It’s been nearly 20 years now that film photography started its downward trajectory, and while the vinyl-record-like resurgence of film is encouraging, and all signs suggest that film has stabilized,* it’s not been helped by a general decline in photography over the past 10 or 12 years or so — essentially the point at which smartphones came onto the scene, and became everyone’s default camera.
You can argue the timing, and you can argue the facts, but one thing is tough to refute: Camera shops have basically died off, helped by the rise of e-commerce, and we’re left with scant choices when it comes to photography gear in general, and film photography gear specifically. So what’s a photographer to do?
Indeed, with professional-grade film gear not even being manufactured anymore, we’re left with used gear — much of it quite high quality, actually — but finding it can be a problem.
For me, I have two relatively local options: Englewood Camera in Littleton, Colorado, a good 35 to 45 minutes from home, and Cameraworks, in Colorado Springs, which is over an hour away depending on traffic. Englewood is where I got my Pentax 645, but the used film gear is not really their focus. Cameraworks specializes in it, and they have an incredible selection of film camera bodies and lenses, supplemented by a staff who actually knows a thing or two about their merch.
But while these options exist locally, their selections can be disappointing, if only because what they have depends entirely on what people bring-in to trade, sell or consign. If you’re looking for something specific, you generally have to be very patient (until what you want shows-up), or you have to roll the dice on an eBay purchase, or you have to find someone with a national footprint.
Frankly, the next logical choice is eBay — but it’s not a common choice for me. I refuse to spend any more money at eBay than I’m willing to basically take out of my wallet and throw onto a bonfire. I know many people have success, as I have in some areas, but broadly, I’m not going to risk much there. Individual sellers simply don’t have much skin in the game if they misrepresent the merchandise, and screw someone in the process.
On the national footprint scene, I know of a few choices. They include B&H in New York — which seems quite proud, price-wise, of their limited array of used gear. Roberts Camera’s UsedPhotoPro out of Indianapolis. National Camera up in Minneapolis. And then there’s KEH, located near Atlanta. (You can find links to all of these in my directory.)
What I Like
There are a few things I’ve found that I like with KEH:
- Decent web site. You can find things pretty easily; the search works well, the filtering works well, the categories and attributes are configured well for photography gear, and it just works. It’s not perfect; as is the case with any type of web search, you do have to know what you’re looking for and be able to describe it. And KEH has to have described it in a way that matches your thinking. If you want a lens for a Rolleiflex SL35, for example, what do you search for? SL35? QBM (the mount)? Rollei? Carl Zeiss? Any of those might work — but will likely return other things too
- The stock is (most of the time) good. They do not have everything. Like any used store, they’re going to have only what people have sold them, so if you’re looking for something specific, they’ll have it — or they won’t. The more esoteric the item, the less likely they’ll have it of course. My hit rate has generally been pretty good.
- The condition ratings are accurate. When KEH says something is “excellent” it is. The only exception to this was a rear converter for my Pentax, which was sold as “excellent,” and visually, it was indeed excellent. However, the lenses did not smoothly attach to the converter; they bound-up, and while it worked, it did not work properly. Which brings me to my next point…
- Returns have not been an issue. When I had the problem with the rear converter, I called KEH and explained the issue. The CSR not only arranged a refund, but sent a return shipping label immediately. If this was a situation of “I just don’t like it,” I’m certain I’d have had to pay the return freight. But in this situation, they stood behind it and made it right, and I got my refund back on my credit card promptly.
- Fast service. On each order, KEH has fulfilled it immediately, and even the free shipping option has gotten me my merchandise in just a few days — all of it very well packed. I consider that a positive.
Considering that KEH has had every lens cap, back cap, and body cap I’ve ever had need for (how or why these always go missing is a good question), and considering they’ve had the lenses I want at a decent and fair price, my feelings about the company are positive — mostly, anyway, but not totally.
What I Don’t Like
- High prices. I can’t say that I’ve felt ripped-off by anything I’ve bought from KEH, but that’s mostly because if I feel the prices are too high, I don’t buy the item. And more often than not, KEH’s prices are pretty high compared to other sources. That being said, the used market is a funny one, and at the end of the day, the value of any particular used item is what someone is willing to pay for it. Considering that KEH sends buyers around the country to acquire used gear, my guess is that they have a pretty strong data set about what sells, how fast, and at what price. But I wouldn’t go to KEH looking for bargains on pristine used gear; you won’t find them.
- Stuff that doesn’t work. On two occasions now, I’ve bought items from KEH that, when I get them, are essentially broken. As I mentioned above, one Pentax 645 rear converter was bent or had some other issue that prevented lenses from attaching to it. In another case, I bought a spot meter with a meter needle that was completely gone, rendering the meter useless. While the latter example could have been shipping damage, I’ve begun to wonder whether anyone even checks this stuff (other than cosmetically) before they send it out.
- Breaking apart outfits. As I wrote about in my review of the Hasselblad 503CW, KEH pretty obviously takes-in camera outfits, and proceeds to separate the pieces out and sell them individually. While this is a benefit to people who might have broken specific pieces of the gear and want to replace them, it makes it difficult to purchase complete, working camera outfits, and it seems empirically obvious as well that it raises the net total cost to do so. But KEH knows their market, and I can’t fault them for doing what they need to do to maximize their profit.
- Lots of marginal quality stuff. As someone who prefers things in excellent cosmetic and working condition (that’s how I take care of things I buy new), it’s frustrating that so much of what I’m looking for is available at KEH — but it’s in crappy condition. Again, KEH can only sell what it has access to source, and if “excellent” grade items aren’t out there, they can’t stock them.
In closing, I have one bit of advice if you find something on KEH: act fast. You snooze, you may well lose, and that’s been the case for me. With decent used gear being in-demand and hard-to-find, you’re not the only one searching KEH for specific things, so if you find it, get it — before someone else beats you to the punch. That someone else might just be me.
* I say “film has stabilized” primarily because Kodak Alaris is actually introducing new products rather than discontinuing them (Ektachrome E100, anyone?), and even Fuji recently announced the return of Acros black and white film — a sign that they may not, actually, be plotting their full exit from the film world. Encouraging; if they discontinued Velvia 50, I think the world would be a worse place to be.
