Biz News Flash

Antique camera collection

By Qiang Xiaoji (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2011-03-29 17:03

Most tourists love photography.While camera technology continues to develop, many travel-savvy photographers may have never expected that antique cameras have become the focus of attention.

But antique cameras are not used for shooting pictures. Instead, they are treasured by collectors and investors from around the world.

At a camera auction in 2007, a 1923 Leica was purchased at a price of 3.7 million yuan, earning it the title of the world's most expensive small camera.

This portable black camera was the only one, among the 21 small film cameras produced in 1923, engraved with "Germany" in its body. It was also the first Leica designed for export.

In the same year, a camera which was announced to be the world's oldest sold for $792,330.

In China, where the camera collection market began growing later than in other countries, it is not rare to see antique cameras sold at auctions for tens of thousands of yuan.

A Hongqi Red Flag, which was made in China in 1970, was auctioned for between 20,000 and 30,000 yuan. The camera's model was designed based on the Lecai 135. A Dongfeng 120 single-lens reflex camera kit produced between 1970 and 1980 was priced at 40,000 yuan. Other domestically-produced antique cameras, such as Zijinshan and Chenguang, are priced between 3,000 and 4,000 yuan.

The popularization of antique camera collecting in China picked up in recent years. As more people pick up the hobby, photography fans and collectors began to realize that cameras have appreciation potential.

As early as the mid 1990s, most domestically-produced cameras cost around 1,000 yuan and foreign brands were about 10,000 yuan. The price of these cameras now may increase by 10 times.

China produced 3.74 million cameras between 1957 and 1982. After removing the damaged ones, only 2 million sets were left. Among those, about 1 million sets are considered collectibles. And with the ever increasing demand for these cameras, many believe the prices for these old cameras will continue to climb.