Once expensive, now junk, but still hard to throw away?

Jack Smith · January 16th, 2016, 07:54 PM

I have Matrox rainbow runner, a Canon XLS, a Vivitar enlarger,Mamiya C33, Cibachrome
Wow, ya I gotta clean up.

Andrew Smith · January 17th, 2016, 12:23 AM

Why clean up when you could instead charge for admission? :-P

Andrew

Jack Zhang · January 17th, 2016, 04:14 AM

My Canon Optura 20. Very roughly treated yet still operates (have not tested tapes with it) but I can't get anything for it if I sell it.

My HDR-HC7 is still useful as a deck, but it has an infamous "OSS vibration" issue where if the camera gets too hot, the OSS goes supersonic. (vibrates thousands of times a second up and down.) Also, the vertical sync going to the LCD is busted.

Paul R Johnson · January 17th, 2016, 08:37 AM

Just putting things back in the store. Sitting there in their cases, two Sony Betacams, a BetaSP portable, a Sony camera bolted onto a Hi8 back end, a ForA switcher, a Magic Dave, various old Vinten stuff, including a Vision ped used for about 6 months. Sound equipment is in a similar state, but I just can't imagine me getting rid of it - even though so much probably wouldn't even work if I powered it up! Junk, really with no sensible value. However, my guitar collection over the same time scale is increasing in value. Odd?

Charles Newcomb · January 17th, 2016, 11:57 AM

It's not going to get any better, either. I recently saw on Pawn Stars a guy trying to sell a 1930s-ish 16mm camera that was in like-new condition. "I'll give you ten bucks for it," the bald guy huffed. "There's a million of them available out there."

Dave Blackhurst · January 17th, 2016, 03:21 PM

Actually he offered $100 for the camera, but the kid who brought it in wanted $800... the rest of the Pawn crew thought it was more like worth $10, and was laughing about how much more a smart phone could do!

"Old" gear may still have some value to someone who appreciates it - there's a lot of old weird stuff on ebay, and sometimes it brings decent money, if the seller is careful in pricing, and patient (or it goes for $.99 + free shipping if the seller follows ebay "suggestions"!)...

Jeff Pulera · January 18th, 2016, 11:56 AM

I just recently chucked the card set for a DPS Velocity 3D realtime editing hardware...was difficult since it was $7k new. I did keep the breakout box on a shelf in my office just because it looks really cool - and makes a good stand for the Sony Hi8 shoulder cam to sit on top of. The camera has dual analog rec level meters on the side that are super neat and retro. Still have my "Snappy!" video grabber, among other museum pieces.

Thanks

Jeff

Bob Hart · January 18th, 2016, 02:29 PM

Don't I know it.

Several CP16 cams, only one worth a damn as a goer, others were for parts support and all three turned out to be non-identical.

Three Bolex H16 cams.

Four Sony half-inch EIAJ portable recorders, one camera. Only half a pair of viable heads in the lot.

Various old Betacord bits and pieces, also VHS.

A shedful of "junk", some of which occasionally goes out as movie production props. My CP16s and a Nagra IV all went out on a telemovie shoot plus the modern SI2K with an old Nikon ENG lens on it, pretending to be an SP Betacam under a hood because the producer saw it and wanted even one more cam in the shot. I pitied the poor actor having to run with it, shooting a media doorstop scene.

I was a bit vexed though. Two old dialphones were lost, stolen or whatever. I was told they had been burned in a destruct scene, despite my condition in writing being not for destruction.

I have learned - do NOT trust motion picture production companies when it comes to loaner props if you value them. They can be very "goal oriented" with a "sorry costs nothing attitude".

Rest comforted by the fact that one day, if you pop off the perch before having a big chuckout, some lucky sod will happen upon your hoard and go into great transports of joy over a "barn find".

Jay Massengill · January 18th, 2016, 03:17 PM

Last week while one of our buildings was being renovated, the clean-out crew got into my stash without me being notified. Fortunately it was all taken to the warehouse for sorting, so I didn't lose anything that I wanted to keep and got a daunting and almost inaccessible space cleaned out. So on balance it was a good thing.

