Link to full resolution images: LINK
Sale link on Ebay: Link
Link to Video: LINK
(I let the robots write this text for me)
Welcome to a new experiment that sits right at the intersection of LensBusters and UsedFilmCameras.com.
This is Cash It or Smash It — a simple idea with real stakes.
I pick up an inexpensive, often overlooked piece of camera gear — sometimes something you’d walk right past in a thrift store or scroll past on eBay — and put it to the test. Not in a lab. Not on a test chart. Out in the real world, where lenses either earn their keep… or don’t.
The Rules
- I buy the lens cheap
- I shoot with it in a real-world setting
- I share full-resolution samples (no tricks, no hiding flaws)
- I list the exact lens for sale on eBay
Then it’s up to you.
👉 If it sells: it survives — this lens earns its place in the ecosystem
👉 If it doesn’t sell: it gets destroyed — smashed, crushed, or otherwise ceremonially retired
No shelf queens. No sentimental saves. The market decides.
This Episode’s Lens
Promaster 28mm f/2.8 — Canon FD Breech Mount
Serial: 86698
Multi-coated, manual focus, classic third-party wide-angle from the late film era.
This is exactly the kind of lens this series is about:
Not rare. Not hyped. Not expensive.
But… is it any good?
Explore the Results
Why This Exists
There’s a lot of gear out there — especially in the film world — that lives in a strange gray area. Not collectible enough to preserve. Not bad enough to throw away. Just… unknown.
This series is about answering that question:
Does this lens deserve to keep working — or is it done?
No hype. No nostalgia bias. Just results.
More episodes coming soon. And the stakes don’t get lower from here.
— Michael / LensBusters