Where you found your camera flashes
- Thread starter kermit
- Start date
As I've mentioned (bragged) in a couple other threads-- I went to a photo swap meet and bought a box of flashguns for $25... in 1994. I just wanted the Graflex in the box, but the guy insisted I take all his "junk." I ended up with a Graflex, 3 Heilands, and 5 or 6 other flashes (unsure what models, but will know soon as it's been recovered from mom's basement).
Just one year later I saw the guy again, and he knew what he had. In 1995 he wanted $50 for a single Graflite and I was like-- no way dude. Ha!
I can only imagine that these days he wakes up in a cold sweat, dreaming of a 20 year old me walking off with a box of "junk" that would easy fetch a couple thousand dollars today.
Ebay is pretty much the main game in town for finding stuff. It's amazing for that-- but it also sucks because people can see trends and you get a Canon X and Y situation where things that cost $20 a couple months ago are now going for close to $100.
Etsy actually has a good amount of resellers.
I've had a fair amount of luck from used camera shops-- either in your area, or online. I've found cool stuff by finding sellers on ebay that are shops, and then going to their website. A lot of them will be selling a ton of junk directly from their own sites, or you can even call them.
And photo swap meets still happen.
That said, photo peeps are pretty much all hip to the lightsaber scene. You can get random flashgun brands for custom sabers cheap, but unless you manage to stumble into some antique store or flea market in the middle of nowhere run by a clueless old lady with no internet, scoring a Graflex, Heiland, or MPP on the cheap is next to impossible.
Just one year later I saw the guy again, and he knew what he had. In 1995 he wanted $50 for a single Graflite and I was like-- no way dude. Ha!
I can only imagine that these days he wakes up in a cold sweat, dreaming of a 20 year old me walking off with a box of "junk" that would easy fetch a couple thousand dollars today.
Ebay is pretty much the main game in town for finding stuff. It's amazing for that-- but it also sucks because people can see trends and you get a Canon X and Y situation where things that cost $20 a couple months ago are now going for close to $100.
Etsy actually has a good amount of resellers.
I've had a fair amount of luck from used camera shops-- either in your area, or online. I've found cool stuff by finding sellers on ebay that are shops, and then going to their website. A lot of them will be selling a ton of junk directly from their own sites, or you can even call them.
And photo swap meets still happen.
That said, photo peeps are pretty much all hip to the lightsaber scene. You can get random flashgun brands for custom sabers cheap, but unless you manage to stumble into some antique store or flea market in the middle of nowhere run by a clueless old lady with no internet, scoring a Graflex, Heiland, or MPP on the cheap is next to impossible.
veektohr
Sr Member
SethS pretty much summed it up. ebay is tough place these days. Every once in a while something will show up in a lot, or with a camera you can resell though which helps cut the cost. Prices for GRAFLEX flashes just seem to keep rising, though... and MPP's - I haven't seen one for less that 800-900 in a while.
I found two of my GRAFLEX flashes through a guy in Rochester, NY that had bought a bunch of old stock when the factory closed, and another in a lot of flashes on eBay with a couple Heilands and a 2-cell as well.
I found two of my GRAFLEX flashes through a guy in Rochester, NY that had bought a bunch of old stock when the factory closed, and another in a lot of flashes on eBay with a couple Heilands and a 2-cell as well.
NomoZ
New Member
I did find this one: http://www.bmisurplus.com/products/16752-busch-b-c-synchronizer
Doesn't seem to have the clamp, and can't tell if it has the bottom cap, but it's cheap depending on shipping.
Doesn't seem to have the clamp, and can't tell if it has the bottom cap, but it's cheap depending on shipping.
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Yeah-- if you just want a good base for a custom saber, there's tons to be had on the cheap. It's really just the ones used for the on-screen hero props (MPP and Graflex, and Heiland by nature of being an MPP knock-off) that fetch big money. For custom saberin' you can them as cheap as $5 sometimes.
Search using these keywords:
flashgun
speedgun
flash unit
synchronizer (in conjunction with a brand name or "flash")
3 cell (in conjunction with a brand name or "flash")
And here's a list of various brand names known to have the right look:
Busch
Canon (Model Y or X)
Zeiss (Ikon)
Kalart
King Sol
Minicam
De Mornay-Budd
James Millen
Thrift-Lite
Mendelsohn
Peak
Walz
Leitz
Adding the word "camera" and/or "vintage" to any of the above can help
Search using these keywords:
flashgun
speedgun
flash unit
synchronizer (in conjunction with a brand name or "flash")
3 cell (in conjunction with a brand name or "flash")
And here's a list of various brand names known to have the right look:
Busch
Canon (Model Y or X)
Zeiss (Ikon)
Kalart
King Sol
Minicam
De Mornay-Budd
James Millen
Thrift-Lite
Mendelsohn
Peak
Walz
Leitz
Adding the word "camera" and/or "vintage" to any of the above can help
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Absolutely-- I wasn't watching the prices before TFA came out, but I imagine they took a sizable jump once the movie came out. After seeing a couple custom Canon Ys here on this site I started looking for one. I've missed out on every auction but just in the last month I've seen them go as low as $5 up to losing out on one for almost $70 this week! I suspect RPF alone caused that one to spike!
...okay... fess up. Which of you snaked that Canon Y yesterday?
...okay... fess up. Which of you snaked that Canon Y yesterday?
Rogviler
Sr Member
Interesting... The last time I thought about building a real deal saber was some 20 years ago. Back then there was no eBay, so if you wanted a Graflex you'd have to go to someone in person and they just plain wouldn't sell one to a kid because they knew it would be ruined by getting turning into a "silly toy." Now it seems they're singing a different tune since they can jack the prices up.
Either way I think I'll just put that dream back to bed.
-Rog
Either way I think I'll just put that dream back to bed.
-Rog
JDunn
New Member
I got mine at an estate sale on craigslist. The guy had tons of his dads camera equipment and didn't know what it was so I got it for $40.
He also happen to have a $500-600 Rolleiflex camera, he said I could have it for whatever price I wanted because he didn't know what it was worth, but I was already kinda robbing him of the flashgun, so I let him know how much it was worth and told him to take it to an antique auction.
Joel
He also happen to have a $500-600 Rolleiflex camera, he said I could have it for whatever price I wanted because he didn't know what it was worth, but I was already kinda robbing him of the flashgun, so I let him know how much it was worth and told him to take it to an antique auction.
Joel
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