Topic: A Bargain?

[Late Developer]

I stumbled across this advertisement by accident and must admit that the price really caught my eye.  I don't know much about these cameras and, aside from reference to "extreme rarity of this model", there isn't much of a clue why it should command this price.  It also needs a CLA.

If it's really that rare / valuable, I'll be keeping a watchful eye out for one.....

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/155617465/bessa-ii-apo-lanthar-145105-voigtlander?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=shopping_uk_en_gb_vintage-collectibles-high-other&utm_custom1=66477780-7d50-4bce-9f13-2d2d722517b5&gclid=CNf0vLvM7NECFce37QodTAMKnA

[charles binns]

You could get a really good state of the art digital camera and lens for that sort of money.









 

[jharr]

That camera with that particular lens does get listed in the $10K-$15K range regularly. I wouldn't say it is "rare", but it is certainly not common. Honestly, I can't see why any camera would be worth that. There can't be anything making it objectively 100x better than a Nikon F2 with a Nikkor 50/1.8 (which is considerably faster than the 4.5 APO-Lanthar. I guess it is the perfect camera for someone with more money than they know what to do with. Having said that, I wouldn't turn it away if my uncle decided to clean out the closet and gave it to me.

[Aksel]

That camera with that particular lens does get listed in the $10K-$15K range regularly. I wouldn't say it is "rare", but it is certainly not common. Honestly, I can't see why any camera would be worth that. There can't be anything making it objectively 100x better than a Nikon F2 with a Nikkor 50/1.8 (which is considerably faster than the 4.5 APO-Lanthar. I guess it is the perfect camera for someone with more money than they know what to do with. Having said that, I wouldn't turn it away if my uncle decided to clean out the closet and gave it to me.

It is at least about five times better then the F2, being a 6x9 camera 
I guess the ahe APO-Lanthar these days are bought by collectors rather than those of us that takes actual photos...
The Bessa II is really a great camera, impressive attention to detail and super smooth mechanics but the finder are somewhat a deal breaker. I had one, sold it, regretted, bought another and realised why I sold the fist one. To me this seller appears a bit cheap, why not give it a proper cla if you are going to ask that kind of money? 

[Late Developer]

That camera with that particular lens does get listed in the $10K-$15K range regularly. I wouldn't say it is "rare", but it is certainly not common. Honestly, I can't see why any camera would be worth that. There can't be anything making it objectively 100x better than a Nikon F2 with a Nikkor 50/1.8 (which is considerably faster than the 4.5 APO-Lanthar. I guess it is the perfect camera for someone with more money than they know what to do with. Having said that, I wouldn't turn it away if my uncle decided to clean out the closet and gave it to me.

It is at least about five times better then the F2, being a 6x9 camera 
I guess the ahe APO-Lanthar these days are bought by collectors rather than those of us that takes actual photos...
The Bessa II is really a great camera, impressive attention to detail and super smooth mechanics but the finder are somewhat a deal breaker. I had one, sold it, regretted, bought another and realised why I sold the fist one. To me this seller appears a bit cheap, why not give it a proper cla if you are going to ask that kind of money?

Yep, for that sort of money I'd expect it to arrive all buffed up and working perfectly (not that I'd ever consider buying any camera for anything remotely approaching that price).

[Sandeha Lynch]

In practice, it's not going to be any better than an Agfa Record III with a Solinar, which you could get for £150 or less.

[Francois]

You wouldn't get me to spend this amount of money on a car!
So I guess I'll stick to my old Nettar when it comes to folders...

When it comes down to cameras (or anything else for that matter), when items were produced in small quantities and command an extravagant price on the second hand market, I always wonder if they didn't sell many because the original was too expensive to start with or if the quality was so bad that nobody wanted to buy one?

[chris667]

I wonder if that's some sort of money laundering scheme.

[Bryan]

A quick search on eBay and there are three for sale from $7,680 to $14,900.  Another search of sold items comes up with nothing. 

[jharr]

A quick search on eBay and there are three for sale from $7,680 to $14,900.  Another search of sold items comes up with nothing.

So that's not the 'going' price, but the 'keeping' price. 

[Bryan]

A quick search on eBay and there are three for sale from $7,680 to $14,900.  Another search of sold items comes up with nothing.

So that's not the 'going' price, but the 'keeping' price. 

AKA fishing for suckers.

[02Pilot]

The APO-Lanthar Bessa II is pretty darn rare. Only 34,500 Bessa II's were made, and the APO-Lanthar was the rarest by far of the three lens options (Color Skopar, Heliar, and Lanthar). I've never seen one. I can't imagine actually paying the asking price for one of these, but I suppose someone may at some point.

I have a Bessa II with the lowly Color Skopar, and it's plenty capable for my needs. Not as sturdy as my Super Ikonta, though, which is 20 years older.

[John Robison]

When I see a price like that I think 'dream on seller, dream on'. Anyway, already got a Box Tengor, what more does a person need.

[Pete_R]

I had one offered to me once, with the Apo-lanthar lens. I knew it was rare but no idea how rare - but neither did the seller. We were discussing a price in the low hundreds but ultimately couldn't agree so the seller kept it. If only I had known...

But, if it's any consolation, a previous owner had decided to paint the top plate green so it probably wouldn't have been worth as much anyway.

[hookstrapped]

A better investment?

https://petapixel.com/2017/01/31/jollylook-first-cardboard-folding-instant-film-camera/

[Late Developer]

A better investment?

https://petapixel.com/2017/01/31/jollylook-first-cardboard-folding-instant-film-camera/

Now that looks very interesting - particularly as I have a camera that uses Instax Mini.  My only concern (being a Brit) is whether it would be the world's first soggy papier mache camera, given our less than optimal climate!

[Francois]

I thought the same thing. Especially when we know how robust paper hinges are in the long run.

Too bad they didn't make it out of thin wood or even balsa. That would have been more appealing to me as the camera itself looks quite interesting, especially the shutter.