Is a "good deal" reason enough to buy?

[FrankS]

I've been lucky lately finding good deals on cameras that I don't really need, but have bought anyway. The cost isn't big money and isn't hurting me financially, and if I resold the cameras I could make a profit. So, do you buy cameras when you find a good deal, or do you pass on a good deal if you don't need the cameras?

last 6 weeks:

black Nikon F2 with DP1, but missing the open/close key- $73
Nikon F3 with 46-83 lens- $125 ($100 after I sell the zoom)
black Olympus 35SP- $105
Contax 139 with Yashica 50f2- $40
Minolta XD11 with 50f1.4 Rokkor- $10
Yashica T4 super- $10

 

[Juan Valdenebro]

I pass it on, unless it gives me something I don't already have... But it's not easy... And there are ways to "be sure" we get some new things anyway...

Yesterday I saw a GL for $99... It's the only fast lensed compact going to ISO 1600... Not too sharp, but for big pushed grain who cares? With a 40 1.7 I wanted it as a toy for selective focus indoors in AE only... Finally I thought: I have better RFs and better SLRs for that, so why? And I left the idea: today I've thought of that camera several times... Why? I keep thinking I would have enjoyed it a lot...

Cheers,

Juan

 

[nikon_sam]

I must confess that I have bought an Olympus 35SP ($71US) more lust than anything else...plus I know what that lens is capable of...
This past weekend I bought a Nikon F with metered prism Serial #64650XX for $10...garage sale find...did I need either one...No...but I have them now...

Nothing wrong with your list...

 

[FrankS]

It was that first good deal, the XD11, that whetted my appetite. I began to look, and if you look, they will come.

 

[Brian Legge]

So my idea a while ago was to pick up bargain cameras while I explored what was out there. I've done enough that I'm slowly getting a sense of what I do and don't want.

For example, I'm fine passing up a scale focus camera as I know it will drive me crazy as a user. I learned that lesson using a Rollei 35S. Very nice camera but I about 1/3 of my shots were up close, wide open due to overcast days. Missed the focus on almost all of them. Passed up a free Vito IIa as a result today.

I passed up an older Speed Graphic for similar reasons. I like the idea of a handhold-able 4x5 but if I'm shooting something like that, I want to be able to change lenses and I realized while using a 2x3 that being stuck with a single focal length on the camera frustrates me too much (and I haven't had much luck using ground glass without a tripod).

I don't know if I'm jump on a T4 as I know the Stylus Epic was frustrating due to feeling out of control, particularly not knowing what the camera was focusing on.

I'm slowly figuring out what fits my shooting style. That said, there are a lot of cameras I'll impulse buy if offered a good deal. The main ones I'd love to find though... unlikely I'll come across them. For example, I'd be all over Super Isolette or Certo Six at a good price. 😉

Edit: I've got a huge backlog of cameras to sell at this point though. Maybe once I'm back down to something remotely reasonable I'll be more into dabbling again.

 

[FrankS]

That sounds right, Brian. The cameras that I do buy have to be interesting to me. There are lots of cameras that I'd pass on, regardless of price.

 

[Juan Valdenebro]

One thing that attracts me sometimes (lately), is thinking of playing with a camera that's old and below present days' optical standards: worse than the rest of my gear... Don't know exactly why...

Cheers,

Juan

 

[nikon_sam]

I would most likely pass on a system I don't already have as I don't need to invest in another system...
Now, if I were to find a rangefinder (fixed lens) that is of good quality and a great price I might buy it...
I would pass on the Minolta and Contax...I already have a black F2a...
Would have jumped on that T4...
If and when I find that Leica M3 for $15 I will buy it and run...

To answer your original question..."No, a good deal is not reason enough..."

 

[wafflecakee]

I'm buying too many cameras lately. Nothing more than 25 dollars usually. I'll clean them shoot a roll through it and then decide whether or not to sell it.
If you ever think of selling your t4 let me know!

 

[FrankS]

The T4 and Rokkor 50f1.4 were resold to finance subsequent purchases.

(Offers to buy or sell shouldn't be made in discussion threads.)

 

[Bingley]

I've bought cameras because they were good deals, only to regret the purchase later. I find it's too easy to get distracted by a good price on a camera or lens that I really don't need. Better to stay focused on what I really want, and wait for the prey to emerge.

