Advice on gear prices?

[Dan_5988]

Im currently looking for a tachihara 8x10 or similar camera...

I found one that comes in a bundle but im having trouble justifying the asking price-

tell me if my estimates for the worth of these used pieces of equipment is way off-

Tachihara- (new goes for 1400) so maybe 1100 used?
Caltar II-N 1:5.6 300mm - 400?
Bogen 3033 with 3047- 50 bucks?
tenuba carrying bag for tripod- 30 bucks?
tundra sea king 822 case- 50 bucks?
4 lisco film holders- 100 bucks
l398 sekonic- 150?

that comes to just under 1900...hes asking 2500
unless the lens is worth a lot more? I bought my 5.6 300mm schnieder for 400-

thanks

[Ted Harris]

Condition counts for a lot with lenses but IMO $400 for a Caltar IIN is not going to happen. The new price of this lens is now $1800 from Calumet. The #3 shutter alone sometimes sell for more than $300 in excellent used condition. I would expect the lens if it is in moint condition to go for at least 600 and maybe more ... but who knows what the market will say?

[Frank Petronio]

Hate to disagree, but if you are patient and quick on eBay, you can find a decent modern 300/5.6 for around $400. The key word is patience, and looking for odd auctions that end at 3am... I did it last year - got a 300mm Sinaron no less.

I wouldn't pay more than $1500 for that package myself, because as soon as a seller tries to package all their old junk, the ancillary items like the tripod, meter, and case become essentially worthless, especially because they are probably not the best items you would buy for the job.

Watch out buying 8x10 holders - modern plastic ones are expensive on eBay - if you can handle the older wooden ones they are a bargain and probably just as good (and lighter to boot).

Prices are pretty low these days, although wooden field cameras and smaller field lenses are the most popular.

[Michael Jones]

Call Jim @ MidWest Photo. He has several 8x10 cameras, at least 1 Tachihara, that are not listed on the web site. But wait until a week from Friday: he's in Japan right now. Good luck.

[Aaron van de Sande]

'packages' generally go for much less than the sum of it's parts (unless you have things that people really need like undrilled lensboard or good filmholders). You are doing the guy a favor by taking alot of this stuff which you won't need off of his hands. It doesn't sound like you even need the Caltar for instance. You will have to dump it on ebay. What's your time worth?

[dan_6130]

I see

I greatly under-estimated the value of the lens-

I only guessed that because I bought a mint schieder f5.6 300mm for 400 recently from igors camera exchange.

the market for 8x10 stuff is amazingly screwed up. Only 3 months ago, I saw many mediocre deardorffs were going for as much as 1400, now good ones are going for 600? Film holders are still pricey though. (grrr)

Strange.