What to do with my old 35mm Olympus OM10?

[stevensfo]

Finally having decided to leave paid work probably next spring, two years later than planned, I am starting to think about the list of projects I have lined up (too many!) I blew the dust off my photo gear and checked everything.

I have a few Canon DSLRS, bought about 10 years ago when I was crazy about it.

I also have an old Olympus OM10 that I bought over 30 years ago. My memory is a bit hazy but I remember being shocked when I decided to compare it with the newer DSLRs and saw the far better quality of the photos taken by the newer cameras.

Since I'm also going through a decluttering phase ( in theory a permanent phase but it's like walking in treacle) I'd like to convince myself to get rid of the old OM10. It has nostalgic value, but I've read enough about hoarding/decluttering to fight it!

However, reading reports like this doesn't make it easy:
https://www.35mmc.com/23/03/2021/olympu ... a-goodwin/


Of course, just like shares, the second I sell it/ throw/give it away, you can bet that it will become a collector's item and worth millions.

Any reason to hold onto it?


Steve

[terminal7]

I had a decades old OM2 plus variety of lenses plus a more recent PENTAX K-r Digital SLR Camera that I tried to sell early last year. Approached a number of camera dealers with full details - not one was interested.

T7

[kempiejon]

College I worked at a while ago had a flurry of people coming in to donate old SLR kit, the photography teachers took them in for novelty value and not wanting to appear ungrateful but their opinion was old kit was worthless.

[Lootman]

I had a decades old OM2 plus variety of lenses plus a more recent PENTAX K-r Digital SLR Camera that I tried to sell early last year. Approached a number of camera dealers with full details - not one was interested.

College I worked at a while ago had a flurry of people coming in to donate old SLR kit, the photography teachers took them in for novelty value and not wanting to appear ungrateful but their opinion was old kit was worthless.

Yeah, even the 1930s German camera I inherited from my dad is only worth a hundred or so. And that took better pictures than the 1970s SLRs from Pentax, Olympus etc.

It is like asking if a 1973 colour TV is worth anything, from back when we called them colour TVs because most people still had black and white TVs

[jfgw]

It might be worth checking the values of any lenses you have. You could look on eBay and tick either "Sold Items" or "Completed Items".

...plus a more recent PENTAX K-r Digital SLR Camera that I tried to sell early last year. Approached a number of camera dealers with full details - not one was interested.

I have checked the K-r and they can fetch a few quid (although not a big fortune) on eBay.

If it has been sitting around a while with the main battery discharged (or not installed), the memory backup cell will have failed. This is a tiny lithium rechargeable cell with two legs that is soldered onto one of the boards. It can be replaced but it is fiddly and requires some soldering experience. Without this, the camera forgets its settings (date, time, anything-else you have changed) whenever the main battery is removed. Also, the main battery drains slowly as the camera tries to charge this faulty cell. This issue also applies to many other DSLRs (certainly Pentax ones). Other cameras may have a replaceable coin cell for this purpose.


Julian F. G. W.

[Watis]

I auctioned two 35mm film cameras on eBay recently. They sold readily for £30-odd each.

I do wonder who's buying all this old kit. Three years ago I had buyers fighting over a 30+ year old XT compatible PC.

Watis

[mc2fool]

I recently shifted a 1950s Kodak box Brownie for £30 (and a 1980s black and white 12" TV for the same amount!)

[bungeejumper]

My wife's old dad had a Rolleiflex and a couple of Leicas with which he won many camera club prizes back in the black and white days when you developed your own 35mm film and got busy with an enlarger in the bathroom.

At the time of his death, they were much coveted. Ten years later, not nearly so much. But ten years after that, they were cool again. (And people were rediscovering the joys of black and white.) His little Rollei 35S miniature commands silly money these days......

So when his widow eventually passed on, we gave them to his two nephews - one a graphic designer and landscape photographer, the other a conservation reserve organiser - and they were well pleased with the family link to the things they love doing. Never give up hope!

BJ

[DrFfybes]

I recently shifted a 1950s Kodak box Brownie for £30 (and a 1980s black and white 12" TV for the same amount!)

That's steep - around here you could have got them both takes away for £15.

We too have a pile of 19860s-1980s SLR stuff from MrsF's father, and my grandad's Box Brownie (in the box, with the case and instructions). Plus a load of 126 'point and press' cameras, some with part used rolls in them.

Looking on Ebay it is hit and miss what sells, although the old lenses might be worth something if they're in good condition.

[mc2fool]

I recently shifted a 1950s Kodak box Brownie for £30 (and a 1980s black and white 12" TV for the same amount!)

That's steep - around here you could have got them both takes away for £15.

We too have a pile of 19860s-1980s SLR stuff from MrsF's father, and my grandad's Box Brownie (in the box, with the case and instructions). Plus a load of 126 'point and press' cameras, some with part used rolls in them.

Looking on Ebay it is hit and miss what sells, although the old lenses might be worth something if they're in good condition.

LOL! The Brownie took three months to sell (on eBay), although it was first listed on Gumtree a month earlier.

The TV took only four days, again on eBay, although that was also listed on Gumtree a month before, and the buyer sent an Addison Lee driver to pick it up, for what must have cost in excess of £50, so I reckon I probably underpriced the TV!

[Padders72]

Some of the genuinely Pro level film bodies and especially glass still makes modest money but consumer grade stuff like the OM-10 hasn't been worth anything to speak of for at least 20 years now. It was at the low to medium end of the market back in the day and time hasn't been kind. I still have one around somewhere, and and OM-20 too I think. That said, I'd rather use a 80s-90s SLR than a circa 2000s DSLR as those now are about as useful as a chocolate teapot.

[stevensfo]

Some of the genuinely Pro level film bodies and especially glass still makes modest money but consumer grade stuff like the OM-10 hasn't been worth anything to speak of for at least 20 years now. It was at the low to medium end of the market back in the day and time hasn't been kind. I still have one around somewhere, and and OM-20 too I think. That said, I'd rather use a 80s-90s SLR than a circa 2000s DSLR as those now are about as useful as a chocolate teapot.

Yes, the first digital cameras were pretty dismal in comparison. But ironically, some of our most treasured pics are from c.2000. Our kids were young and I became the proud owner of a Kodak digital automatic. Unless my memory is playing tricks I think it was 1 Mb!!

Years later, I realised how fast the technology was moving when I noticed how quickly my DSLR's photos were filling up my PC's memory.


Steve