September 2021

Let’s face it: Buying a used film camera is fraught. The majority of them, at this point, are decades old. Many haven’t been physically well taken care of by their owners. Most haven’t seen a camera tech’s workbench once in their entire lives, other than (perhaps) for warranty service when still relatively new. Tons of them are filthy dirty on the outside, and likely just as grubby on the inside. And yet, many people buy cameras expecting (or at least hoping) that they’re ready to load with film and to work perfectly for years to come. While that’s sometimes possible, my experience tells me that’s the exception, not the rule. Instead, I find it best to become an educated buyer, and to calibrate one’s expectations in the process.

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