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While it's true there is no shortage of equipment on eBay that is in less than perfect condition, it's also true that some great deals can be found there, too. For instance, every single piece of Contax 645 gear I own -- two bodies, five lenses, and a lot of accessories -- was purchased on eBay over the past four months at better-than-good and sometimes great prices, and all of it works perfectly. Note that only a few of these pieces of equipment were purchased via an auction, as most were purchased at the seller's "buy it now" price or via the "make an offer" function, which is where I find that most of the really good deals originate.Contax 645 140mm is the only lens, which price dropped from approx $1200 to approx $900. Lens hoods dropped in price by quite a bit. I believe lenses and bodies on eBay, which sell today at lower than usual prices, are not in good condition, be careful.
I agree with you about the price of bodies and 80mm lenses, but having closely watched the sale prices of 55mm, 120mm, and 45-90mm lenses on eBay sites around the world over the past five months, I would disagree with you about these holding their value, at least based upon the prices of them earlier this year. For instance, I personally purchased a 55mm lens in excellent cosmetic and perfect mechanical condition for $525 and a 45-90 zoom (with OEM lens hood!) in similar condition for $1450. I have seen several 120mm lenses sell for $900 or less and quite a few more for $1200 or less, which is about half to two-thirds of what they were selling for earlier this year. I also bought a mint- GB-1 lens hood for $99 and waist-level finder for $189 and have recently seen others sell for similar prices.Body kits in good condition are going up. 80mm lenses are also going up, when sold separately from the kits. Other lenses in good to mint conditions, especially 55mm, 120mm and 45-90mm, keep their price.
Well, these are great deals. I missed them.While it's true there is no shortage of equipment on eBay that is in less than perfect condition, it's also true that some great deals can be found there, too. For instance, every single piece of Contax 645 gear I own -- two bodies, five lenses, and a lot of accessories -- was purchased on eBay over the past four months at better-than-good and sometimes great prices, and all of it works perfectly. Note that only a few of these pieces of equipment were purchased via an auction, as most were purchased at the seller's "buy it now" price or via the "make an offer" function, which is where I find that most of the really good deals originate.
I agree with you about the price of bodies and 80mm lenses, but having closely watched the sale prices of 55mm, 120mm, and 45-90mm lenses on eBay sites around the world over the past five months, I would disagree with you about these holding their value, at least based upon the prices of them earlier this year. For instance, I personally purchased a 55mm lens in excellent cosmetic and perfect mechanical condition for $525 and a 45-90 zoom (with OEM lens hood!) in similar condition for $1450. I have seen several 120mm lenses sell for $900 or less and quite a few more for $1200 or less, which is about half to two-thirds of what they were selling for earlier this year. I also bought a mint- GB-1 lens hood for $99 and waist-level finder for $189 and have recently seen others sell for similar prices.
Of course, all of these prices are subject to the realities of supply and demand and thus are likely to continue to fluctuate in both directions. For now, though, it seems to be a great time to be acquiring or completing a Contax outfit with lenses and accessories and not so a great time to be selling same.
It was a "buy it now" deal and at that price, I didn't hesitate. Ironically, I'm not really using it as often as I expected, as I like to photograph from a high perspective (lens typically at 7-8' off the ground), which is difficult to do with the WLF, and in any event, I prefer to simply use my 3.5X Mamiya 645 Loupe directly over the focusing screen. It is both brighter and clearer than the WLF and it doesn't distort the image noticeably, either!$189 for a W/L finder?? That's a genuine anomaly...they are usually $400 and up. Nice find!
What can I say? Sometimes you get lucky!$189 for a W/L finder?? That's a genuine anomaly...they are usually $400 and up. Nice find!
I'm pleased to hear this, although the P65+ is out of my reach financially (well, at least not without rejigging my priorities a bit) and as somebody who hasn't photographed during daylight for many months now, its limited long-exposure ability makes it a non-starter for me even if as a happy amateur I could somehow justify its price.One of the things that I noticed (pleasant surprise) is that the lenses have held up well, actually VERY well up to 60MP (I have the P65+). Although Phase, Hasselblad and the S2 keep improving, I can't think of one item that means anything to me...except possibly the lighter S2 system, and slightly faster AF.