This was the oldest and most tightly packed storage space I had. The last couple of years I've had two panel-truck loads of all kinds of equipment and tape archives hauled away from the former editing suite and the original studio space. (Which still looks full!)

This oldest group of "stuff" was literally squirreled away in the former Postal Inspector's secret passageway system in the basement of a former 1930's Post Office that we took over in the late 1980's.
I had to turn sideways and duck my head just to move along all of it in the narrow, maze-like space.

90% of it was the carefully preserved boxes of every piece of equipment purchased from 1987 to about 2008! You know, just in case I ever needed them!!

The rest was tape archives from the late 1980's to around 2000.

Anyway, I did keep the company's first video camera from around the mid 1970's, long before I started.
Maybe it will end up in a museum of archeaology instead of technology some day.

I may have the record for most costly item per weight that was disposed of:
A 5 1/4- inch floppy diskette and the serial numbered security dongle that went with it.
It held $12,000 worth of Topas 3D animation software from 1989.

Noa Put · January 18th, 2016, 03:39 PM

Quote:

I did keep the company's first video camera from around the mid 1970's, long before I started.

During my last move to another house 2 years ago I found my first photo camera back, a practica ltl, which I got as a birthday present in the 70's, I encased it in a frame and have it on a wall in my office now. Client's that visit me sometimes ask, without me saying anything "was that your first camera?" :)

I also have some stuff here that belonged to my dad who passed a way some years ago which I gave a place in my office, they are not exactly worthless because I have used some recorders to transfer old tapes a year back but at this moment they are only collecting dust.

It's a panasonic nv-dv10000recorder, a sony ev-s1000e videohi8 recorder, a Panasonic nv hs960 super vhs recorder, a Chinon sound 8500 projector and a rollei sl81 camera.

I know I can still get money for it because some recorders are still very popular but I guess there is too much memories connected to them and who knows, one day I might find them useful again.

Jim Andrada · January 19th, 2016, 12:13 AM

I just came across a Canon GL2 in great shape sitting in a file drawer.

But thanks to Kodak, Super 8mm film is back! They're releasing a new camera. I'm tempted.

Kodak Goes Retro With New Super 8 Camera - Digits - WSJ

Still happily using my father's 1937 Zeiss folder and a 1903 8 x 10 Seneca. It's when cameras turned into computers with lenses that things started to turn to S---.

Bruce Dempsey · January 19th, 2016, 07:25 PM

the demise of firewire was a big bummer for me
I had just assembled 4 decent firewire capable cameras and a laird firewire switcher so I could do multi camera events live switched and simultaneously burn to dvd. then hdmi arrived and for some reason I felt my dvd mobile studio was obsolete so I sold off everything and started again.

Chris Harding · January 20th, 2016, 04:43 AM

Hey Paul

If only cameras were the same as guitars! An original 1954 Fender Stratocaster .. sunburst finish ...can easily fetch more than our current stuff is worth! Current price is around $50K!!!

Greg Smith · January 21st, 2016, 12:18 PM

I have two Ikegami HL79D cameras, surplus from a local TV station, sitting on a spare desk in my office here. One actually still makes a picture, although it's fuzzy and green.

David Barnett · January 21st, 2016, 04:04 PM

I bought most of my equipment just around 2009/2010, so it's all relatively new. I'd chalk up my junk as:

Sony 8mm Camcorder from my mid-90s college days.
External Lightscribe burner I paid $80 on craigslist for & used once.
Sony point & click camera from about 10 years ago (I would like to check, it's probably a 2MP or 4MP)
Panasonic FZ35, decent camera actually. I should try selling it.
I have a few random books which weren't helpful to me (Wordpress, Javascript). In the end I stick mainly to the Dummies books when I can.

I'm sure I have a bit more, it's probably pushed into the back of my mind refusing to admit I ever bought it.

January 16th, 2016, 07:54 PM	#16
Jack Smith Major Player Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: ontario Posts: 445	Re: Once expensive, now junk, but still hard to throw away? I have Matrox rainbow runner, a Canon XLS, a Vivitar enlarger,Mamiya C33, Cibachrome Wow, ya I gotta clean up.

