I bought a full Minolta X300S system...for £30! Cheap film cameras are out there!

[@electrosoundaust]

Hi Matt. The best bargain camera I've bought at an op shop was a Rollei 35TE. Absolute marvel of miniaturisation, and it takes fantastic photos, especially monochrome. The 58mm Minolta was the standard lens with the SRT 101. They were made from the late 1960s. I have mine new from 1975. When I started in newspapers they had Nikon gear, so like you had to change. I bought one of the first Nikon FM's (with motor drive no less) to be brought into Australia. It was a huge investment for a 17 year old, but I couldn't afford a F2 photomic.

[@sportshatch]

Hi Matt, I was only watching your video because you asked on one of your car videos. However I really enjoyed it. It reminded me of buying a Pentax camera and lenses from a Pawn shop in Florida in 1994. It was $50. I took so many photos all over the US and Canada with that camera, ..alas not many worth keeping. My photography skills not the camera. The camera is still sitting in a box upstairs , 30 years later and 3000 miles from Florida in Scotland. But it’s much more than a camera it’s memories of places and people I met. Thanks Matt

[@mattrichardsonsclickbait]

thanks for watching, and glad you enjoyed it, and brought back the memories! I still have my first SLR too, been overhauled but still doesn't work but its nice to have it

[@Canalsman]

Thanks Matt. It's good to see another video from you. I'm of an age where I started my photography with a Kodak Brownie camera... My father was a keen photographer and taught me how to develop and print black and white film. Many happy hours spent in that red lit darkroom environment. My father's camera was an Exakta SLR from the 1930s, the very first SLR, which I still have. It uses 127 roll film and it's a thing of beauty. I progressed through various 35mm cameras to the pinnacle - a Pentax ME Super which I also still have. That was used almost exclusively for Kodachrome transparency work and I have a very large collection which I plan to digitise at some point. There are many pictures of historic interest. These days I use a Nikon D850 which was reached through a number of lesser digital cameras over the years. I agree with your observation that analogue pictures have a presence to them that is absent in the digital world. The imperfections inherent in processing and materials give each image a character of its own. If you took the picture several times with the same exposure settings I think each image would differ slightly from the previous shot. Not so in the digital world. I think they would likely be indistinguishable from each other. I look forward to more content. I can relate so well to what you present.

[@staryjanek]

My Son, now in his 20s, wanted to get into "film" ad asked me if I still had my cameras and developing stuff. I had stored it away, in a nice dry environment. Dug them out , checked the light seals and lenses for dreaded fungus, all seemed good. I used to develop my own B&W using and old Zenit enlarger in a suitcase which TBH worked really well, well I fitted a Nikon enlarger lens, which helped :) Anyhoo, I gave him my old PraKtica, Zenit and Cosina SLRs with my collection of M42 lenses, various makes. and my OM10 and Mamiya C33 and an old Werra viewfinder camera Sooooooo after a few weeks of me giving advice , off he went. He totally loves it, so satisfying he says, the process of it all, the way you have to slow down and really think about each shot. I recently got him an Fujica ST650N, from a charity shop, and I'm renewing it's light seals this evening. A whole new generation in the darkroom :))))

[@perin99]

Great video. I wish you would do more photography videos because they're really good. Looks like you got a good haul. With the camera, it might be a sticky magnet occasionally stopping it from working. Usually an easy repair if you take the bottom plate off - just my experience and I could be wrong.

[@mattrichardsonsclickbait]

Thats great you could pass on the fun and interest with you old kit, and thats what I find as well - you have to think about every frame, whether its good enough to expend a bit of film

[@mattrichardsonsclickbait]

It seems to have sorted it self out after a few shutter releases, who knows how long it is since it was last powered up

[@michaelappleyard6300]

The problem might have been the battery contacts being slightly corroded after 30 years. Suggest you give them a gentle clean.

[@chrisbailey1966]

I have a Minolta X300 from 1987 it was bought for me as a gift, so can't bring myself to sell it. I did use it lots and have the same 28-70 lens, big flash gun, selection of filters. I once shot a friends wedding in early 90s, they had no money so everyone was chipping in what they could do, it was a bit scary until the photos came back okay. Had a go at some 'arty' stuff with long bulb opening shots of traffic at night and the like. I think film does make you think of the craft side a bit more than digital.

[@Daz_Stap]

What a great kit! It made me go and look at my Dad's Nikon F90X kit that i inherited!

[@mattrichardsonsclickbait]

That makes me feel old - I had an F90X for work in my first job...

