Russian gear in Holland...!

RML · 08-23-2004

Hi all. Yesterday I went to a photography market in a town called Doesburg, in the east of Holland (near Arnhem, of WW2 reknown).

Anyway, there were lots of Contax models on offer, lots of old folders, lots of the ubiquitous Canons and Nikons, and... oh wonder... quite a lot of russian RF's, russian lenses and fake Leicas on offer.
I wasn't there to buy anything, so I had little reason to ask for prices but the price tags I saw... the prices were quite staggering! A simple FED2 would generally go for 50 euros or so, some even much higher. Zorki-4 also going for double or triple the prices on eBay. A Jupiter-3 50/1.5 would have to fetch 100 euros. An 85/2 J-9 for 85-90 euros. J-12 35/2.8 going for at least 50 euros. And so on.
Those Russian, German, and former East Block sellers really have found a new way to drain us poor estern Europeans from our hard-earned cash.

I got to test my J-9 85/2 with its new Heliopan hood on the Bessa R. The roll isn't finished yet, so it'll be a few more days before I'll be able to see the results.

P C Headland · 08-23-2004

Hi,

I was there too, hunting for some Iskra filters. Seemed many of the hihg priced stuff was from German sellers. A Russian guy round the back had some Kievs for €40, which wasn't too bad (they seemed to work), but then he wanted €10 for a little filter that others were selling for less than 5. (There is a shop in Amsterdam that has some Kievs, and they want €160 to €240!!!!).

Some interesting gear, some Ikons that were reasonably priced for their conditions. A Fuji 6x9 RF (the early one with interchangeable lenses) was €650 which didn't seem unreasonable. Quite a few fixed lens RFs at reasonable prices.

The bit that really surprised me, especially after getting to see in the metal some cameras I'd considered, was how small 6x6 and 6x9 folders are, especially in comparison to modern 35mm gear.

pvdhaar · 08-23-2004

These things appear to go like the tide. A couple of years ago, the Yashicamat 124 was hot, and achieved cult status on photo.net. Originally starting out at $25 or so, prices soon went through the roof (in the $250 range). I the last two years, things have calmed down a bit and prices are more reasonable (though not really low).

This currently seems to happen to Russian rangefinders. It makes you wonder where the prices will be in two years time. For photography fun, you´d now be better of looking for used film SLRs. They´re now completely out of fashion, but I´m sure that in a couple of years they´ll be quite en vogue.

pshinkaw · 08-23-2004

I've been purchasing Russian gear for the past 3 years, mostly from auctions. In my experience prices have come down quite a bit over that time frame. My first Kiev-4A with a Helios lens cost me about $55. The next one cost me $25 with a Jupiter-8m. Fed-2's have dopped from about $35 to $20. However, the overall quality has been dropping too.

Perhaps vendors are getting better prices at the market place than on the online auction.

-Paul