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View Full Version : Phillips Cameras on EBay



r.e.
16-Jan-2012, 16:06
Someone pointed out to me yesterday that there are three Phillips 8x10s on EBay at the moment from three different sellers. The price of one of them, even with the Cooke convertible lens that it is being sold with, strikes me as rather high, but the prices on the other two are not necessarily crazy.

Not so long ago, these appeared infrequently at best, and it was not unusual for people to ask as much if not more than what they paid for them due to the constant wait list.

Apart from pointing out that these cameras are available, I'm curious to know whether these sales are an anomaly or whether Phillips cameras are now pretty readily available on the second-hand market.

Drew Wiley
16-Jan-2012, 16:24
Phillips cameras rarely come up for sale. They have achieved something of a cult status, even though they were originally relatively simple and inexpensive to make.
A similar design is now being offered by Chamonix. I personally have used the Phillips
design almost from its inception. Pricing of used cameras tends to be very high - up to six or seven times what I paid for mine brand new! But it's all about supply and demand, so if several happen to turn up for sale all at once, you might get a relative bargain. They are wonderful field cameras, but movements are a bit limited for things
like architecture.

Drew Wiley
16-Jan-2012, 16:37
And note that one of the cameras listed at the moment is an "Explorer" model which
does not have a removable back for vertical shots. It's horizontal use only unless you flop it sideways on a big tripod head. Be interesting to see how these two cameras bid.