Why can't I buy a camera?

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

I’m having a devil of a time buying a camera. I’ve only bid on two of them, and both times the auctions ended early.

A few days ago I found an Aaton LTR7 package on eBay that had one bid on it for $3,100. (The same kit, but with an overhaul and a guarantee from a camera shop usually goes for about $7,000.) I figured I’d wait until the last day of the auction before I posted a $4,500 bid for it. Well, the day before the auction was to end, I found that the seller (an eBay first-timer) had ended it early. A local person had offered her $4,100 for it and she sold it to him on the spot. She could have had $400 more if she had just waited, and I could have had an Aaton.

Last night I found an Arriflex 35-2A kit with a 2B movement. It was a seven-day auction and after six days there had been no bids at the starting bid of $950. (2As are rather old and usually sell for about $1,500.) So I bid on it. I got up this morning to see if I was still the top bidder. The seller had ended the auction early because of “an error in the listing”. He didn’t notify me, so I sent him an e-mail through eBay’s “contact the seller” option. Haven’t heard back from him yet. Based on what I saw in the several photos, the only “error” might have been that it really didn’t have a 2B movement. I suspect (but have no way of proving it) that the seller didn’t really want to sell it at his starting bid of $950 amd cancelled it because only one person (me) was willing to pay even that.

Come on, people! If you’re going to list an item for auction, then follow through on it! If there’s an “error in the listing”, then you should be able to find it (especially if it’s the only auction you’re running) sooner than the day before the end of a secen-day auction! If you want a certain price for your item, you either need to use your minimum acceptable price as the starting bid or you need to use the reserve price option.

In my opinion a seller should not be allowed to cancel an auction once a bid has been placed and the auction is into it’s second half.

2

7k for a camera? Holy shit!

3

Of course right after I post, I get an e-mail from the 2A seller:

4

What I’d really like to have as an Aaton XTR Prod, but I don’t have an extra $34,000 lying around for a used kit.

5

You have excellent taste in cameras, Johnny.

I still have my old Krasnogorsk sitting around somewhere gathering dust. Ah, sweet communist ingenuity.

6

And the truth comes out:

Dude, in spite of the upgrades it’s still a 2A. I can get a 2A anywhere for $1,500; and those kits have 400’ mags instead of the 200’ mags you’re offering.

friedo: I have two Krasnogorsk-3s. Very cool littl cameras, but I don;t use them. I have a Bolex M5 with a Som-Berthiot reflex zoom that is much easier to use, and which has a 400’ mag capacity. (I’m looking at a TCS crystal motor for it.) Not to mention the Bolex Rex-1 and the other, non-reflex, H16. Then there’s the Arri 16S with an Angenieux 12-120 zoom. And of course, the Éclair NPR is in great condition (and quiet!).

I don’t really need an Aaton, since an LTR doesn’t do anything the NPR can’t. (Well, except for being able to shoot super-16; and I can have the NPR modified for $2,500.) But the Aaton is lighter and even easier to load.

As for the Arri 35-2A, I just thought it would be neat to have a 35mm camera. It’s useless for shooting a feature unless I get a crystal motor and a blimp. If I were shooting a feature in 35mm I’d either rent (the smart way of doing it) or shell out for an old Arri BL-1.

7

Hey, J.L.A.
I’ve got a 16BL if you’re interested.

8

You know, I looked at the 16BL. I got the Éclair because it was quieter and didn’t need a lens blimp. I also like the coaxial magazines.

I’m “in the market” for an Aaton. (“Sort of in the market” is more accurate. Being unemployed, it would have to be really inexpensive.) Some day I might be able to afford an XTR. I’d love to have an A-Minima. The A-Minima might cost about the same as a used XTR once I bought magazines, battery, cable, charger, and a used Zeiss 11-110 zoom; but it’s small and lightweight and the last I heard, the body was only $12,500.

Someday…

9

Granted, I’ve never even come close to spending $7K on an eBay auction, but I always use the following approach (even when I was bidding on motorcycles):
-Figure out how much I’m willing to spend.
-Bid that amount.
-Don’t get all bent out of shape if I get out-bid.
-Be happy if I get it for less than the max amount I was willing to pay.

I usually don’t wait 'til the end of an auction to make a bid. It usually doesn’t make much difference. I guess maybe there may be some changes in strategy for higher priced, less common items like what you’re trying to buy, but I think the principles still work. Good luck Johnny! (are you a professional?)

10

El Marko: That’s about how I do it. What gets my goat is that both of these sellers cancelled their auctions before they were over. The first one cancelled because someone offered her a higher price than the bid that was there (but an offer less than what mine would have been), and the second one cancelled because his “minimum” selling price was less than what he wanted.

I’ve worked on a few films in various capacities, but I’ve never made my living at it.

11

And now the Tobin crystal motor for my Bolex has been sniped in the last minute. :rolleyes: I can’t win for losin’.

12

Well, at least I managed to get a tripod. I’ve been using Bogen 3021 sticks with a Bogen 3063 head since the 1980s. It’s a great tripod, excellent for small-format work. Last year I got a [url-“http://www.bogenphoto.com/product/templates/templates.php3?sectionid=12&itemid=746”]Bogen 3502 Levelling Head which really makes it a lot easier to level the camera. (The 3021 doesn’t have a ball, so I previously needed to adjust the lenghts of the legs – a hassle.) But my trusty tripod is a little light weight for my Éclair, which weighs 20 pounds.

I’ve been looking at the Bogen 3193 sticks with a 510 head. The kit retails for about $1,700 or $1,800, but you hardly ever pay retail for camera gear. Mole-Richardson told me last year that I could have the sticks, head, spreader, strap and bag for $1,200. Cheap, compared to a Sachtler, but still too rich for my blood.

I managed to find a Bogen 3192 with a 3066 head on eBay that had been used only once for less than half that price. The 3192 has retractable spikes instead of the dual spikes I wanted, but I can live with them. (And I might be able to retrofit the dual spikes. I’ve sent an e-mail to Bogen/Manfroto asking about availability.) The 3066 head has a capacity of ten kilos – just enough for my NPR – and the sticks are rated for 20kg. The sticks can, therefore, support a jib arm when I eventually get one. :slight_smile:

In other news, I got an e-mail from a guy in Alberta who says he’s thinking of moving out to Vancouver, BC. He wanted to know if I knew of any inexpensive rental houses for 16mm and super-8 equipment. Funny he should ask… :stuck_out_tongue: I don’t know of any rental houses up there, since I have my own equipment. I told him that we could probably work out a rental arrangement for 16mm crystal synch, 16mm MOS, or super-8. Hey, I may as well have this stuff earn its keep! (And who knows? If it gets enough use, I may be able to afford to convert the NPR to super-16!)

But I’m still bummed about missing out on the Aaton LTR that was pulled before the end of the auction by an impatient seller, and the Arri 2A that was pulled because the seller realized he would not get what he wanted. Not that, being unemployed, I should be spending money anyway.

(Oh – I did have to get out of bed at 0-dark-hundred. Someone had placed a bid on the tripod in the wee hours of the morning.)