Is $250 a good price for Minolta Autocord RA?

I've been offered a Minolta Autocord RA for $250 USD. It has a 'second
generation Rokkor taking lens that is very sharp and contrasty' and
dates from 1957. It was CLA'd by Karl Bryan of Oregon last year.

Is this a good price? I'm totally new to medium format photography.

flak

"klink" wrote in message
...
I've been offered a Minolta Autocord RA for $250 USD. It has a 'second
generation Rokkor taking lens that is very sharp and contrasty' and
dates from 1957. It was CLA'd by Karl Bryan of Oregon last year.

Is this a good price? I'm totally new to medium format photography.

Hmm. I personally would much rather (and did) pay $500 for a f/3.5 Tessar
Rolleiflex than $250 for a Minolta, but people do say nice things about them
(bright screen, straight film path, sharp lens).

You can read lots about the Minolta Autocord by going to www.photo.net and
doing a search.

David J. Littleboy
Tokyo, Japan

too expensive. i recommend you get one that works for $100 and see whether
you like the results / operation of the camera. i bought one and like you
searched for a good example, but after 6 mths sold it - eventhough people
rant about the sharpness of the lens it can't compare to modern optics (like
a fuji 645), the handling didnt suit me, and i prefer a wide lens than a
75mm on 6x6

chris

"klink" wrote in message
...
I've been offered a Minolta Autocord RA for $250 USD. It has a 'second
generation Rokkor taking lens that is very sharp and contrasty' and
dates from 1957. It was CLA'd by Karl Bryan of Oregon last year.

Is this a good price? I'm totally new to medium format photography.

flak

That seems to be a little high for a 3.5 tessar rolleiflex unless it's really
super cherry collectable. I paid $429 for the 3.5F planar with accurate and
working meter. All clean with no defects save a little paint wear here and
there. Of course, it hasn't been CLA'd, but it seems to be clean and working
fine without that. I've seen nice 3.5 tessars for 250 - 400 depending upon the
model. Of course, there are cheaper ones in less good condition. My point for
the Minolta buyer is, unless you're in a hurry, look around. Study the prices
at various used camera stores in your area, in the magazines, and on Ebay.
You'll get an idea as to what's available and at what price. On the other
hand, if you're in love with the camera and gotta have it...

Personaly I think that is too high a price, colonel:
http://search.ebay.com/search/search...9&BasicSearch=
Alex

"klink" wrote in message
...
I've been offered a Minolta Autocord RA for $250 USD. It has a 'second
generation Rokkor taking lens that is very sharp and contrasty' and
dates from 1957. It was CLA'd by Karl Bryan of Oregon last year.

Is this a good price? I'm totally new to medium format photography.

flak

klink wrote:

I've been offered a Minolta Autocord RA for $250 USD. It has a 'second
generation Rokkor taking lens that is very sharp and contrasty' and
dates from 1957. It was CLA'd by Karl Bryan of Oregon last year.

Is this a good price? I'm totally new to medium format photography.



Sounds great. These are VERY nice cameras, better than a tessar rollei would
be.
--

Stacey

That's becaause "BS" is nothing but pure "BS" ...
remember George Preddy? Don't buy from that
guy!

Alex

"David J. Littleboy" wrote in message ...

"KFritch" wrote:

That seems to be a little high for a 3.5 tessar rolleiflex unless it's
really
super cherry collectable.

Yes. The guy who was thinking about selling it had said that he hoped to get
US$400 or so for it. It has a Maxwell screen, had been CLAd, and the guy was
ultra-reliable, so I offered him $500 to make sure I got it. I wanted a
camera that worked and no BS, and I got what I wanted. I have extremely low
tolerance for BS, and am willing to pay for not having to put up with BS.

I paid $429 for the 3.5F planar with accurate and
working meter. All clean with no defects save a little paint wear here
and
there. Of course, it hasn't been CLA'd, but it seems to be clean and
working
fine without that. I've seen nice 3.5 tessars for 250 - 400 depending
upon the
model. Of course, there are cheaper ones in less good condition. My
point for
the Minolta buyer is, unless you're in a hurry, look around.

This is the standard advice. And quite right.

Study the prices
at various used camera stores in your area, in the magazines, and on Ebay.
You'll get an idea as to what's available and at what price. On the other
hand, if you're in love with the camera and gotta have it...

Really.

David J. Littleboy
Tokyo, Japan

In article ,
says...
I've been offered a Minolta Autocord RA for $250 USD. It has a 'second
generation Rokkor taking lens that is very sharp and contrasty' and
dates from 1957. It was CLA'd by Karl Bryan of Oregon last year.

Is this a good price? I'm totally new to medium format photography.

flak


Price seems a little on the high side unless it is absolutely
cherry. Look out for slop or play in the lensmount assembly. I owned
one of these years ago and it was a fine camera (though not quite as
good as a Rollie 2.8 Xenotar) when the lensmount was snug, but I've seen
two of them with excess play. They vibrate loose rather than wearing
loose, so a good bench repairman can re-tighten them, but I wouldn't pay
more than $125 if the mount it sloppy.

here's a camera that's worth $250 - $400 but you can have it for $500 since
there's no BS.

ok, that's fair, i hate BS, here's $500

wait, are you BS'ing the price because of my low tolerance for BS ?

no, that Maxwell screen was a pig to fit, and it'll really make a difference
to your picture taking

thanks im indebted to you


"David J. Littleboy" wrote in message
...

Yes. The guy who was thinking about selling it had said that he hoped to
get
US$400 or so for it. It has a Maxwell screen, had been CLAd, and the guy
was
ultra-reliable, so I offered him $500 to make sure I got it. I wanted a
camera that worked and no BS, and I got what I wanted. I have extremely
low
tolerance for BS, and am willing to pay for not having to put up with BS.

I paid $429 for the 3.5F planar with accurate and
working meter. All clean with no defects save a little paint wear here
and
there. Of course, it hasn't been CLA'd, but it seems to be clean and
working
fine without that. I've seen nice 3.5 tessars for 250 - 400 depending
upon the
model. Of course, there are cheaper ones in less good condition. My
point for
the Minolta buyer is, unless you're in a hurry, look around.

This is the standard advice. And quite right.

Study the prices
at various used camera stores in your area, in the magazines, and on
Ebay.
You'll get an idea as to what's available and at what price. On the
other
hand, if you're in love with the camera and gotta have it...

Really.

David J. Littleboy
Tokyo, Japan

On Fri, 5 Mar 2004 14:39:01 -0500, William Mutch
wrote:

In article ,
says...
I've been offered a Minolta Autocord RA for $250 USD. It has a 'second
generation Rokkor taking lens that is very sharp and contrasty' and
dates from 1957. It was CLA'd by Karl Bryan of Oregon last year.

Is this a good price? I'm totally new to medium format photography.

flak


Price seems a little on the high side unless it is absolutely
cherry. Look out for slop or play in the lensmount assembly. I owned
one of these years ago and it was a fine camera (though not quite as
good as a Rollie 2.8 Xenotar) when the lensmount was snug, but I've seen
two of them with excess play. They vibrate loose rather than wearing
loose, so a good bench repairman can re-tighten them, but I wouldn't pay
more than $125 if the mount it sloppy.

Thanks for the advice folks. I've decided to pass on the $250.00
camera. If and when I want to try out MF I might just buy a brand new
Seagull. That way if it breaks I can at least return it.

klink