Reddit

Just  quick post to link to some of my favourite junk collecting related subreddits.

Thift Store Hauls - I've been following this one for awhile and it's gotten really popular. It's a good way to feel jealous but also helps feed the picking itch when I can't actually go out. Lots of good appreciators of junk!

Flipping - This one has loads of great info on flipping and stuff like selling on ebay and amazon. I think amazon is starting an Australian site, so it will be interesting if they let people sell on there in the same way as they do in he US.

Vinyl - What else needs to be said? a subreddit about all things vinyl!

Analog - This one is all about Film photography. A nice getaway when you are tired of all the digital bias in most photography communities.

Cassette Culture. - I'm convinced cassette collecting is destined for bigger things. They are everywhere and are hitting the time to be a nostalgic sweet spot. Probably won't ever be as amazing as the vinyl revival, but they're a niche I'm interested in. I like that bands bring out small runs of tapes with unique art, too. Reminds me of zine culture.

Game Collecting - All about collecting video games. Lots of awesome pics of huge vintage game collections!

I might do a post about my favourite Facebook groups at some stage, but I feel like it might give away too many secrets!

Video Blog #1!

Here's my first attempt at a video about my op shopping finds! enjoy. Its pretty amature but hopefully I'll improve each week!

A solution to the Yashica GX battery problem!

I've noticed I get a bunch of hits from people looking for batteries for the Yashica Electro 35 GX. As you know from my previous post, they are hard to find, so you will need some kind of adapter or hack to use current batteries. Tonight I found one on ebay that I'm thinking of picking up. It looks pretty cool

I stole this pic from the auction, but seeing as I am giving them free advertising, I can't see them complaining! The fix i have now is fine. But these are a nice solution to a common problem with these older yashica rangefinders.

Once you POP...

I found this little guy at the local Vinnies last week. I already have a red one, but it would be cool to find all the colours these came in. The Konica pop came out in the 80s in a bunch of colours - beating the imac to the punch at least a decade early. They have that cool shiny plastic 80s look, I think they are cute, I wish cameras now were designed with a bit more fun. There's no reason a consumer digital p&s can't look like this.

Anyway, this one for $4 and came with a cae and the original documentation. Score! I might give it a go this summer, seems like a summer camera. Thought with the flash it might be a good one to take out partying one night, too!




Here's a few links for more info on this camera :

The camerapedia article

A flickr group with some example pics. not a bad little camera.

Yashica Electro 35 GX - $5 find!

Hi Guys, long time no see. I decided to revive this blog, due to my ongoing obsession with op shopping, and junk collecting in general. I keep thinking about it, and these days, 90% of my stuff is secondhand, so I have a lot of material! Here we go...

I picked this camera up at the local "tip". Well, not that kind of tip. Down where I live we don't have hard rubbish collection, so instead the council runs hard rubbish tips and charge you a few bucks to dump things that wont fit in the bin. Just like normal hard rubbish, some stuff is still good, or still useful, so there is a store attached to the front filled with all kinds of random bits and pieces. Furniture, bikes, video games, old tvs, records, beer bottles, signs, etc. I would say everything but the kitchen sink, but they have those, too.

Anyway, this place is right near my work, so after picking my car up from being stranded after a work party, I decided to go have a look, as I hadn't been in awhile. I saw a little black camera case in the display case along with a bunch of digital cameras and projectors and the usual junk.
I thought it looked suitably cool andretro so I wrenched it out and had a look.
A cure little yashica electro. I didnt know what i had found really, I don't know much about yashicas or rangefinders, but it was in very nice condition and all cleared the basic checks I've learned to do before buying (shutter fires, no broken off bits, no fungus, case opens and closes ok, light seals ok) I decided to grab it. The only puzzling thing was the weird battery compartment, but knowing the internet, there would be a workaround out there somewhere.

As soon as I got home I asked the internet what I had found. Ebay said it was something worth a fair bit, and the rest of the internet said it was a great camera, so I started getting excited. I like things whether or not they turn out to be worth a lot, but there is something extra gratifying about realising you have grabbed a real bargain. Here's a few more pics.

clean viewfinder!

I took it to my boyfriend to have a look at, he knows WAY more about cameras than me, and has a bit more experience getting old ones working again. It turned out the batteries can't be bought anymore, but you can make or buy a hack to fit into the battery compartment to fit newer batteries at a similar voltage. My bf spent an hour or so swearing, cutting up and drilling doweling, and experimenting, until he came up with this solution
The doweling is drilled through the middle with a metal spring pushed through to reach the connectors. Not pretty, but it works great! Yay!! This helped me discover my favourite thing about this camera..

light up film counter. So hi tech!

I will put up some pics when I've put a roll through. So far the only thing that doesnt work is the underexposure bulb. I might get it fixed/serviced at some point if I end up loving it.
If you want some more detailed into on this camera and its specifics, here are a few links :

Photoethnography page on the GX

Cameraquest page

A great blog post with photo examples