 

[Roger Hicks]

Dear Frank,

My view, having bought all sorts of 'bargains' in the past, is that it's a rotten idea. You've spent around $300 on 'bargains' in 6 weeks. Across a year that's $2600 -- or an M9 in less than 3 years. Buying junk you can 'afford' means you can't afford to buy much better stuff because you've already spent the money.

Now, I buy something only if (a) it does something I can't do any other way, or does it better or easier, or (b) I can make money out of it easily. Not pennies, but at least a couple of hundred dollars.

Cheers,

R.

 

[mahleu]

It's enough of a reason for me. It's not enough for my wife...

I end up selling most of the bargains I buy, the profit helps me buy the things I want. As long as you know what you're getting into it's reasonably safe (I really sweated while I waited for a quote on repairing my M2 which was bought on auction unseen...).

 

[gilpen123]

Not a good idea as you'll end up selling them again and that exercise is not fun.

 

[Chris101]

...
Nikon F3 with 46-83 lens- $125 ($100 after I sell the zoom)
...

Wow. You got $25 for that lens? I love it, but it was given to me by a friend who said it kept rolling off his stack of papers (that he was using to weigh down.) I've heard it described as Nikon's worst lens. It's the old non-Ai that was factory Ai'd.

As I said, I dig it though. It's got more character than all my other lenses rolled into one! Tell me if that ain't so.

Come to think of it, you let it go for a song!

 

[Rayt]

There are times when I buy a camera or lens just for the experience of using it. If it was a bargain then it is that much easier to sell off when I am done. Why do we travel or eat exotic foods if not for the experience?

 

[thegman]

If you can afford it, why not? I've occasionally picked something up simply because it's a bargain, but I'm more likely to decide what I want and go looking for a bargain example of what I've decided I like.

I agree with Roger to an extent, in that I'd always rather get a bottle of Lagavulin than 3 bottles of Famous Grouse. And I'd rather have one exotic holiday per year than 20 weekend breaks in Edinburgh.

However, if given $7000 to spend on cameras, the M9 would be close to the last on my list. Nothing against the camera, I simply don't want one, at $7000 or $1000. So while I agree with the idea of forgoing the cheap stuff to get the good stuff, you've also got to get what you WANT, and for me, that's not about expensive stuff. I "WANT" a £500 Rolleiflex 100 times more than I want an M9, or a Summilux.

So Roger's point, whilst my point too, only works if the stuff you want is more expensive than the other stuff, which in my case, luckily, it's not.

 

[Roger Hicks]

If you can afford it, why not? I've occasionally picked something up simply because it's a bargain, but I'm more likely to decide what I want and go looking for a bargain example of what I've decided I like.

I agree with Roger to an extent, in that I'd always rather get a bottle of Lagavulin than 3 bottles of Famous Grouse. And I'd rather have one exotic holiday per year than 20 weekend breaks in Edinburgh.

However, if given $7000 to spend on cameras, the M9 would be close to the last on my list. Nothing against the camera, I simply don't want one, at $7000 or $1000. So while I agree with the idea of forgoing the cheap stuff to get the good stuff, you've also got to get what you WANT, and for me, that's not about expensive stuff. I "WANT" a £500 Rolleiflex 100 times more than I want an M9, or a Summilux.

So Roger's point, whilst my point too, only works if the stuff you want is more expensive than the other stuff, which in my case, luckily, it's not.

Absolutely. I chose the M9 only as an example of a very expensive camera. By not buying 'stuff you can afford' you'd get to the Rolleiflex a lot faster than the M9: four or five months instead of three years.

Cheers,

R.

 

[shyoon]

My view, having bought all sorts of 'bargains' in the past, is that it's a rotten idea. You've spent around $300 on 'bargains' in 6 weeks. Across a year that's $2600 -- or an M9 in less than 3 years. Buying junk you can 'afford' means you can't afford to buy much better stuff because you've already spent the money.

That's my line of thinking as well. I'd rather buy one expensive camera that I really wanted, rather than 4 or 5 cameras that just happened to be cheap.

 

[oftheherd]

Yep, I've done it. Especially to resell since I know I can get a fair amount more for it than I paid. They are all stored in plastic bins in my utility room. sigh.

I even convinced myself that I would CLA some of them for more money. I may yet do that too, as soon as I find some spare time.

I've quit doing it. What good are cameras if you have no time to use them (or even sell them)?