Warning: That 'vintage' camera at the thrift store might be a paperweight

I grabbed a beat-up Minolta from a Goodwill in Akron for $8 last Saturday. Looked cool on the shelf, but when I got home the shutter was totally seized and the lens had fungus inside. Took it to a repair shop and the guy quoted me $90 just to see if it could even work. He said most thrift store cameras are basically broken and just look neat on a shelf. Anyone else get burned by a cheap camera that turned out to be a brick?

2 comments

2 Comments

finley_lane621mo ago

So you bought an $8 planter is what you're saying?

alex_king1mo ago

Oh man, you got the exact same deal I did with a Pentax K1000 I found at a flea market in Des Moines. Looked pristine in the case but the mirror was stuck halfway up and the light seals had basically turned into black powder. That repair quote is pretty standard too, I paid $75 just to get them to tell me the shutter curtain was torn beyond fixing. They're basically decor pieces at that price point, unless you're real lucky or know how to fix them yourself.