A bit of a dilemma Advise cautiously asked

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Mark W

dazed and confused
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If someone dropped a BLACK 1961 Leica M2 in your Lap Free no strings attached its yours period.

Would you shoot with it knowing it's market value? Risking the camera as you do.

Or

Would you have it CLAed by one of the anointed Techs and sell it. Buying a real nice Chrome M2 for approx 1/5th the value of the Black M2. And go merrily burning film with wild abandon? Using the profits to improve your Photo Kit in other ways.

Oh and no Optic's are needed for the M mount kit I have that more then covered.
 
There will probably be some who argue vehemently that "A" is the only logical and right choice, while others will argue just as steadfastly that "B" is the only correct answer and that you'd be a fool to do otherwise. Both groups would be wrong. There is no empirically right or wrong choice here. It is simply a subjective choice for you to make, what you think is best for you.

Oh, congratulations on your luck! What's the story behind it, if you care to share it?
 
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The best for me would be shooting it and loving it to death while doing so. The worst choice for me would be selling it because I would regret that for a long time to come. No matter what my financial needs were, I would regret it. More so, I have financial needs all the time, but by Jove, I would not sell it!
 
I never sell a gift. I may do other things, but I'd never sell a gift.

Let that be your principle... And now, go and enjoy the black M2 fate placed in your hands! 🙂 And, of course, rejoice about having friends who know you so well. 😉
 
i'm ok selling a gift. i'm also very sentimental at times...but even though i love photography i find that i don't get very emotionally attached to gear.
i'm ok using something rare if i like it and if it was an outright, no strings attached gift all the better.

this is a very personal decision.
 
I would shoot with it or keep it non the less due to the gift issue. My stepdad once gave me a crap motorcycle that didn't run, and when he found that I sold it for little to no money to a friend that really wanted to use it , he was pissed. He had no emotional attachment to the bike either but he gave it to me and thought I should be buried with it.
 
For clarity's sake: I never sell a gift... 'cuz I never received anything worth selling (from people other than parents and wife). 🙂

As for the question asked here... keep it, use it. I'd keep it and use it. 😉 If you won't... send it to me! 🙂
 
Under no circumstances can you sell it if the donor is family. "No strings attached" does not exist in that case. You will never hear the end of it 😉

See the motorcycle anecdote above, perfect example. I heard a similar one once that involved someone's father and the bitter complaint that "the toaster you gave me [several years ago] broke."

God love 'em, but they never, ever forget.
 
I'd keep it and use it. Not only because the camera is designed to be used, but also because it takes on extra sentimentality that someone has obviously thought of you when they had it in their possession and felt that you would be better off with the camera. Morally, I'd feel bad by getting rid of what it quite obviously a valuable and special gift.
 
The M2 has NO family connection it is an inheritance from a photography buddy. Hence the no strings attached comment.

I can keep it and use it not worrying myself about it's value. But the end result are photographs. Those photographs would be no better with a Black body then with a chrome body.

The difference is that with the proceeds of the sale I would be able to greatly expand my photographic abilities.

I fully under stand the "precious" idea but I have to weigh that against the idea of being able to moce my photographic abilities forward.
 
If I were to sell the camera, I would donate the proceeds to some more needy than myself. More winners this way, the buyer, the recipient of the proceeds and me for the gift of giving.
 
Mark W said:
The difference is that with the proceeds of the sale I would be able to greatly expand my photographic abilities.
Click to expand...

how are you looking to expand your abilities? lenses? miles of film?
i think black m2s are selling for only a couple of grand these days, so it wouldn't be *that* much money. you couldn't buy a noctilux, but you could probably buy a summilux.
if it were me, i would definitely keep it. was the previous owner attached to it in any way? did it go to vietnam or woodstock or something? is there any kind of back story?
i'm sentimental about that kind of stuff, so i would keep it at least until i found something i was more sentimental about.

bob
 
In a case like that, where the original owner knew you liked cameras, and especially knew you might trade it, I'd trade it.

To me, a rare finish or whatever is worth a lot to collectors, but not worth one penny more to me. So use the extra to get a regular finish and a few lenses or whatever you wanted. Having a "holy grail" in the cabinet isn't that useful to a photographer, is it?
 
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