Pricing vintage photography lenses and cameras

My grandfather passed and left behind a box full of cameras and lenses. My grandmother asked that I see what they are worth and sell them for her. I have no idea where to start and was thinking about going to a local camera shop, but not sure they would be honest if there was something that was pretty valuable (and buy cheap to sell big).

I have listed here the items I have...

1. Vintage Kodak No. 2-C Folding Autographic Brownie
2. Minolta 110 Zoom SLR
3. Polaroid The Reporter
4. Kodak Signet 40
5. Auto Sears Macro 55mm 1:28 with 1:1 Adapter ring & Hoya UV(o) Filter
6. Vivitar 200mm 1:3.5 Auto Telephoto Lens
7. Auto Sears MC Zoom 70mm 1:28 Lens with Rolev MG Haze Filter
8. Yus Automatic 135mm 1:2.8
9. Auto Sears 135mm f:2.8 with Kamero UV Filter
10. Auto Sears MC Zoom 90-230mm 1:4.5 with Hoya UV(o) Filter

The Polaroid and the Signet would be really fun to use. Those are both sort of popular in hipster circles, but not really valuable.

Not adding to the wedding planner drama

BUT I was at a very large (200 +) wedding on Saturday in a very fancy locale in Manila, and the wedding planner a one of the most disagreeable people Ive met at any kind of fancy function.

1) Wedding invite said 5 PM. We arrive at the venue, a huge outdoor spot with several weddings being held there, at 4:30 PM - no signage, no one seems to know which one of the wedding spots is the one we want, we wanted around till almost 5 PM looking for someone who knows something. We found the planner in a hallway, setting up candles, and she just laughed and said , "oh the wedding's not till 5:30 but I said to put 5 PM on the invites so no one would be late." if you're going to SAY 5 PM there should be SIGNAGE and arrows/maps balloons at 4:30 so we're not walking around in the cold. And your elderly guests aren't upset and tired.

2) At 5:30 the planner starts yelling "everyone sit down, everyone sit down, the bridal party is arriving" Isn't there a better way to ask your guests to be seated?

3) After the ceremony the planner runs out of the area and no one knows where to go. We knew there was an inside spot for drinks and food but no one knew where it was. So we all stand around wondering, and the planner comes back around 15 min later, "come on, let's go" and pushes a number of the older guests almost out of their chairs to "get moving."

4) Once we got to the indoor venue she starts yelling, "get out of the way the bridal party is coming" AGAIN, and starts shooing people away from the bar. She has the bride and groom cut the cake without telling anyone so no one got any pictures. (I know the bride and her mom and it was NOT planned to do that privately. They were very upset at how this was handled"

5) She didn't even make sure the bride and groom got dinner, and it turned out the bride didn't. The planner kept rushing her around for pictures and "moments" so the bride and groom didn't even get to stop at every table.

I would rather pull out my hair on my wedding day than ever use that type of planner.

Camera Mount Screws ?

Hello, I was curious as if anyone knows what the camera mount screws are called or where to get them. I do know that the standard mount is a 1/4 x 20 machine screw, but I'm looking more in the lines of the screws that are thinner and then go to the 1/4 inch standard. If nothing else where to find (locally would be best) some camera mount pads with screws already in them.

On another quest, I was also looking to find out what they are called or HOW to keep a regular 1/4 screw mounted or attached to a flash bracket without it falling out.

I've though it was something like this :

but went to the local Home Depot and ws told that these will also "unscrew" just like a regular nut.

Any ideas ? EVEN if it's not local any help would be appreciated.

Nikon lens recommendations?

My daughter just received a D200 from her father-in-law. She has the use of a couple of his lenses for now but will have to by her own eventually. She's interested in getting decent walk around lens that is suitable for general photography (landscapes and such) as well as pictures of her kids. She's looking to me for guidance, but I'm a Canon guy and really don't know anything about Nikon gear. Anyone have any recommendations for decent walk around lens?


