![\"DSC_0131\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tazmpictures.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/DSC_0131.jpg?ssl=1\")
<\/a><\/p>\nOK, so I admit, I have a problem. \u00a0I like to go on eBay and type “vintage camera” into the search bar and see what comes up. \u00a0And I sort by time remaining, so invariably an interesting camera or two will pop up with 3 or 4 minutes remaining, but at a tantalizingly low price. \u00a0And I’ll throw up a bid to see what sticks. \u00a0And then after winning, re-read the item description more carefully and realize why the price was so low.<\/p>\n
Or the other thing that pops up is a vintage camera lot. \u00a0With a not-completely clear picture of a bunch of cameras that look interesting and some other identifiable stuff and Hey! it’s only at 60 bucks – I wonder if…” \u00a0 And then the email from eBay, “You won!!! \u00a0Sixty bucks worth of junk is on its way RIGHT NOW!!!”<\/p>\n
It’s fun to open the box when it arrives too. \u00a0Old cameras have a certain smell – partly just “old attic” but also something else. \u00a0Dusty family albums and old memories, cheesy black-and-white TV commercials. \u00a0Usually there are a couple of old gems in there, occasionally even with a roll of undeveloped film inside. \u00a0Maybe a broken camera or two, some junk, but always something to redeem the purchase.<\/p>\n
But this last shipment was pretty much just junk. \u00a0Kind of like someone else bought 3 or 4 “vintage camera lots” and discarded all of the broken or useless stuff and made a new “vintage camera lot” just for me. \u00a0OK so maybe I exaggerate. \u00a0But here’s what I ended up with:<\/p>\n
Three cheap plastic cameras with cases. \u00a0A Bell & Howell “Electric Eye.” \u00a0A couple of banged up box cameras and a bakelite “Brownie Holiday Flash” \u00a0An Ansco Rediflex. \u00a0A few boxes of flashbulbs and cubes. \u00a0Some outdated developer concentrate marked clearance for 94 cents. \u00a0Strangely, a box of index tabbing. \u00a0You know – for manila folders. \u00a0A safelight and spare bulb. \u00a0A box of metal lens hoods for unidentified cameras. Some 35mm slide masks. \u00a0So you can make your own slides. \u00a0A Sears exposure meter. \u00a0Two plastic 35mm developing tanks, one of which has the reel still enclosed in plastic, with a 1978 receipt for $1.98 plus shipping from New York’s “Garden Camera” to Mr. Arthur Ivey of DeWitt Michigan<\/a>. \u00a0Two unidentified flash attachments, an old metal Brownie Six-20 with is own flash attachment still in the original box. \u00a0Then, a 1938-ish Falcon, and two decent-looking 35mm cameras from the 60s with built-in light meters and decent looking lenses.<\/p>\n Sadly, the last three cameras don’t work, and all the other cameras seem to work, but range in value from about $1 to $10 (on a good day). \u00a0I can use the developing tank and spool myself. \u00a0So then I spent the better part of a day trying to repair the shutters on the two 35mm cameras. \u00a0One, a Tower 18B, ended up in the trash. \u00a0The other, a Minolta Minoltina-S, I got working within an hour or so. \u00a0It cleaned up nicely and is valued at between 40 and 60 bucks. \u00a0See? \u00a0I got my money’s worth.<\/p>\n And while I figure out what to do with all of this junk, let me do a quick search on eBay for “vintage cameras.” \u00a0You never know….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This is what sixty bucks worth of junk looks like: OK, so I admit, I have a problem. \u00a0I like to go on eBay and type “vintage camera” into the search bar and see what comes up. \u00a0And I sort by time remaining, so invariably an interesting camera or two will pop up with 3 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[70,803],"tags":[1643,1645,1644],"class_list":["post-3636","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-random-musings","category-vintage-cameras","tag-ebay","tag-junk","tag-vintage-camera-lot"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tazmpictures.com\/site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3636","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tazmpictures.com\/site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tazmpictures.com\/site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tazmpictures.com\/site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tazmpictures.com\/site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3636"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tazmpictures.com\/site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3636\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3638,"href":"https:\/\/tazmpictures.com\/site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3636\/revisions\/3638"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tazmpictures.com\/site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3636"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tazmpictures.com\/site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3636"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tazmpictures.com\/site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}