Is a Canon AE-1 worth anything?

Yes, a working Canon AE-1 or AE-1 Program with a 50mm lens typically sells for $100-250. Untested ones sell for much less, and a loud squeak from the shutter usually means it needs a service.

Should I put film in the camera to test it?

It is not necessary for a basic check. Firing the shutter at different speeds with the back open, with a fresh battery, shows whether the shutter and advance work.

Can lens fungus be removed?

Often yes, by a repair shop that disassembles and cleans the lens. If the fungus has etched the coating, marks remain, and the cost of cleaning can exceed the value of a common lens.

Are old Kodak cameras valuable?

Most box and folding Kodaks sell for $10-50 because millions were made. Rare early models and some Retina folding cameras are the exceptions.

Why are point and shoot cameras so expensive now?

A few premium compacts with sharp lenses became popular with a new generation of film shooters, and supply is fixed. The ordinary plastic models from the same era did not follow, and still sell for a few dollars.

Is My Old Film Camera Worth Anything?

Which old film cameras are worth money, from the Contax T2 to the Canon AE-1, why tested working matters so much, and how fungus and haze change the value.

Some are worth a lot, most are worth a little. Film photography has had a long revival, and a handful of models now sell for hundreds or even thousands of dollars: the Contax T2, Olympus Mju II, Leica rangefinders, Hasselblad and Rolleiflex medium format, and the folding Polaroid SX-70. The typical attic camera, a plastic 35mm point and shoot or a 1980s SLR kit with a zoom lens, usually sells for roughly $5-80. The two things that decide which group yours belongs to are the exact model and whether it works.

Read the model name on the front or top plate before anything else. Many cameras share a body shape across versions, and one letter in the model name can change the price several times over.

Untested versus working: the biggest split

A camera that has been tested and works sells for two to three times what the same camera sells for "untested". Buyers assume an untested camera is broken, because many are: dried shutter lubricant, dead electronics, corroded battery contacts and stuck aperture blades are all common after decades in a drawer.

What "working" means to a buyer:

The shutter fires at all speeds, and the slow speeds sound noticeably slower than the fast ones.
The film advance and rewind work smoothly.
The light meter responds when you point it at bright and dark areas.
The lens focuses smoothly and the aperture blades snap open and closed.
For electronic cameras, the display and autofocus work with fresh batteries.

You can check most of this without film. Put in a fresh battery, open the back, point the camera at a window and fire at different speeds while looking through the shutter. Do not force anything that feels stuck.

Untested cameras typically sell for 30-50 percent of the working price, and less for models known for failing electronics. A camera that has had a CLA (clean, lubricate, adjust) from a repair shop, with a receipt, often sells for 20-50 percent more than a plain working one.

Cameras that are worth money

Premium point and shoots

These compact cameras became cult objects in the last decade, and prices rose sharply:

Contax T2: titanium body, Zeiss lens. Roughly $900-1,500 working.
Yashica T4 and T5: $300-600.
Olympus Mju II (Stylus Epic in the US): $150-350.
Nikon 28Ti and 35Ti, Ricoh GR1, Konica Big Mini: hundreds each.

Many of these have electronic shutters and lens mechanisms that are expensive or impossible to repair, which is why tested working matters so much here.

Classic 35mm SLRs

Canon AE-1 and AE-1 Program with a 50mm lens: $100-250 working. A squealing shutter (the "AE-1 squeak") lowers it.
Pentax K1000: $80-180, the classic student camera.
Nikon FM, FM2 and FE, Olympus OM-1 and OM-2: $100-300 depending on version and lens.
Nikon F and F2 with the original prism: $150-500.

Leica, Hasselblad and medium format

Leica M3 body: roughly $1,200-2,500 depending on version and condition. Leica M2, M4 and M6 bodies are in a similar or higher range.
Leica lenses often equal or exceed the value of the body. A Summicron 50mm alone can be worth $800-2,000.
Hasselblad 500C/M kit with an 80mm lens and back: $800-1,800.
Rolleiflex 2.8F twin lens reflex: $1,000-2,500. Rolleicord and Yashica Mat 124G twin lens cameras are lower but still sought after.
Mamiya 7 and 7II bodies: $1,500-3,000.

Instant cameras

Polaroid SX-70 folding camera, working: $100-300. The leather and chrome versions are the most wanted.
Common Polaroid 600 and OneStep boxes: $10-40.

Read the serial number on the top plate, back or hinge of Leica, Hasselblad, Nikon and Rolleiflex bodies. Serial ranges date these cameras to the year, and some early or special runs carry a premium.

What is worth little

Being old does not make a camera valuable. These are the most common finds and their typical prices:

Plastic 35mm point and shoots from the 1980s to 2000s: $5-30, apart from the premium models above.
Disposable, 110 and 126 Instamatic cameras: a few dollars.
1990s autofocus SLR kits with a consumer zoom (Canon EOS Rebel, Minolta Maxxum, Nikon N-series): $20-80.
Box cameras and folding Kodaks from the early 20th century: $10-50 for most, despite their age.
Early digital point and shoots: mostly $10-60, though some CCD models have a following.

Approximate value table

Camera	Untested	Working
Plastic 35mm point and shoot	$5-15	$10-30
1990s autofocus SLR kit	$10-30	$30-80
Pentax K1000 with 50mm	$30-70	$80-180
Canon AE-1 Program with 50mm	$40-100	$100-250
Olympus Mju II	$50-120	$150-350
Polaroid SX-70 folding	$40-100	$100-300
Hasselblad 500C/M kit	$400-900	$800-1,800
Leica M3 body	$700-1,400	$1,200-2,500
Contax T2	$300-600	$900-1,500

Lens fungus, haze and other problems

Shine a flashlight through the lens from behind and look through the front. This one test shows most optical problems:

Fungus: branching threads or spidery webs inside the glass. It spreads, can etch the coating, and can cut a lens's value by half or more.
Haze: an even milky veil. Sometimes it cleans off, sometimes it is permanent.
Separation: rainbow or silvery patches at the edges of cemented lens elements.
Dust specks: a few are normal and rarely matter.
Cleaning marks: fine swirls on the front element. They matter less than people think.

Other common issues:

Light seals: the foam strips around the back door turn sticky and black with age. Replacing them is cheap and routine, and buyers expect it on most 1970s and 1980s cameras.
Battery corrosion: green or white crust in the battery compartment. Light corrosion can be cleaned; heavy corrosion may have reached the wiring.
Mercury batteries: many 1970s meters used PX625 cells that are no longer made. Adapters and substitutes exist, so a dead meter is not always broken.
Sticky aperture blades: oil on the blades, visible as slow or stuck blades when you fire.

What to photograph

The photos that settle most cases:

The front and top of the body, with the model name readable.
The serial number.
The front ring of the lens, showing maker, focal length, aperture and serial.
A flashlight-through-the-lens photo.
The open back, showing the light seals and shutter curtain.
The battery compartment.

Reflections can look like haze in a photo, so take two angles before deciding the lens is damaged.

Who settles it

A local camera shop or a camera repair technician can test a body in a few minutes and tell you whether it needs a service. For Leica, Hasselblad and other high-value gear, a specialist camera dealer or a camera auction gives a better price than a general buyer. Selling to a camera shop typically gets you 40-60 percent of what the same camera sells for on eBay. If the camera came with a watch or other family pieces, see our guide to inherited watches, and for anything you cannot place, try found something, what is it.