I am addicted to thrift store cameras. If there is a camera at a thrift store, I am going to buy the damn thing. I go for two reasons: the cameras, and the SD cards with found photos on them.
This trip’s haul: an Olympus VR-310, 14 megapixels, negotiated below seventeen ninety nine. A Nikon Coolpix S9300, 16 megapixels with GPS and the charger included, though the screen may never be clean again. A Canon Sure Shot film point and shoot with the 38mm f/3.5, negotiated below nineteen ninety nine. I have been screwed on those before, so I was careful. A Yashica style point and shoot with the retractable lens. And a 14 megapixel Fujifilm bridge camera. I am not a bridge camera fan, but I always love a good Fujifilm.
Then the SD card. Photos from 2016. A trip to the Netherlands, a lighthouse, the buildings, and a Hillary Clinton rally. The main subject took a lot of arm’s length selfies. If those are yours, come claim them. But fair warning, I once got scammed trying to return a whole camera to a fake owner, so I am cautious.
Here is the part I did not get on video. As I was leaving, the staff stopped me. They had just gotten something in and instead of selling it, they wanted me to have it. A free Olympus OM-1 MD film SLR in remarkable condition. Plus three lenses. A wide angle, another one, and an OM 75 to 150 zoom, all with caps. Free. Because, in their words, I am here all the time and I spend a lot of money here.
It feels like winning a Yashica T4 or a Contax T2. I am going back to pay them something, because that store funds good causes and it does not feel right taking it for nothing.
One concern: OM-1 batteries might be discontinued. If you know, tell me in the comments.
It always pays to be nice.
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