Podcast: Camera Collecting and Photography Auctions

10/14/2016

Is your Leica M7 worth more than what you paid for it? How about the value of that Brownie in your grandfather’s closet, or even your first digital camera from 1995? With Heritage Auctions preparing to host its first-ever auction of collectible cameras, we take time to talk camera and lens collecting with Nigel Russel, of Heritage, and Gabriel Biderman, of B&H Photo. Russel is a world-recognized camera expert and photo historian, and discusses the criteria that make a camera retain or increase in value, the possibility of finding a collectible camera at a garage sale, and the general ins and outs of a camera auction. We also chat about Ansel Adams’s 4 x 5 camera that is currently up for auction, as well as the “cult” of Leica and even about a camera from the 1860s that uses water between the lenses to create a panoramic wide-angle view.

A well-respected night photographer, Gabriel Biderman is also a camera collector whose first rule of collecting is to only acquire cameras with which he can actually take pictures. His collection includes cameras from each decade of the 20th Century, and he actively uses these film cameras, in addition to his growing list of digital cameras. Join us as we take on the subject of camera collecting from two distinct points of view and revel in the shared pleasure of classic photographica.

Guests: Nigel Russel and Gabriel Biderman