Post by conan on Dec 18, 2016 3:22:53 GMT -5
Market Buys and a Mystery Camera
I had a reasonably successful day with 4 purchases. The first was a Ricoh 300 in very nice condition (photos to follow) for $10. I actually have one of these – this is for a relative. The thing works and the rangefinder patch is quite bright. The same seller had an OM10 and a T20 flashgun which he decided to throw in for $5. (if nothing else it would give me a lens and UV filter) 2 fresh SR44’s and the thing actually works and the manual adaptor from my display OM10 also works properly. The flashgun also works fine. Condition of the camera and lens is about 90% cosmetic. This is also going to a relative.
Go figure why he wouldn’t haggle on the $10 Ricoh but just offered the OM10 for $5 -perhaps he thought the Ricoh looked more collectable or perhaps his pricing was based on camera weight?
Next was a rough Konilette from 1959 and a Luxor II for $15 and this is where it gets interesting. I had heard of the brand but I am a real sucker for mid-50’s cameras. McKeown’s does not even list the manufacturer (Ermak Ind.Co.,Ltd) or the Luxor model. Googling produced literally nothing except a photo.net post from 2006 from someone asking for information about the camera- a few suggested links provided nothing but the name. Even Collectiblend has a reference to it – but no photographs or suggested values. However, I did find a 5 year old UK sale link with a colour picture of the Luxor I and this triggered the cameras name memory because the model I had a garish painted colour scheme on the camera front.
The camera is typical of the mid 50s with a 45mm 2.8 and coupled rangefinder – and also the typical weight range. The rangefinder is awful – OK they all degrade but if this was the Luxor standard it is no wonder they stopped making cameras. The only reasonable identification is that it has a Taron-XV shutter 1-300. It also has some Zeiss ‘bumps’ on the camera back.
Anybody know anything about the camera or the manufacturer? It does bear some resemblance to the Taron PR and VR models – similar top plate design of the PR but different front plate, same sync post as the VR. Were the Luxor’s rebadged and slightly reworked Tarons -and who were Ermak?
Not that I intend to sell it but EBay ads for cameras more than a couple of years old always seem to contain ‘rare’ and ‘collectible’ – and in this case without information from McKeown’s or Google I could really claim it as very rare.
I had a reasonably successful day with 4 purchases. The first was a Ricoh 300 in very nice condition (photos to follow) for $10. I actually have one of these – this is for a relative. The thing works and the rangefinder patch is quite bright. The same seller had an OM10 and a T20 flashgun which he decided to throw in for $5. (if nothing else it would give me a lens and UV filter) 2 fresh SR44’s and the thing actually works and the manual adaptor from my display OM10 also works properly. The flashgun also works fine. Condition of the camera and lens is about 90% cosmetic. This is also going to a relative.
Go figure why he wouldn’t haggle on the $10 Ricoh but just offered the OM10 for $5 -perhaps he thought the Ricoh looked more collectable or perhaps his pricing was based on camera weight?
Next was a rough Konilette from 1959 and a Luxor II for $15 and this is where it gets interesting. I had heard of the brand but I am a real sucker for mid-50’s cameras. McKeown’s does not even list the manufacturer (Ermak Ind.Co.,Ltd) or the Luxor model. Googling produced literally nothing except a photo.net post from 2006 from someone asking for information about the camera- a few suggested links provided nothing but the name. Even Collectiblend has a reference to it – but no photographs or suggested values. However, I did find a 5 year old UK sale link with a colour picture of the Luxor I and this triggered the cameras name memory because the model I had a garish painted colour scheme on the camera front.
The camera is typical of the mid 50s with a 45mm 2.8 and coupled rangefinder – and also the typical weight range. The rangefinder is awful – OK they all degrade but if this was the Luxor standard it is no wonder they stopped making cameras. The only reasonable identification is that it has a Taron-XV shutter 1-300. It also has some Zeiss ‘bumps’ on the camera back.
Anybody know anything about the camera or the manufacturer? It does bear some resemblance to the Taron PR and VR models – similar top plate design of the PR but different front plate, same sync post as the VR. Were the Luxor’s rebadged and slightly reworked Tarons -and who were Ermak?
Not that I intend to sell it but EBay ads for cameras more than a couple of years old always seem to contain ‘rare’ and ‘collectible’ – and in this case without information from McKeown’s or Google I could really claim it as very rare.
