Vintage film cameras

[johnnyrod]

Cool! My Contessa finally arrived! Be interested to know how the Kowa is.
Zeiss Ikon Contessa 35 by John Rodriguez, on Flickr
Needs a bit of polish. There is a little fungus but not bad at all, meter is accurate, shutter is a little hesitant but it's probably usable as is. RF spot is bright and seems accurate. It is worth giving a proper CLA before use so I will do that.

[Kenzie]

Nice looking bit of kit there, not jealous at all! The Kowa is a pretty solid lump of camera. Weighty but not excessive and and meaty sounding shutter/mirror slap. Easy to hold and all controls are on the barrel. Lens is not removable though. ISO reaches all the way to 800.
How much was duty and vat or did it not apply? Been put off of buying in from the States.
Yokohama, where abouts in China are you going? Is it business or pleasure? Just making sure all my gadgets are charged before we go.

[johnnyrod]

It can be a bit confusing TBH. If you bought something you'd have to pay VAT on it on import if it's over a fairly small value, plus a £6 or so handling charge. Through ebay they have some sort of programme whereby it says that you won't pay any more in import charges - this doesn't mean the shipping price you see is the only cost! There is purchase, shipping, and a third amount for customs, like this:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Zeiss-Ikon...-/262610840907
$99.99 plus $14.06 shipping plus $25.97 import charges, so not about $114 but actually $130. On the plus side it means you know up front what it's going to cost, and after you've paid $130 then there will be no nasty surprises. Mine seemed to have no import charges, must have been below some threshold, although I thought it was less than the amount mine went for. If you bought from e.g. Etsy then you'd pay VAT on import, been there, all you can do in advance is work out how much it'll be.

[Kenzie]

Seems a bit complicated which is why I don't bother. Don't want any surprises on delivery!

[johnnyrod]

You just have to look at the items and add it up. On the search listing it has purchase price and delivery price (which is not always right) but not the import charges, that's in the listing itself. After that it's easy as you know the bottom line amount before you pay for it.

[Kenzie]

Is anyone else lurking here or is it just us three?

[johnnyrod]

I do wonder!

So far overlooked for a rubbish headline photo:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MINOLTA-70...-/252544447357
in Letchworth, or there is
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4-JOBLOT-O...-/182282829300
Lordy!

[Kenzie]

Might take a punt on the Minolta, quite like the bag.

Sent from my Xperia T

[yokohama]

That's a very pretty little Contessa Johnnny. Looks like it was worth the wait.

Kenzie, I'll be in Chengdu, which is in Sichuan so lots of spicy food. It's work but I hope to get a couple of weekends away. I was out there for a couple of weeks last year but never had time to explore the city at all. Taking my TZ along with the OM10, Tamron 35-135, and the Trip.

[Kenzie]

Looks like you will come back with some great shots, just did a search on the area. I'm using 400 iso film and some have said it should be ok through the scanners apart from hold luggage. Although the box my film is in says protect from x-rays. Will have to see what happens!
Is your Contessa a 120?