When was TOYO 45A discontinued

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Hello, I have seen a Toyo 45A at the dealer in mint condition. They are asking me about 1100$ for the body only. I wonder if the price is reasonable and ehich year this model was first introduced and then discontinued. Thanks to everyone Roberto

-- Roberto Manderioli (ik4jqw@amsat.org), February 07, 2001

Answers

I paid under a $1000 for mine on eBay with the fitted aluminum box (which has a street price of several hundred dollars). Since then, to my chagrin, many more show up on eBay and I think the price is dropping quickly.

Probably not a bad price for a dealer. If the risks of eBay doesn't bother you, you can get a better price there. The 45AII has a street price of $2300, so $1100 is quite a discount for mint condition from someone who will hopefully support you if you have problems with it. The only different between the A and the AII are the color of the knob inserts. Both have the revolving back and ground glass cover/flip-up hood. (or should).

If you go to Toyo's web site, there is a user forum. If you really want to know what year they discontinued it, you can ask there and the Mamiya America people are good about answering questions.

-- John H. Henderson (jhende03@harris.com), February 07, 2001.


Roberto: The 45A wasn't really discontinued, just changed into the 45AII with a matte black finish, and rubberized knobs. That change took place in the early 1990's. I suspect it was in 1992 or 1993. I have a brochure dated 1993 that describes the "new" AII.

-- Glenn Kroeger (gkroeger@trinity.edu), February 07, 2001.

A new 45AII at Robert White is $1450, approximately. So $1100 for a used outdated model, even if mint, seems high. .

-- Stewart Ethier (s_ethier@parkcity.net), February 07, 2001.

Howdy Roberto, I know you didn't ask about the toyo AX but let me give you some info... I purchased a TOYO AX from KEH.Com about a month ago for $1219 USD and it was excellent plus condition, didn't have a blemish on it. The AX is the same camera as the the AII without the rotating back but the verticle shots can be made by installing the film pack vertically in less than a minute. They found a AII for me shortly thereafter so i returned the AX never taken a shot with it. They still have this one in inventory. All this said, it sounds like this robert white place in england has some really excellent prices. best wishes dude!

-- MILES FEIGENBAUM (MFA1@IX.NETCOM.COM), February 07, 2001.

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