Anyone know if this package is legit?

[Matthew W. Phillips]

This eBay listing:

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/Cinema-Products-CP-16-16mm-Motion-Picture-Film-Camera-/320739041485?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4aad8960cd

 

The fellow says he purchased it from someone on this forum. The things that concern me are 1) the shipping is $200. That is flagrant and I know it cannot possibly cost that much to ship to other parts of the U.S. Especially since most other packages charge between $40-$60. 2) He claims his charger and battery got "stolen." That is all well and good but how is one to test without investing another $300 plus to cover those things. 3) dude has very little feedback.

 

I am interested in getting a decent CP16-R package but most people are either delusional about how much they want for it or there is something shady about the package.

 

What do you all think?

[Martin Hong]

Matthew:

 

I am just gonna give you my opinion. Buying things online is always tricky, specially used items from eBay, you can't see it, touch it, test it by yourself, all you see are the pictures that the seller has taken. So, here the seller has stated clearly that, the camera does not have battery, and its been 2 years since last operation, yet he says its fully operational. So 2 years since the last time he used, with no battery now, neither you or him really know if its fully operational.

That'd be $300 dollars the camera, plus $200 dollars the shipping (what he's using? UPS Deluxe Shipping Service?)Then you will have to buy battery and charger to test the camera. If it works, that's awesome, you got yourself a 16mm camera; if not, $500 dollars + whatever the battery package worths (if you can find any). The frustration will be bigger than the money loss.

 

If i were you, i wouldn't buy a camera that's has a condition like that.

[Matthew W. Phillips]

I imagine you are right about this particular package. The comment about buying things online, however, is not something I can control. There is seriously zero people within 500 miles of me that would even have gear like that so if I want a package, I'm going to have to take a chance on someone.

 

I wanted to buy a package from Visual Products in New York as their website had a CP-16 package that was serviced with warranty and 2 batteries, a charger, and 2 mags for $1,100. When i called, it seems their website means nothing because he had only 1 CP-16R package for $2,700.

 

I really want a decent 16mm package but I never seem to find a decent package available unless its a camera that's way out of my range like an Arri SRIII or something like that.

[Martin Hong]

In that case, if you really want it, then you can go for it, if for any reason is not working properly, you can always have it fixed.

 

If you do that, later let us know how it went.

 

Good luck