Have you already chosen the lens you want to use? Or you want to choose any camera, and pick the lens later? The answer will be different depending on your choice. Maybe you have inherited a wonderful set of fast interchangeable lenses from Ernemann Ermanox. Good lenses, made a hundred years ago. Very high quality. But you will not find a camera in good condition for those lenses. Even in a faulty state, such a device will be expensive, and bringing it into working condition is another adventure only for those with deep pockets.

Of course, there is a large selection of lenses of the old standards, which I wrote about in sixth part: LTM and M42. But cameras for these standards can be 50 years old or more. Old mechanical devices cannot be in good condition at this age. Almost any camera over 40 years old requires maintenance. Those cameras have rubber, fabric, glue, and grease inside. These materials completely lose their properties over the years.

 Of course, you can find an old camera that seems to work. It just won’t work reliably. Most likely it will fail after shooting some films. Something in it will peel off (which should be glued) or tear (if it’s made of rubber or fabric). Yes, and grease likely turned into sticky glue.

Cameras under 40 years old are in better condition. But these cameras are usually tied to a newer and specific, not universal, lens system.

I didn’t say anything about the price of the cameras. It’s a difficult question. The secondhand market is very different. And even now, the repair and maintenance of the camera costs more than buying a seemingly serviceable device. Because if the old device is sold as “usable” it does not mean anything. It can break at any moment, unless it has passed an expensive high-quality service.

*The comment form is available below