Nikon makes a 24mm F/2.8 for $400. It's a good lens as far as I know. That can certainly be a nice lens, but it won't be wide enough for some landscapes, nor long enough some kid shots.

They don't make the equivalent (18mm) for the crop-sensor cameras like the D200. The lack of wide-angle primes for crop sensor cameras is a big complaint among Nikon users.

The closest options are the $600 20mm F/2.8, and the $2000 14mm F/2.8.

Otherwise, there's zooms. I'm pretty happy with the 18-70, which isn't really available new anymore, but can be had for less than $200 used. Reportedly, the 16-85 not only covers a slightly wider range, but manages to perform a little better...but for several times the price. Or there's the 17-55 F/2.8 for over $1500.

However, since she can borrow lenses at the moment, she should (as long as she treats them nicely). Then she'll figure out on her own what focal lengths she uses.

Wedding vows help

My fiance and I are writing our own ceremony, including our vows. I've decided to write mine in sonnet form, and he was going to write his free-verse but went with the sonnet format as well after reading mine.

We're injecting a little humor as well, since that's one of the many wonderful life lessons he teaches me every day. I'm promising to get my driver's license before our first anniversary and he's promising to let me drive his car.

How did you decide on your vows?

My wife researched all different vows online and took the bits and pieces of different vows to make our own. This was actually pretty difficult because so many vows say "To death due us part" which we both absolutely didn't want in our vows. The reason for this is because we're realistic. Our philosphy is that we're going to be together as long as our relationship is still good. As soon as it's not good anymore for an extended period of time, then we'll call it quits. Hopefully that doesn't happen, but we're just realistic about relationships.

The Event Planning Industry is hard work

There is a lot in this industry that hopeful planners do not realize. A lot of women would come to me (when I was an event specialist) and think planning would be so much fun! It isn't always fun, in fact I found myself burnt out quite often. I would ask them why they think this is the industry for them and they would say:
"Well when I was a bridesmaid, I had so much fun doing this and that....", it is soooo not the same. When I said that it is a little different, they wouldn't believe me because "they still did a lot of decorating at the wedding"...

It was funny when I'd offer them the opportunity to job shadow me at one of my events and they'd gawk when I would tell them to expect a 13 hour work day on a saturday. Or they would tell me they can't work weekends....um- weddings are usually on weekends!

Wedding planning is not cake tasting and pretty flowers, it is very demanding physically and emotionally- brides sometimes don't care if you have a family function or a sick kid, they want your attention now!
I left the industry after I got engaged this summer. I was never home or available to my fiance and we want to be able to spend more time together. I also want to start a family after we are married- and this industry is not friendly for a mother of young children. Luckily, my boss understood my situation to want more predictible hours for a family and wished me the best.

I hope you really do your homework on this industry before you jump-in. I am glad you are job shadowing event professionals and are taking classes. I am always here if you have any questions, I absolutely LOVED being a planner, it was just very challenging at times! Maybe after I have my kids and they are quite older (teens) I'll return to the industry.

Bachelor and Bachelorette parties

What did you all do for your bachelor/ette parties?

Since my partner and I are in an open relationship/marriage, our b-parties are not about any last hurrahs of singledom as is usually the case. Instead, we decided we'd rather our b-parties be a time for us to connect with our friends so the guys don't have to worry about me taking the groom away from them and my girls don't worry about the groom taking me away from them when I become his wife.

My guy spent a week in Utah with his groomsmen, where they did all sorts of manly (and some boyish) activities like camping, hiking, driving down dangerous roads and shooting guns.

I just had my party this weekend, which had two parts. Friday night was a slumber party in the woods with my girls where we grilled dinner then stayed up late watching Bridesmaids. Saturday morning they woke me up with a serenade on mandolin and breakfast in bed. We went for a hike in the woods and then returned to the cabin for crafting (we made dozens of feathered hairpieces).

