Customer Reviews

McKeown's Price Guide to Antique and Classic Cameras, 2005-2006

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4 star:		(2)
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This is the best all in one camera identification and price guide, bar none. It has been expanded each new edition and this one is no exception. It has many new photos and a ton of improved ones as well. Well worth the money if you have a collection to sell or you want to start one. It will pay for itself for sure.

I have owned the last three editions of Jim McKeown's classic price guide, and each is better than the last. It will not take much of a book to include anything Jim has left out! This is, without a doubt, THE reference book every true camera collector has on the shelf!

Anyone who is seriously interested in collecting antique cameras must have a copy of this Guide. It is indispensible to the auction arena, and particularly to EBay auction participation. The EBay camera world is frought with dangers and pitfalls when it comes to bidding and purchasing. It is important to know at least some fundamental levels of worth, and this book can provide you with this information. However, this "new" edition contains information that is at least 3-4 years old. So it is important to use judgement when bidding. Some camera prices have increased, but others have fallen over ranges given by the current Guide.
Another value of this book resides in the short histories it provides of the most important photographic manufacturers, such as Zeiss Ikon, Ihagee, Leica, and Kodak. Byond this, it is simply a great pleasure to leaf through at leisure all of the pictures of the multiplicity of cameras that have been produced over the last 150 years.

No, that's not a typo - no matter how astute a camera collector or photographer you may be, until you look through this book you just don't know what you don't know!

I found the organization of the book a bit obscure at first (it is alphabetical by manufacturer and then within that roughly alphabetical by model, which can be tricky if you don't know the manufacturer).

Soon enough I was able to find most any camera I set out to identify and discovered in the process a number of other interesting cameras that I didn't know existed, and tons of trivia about cameras that I do know.

While it is difficult to produce a truly comprehensive guide about something as exhaustive as camera gear, this book does fairly well though it is at times really heavy on some areas (like Leica for example...) and conspicuously light in others (like Asahi Pentax...).

Notwithstanding all that, it is a terrific book to curl up next to the fire with and while away a few hours. That is of course if you have strong arms or a book stand!

There is no better source of information about older cameras. With hundreds (thousands?) of photos and excellent descriptions, if you collect, buy or are just interested in cameras you can't go wrong.

Although ostensively a price guide to cameras and other photo-related equipment "McKeown's" is much more. Over the years this volume has grown to encyclopedic proportions as it updates and adds to its huge inventory. In fact, I find the price quotes to be the least important of its features. Here in one giant volume we get a vast array of great illustrations, camera histories, and specifications. This is the kind of volume that won't let go once a photography enthusiast flips through its pages. Pretty soon he/she will jump to another section, as each entry induces one to look up something else. As the "Guide" takes pains to suggest, prices quoted here are not carved in stone, and various factors ultimately determine the price one pays for such photographic treasures.
I only hope the publishers will avoid the temptation of printing future releases in color, as the black and whites add to the antique "feel" of the book. Though a bit pricey, it's undeniable how much work goes into producing this comprehensive book, and for all the pleasures that this book delivers the price is well worth it!

McKeowan's Guide since its first issue has been, and still is, a fantastic tome which is a must for every camera collector. I was astounded many years ago when visiting Leningrad to see that a camera vendor selling old Russian cameras from a small table on the pavement had made a full photocopy for his use! To me it is the best catalogue of cameras ever published and I will continue to buy each update as they become available.

i was really pleased, excellent book, fast service and no problems,
every photographer would love this book, great photos and lots of interesting imfo. thanks donna pryor

Bought this McKeown's Price Guide to Antique and Classic Cameras, 2005-2006 as a gift for my father and he loves to use it as a ref. the book has every camera in it.. Although it doesn't go in to detail about the camera's in it, it does go over the year it was manufactered and little know things about it.

This is pretty much the bible that all camera collectors, antique shops and photographers use to get info on old cameras.

it is just gotten so pricey in the last few years. I was able to buy one here on Amazon that was about $50.00 off the normal price to buy on-line. Even Ebay didn't have much either.

There is no need to say anything about the book. everyone knows it.
regards,
Nick Cz