A job lot of DCS 420 / 410s

Discuss older Nikon-based Kodak digital SLRs, including DCS 100, DCS 200, NC2000, DCS 400/600/700-series, etc. Ask questions, post general comments, anecdotes, reviews and user tips.
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Ashley_Pomeroy
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A job lot of DCS 420 / 410s

Post by Ashley_Pomeroy »

Hi there chaps; I've been lurking for a while. I'm curious about these old Kodak DCS cameras, and I often look on eBay for the imaginary £50 DCS 460 with all the accessories in working order etc, or the DCS 560 that someone is throwing away, although I suspect I will have a very long wait.

I recently noticed this chap on eBay:
http://stores.ebay.co.uk/betteroffblu-fotograf

He's selling what looks like 25 different Kodak DCS 420 / 410 models for £54.20 each. Most of them are DCS 420s based on the Nikon N90s, but there are also a few 420s based on the N90 and a couple of N90s-based 410s. The photographs seem to be of the individual bodies, rather than stock photographs. They look to be in generally good condition although some of them have obvious bumps and bruise and at least one has a broken-off M/S/C lever. I have to wonder if they're store-returned defective bodies, although I have no idea if the DCS 410/420 was ever sold in actual shops.

They're sold as-is, and there's no mention of memory cards, batteries, chargers etc. I'm not overly fond of the enormous crop factor of these older models, and judging by the 420 article on this site I doubt they'd be much practical use, but I wonder what kind of things are likely to go wrong with them (I'm guessing the camera body is reliable, and that the digital module is of the "it either turns on and works, or doesn't turn on at all" variety).
Last edited by Ashley_Pomeroy on Sat Aug 30, 2008 12:26 am, edited 2 times in total.
NIKON KIU
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Post by NIKON KIU »

Hi Ashley and welcome aboard,

That chap is a lady!! I have bought and sold her tru ebay before, she seems to be an honest person, she deals in a lot of Nikon, as you probably noticed.

As for the quirks of the DCS-xxxx cameras... I let others answer that.

Kiu
Lets talk Nikon
Ashley_Pomeroy
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Post by Ashley_Pomeroy »

NIKON KIU wrote:That chap is a lady!!Kiu
Well, it's hard to tell nowadays - with the long hair and the jeans, these youngsters start to look alike.

One thing I notice is that several of the DCS 420s have an uncoloured KODAK legend on the digital module. I suppose the white paint might have rubbed off. Most of them have a "Kodak Digital Science" logo, but some have "Kodak Professional DCS".

I have to ask; were the 420M models marked as such, or is the only way to tell by looking at the serial number?
nikonnl
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betteroffblu

Post by nikonnl »

Gentlemen, behind the ebay-ID you'll find a thrustworthy gentlemen and lady, dealing for some years in mainly Nikon gear. They live at the southern (and remote) tip of Texas. The Kodak cameras are sold because they do not have any equipment (chargers, cards, cables, etc.) to check them. I've done a lot of business with them and I am satisfied. Some cameras may work, and if you have a regular back you can turn them back into a film camera.
Regards,
Nico
zzopit
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Nikon DCS 420s - a NASA camera

Post by zzopit »

OK, I just bought one of their DCS 420s. Probably the worst looking of the lot, mine has a US Gov't Property NASA sticker on it. Hope to post pictures as soon as it arrives. Blue is a great dealer, recently picked up a 105mm F4 Micro and a 20mm F3.5, great deals but obviously press-pool ugly.

Now its time to hunt for battery, charger, drivers/software and a chip. I'm running a MAC with OS 10.4 or might try the older Ibook G3 with OS9.

- zzopit
F/F2/F3/F4/F5/D1/D2x
ZZOPIT
LONG ISLAND NY
S2/F/F2/F3/F4/F5/D1
and lots of glass.
Ross_Alford
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Post by Ross_Alford »

It seems to me that most or all of these must have been used for something unusual. They may look new, but may have been fired a lot of times, mounted on a tripod or in a cradle or some such. Looking at the images of them, many of them seem to have the remains of glue or something on at least the edge of the connector on the back where the charger plugs in, and this one

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Nikon-Kodak-DCS-4 ... dZViewItem

(item number 310078811420 in case that link does not work)

has a cable running from the PC socket on the front of the camera back to the charger/etc socket, which looks suspiciously like it is glued into place. The one before it has a similar cable, not as obviously glued into the back. I have never seen one like that; some way of letting the back know exactly when the shutter fires, perhaps? But how do you charge it?

Any ideas?
bleos
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Post by bleos »

For anyone who needs an Elpac charger for these cameras, please feel free to contact me. I have a few available. Thanks!
NIKON KIU
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Post by NIKON KIU »

You people are a bad influence!

I tried hard to resist, but then I saw this one:
Image

Look at the back:
Image

Darn thing looks new!
I bargained 10% on top of that...

Kiu
Lets talk Nikon
Ashley_Pomeroy
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Post by Ashley_Pomeroy »

There's still a few left. I'd be genuinely curious to know what they're like, and if they have a history - they look as if they came from one place, and they must have cost a bomb en masse back when they were new. It would be interesting to know if the serial number stickers tally with the camera's serial number, or if they are an internal thing, and of course whether they work or not. Living in the UK I'm dubious about paying the money plus postage, and of course I'd still need to get hold of all the accessories, which would be a lengthy process.
NIKON KIU
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Post by NIKON KIU »

I received mine, the camera looks unused although there is a small crease on the front of the digital back. Probably because of storage.
It came as pictured above, only supplied with a body cap. No battery, no charger, no software....
I doubt if the serial number of the body matches the back, I will remove the back and advise later.

Kiu
Lets talk Nikon
Ashley_Pomeroy
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Post by Ashley_Pomeroy »

I wondered if perhaps they were used en masse, as part of a large array of cameras - I was thinking of Eadweard Muybridge's method of photographing a horse in motion, by setting up a row of cameras and firing them one after the other. Perhaps they were triggered by computer, and used to photograph objects in flight? That might explain the glued-on control cables. A Google search for e.g. "nasa array kodak dcs cameras" didn't throw up anything.
drummond93
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Multiple cameras- possible use

Post by drummond93 »

While I can't confirm that the cameras being sold on Ebay are the ones used as such, several (over 60+) similar digital cameras are used to film the "Bullet Time" special effects (as used for the MATRIX trilogy of movies as well as other movies and commercials). Search on "Bullet Time" on Wikipedia or Google for a more detailed explanation w/ movies- or see:

http://escience.anu.edu.au/lecture/cg/C ... kthru1.mov

An additional link w/ more detailed photos (scroll down, about 1/2 down the page) is at :

http://mmhan.blogspot.com/2005_10_01_archive.html

I believe that a clip showing the actual filming with the 60+ cameras being used is available on the "Making of the Matrix" as found on the MATRIX DVD special edition w/ the extra bonus commentaries.
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