[@pdtech4524]

What an incredible haul for £30, the bag alone is probably worth half of that amount! 😮😊 I'm always looking out for such bargains, they are out there if you look carefully .....😊

[@mattrichardsonsclickbait]

Im not often this lucky, but there are some great bargains out there

[@davidverney6834]

There are still some fantastic bargain film cameras out there. I bought a mixed lot of cameras at a physical auction for £20. In amongst was a lovely almost unused Pentax ME Super. Popped in some batteries and it works beautifully. I put the rest of the stuff back in to the next Auction and got £18 back (ok with some auction fees). These cameras are wonderful quality bits of kit compared to the plastic stuff which came later!

[@AndyB59]

This is great! Classic cars and classic cameras. Is there no end to your talents?

[@krissjacobsen9434]

I always check flea markets and thrift shops for camera equipment. Late 2022 I found a Zenit TTL with a Helios 44M lens for 200 norwegian kroner (about 14,5 pounds). It's an old, clunky and a bit temperamental camera, but it works just fine, and the lens is fantastic. I mean, the lens itself is worth many times what I paid for the whole package. It's probably my favorite vintage camera, even with it's limitation in shutter speeds.

[@mattrichardsonsclickbait]

I do too, my Zeiss Ikon came from a market, and I found a pair of Eos bodies in a junk shop (using one at the moment!)

[@Morgans_Miles]

You mentioned the Dynax 7000i - I inherited my grandfather’s 7000i, and that was the camera I started my career with in motoring journalism. I used it for loads of shoots with Classics until the digital revolution took hold. I’ve just dug it out of the cupboard - it’s still in really nice condition physically. The battery is flat so don’t know if it still works but it probably does - so I’ve ordered a battery. If it comes to life, I’ll treat it to a roll of film… You’ve inspired me!

[@mattrichardsonsclickbait]

I hope it does still fire up! I started in newspapers on a 7000i, but the agency I was at was all Nikon so i had to change to use the lens cupboard! The Minolta AF was definitely better though. Id just upgraded my Bronica to a Hasselblad when we went digital, so that sat on a shelf for years unused.

[@Morgans_Miles]

@@mattrichardsonsclickbait just to follow up, it did fire up. It’s now on holiday with us in the West Country with some fresh film in it. I’d forgotten how great the film wind noise was each time you take a picture.

[@zkcessnaguy]

That 58mm is an absolute bokeh monster.

[@mattrichardsonsclickbait]

I cant wait to give it a try

[@samsj2205]

Hey Matt, great to see a different interest to your usual cars! Was this the Minolta I caught you using at the British Motor Museum the other evening?

[@mattrichardsonsclickbait]

no, that was a slightly newer Dynax with auto focus

[@helidronesurveys4551]

a great video Matt - Thanks for putting out there and has certainly revived my 'lost' enthusiasm for 35mm, so again thanks. I went looking through eBay after watching and see so many bodies and kits available for so a range of prices. It got me thinking, at the end of the day all these cameras are just a box with a hole in. Why bother paying for 100's for a body that a $50 camera does exactly the same thing. I meant what does a Nikon F3 do that a Nikon EM can't ?

[@mattrichardsonsclickbait]

Its all about the lenses really, thats what makes the big difference

[@DominicRulikowski]

Good reason why X-300 is cheap. Once the two capacitors in them fail, they are not worth repairing. I have two, neither work, I paid $100 for one that had never been used and the other $30 and I have a case, 50mm Rokkor lens and a camera carry case that are worth the $30 but neither have ever worked while I've had them. (I live in Australia). Enjoy while it's working.

[@jonnycando]

I just found a Fuji GS645S....coming to me soon!

[@mattrichardsonsclickbait]

Brilliant! I used to have one of those, and loved it! It was perfect for traveling with. Id love another, what do they go for these days?

[@jonnycando]

@@mattrichardsonsclickbait i paid about 650 us dollars for one that’s well used but working and comes with 60mm and all caps. I do have a thing for Medium Format…Mamiya especially but these days whatever I can get that’s known to have been loved..,

[@jonnycando]

Actually it's a 90mm....shades of dyslexia!

[@tonys1636]

Was that bought sight unseen? Something I'm reluctant to do online to replace my OM1 stolen from the bottom drawer of a locked filing cabinet many years ago. Don't think they were intelligent burglars as the only other things taken were a stapler, calculator and a hole punch! The half dozen bottles of expensive single malts and keys for the unlocked vehicles and cars in the yard were left. That was a fire insurance requirement from the Landlord, British Rail, they had a carriage works there. They wouldn't have got past the gatekeeper with a vehicle.

[@mattrichardsonsclickbait]

Seen but only just, the guy showed me the camera and a bag full of bits. Ive bought a few film cameras online and they've been OK, its the light seals that tend to go around the film door

[@tonys1636]

@@mattrichardsonsclickbait Checked many a so called perfect camera by removing the lens, setting the shutter to a second or longer and holding the back to a light, operating the shutter to see if any leaks through. Not a perfect test but finds a bad one.

[@hvannandos7699]

I'm selling Minolta x 300 and x300 s