All my old professional cameras turmed into paper weights.

The Cat's Eye

Back in the days when digital cameras were just being invented most experts in photography did not think that digital cameras would take over the processional market very quickly. So, many of us hung on to our arsenal of expensive film cameras until it was too late to recoup their value. I still have two Hasselblads, a 500 ELM and a Super Wide, plus five Nikons, some with motor drives. They are accompanies by a dozen Nikkor lens from 15 mm to 500 mm;  Plus a 17mm & 600 mm Takumar lens that were converted to Nikon mounts. The two Blads cost me roughly $2500 to $3500 in the early 1970’s. In today’s money that would be equivalent to about 40K.  I also kept my underwater ikelite Nikon F housing,150 Strobe, and Sekonic U/W meter. 

Since i retired before the advent of digital cameras i just hung on to my old stuff out of posterity.

I also built a temperature controlled darkroom in a Kendall Miami house. I was able to print up to 16 x20 inch prints from 35mm to 4x5 negatives using top of the line enlarging lens. I also printed color Cibachromes up to 16 x20 inches from 35 mm slides. The chemicals for Ciba’s were so dangerous I am lucky to be alive. Fortunately, I used a breathing mask made for miners, but even that was not sufficient according to documents that advised that one needed a portable oxygen system on a ceiling track to avoid nerve damage. The darkroom equipment was sold all over the world on eBay. The enlargers were sold locally due to the fragile glass condensers and the weight.

 I am surprised that some of these old film cameras are rising in value. I suppose that is due to nostalgia and collectors.

gogittum

I've got the same thing with my faithful old Nikon F2 that I used for years, along with some very good lenses that won't work with modern DLSRs.  Can't bring myself to throw it out, tried to sell it 10 years ago with no takers at any price....so it all sits.  Too bad.

Flash

I was that way also.  Couple Bronica ETRS's, several Mamiya 645's and a wealth of lenses for both. What would furnish a whole house with what I had, when finally parting with it in early 2003, I made enough for a nice dinette set. You might find some photography students that will be interested, but don't expect much unless it is a rarity.
 Still have an old Minolta Auto Meter lll F I tried to sell, no one wanted it.

Some of your Nikon lenses would still work in some ways on current Nikon DSLR's

The Cat's Eye

Yea, I researched adapting some of the old Nikkor lens to a DSLR, but you lose some important features. I can’t remember them all but I think you lose auto focus and possible light metering, so I abandoned the idea and went with a Cannon DSLR and  several Cannon lens about 14 years ago, and I am happy with the results. These days I seldom do any serious photography except for documenting the insects that come to our butterfly garden. Only now the hurricanes, freezes, and diseases reduced the original garden from twenty plants to just three, but surprisingly butterflies and hummingbirds still come in numbers.  The three surviving plants still provide adult butterfly food and host food for the milkweed family of butterflies.  What I like to buy is an old Nikon Cool Scan 5000. I was lent one of these for a couple of years and was able to scan in high definition most of the best 35mm slides from my collection of several thousand that spanned my photo career starting in Europe and then here in South Fla

The Cat's Eye

Flash

Yes auto focus is the main one and being older now, I need that more than ever

FloridaOD

I happened to visit with Clyde Butcher some time ago....... we discussed the then fairly new cell phone camera...... by then his phone camera had superseded his cameras....... dark room....

John McKroid

When my sister was studying to become a photographer back in the 70's we built a darkroom in the basement of my parent's house.  The names of all your old cameras sound familiar as she was required to have many of them for her studies at the Pasadena Art Center.  She is still at it as a staff Photographer for a major aerospace company.  All digital today.