-reel-image

Not sure what you are trying to say. In the case of the Combina system the tools wore out and making new tools for a diminishing market was too expensive to justify the costs involved. So the system was discontinued.

[Jac@stafford.net]

You can get the same thing from B&H, Adorama, etc for about $57.

Not any longer.

[Bob Salomon]

Not any longer.

He said that in 2004. But I wouldn't be surprised if there are still some new ones at larger, older dealer's stores.

[Kirk Gittings]

There is a brand new one on the Bay for a mere $340 :)

[Jac@stafford.net]

He said that in 2004.

:( How embarrassing!

[Bob Salomon]

There is a brand new one on the Bay for a mere $340 :)

Or best offer! But there is a mint one listed just below it for $15.00!

So everyone who might have one or who might buy this one, the two thin blue washers supplied with older tanks are to be thrown out and not used.
In the mid 80s we discontinued and stopped supplying the adapter plate to convert the Combi holder to hold up to 12 sheets of 23 film. The blue washers were spacers to change the spacing of the end plates to adapt the holder to accept 23 film. Without that discontinued adapter plate there is no way that the Combi film holder can hold 23 film in place. So, once we discovered that the factory in Sweden was still including those blue washers with the ranks, we had told them to stop including them. But this one on EBay still has them. If one of you does buy this tank throw out those washers!