January 17th, 2016, 12:23 AM	#17
Andrew Smith Equal Opportunity Offender Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Brisbane, Australia Posts: 3,065	Re: Once expensive, now junk, but still hard to throw away? Why clean up when you could instead charge for admission? :-P Andrew

January 17th, 2016, 04:14 AM	#18
Jack Zhang Inner Circle Join Date: May 2005 Location: Burnaby, BC, Canada Posts: 3,053	Re: Once expensive, now junk, but still hard to throw away? My Canon Optura 20. Very roughly treated yet still operates (have not tested tapes with it) but I can't get anything for it if I sell it. My HDR-HC7 is still useful as a deck, but it has an infamous "OSS vibration" issue where if the camera gets too hot, the OSS goes supersonic. (vibrates thousands of times a second up and down.) Also, the vertical sync going to the LCD is busted.

January 17th, 2016, 08:37 AM	#19
Paul R Johnson Inner Circle Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Lowestoft - UK Posts: 4,045	Re: Once expensive, now junk, but still hard to throw away? Just putting things back in the store. Sitting there in their cases, two Sony Betacams, a BetaSP portable, a Sony camera bolted onto a Hi8 back end, a ForA switcher, a Magic Dave, various old Vinten stuff, including a Vision ped used for about 6 months. Sound equipment is in a similar state, but I just can't imagine me getting rid of it - even though so much probably wouldn't even work if I powered it up! Junk, really with no sensible value. However, my guitar collection over the same time scale is increasing in value. Odd?

January 17th, 2016, 11:57 AM	#20
Charles Newcomb Major Player Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Salida, Colorado Posts: 561	Re: Once expensive, now junk, but still hard to throw away? It's not going to get any better, either. I recently saw on Pawn Stars a guy trying to sell a 1930s-ish 16mm camera that was in like-new condition. "I'll give you ten bucks for it," the bald guy huffed. "There's a million of them available out there."

January 17th, 2016, 03:21 PM	#21
Dave Blackhurst Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Apple Valley CA Posts: 4,874	Re: Once expensive, now junk, but still hard to throw away? Actually he offered $100 for the camera, but the kid who brought it in wanted $800... the rest of the Pawn crew thought it was more like worth $10, and was laughing about how much more a smart phone could do! "Old" gear may still have some value to someone who appreciates it - there's a lot of old weird stuff on ebay, and sometimes it brings decent money, if the seller is careful in pricing, and patient (or it goes for $.99 + free shipping if the seller follows ebay "suggestions"!)...

January 18th, 2016, 11:56 AM	#22
Jeff Pulera Major Player Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Milwaukee WI Posts: 691	Re: Once expensive, now junk, but still hard to throw away? I just recently chucked the card set for a DPS Velocity 3D realtime editing hardware...was difficult since it was $7k new. I did keep the breakout box on a shelf in my office just because it looks really cool - and makes a good stand for the Sony Hi8 shoulder cam to sit on top of. The camera has dual analog rec level meters on the side that are super neat and retro. Still have my "Snappy!" video grabber, among other museum pieces. Thanks Jeff

January 18th, 2016, 02:29 PM	#23
Bob Hart Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: PERTH. W.A. AUSTRALIA. Posts: 4,477	Re: Once expensive, now junk, but still hard to throw away? Don't I know it. Several CP16 cams, only one worth a damn as a goer, others were for parts support and all three turned out to be non-identical. Three Bolex H16 cams. Four Sony half-inch EIAJ portable recorders, one camera. Only half a pair of viable heads in the lot. Various old Betacord bits and pieces, also VHS. A shedful of "junk", some of which occasionally goes out as movie production props. My CP16s and a Nagra IV all went out on a telemovie shoot plus the modern SI2K with an old Nikon ENG lens on it, pretending to be an SP Betacam under a hood because the producer saw it and wanted even one more cam in the shot. I pitied the poor actor having to run with it, shooting a media doorstop scene. I was a bit vexed though. Two old dialphones were lost, stolen or whatever. I was told they had been burned in a destruct scene, despite my condition in writing being not for destruction. I have learned - do NOT trust motion picture production companies when it comes to loaner props if you value them. They can be very "goal oriented" with a "sorry costs nothing attitude". Rest comforted by the fact that one day, if you pop off the perch before having a big chuckout, some lucky sod will happen upon your hoard and go into great transports of joy over a "barn find".