Part 2 began Saturday night, when we went to a psy-trance music party where we danced all night. The next morning, the party was still ongoing so my girls donned tutus and gave me a Bride to Be banner to wear during my naughty Scavenger Hunt. We ended the weekend with a dip in a hot tub and a competitive game of hammering nails into a log at a friend's home nearby.

I am feeling so blessed that our friends understand how our wedding is not just the union of my groom and I, but also a blending of our blood relations and chosen family members. So much love!

Question about wedding make up?

How many Brides are doing their own make up for day of?

What I wanted originally was to have a hair and make up stylist go to our house and do our hair and make-up there. I had two or three in contact and all of them can't do it now. (to replace her i looked and all the ones want like P2000 for hair and P1500 for make up each person)

Now its ten days to the wedding I have no one to do my hair and make up. My MOH suggested going to a Hair salon. and they will style our hair for P1000 per person. And to do our own make up. And, I just feel this is not something I want to go cheap on. I want to look breath taking and beautiful. I want all eyes and AWE's on me. Do you know what i mean? Am I being an over Dramatic Bridezila?


So it ends up that one of my bridesmaids is doing my makeup and I'm styling my own hair (it's a short pixie cut that's longer in front). I haven't worn makeup in SOOOO long that I couldn't possibly do a good job so I'm grateful my friend is helping me.

If you don't know anyone personally who's good at doing makeup, and you don't want to pay for a professional, maybe you'd consider reaching out to some local theater or salon students for discounted assistance?

Family advice needed

So, long long story short, I haven't had a relationship with my father in about 2.5 years. If anyone is interested in specifically why not, I'm happy to answer questions, but the basic reason is that the negativity of the relationship was seeping into basically every aspect of my life. We tried family therapy, and in therapy he told me that I could like it or leave it. I chose to leave it. We've texted and emailed every couple of months over the last 2.5 years, mostly one-liners like "Happy Birthday," but there's been no other contact.

My fiance proposed in May. I called my father that day and left a voicemail telling him we got engaged. He called back (I legitimately missed the call) and left a voicemail saying congrats.

When we booked a venue, I sent an email to the family, including my dad, linking to the venue's website. I got excited responses from my sister, brother, & former step-mother (who's essentially my mother - another long story). It's been about 3 or 4 weeks, and I've had no response from my father. My brother thinks I didn't get a response because my dad didn't like my finacee (they met like, 3 or 4 times before we stopped talking).

Maybe I am getting ahead of myself, since my wedding isn't going to be until October 2013. But I am really conflicted about how to handle my dad's role, or lack thereof, in my upcoming wedding. I don't have any particular intention of mending fences before the wedding, unless he initiates the mending (which I do not expect).

Would it be in bad taste to ask my brother to walk me down the isle? I plan to invite my father to the wedding (it's up to him if he wants to come or not - I think it's the right thing to do regardless of his decision). I think it would embarass him in front of the rest of my family and my fiance's family if he wasn't a part of the ceremony, but I genuinely feel like it would be a sham to invite him to participate at this point.

Street Parking Regulations for a Home Wedding

The subdivision's streets are not very wide and none of our neighbors park in the street on a regular basis(everyone parks in their driveway).

When people do park in the street, half of their vehicle is covering the (someone's) grass or else cars can't get through the street, comfortably.

We are friendly with all of our neighbors and all are invited to the wedding.

If everyone accepts the invitation, we'd expect 18-20 vehicles needing to park.

How should we handle this? We live near a cul de sac and there are signs around it saying 'no parking.'

Should we ask the neighbor across the street if we can park cars on his property? Or is that asking too much? Our lot is too small for this.

Or, should we just downsize our guest list?

p.s. We can fit 4 vehicles in our driveway... but we're saving those spots for the elderly/handicapped/grandparents.

Other suggestions are welcome.

*Already contacted the city twice to ask if we can have people park in the street on one side... its been weeks... no response.