Flea Market Finds - Some You Win, Some You Lose

Yesterday, I went to a flea market with the plan to look for film cameras!  I've done this a few times, and the results are always hit & miss.  Yesterday was no different.  As always, if you go into your flea market adventure looking for film cameras you need to always:

• Don't expect the seller knows anything about the camera you might find
• Expect that some of the equipment won't work
• Don't always expect to find out you have a dude until after you get home and give it a good looking over,
• Don't overpay
• Don't be afraid to walk away

I always use the mental measure, "how much would this cost me if I bought it on eBay?".  If I can get it cheaper online, I'll ALWAYS pass, unless the example sitting in-front of me at the flea market is in great shape.

This is what I found from 2 sellers yesterday including the price paid.  

• Leica AF-C1 - $10
• Polaroid OneStep - $1
• Minolta XG-A - $15
• Miranda Sensoret - $1
• Olympus XA2 - $1

I gave them all a quick going over before I flopped down my $$$.  The Miranda & Olympus were in a bit of rough shape, but I took a flier since they were only $1 each.  The Leica didn't fire at the booth, but I figured that was a battery thing.  The Polaroid looked clean (I have lots of experience buying these), and the Minolta looked clean but the film advance was stuck.

After getting home and giving them a good going over, the Polaroid & Leica appear to be good to go. The Leica fired up easily with a new battery, and the Polaroid worked with a test cartridge.  The Olympus appears to be a goner even if I give it a good cleaning.  But again, only $1.  The Miranda's shutter seems to be stuck, but I'm going to self CLA it to see if I can get it moving.  The Minolta's film advance lever if frozen, so I'm going to try to fix it myself.  If I fail on the Minolta, no major dramas because the lens is in good shape and I can use it on other cameras.

So for $28 I got 2 cameras I can use.  I particularly like the Leica and would have easily paid $25 for it alone.  I might be able to salvage the Miranda, but I'm not going to put tons of effort into it.

Bottomline, I got to hang out with the Mrs and go on this film camera treasure hunt.  A fun couple of hours.