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Old 27th November 2017, 09:12 AM
John King John King is offline
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Default Price when new

I am using 2 Minolta cameras, an XE1 and a XM. They were a product of the 1970's but still performing well. Has anyone any idea of how much they would have cost when new? I cannot find anything substansive on the web. USA Prices, yes, but not UK. (XM = XK in America)

Especially the XM which is as far as I can tell an attempt to break into the professional market with a camera that had all the specifications of a Nikon F2, and a couple it didn't have. The main difference being the XM is all electronic where the F2 was mechanical.

The XE1 I would place alongside the Nikon FE as it is almost identical in specs.
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Old 27th November 2017, 11:29 AM
Mike O'Pray Mike O'Pray is offline
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John, I suspect your best bet as a source is 1970s magazines such as AP or Practical Photography but I have no idea how you gain access via the internet.

Clearly the publishers will have the info in their archives but whether they would respond to a request by being prepared to look into a selection of their old magazines is another matter.

Best of luck

Mike
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Old 27th November 2017, 11:36 AM
Lostlabours Lostlabours is offline
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I checked my 1971/2 Wallace & Heaton Blue Book but that's too early as are my 1969/70 3 or 4 copies of AP, that's the era of the SRT series.

Can't see any adverts for Minolta in my 1970's BJP Annuals and no-ne list prices there anyway.

Ian

Last edited by Lostlabours; 27th November 2017 at 11:52 AM.
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Old 27th November 2017, 12:23 PM
John King John King is offline
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That is pretty well as I found it.

The XM was produced from 1973 to 1981 and the XE1 from 1974 to 1980, I would have thought though that some info was out there, somewhere.
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Old 27th November 2017, 01:05 PM
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skellum skellum is offline
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I might just have a couple of old APs at home. Would be from late 70s, so right time frame.
I'll look tonight and see if I can turn something up.
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Old 27th November 2017, 01:48 PM
Lostlabours Lostlabours is offline
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Unfortunately 1971/2 was the last Wallace Heaton Blue Book as Dixons bought them in 1972.

I do have the odd magazines fron later in the 70's but I'm not sure how easy they are to find.

Ian
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Old 27th November 2017, 03:03 PM
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GoodOldNorm GoodOldNorm is offline
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https://www.measuringworth.com/calculators/ppoweruk/

John this may help you or at least make you consider that nearly everything we buy new ends up in landfill.
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Old 27th November 2017, 05:26 PM
alexmuir alexmuir is offline
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Amateur Photographer used to offer reprints of test reports. I think they worked in conjunction with Oldtimer Cameras. Perhaps there is info about this service on their website?
Alex


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Old 27th November 2017, 05:38 PM
alexmuir alexmuir is offline
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Don't bother with the magazine website. Google Amateur Photographer Test Reports and look under 'manual focus SLRs'. There are several items for the XM and also the XE-1. I'm not sure if they quote prices, but they are reprints of articles published in 1972,1973 and 1975 for the XM. They start around £2-3. There is a collection covering 15 models for £15 which may be of interest if you own various models.
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Old 27th November 2017, 07:25 PM
Lostlabours Lostlabours is offline
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Don't bother paying, one of us will have some contemporary magazines

In terms of realistic prices before VAT a Pentax Spotmatic was over £140, that dropped to £119 and remaind around that level when they dumbed down with the K and M series cameras.

We are talking about the time when consumer (not pro) cameras were over engineered, companies realised they could save a lot of manufacturing costs by using plastics in non critical areas. This actually kept prices quite level for a number of years despite inflation.

Ian
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