Arosmarknaden 2025
I only recently learned about Arosmarknaden — an annual event held at Johannisbergs airfield in Västerås. It's a vintage car parts and flea market. At first, I wasn’t too interested — after all, I don’t own any old Volvos or build hot rods. But that started to change when I saw the list of classic car clubs planning to attend. Maybe it’s worth a look after all, I thought.
And if I needed any more convincing to visit the event, I just had to look at my queue of old cameras waiting for their chance. Lately, I’ve been on a roll with vintage digital cameras, so I decided to take the Nikon D1 with me – one of the most important cameras in the history of photography. This model can be considered the first mass-produced DSLR, which changed the world of photojournalism. It was released in 1999 and started the shift away from professional 35mm film cameras. While browsing the photos in this article, keep in mind they were taken with a digital camera from the 1990s—though you might not even notice, as they still hold up surprisingly well.
When I arrived at Arosmarknaden, some of the participants were already starting to leave. Rows of classic cars had noticeable gaps, suggesting I might have missed the peak time—but the number of vehicles still on the field was overwhelming. An alternative to counting them would have been putting on a smartwatch and tracking the kilometers it took to walk around them all.
No one will be surprised if I’ll write that the event was dominated by American classics and that finding Italian cars was like looking for a needle in a haystack. However, this time I wasn’t crying about it as just two days earlier I’d been to the Italian Day in Skokloster and the next weekend I’m heading to Rozalin Palace for the Forza event.
Most of the cars at the event matched my expectations, but I still came across a few pleasant surprises. Classic Opels and Peugeots — not something you see very often these days. I was especially happy to spot a well-preserved Opel Senator from the late ’80s. A car that’s utterly boring on one hand, yet on the other, quite rare today. Once a common sight, it now stands out among all the shiny, chrome-covered sports classics. Classic Peugeots may still be found on African roads, but at Swedish car meets? Not so much. The 505, the 309, and a few others — it was great to see you.
I was amazed by a vehicle I had never even heard of before. What caught my attention was its design — or rather, the complete lack of it. This small truck was built in the 1940s by Svenska Elektrobil AB (SEA), a subsidiary of ASEA (Allmänna Svenska Elektriska Aktiebolaget). I won’t go too deep into the topic, as without proper research, I’d probably drift far from the facts. But just look at those disarmingly naive lines — so plain, so awkward, and yet somehow, so strangely beautiful.
Another vehicle I couldn’t just walk past was a true Swedish veteran: a Vabis from 1903. In 2015, a group of enthusiasts from Aros Motorveteraner began restoring it with the aim of entering the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run. After years of meticulous work, the restoration was completed — and in 2018, the car proudly took part in the event.
By the end of the day, I was genuinely curious to see the photos I’d managed to take with my Nikon D1 — such an outdated camera. On one hand, it’s a professional model and the grandfather of all modern Nikon DSLRs. On the other, it has a sensor with only 2.7 megapixels. That sounds like nothing by today’s standards — so can anyone really expect much? As you can see here, yes. This model has many quirks that clearly show how little the designers knew at the time about what a digital camera should look like. But that doesn’t mean using it feels all that different from its analog counterparts. The only real issue with this camera is white balance and overall color handling. Results vary wildly from frame to frame. Some photos came out with perfect colors straight from the camera, while others needed quite a bit of fiddling with the color sliders in Lightroom. Still, as you can see, a groundbreaking camera from 1999 can deliver decent images even in 2025. Keep that in mind the next time you’re watching a review of the latest and greatest mirrorless camera — the ones that try to convince you that keeping your gear constantly up to date is the key to great photography.
All in all, it was a really pleasant day. I got to see many classic cars, try out the Nikon D1, and enjoy a quiet walk through Västerås. Some architects have ranked it among the ugliest cities in Sweden and yes, parts of the city center are as far from charming as it gets, but the red wooden houses and narrow streets of Kyrkbacken have a lot of character and are definitely worth a visit. Vallby open-air museum is also a great spot if you're looking to unwind over the weekend.
