Equipment prices then and now

[Iain Warner]

Looking at a Bolex price list for 1970 I note that an H16RX5 new cost £166.75 and a Macro Switar 26mm f1.1 RX lens was £66.00. Today these cameras sell for well over £1000 and the Switar lens is in the high hundreds.
Conversely the Bolex S321 projector which cost £369.75 in 1970 would be lucky to raise much over £100.
Presumably this is down to supply and demand - are more folks actually filming today, then scanning after processing, than projecting?

[Joerg Polzfusz]

16mm is still used commercially (ads, music videos, tv series, …) and by experimental filmmakers. This includes using Bolex-cameras and explains their price.

[Nantawat Kittiwarakul]

That's more than likely the answer.

Most if not all films shot today would have ended in digital realm, thus there's practically no demand to project physical films onto the screen anymore. Besides some nerdy geeks / old collectors (like most of us here) nobody else would ever need these old projectors so most would ended up at the flea market for a few $$, or simply being thrown away...