I just found an Argoflex Seventy five camera in a box of my late mothers stuff...

[samnsara]

...its not worth much on eBay (yep first thing i did..shame on me) but the part that makes it worth a million$ is the tag on it that reads 'To Eva from Ernest' (my grandparents)..also Grandma noted that it takes 620 film. I remember that size!! And is in the original box with the instructions So is it sold any more and do they still process it? I wonder what kind of photos this old camera will take...( I'm sure that depends on me!). Also the body is bakelite!


ps..i did find a pack of Railroad playing cards thats worth 50$! and a sterling silver pickle fork worth 50$ with the monogram of A on it. (NO one in our family could afford silver nor did anyone have a family initial of A)... its like Strange Inheritances lite.

Anyway just wanted to share that cuz Im finding it so cool...

[bobbieinok]

1. So cool

[brush]

2. Old cameras are usually only worth something to collectors as...

finding film for them is almost impossible, and who uses film cameras anymore.

As far as the silver spoon, pls get that value checked. $50 seems quite high. I've recently tried selling silver jewelry and you done get much so one spoon is not going to bring much.

Most jewelry stores or pawn shops aren't even interested in silver. They will buy gold mostly.

[Major Nikon]

3. Lots of people are still using film cameras

I still have one in 35mm and one in 120. Film is easy to find online and there's still a good variety available.

620 never was all that popular as a format and you can't find it anymore. However you can either respool 120 film on a 620 roll (in a dark room or with a film bag), or you can modify some 620 cameras to accept 120 film. With some 620 cameras you can just jam a 120 roll in there anyway and it will work.

[brush]

4. I stand corrected. I worked for years with professional photograpers...

at magazines and newspapers and they switched from film to digital in the early 2000s, some reluctantly as it was an expensive re-investment in equipment. Some were lucky as their companies helped. But the advantage of not having to change rolls while shooting because of the capacity of the memory chip and then just downloading or deleting and re-using the chip instead of buying more film...it was just inevitable that they would switch. Progress marches on even though many liked doing darkroom work—pushing and dodging and all.

[Major Nikon]

5. The quality of digital still hasn't caught up to film

With the 35mm format and smaller you don't notice. But if you've ever seen a big enlargement in a gallery from medium to extra large format, the difference is significant.

Still quite a few large format cameras produced today: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/buy/Field-View-Cameras/ci/27/N/4288586273

[hunter]

6. It's not difficult to develop your own film.

Don't lose the metal 620 spool!

120 film and 620 film are the same size except for the spool.

120 film can generally be made to fit 620 cameras by clipping the plastic edge of the 120 spool with curved nail-clippers. In a few 620 camera models these clipped 120 spools still won't fit correctly and may jam, but it works for all of mine.

If you have someone else develop your film make sure you trust them enough to return the 620 spool from your exposed film. 620 film spools are not unobtainable, but it's a nuisance not to have a few around.

There are still a few places left that sell 620 film, but it's a lot more expensive than 120 film, often because it is 120 film that's been hand wound onto 620 spools. You can do that yourself too.