D.I. Finds

I love D.I. It is such a great place. Even when I "splurge" at D.I., I still don't spend too much money. Let's take a look at my most recent finds.



This Kodak Duaflex (the lens is a Kodar, is that a Kodak model or a rip-off make?) was a great find. Only $4. Apparently that's all they're worth. There were millions sold from the late 50's through the 60's. It uses 620 film, which is really just 120 spooled differently. It's still available through custom film houses, but I think I will try an alternate route. As soon as I get a DSLR camera. There are full plans online. In all fairness, I actually found this at Savers, but I like D.I. better.



Not enough? Okay. How about this perfect Minolta XL401 Super 8 Video Camera. Only $5! Couldn't believe my eyes, it was sitting in the midst of a dozen mal-used, cheap 35 mm cameras. They're worth much more than that, if eBay is any indicator. The people at D.I. couldn't have know what this was, they would have put it in one of their glass cases. I guess because it didn't look old, they didn't take it for anything special.

You may remember I got a couple Super 8's a while ago. I've used them a little, but haven't developed the film yet. To be honest, I'm not entirely sure I was using them correctly.

But this one, this is entirely different. For one, it was in flawless condition. It's seen more wear in one day of me using it than the 25 years previous of (seemingly) sitting in a box. Which makes me think, I need to get a camera case for this budding camera collection.

Anyway, I took it Shotgun Shooting and to Holi Fest on Saturday. Protected it and my regular video cam under the jumpsuit (I'll post video when I have it edited). I just sent the film to be developed, should get it back in a week or so. I'm so excited, should be good.

The last item...and least...is this 35 mm still that apparently was a freebie with a Time Magazine subscription in days past. $4. Again, in perfect condition, doesn't look like it was ever used, I'm excited to take some shots with it. The flexible tripod in the shot was $1 at CompUSA during their closeout liquidation sale.

So there you have it. This is why I keep coming back. There is so much crap there, I know. But if you look, every now and then, you can find a gem that is made all the more valuable for you having discovered it.

P.S. I'm pretty proud of these product shots, even though they wouldn't be anything special for a real photographer. I really like the Duaflex shot.