>I see perfectly fine items all the time in photo shops
>and on e-bay. These items can be in near mint/ mint
>condition except for one thing that probably ruins the
>value even more than coating marks/ fungus. Some idiot
>has engraved something on the item, be it drivers
>license, name, some idiot even put their address on a
>camera. These things are just soo ugly in my eyes, and
>most of the times they are done with a clumsy hand
>engraving tool that leaves marks all over the item. I
>just don't get it. Bad engraving can cut half the
>value off an item and can cause unseeable damage. What
>do these people think that they will recover their
>item if they chisel their drivers license or name into
>it? I just dont get it.
>
>Mark Lloyd
I would like at this point to make an admission. I once engraved an ident.
number on the rear barrel of a Nikkor 21/4 - yeah, the first one, made for
the F with the mirror locked up. Only about 5000 made. What can I say? - I
was young, dumb and didn't think it was worth much (ha! A lens hood for it
once sold for a coupla thousand!). It didn't show with the lens mounted. I
was making a rare and sporadic attempt to organise my life. It wasn't one
of the incredibly rare rangefinder versions. I was punished when I sold it
(wasn't that sharp anyway).
Mark, most people are not aware that their camera gear may be collectible.
Almost always it isn't. Usually, it does no actual damage apart from
cosmetically. That's not ugly - my mamiya Press is ugly! If the glass is
fine, what else is the problem? Pay less, take pictures. That's what
they're for!
AndrewF
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