Fun With Craig'sList

If you don't poke around Craig'sList every once in a while, you're missing out.
I hate eBay and refuse to go there--arbitrary PayPal Nazi tactics are only one of the reasons.
But Craig'sList is local and personal, like the newspaper classified ads but online.
Unless you really want something from another city's listings, just cruise the local ads and if something looks good meet the seller in a Denny's parking lot and make the deal, or get stabbed for your wallet and car.


Here's an ad upon which I desire to comment:


First, we have a seller with some flair--the "min.... ol...... ta!" bit is funny.
Do you think he actually knows that over the last 6 months new Sony DSLR owners (like myslef) have driven the demand and price of used Minolta lenses through the roof? Had I bought the lens I wanted in 2008 I could have saved a bundle--now I can just forget about it. The days of cheap Minolta glass that fits the new Sony's is over.
Or is it?
This seller is throwing out a body, flash, and 3 lenses for just $200.
The big lens on the lower left I don't need, but the one upper-middle looks like something that is very popular right now, and at this price should make my wallet sweat.

But let's move on to the camera body--"The shutter button broke" is an understatement. Looks to me like the shutter button exploded and took out some nearby nuns with the shrapnel.
I'm also seeing a standard hotshoe on top of the body--just how old IS this thing?
Every Minolta (and Sony) I've seen uses something that couldn't be more different from what everyone else uses.

Let's look at some of the other photos in this ad:
Yeah, it looks like the shutter button "broke" alright.
I love his comment about how if you can find the part it will be a cheap fix.
The part(s) are no longer available anywhere except mounted correctly in other used cameras, so barring a lucky yard sale find you'll be shit out of luck.
Write this body down as 'No Sale'.

Another view of the busted shutter button, but at least we can see the quality of the included lens caps.
Awesome!

Can't make out the flash's model number/name here.

Seeing a pattern?
Despite his claim to know what all this stuff is worth (so you don't try to rip him off) this seller clearly doesn't know shit about anything.

The other two "apartment balcony over the car port" photos are just as blurry as the ones I've posted here.
If our knowledgeable seller is using a digital point and shoot camera, he doesn't know about the button with the little flower icon that tells the camera to try and focus really close-up.
If he's using a modern digital SLR, he's clueless about both the minimum focus distance for his lens and the need to "chimp" pictures you've taken to make sure they are exposed and focused correctly.

I wouldn't buy seven quarters for a dollar from this idiot.




The ads for musical gear on Craig'sList can be just as 'tarded.
I'm keeping an eye out for the gems worth posting here.


Chimping is a photographer's technical term meaning to look at the LCD screen while reviewing the shot(s) you just took, then making ape faces and sounds when the results are good.
I once spent an entire downtown street fair shooting nothing but other chimpers--it was a great series that will never be seen.