January 18th, 2016, 03:17 PM	#24
Jay Massengill Trustee Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Burlington Posts: 1,976	Re: Once expensive, now junk, but still hard to throw away? Last week while one of our buildings was being renovated, the clean-out crew got into my stash without me being notified. Fortunately it was all taken to the warehouse for sorting, so I didn't lose anything that I wanted to keep and got a daunting and almost inaccessible space cleaned out. So on balance it was a good thing. This was the oldest and most tightly packed storage space I had. The last couple of years I've had two panel-truck loads of all kinds of equipment and tape archives hauled away from the former editing suite and the original studio space. (Which still looks full!) This oldest group of "stuff" was literally squirreled away in the former Postal Inspector's secret passageway system in the basement of a former 1930's Post Office that we took over in the late 1980's. I had to turn sideways and duck my head just to move along all of it in the narrow, maze-like space. 90% of it was the carefully preserved boxes of every piece of equipment purchased from 1987 to about 2008! You know, just in case I ever needed them!! The rest was tape archives from the late 1980's to around 2000. Anyway, I did keep the company's first video camera from around the mid 1970's, long before I started. Maybe it will end up in a museum of archeaology instead of technology some day. I may have the record for most costly item per weight that was disposed of: A 5 1/4- inch floppy diskette and the serial numbered security dongle that went with it. It held $12,000 worth of Topas 3D animation software from 1989.

January 19th, 2016, 12:13 AM	#26
Jim Andrada Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Tucson AZ Posts: 2,211	Re: Once expensive, now junk, but still hard to throw away? I just came across a Canon GL2 in great shape sitting in a file drawer. But thanks to Kodak, Super 8mm film is back! They're releasing a new camera. I'm tempted. Kodak Goes Retro With New Super 8 Camera - Digits - WSJ Still happily using my father's 1937 Zeiss folder and a 1903 8 x 10 Seneca. It's when cameras turned into computers with lenses that things started to turn to S---.

January 19th, 2016, 07:25 PM	#27
Bruce Dempsey Major Player Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Atlantic Coast Canada Posts: 599	Re: Once expensive, now junk, but still hard to throw away? the demise of firewire was a big bummer for me I had just assembled 4 decent firewire capable cameras and a laird firewire switcher so I could do multi camera events live switched and simultaneously burn to dvd. then hdmi arrived and for some reason I felt my dvd mobile studio was obsolete so I sold off everything and started again.

January 20th, 2016, 04:43 AM	#28
Chris Harding Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 8,441	Re: Once expensive, now junk, but still hard to throw away? Hey Paul If only cameras were the same as guitars! An original 1954 Fender Stratocaster .. sunburst finish ...can easily fetch more than our current stuff is worth! Current price is around $50K!!!

January 21st, 2016, 12:18 PM	#29
Greg Smith Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: Champaign, IL Posts: 86	Re: Once expensive, now junk, but still hard to throw away? I have two Ikegami HL79D cameras, surplus from a local TV station, sitting on a spare desk in my office here. One actually still makes a picture, although it's fuzzy and green.

January 21st, 2016, 04:04 PM	#30
David Barnett Major Player Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Philly, PA Posts: 951	Re: Once expensive, now junk, but still hard to throw away? I bought most of my equipment just around 2009/2010, so it's all relatively new. I'd chalk up my junk as: Sony 8mm Camcorder from my mid-90s college days. External Lightscribe burner I paid $80 on craigslist for & used once. Sony point & click camera from about 10 years ago (I would like to check, it's probably a 2MP or 4MP) Panasonic FZ35, decent camera actually. I should try selling it. I have a few random books which weren't helpful to me (Wordpress, Javascript). In the end I stick mainly to the Dummies books when I can. I'm sure I have a bit more, it's probably pushed into the back of my mind refusing to admit I ever bought it.