Was given the below two cameras and equipment that belonged to my grandfather when he passed. With the increased cost of film and processing I doubt I'll ever take up the hobby beyond a decent digital. Does any of the below have any value to a real-deal photographer or film camera collector? Not trying to ask "How much should I sell this for?" but rather would someone out there who appreciates such things have any use for it or would I be better off chunking it in the trash?

Thanks all!

What do you have there on the left? Is that an FE or an FE2? Not that it matters, just curious. I had an FE. Great camera.

An old Sunpak 522. I had one of those when I was a press photographer, a good powerful flash. Boy, that takes me back.

I don't see much there. What's the lens on the left?

I was hoping you'd see this Para. Looks like it's an FE.

Lens on the left has the following around the bezel: CPC - MC - Auto - 1:2.8 - 28mm - 55

My opinion- it's not worth the time it would take to sell.

You can have that FE serviced by a reputable shop like APS. They're second to none IMO.

Contemporary Nikkor glass can be found relatively cheaply. Keep the FE and mate it to a good lens. That's what I would do.

That, IMHO, is the kind of stuff you use to justify buying a bunch of used darkroom stuff and learning how to do film in a spare bedroom.

Ha! My camera bag looked very similar to that when I did press photography back in the mid 80's. Still have my FE2 and MD-12 motor drive as well as all that great Nikon glass. Shoot a Nikon D800 now.
If you have room, hang onto the FE body and any Nikon / Nikkor lenses. Things not popular today, will be back in style in the future, and great quality Nikon stuff will bring a good price. The silver N60 has little to no value, and probably never will.
Thanks for bringing back good memories!

Wow, potato masher flashes!!! Those were the days. The cam on the left is probably worth a bit mote than the newer one on the right but not by much. Just scan eBay to get an idea of approx prices. Someone taking a photography classes in high school might like it but that is all. Even specialized schools like NY's School of Visual Arts got rid of their film equipment and removed related classes from their catalog. They start at digital now. Shame. There are still high schools and come colleges that start with film, but not many.

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
My opinion- it's not worth the time it would take to sell.

You can have that FE serviced by a reputable shop like APS. They're second to none IMO.

Contemporary Nikkor glass can be found relatively cheaply. Keep the FE and mate it to a good lens. That's what I would do.

Thank you. That was going to be my next question: if it's something that I wanted to hold on to who would I send it to for service? Need to hit up APS to see what they have to say.

If you can't get me wet prints out of a roll of Tri-X in less than 30 minutes, you are not a photographer.

Digital, my ass.

quote:

Originally posted by SigM4:
Need to hit up APS to see what they have to say.

They're quite helpful on the phone but of course they will tell you they must see the camera in order to make a determination.

I'd find a used Nikkor AI-S 50mm f1.4. Sharp as a tack, and a natural for that FE.

Most people have no idea how well-built that FE is (and the FM as well). Metal chassis, and the camera will function with no battery (at 1/90th sec only, no meter). Don't sell it.

I've been looking for good Nikon film cameras. If you're interested in parting with the FE, let me know!

Yes, that FE is worth keeping. Film is coming back, slowly but surely.
I started on film in 1989. Many nights spent developing and printing in hotel rooms, for newspaper coverage.
Those were the days.

quote:

Originally posted by 4x5:
I've been looking for good Nikon film cameras. If you're interested in parting with the FE, let me know!

Don't do that, please. You know better. Go to ebay. There are plenty of FEs to choose from.

The man's email address is in his profile, OK? Think before you post.

All these years in this forum, this rule has been strictly enforced, and some of you guys still pull stuff like this.

I liquidate a lot of my gear with I finally went fully digital. I got .10cents on the dollar....4x5, glass, 120mm and all. Go look up on eBay to see auctions ended for you piece.

Cheers.

Never throw anything away

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:

quote:

Originally posted by 4x5:
I've been looking for good Nikon film cameras. If you're interested in parting with the FE, let me know!

Don't do that, please. You know better. Go to ebay. There are plenty of FEs to choose from.

The man's email address is in his profile, OK? Think before you post.

All these years in this forum, this rule has been strictly enforced, and some of you guys still pull stuff like this.

Sorry Para.

A more appropriate response:

The Nikon FE still has value - the classic Nikons (pre-plastic) are still sought-out. If you go the ebay route, and try to sell it as a 'buy it now', you could maybe expect $150 with the lens, but it might take months to sell. If you do an auction, it would probably get bids, but might only go as high as $90-$100.

The N-60 is more of an entry-level plastic/electronic camera. Every camera manufacturer in the 90's and 2000's produced cameras just like this, and the used-market demand is much lower for these types of cameras. That's not to say it won't sell, it will just be a little harder to sell.

If you have local online classifieds, you might have good luck selling your gear there, especially if you mark it down from the sometimes inflated ebay prices.

If you decide to keep it for whatever reason, have some fun with it! Buy a couple of rolls of Ilford HP-5+ (much cheaper than the beloved classic Kodak Tri-X) here, and learn to develop it yourself - it's not hard, doesn't even require a dedicated darkroom (you can even buy a special changing bag for under $20). I suspect your grandpa would be very proud of you for keeping that tradition alive. There are also labs who will develop your film and digitally scan the negatives for you if you want to go that route.

Film isn't dead - in fact, since being 'discovered' by all the artsy hipsters, it's enjoying a small renaissance, and the Nikon FE enjoys a very solid reputation on the used camera scene.

Here's a Nikkor AI-S 50mm f1.4 graded as excellent by the very good folks at KEH.

https://www.keh.com/shop/nikon...l-focus-lens-52.html

One of the things I love about KEH is their grading system, which is weighted towards the buyer, not the seller. That is to say- if they grade an item as Excellent, you can be sure it is just that, and if they grade it as Excellent+, you'll be looking at what is essentially a new item.

Assuming there are no real problems with that FE, getting it serviced and mating it to the lens above would cost you less than 500 bucks total.

And if that Sunpak still works, you'd have a heck of a classic setup.

By the way- for those familiar with KEH, did you know that they moved from their Atlanta location and are now in the same office park as Glock? As a matter of fact, KEH is next door to Glock. This tickles my funnybone, two places that mean a lot to me, ending up side by side.

I can hear the loud discharge followed by whine of recharge of that Sunpack all the way over here. Shot a lot on college yearbook staff, I still have one of those in bag I think but seriously doubt it would charge.

"Hey, Zapman!"

I have a FE around somewhere, accompanied by an N-70. Were my common companions on all tours back in the 1980s.

flashguy