I`m finished buying FSU`s on Ebay. My best working cameras have all come from forum members such as Vlad himself who is an honest and knowledgeable person. I have one presently on order with Yuri at Fedka (presently being CLA`d) I expect it to be just fine too since Yuri has a good reputation with forum members. Sure things could still go wrong but problems can be addressed more quickly and easily, not to mention that at least I can expect a good working camera most of the time with fewer dissapointments. I think the difference is that most Soviet Ebay sellers are basically trying to make an honest living or a few extra dollars but they are not the photographers who end up using this equipment and consequently they tend to evaluate the equipment from a different viewpoint than we users here do. So with that in mind ,I won`t be leaving anyone negative feedback. Life is probably hard enough and I don`t suppose scrounging around searching for , advertising on Ebay , and shipping old $25-$50 cameras all day is any fun for them either. And, I will not say all Ebay FSU`s are problems because obviously some good bargains have been had but for me I`m done with it. Paying a bit more for a good working camera or one that has been CLA`d is worth it to me now that I`ve been thru a few dissapointments. Oh yes, I`ve learned my lesson. John
Yes, very likely most sellers just can't judge other than "it says click = it works". So it is a gamble. And if you get one that looks exc then it is propably jamming. One that looks like well used is more likely to work better. One more dilemma! My idea is to buy with risk, but only the cheap ones where it is wotth to gamble. And if it is something more valuable then I look carefully at the feedback, plus ask the seller detalied. Does the exp meter work? Have you compared it to other cameras? Do all speeds work, is one second really one second? And so on.
It's always harder for users to buy cameras too - for us collectors, we see a nice piece we buy it, if it works - GREAT! If it does not - makes a nice shelf piece or a good heavy tool to crack some walnuts.
Lesson learned !
Posted - Jan 08 2008 : 2:08:12 PM
or a good heavy tool to crack some walnuts. 