Photographers Can Buy Zany Gear at Adorama for Just $3

When photographers think of legendary gear hunts, they probably think about estate sales, flea markets, or lucky eBay scores. However, at Adorama in Manhattan, photographers can score old gear for just $3 a piece. Adorama’s new bins are part clearance rack and part time machine.

Every item is $3, but there is a limit of five items per person. But what’s inside these bins? Everything from half-frame Olympus Pen F cameras to old mirror lenses, Vivitar wide angles, Minolta Maxxums, macro bellows, and the occasional neoprene strap with roses on it, because why not?

Full of Surprises

PetaPixel reached out to Adorama to learn more about The Bins at Adorama, and what treasures the bins may hold.

“The Bins at Adorama is a new in-store activation at our Manhattan store on W 18th street created for photographers, creators, collectors, and tinkerers who love the thrill of the hunt. We’ve filled the bins with all kinds of photo and video gear — from vintage oddities and forgotten accessories to ‘for parts’ items and hidden gems,” Adorama tells PetaPixel.

“Everything in The Bins is priced at $3, and the selection is first come, first served. Items are sold as-is, with no returns, exchanges, or warranties, and there’s a limit of five items per customer. Because of the overwhelming response, the bins can run low at times — but we restock them at random, which adds to the surprise factor and keeps people coming back.

“Whether you’re a student on a budget, a film camera enthusiast, or someone who just loves to tinker, The Bins at Adorama is our way of connecting with the creative community and giving new life to old gear, keeping these items out of landfills and in the hands of creatives,” Adorama adds.

‘I’m Not Making This Up, There’s Sound Equipment in Here’

Meanwhile, Adorama’s Seth Miranda hosted a live dive into the bins and found himself overwhelmed not just by the quantity of stuff, but by the possibilities.

“You have no idea the amount of stuff, the weight, the sheer weight. I know I sound like Crazy Eddie, but I’m super amped on this because this is something I’ve wanted them to do here for a very long time,” Miranda said.

And it shows. Seth isn’t just a gear nerd flexing obscure finds. He’s evangelizing. Throughout the stream, he riffs on the creativity that can be unlocked with low-stakes gear.

“It doesn’t all have to be thousands of dollars in mirrorless. It can be, ‘Let’s adapt this kooky, weird, older lens that I find…’ You might find a new perspective, or color tones that get you into shooting more than you have,” Miranda explained.

$3, Five Items, Unlimited Weirdness

Among the dozens of items pulled live from the bins, Seth unearthed an Olympus 40mm f/1.4 Zuiko, a Vivitar Series 1 19–35mm f/3.5–4.5 (perfect for “some skate kid out there”), and a Vivitar teleconverter neatly packed in a leather case. There was also a Ricoh Shotmaster Duel with film still inside, a beat-up Nikon F missing its viewfinder, and a Canon TL with plenty of patina. He came across a Minolta Maxxum 7000, which he said reminded him of a VCR his dad once had, and a Lensbaby with flex control that allows for pseudo-tilt-shift effects. Other finds included a set of macro bellows, a massive Sunpak flash, and a classic Olympus Pen F half-frame camera. That last one prompted an actual on-stream purchase.

“Even if it doesn’t work… still looks pretty good. Damn it. I’m buying it,” Miranda said.

Miranda took the time to mount a mirror lens onto a Canon R5 using a chain of adapters from T-mount to EF to RF. Why? Because mirror lenses, also called catadioptric lenses, are weird and wonderful.

“Light comes through, hits the first mirror, bounces forward into the second mirror, and that’s what’s going into the camera,” he explained. “What you get is a very muted color, very low contrast, what I call lo-fi. That’s the part I like.”

“This is how you find a project you didn’t think you were going to get into,” he added.

Miranda predicted that people wouldn’t just come looking for working gear.

“I think we’re going to get a lot of set designers coming through here. I think you’re going to see a lot of people that have YouTube channels. They want to put stuff on the shelf to make it look like they do things.”

But he’s hoping for more.

“Sometimes you just gotta make your own gear and see what you get out of it,” he said. “It might influence some of the stuff you’re looking at going forward for commercial work.”

And while he jokes about having driven past girlfriends crazy with piles of old gear, his passion is evident.

“$15 could change your game,” he said.

The Bigger Picture: Sustainability, Access, Creativity

What makes this initiative so exciting isn’t just the price. It’s the mindset shift. Adorama is giving new life to old gear that might otherwise go unsold or forgotten. It’s sustainable, it’s experimental, and for artists and photographers who are burned out on specs and pixel-peeping, it’s an invitation to play again and explore creative freedom.

As Seth Miranda puts it: “I just want you guys to get psyched again. You might find a new perspective… Might get you into a project you didn’t think you were going to get into.”

Image credits: Adorama, Seth Miranda