I would appreciate some help from photographers on this list as I am pretty well out of my league with cameras. My father who was a very avid wildlife photographer passed away two years ago, so my mother asked that I try to sell his camera and lenses. Could someone please give me an approximate worth (in this digital age) of the following: Nikon FE body (recently gone through at camera shop) with Nikon 135mm lens, also have a Century (made in US) Tele-Athenar 500mm lens (with case), Nikon 55mm f/3.5 lens, Spectrum 30TXP flash attachment and numerous doublers, filters and such. Where would be the best place to sell? eBay?
Thanks for your help,
BJB
Thanks

BJB-

First off, sorry about your dad. I lost my mother last year, it's never easy...

As for the camera gear, I'd suggest finding a few camera forums. Do a Google search for "Nikon forum", or variations of that.

One that comes to mind is http://www.nikonians.org . They have a lot of "categories" on there, and it's all Nikon talk.

Another is http://www.shutterbug.com . Look for the Forum link. Then find a good heading for your question.

Places like that will be able to give you a good idea, and you may very well find a buyer there while you're at it.

You can get a reasonable idea of their value by finding similiar items on Ebay. Most film based
cameras have taken a nose-dive in value since digital cameras reached an acceptable quality level.
Kodak has shut down over 60% of its film making capability. A friend of mine has had a successful
camera shop for 25 years and he is closing down for good because of the impact of digital cameras.
I wish you luck, but I would try to sell them fast. Don't give them away, but take any reasonalbe
offer in cash.

I am keeping my Nikons only because I will be dead before film is totally obsolete. I shoot film
originals and then scan them. The Nikon FE is a good workhorse camera. The 135mm is a good lens but
135mm lenses have NEVER had much of a resale. The 55mm 3.5 I assume is the Micro Nikkor. Great lens.

My brother has a lot of very fine Nikon equipment . He priced it - they would get only 3-4 cents to the dollar !!! A very sad story but it's obsolete. I was told by a professional photographer that the old lenses will fit the digital camera bodies but on the wider angle lenses the edges will lose resolution .

You will probably get the best prices possible on Ebay. Any of the other companies who advertise they will buy it for you will only give you pennies. Make sure you post several photos of each item you are trying to sell and open the auction with a very low price. Set you self up with a PayPal account. The bidding process will determine the value.

What you were told is correct: film cameras have lost significant value. I still shoot with older Nikons and always will, but then I am a little old-fashioned and stubborn as well. There are at least 3 different models of Nikon 135mm manual focus lenses along with variations within (AI, AI'd, AIS). You'll need to find the specifics before trying to sell. There's a 135 f/2 that will have significantly greater resale value than a 135 f/2.8, and the old Series E will have even less value.

The Nikon FE bodies used to fetch around $250, but I recently saw one that sold for $40.

I really despise the digital craze. Today, newspapers are turning everyone into photographers: stick a warm body at a sporting event with a fully-auto setup, and you're sure to get some usable images -- or so they think. At a sporting event a while back, I was shooting with my manual focus 400 f/3.5 while another individual was shooting with an auto-focus 400 f/2.8. I don't know what he was trying to capture, but it was obvious he was out of position to get any of the peak action. It was damp that evening, and his lens went haywire and refused to focus for him. I showed him how to switch it to manual focus; he looked at me and said "You've got to be kidding. There's NO WAY to get action shots without autofocus."

Today, there are lots of camera operators out there, but the number of true photographers is going down by the minute...

I say keep the setup you have, learn to use it and reap the rewards from the tack-sharp results it is capable of producing.

quote:

Originally posted by Bobby Tomek:
Today, there are lots of camera operators out there, but the number of true photographers is going down by the minute....

Bobby-

I always knew I liked you!

You nailed it right there. Matter of fact, I think I'm going to "borrow" that quote and put it in my office, if you don't mind....

As for digital vs film, I agree. I wish it was still a film world. My "job" demands digital (absolutely no choice in the matter), but for MY stuff, it's still film.

I'd be flattered if you did!

Good to read all the Nikon "film" people still out there!

I use all Nikon equipment, mostly film. And always will. I do have a Nikon P1 I carry in my pocket but I do like the film more!

the best way to test the camera pricing is to watch Ebay, you can get some idea as to the worth and try listing it. good luck!