To use or not to use... that is the question.

To use or not to use... that is the question.

  • They don't make hearses with luggage racks, USE IT!

    Votes: 48 66.7%

  • That'll just keep going up in value. Shoot something else and stash it.

    Votes: 24 33.3%
  • Total voters
    72
  • Poll closed .
D

dnp

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Well folks, I have a few M's and am not currently hurting for something to shoot... However, I recently picked up a nearly brand new (perfect) Black LHSA Special Edition M6. I'm a shooter rather than a collector, but I'm having a hard time taking this one out and getting it brassed. I don't need the cash or to sell it per se - it's just a piece of history and it's hard to sully...

What to do, what to do... Would you use it or stash and collect it?

Any help appreciated...
-Dan
 
My opinion: Shoot or let go.

That's what I'd do. If I see something under used or feeling too nice to use, then I let it go. Same goes for watches, knifes, pens etc I buy.
 
If you have enough cameras for your shooting needs and don't want to have it lying about, SELL it and make someone happy.

Otherwise, USE it.

I have the M6TTL BP and never hesitated to use it. A simply sublime camera to use.

Nevertheless, today I just bought an M4 BP 😀 To use naturally.
 
I own a Rolleiflex Platin and a black Leica MP3 kit.
I use them, shoot with them.

It is a blasphemy when the equipments are made to beautifully, they cannot be used for what they are designed for..

 
Put it away. Buy a user and use it, Take the LHSA out and fondle it ocassionally. Consider it money in the bank. Every now and then run a roll thru it and take pictures of your cat while imagining yourself to be HCB. Post them on RFF and have Revel in other's praise of the special glow that so obviously eminates from your photos.
 
dnp said:
Well folks, I have a few M's and am not currently hurting for something to shoot... However, I recently picked up a nearly brand new (perfect) Black LHSA Special Edition M6. I'm a shooter rather than a collector, but I'm having a hard time taking this one out and getting it brassed. I don't need the cash or to sell it per se - it's just a piece of history and it's hard to sully...

What to do, what to do... Would you use it or stash and collect it?
Click to expand...

Even the most ernest shooter can afford to have one collectible around for sake of history and admiration. Mine is a Minox CLX, one of the first 100 with engraved signature by Walter Zapp. I've made a few exposures with it, but mostly I take it out once in a great while to enjoy looking at.

If you've got a special camera and plenty of others to beat up, beat the others up and enjoy the special. 🙂
 
If it gives you enjoyment to have it but not necessarilly use it and you can afford to do so ... keep it IMO.

You can decide to sell it and replace it with someting more useful at your own discretion ... not when people here think you should! 😀

And collecting is not a vice ... it's a hobby or an interest.
 
I own this very camera and have wrestled with the same question on and off again over the years. The conclusion I've come to is to use it. That way I get the intangible satisfaction of using a special piece of kit every time I take it out.

As far as collectible money in the bank is concerned, going prices for these models has remained fairly flat for the last five or so years. Asking prices have begun to rise, but the recent ads I've tracked all seem to go unanswered, judging by the long list of "Bump for a great camera" follow-up posts I see in them.

In short, the potential value of the camera doesn't seem as great to me as the real value I get from using it.
 
It is unlikely that any rise in value will outpace inflation, so I say use it.

I bought and quickly sold an M6 Titanium kit with 35 and 50mm lenses and regret not keeping it and shooting it. Also regrettable when in a few months Leica prices went through the roof....
 
axiom said:
I own a Rolleiflex Platin and a black Leica MP3 kit.
I use them, shoot with them.
Click to expand...
I'm similar, I have a mint Rolleiflex E3 and a Leica MP3 and use them both and don't think about it. If you don't want to "sully" the camera either sell it or put it in a case and move on. You apparently have plenty of other bodies to use so no need to agonize over it.
 
I'm pretty close to putting her into regular service and really just needed that extra push I think... maybe she'll become one of those beautifully brassed heirlooms combining utility with art.

I've really enjoyed the community here over the years, despite not being very vocal.

-Dan
 
As you say, you are a photographer. Use it to make photographs. Can you imagine Oskar Barnack saying "wow, wait a minute dude, it's a collectible get your hands off it !"

**** no, it's more valuable taking pictures than sitting on its ass.
 
I always wanted a F2 with a DE-1. So I bought the finest one I could come up with. I am the one that is going to brass it up and I hope the day it gets its first ding in the triangle finder is a good day. I'm sure it won't hurt it at all. 🙂

Things often go amiss with a working dog when it is not allowed to work!
 
Just use it, cameras are meant to be used, anything else is a perversion (no sexual meaning, please).

I was lucky enough to get an Einstück M6 set (w/35mm Lux asph) and used it since day one. I own other M bodies (another M6, M7 and MP) but this is my favorite by far. Possibly the fact of using a very unique item is part of the satisfaction it brings.

If you can really afford it, then use it, otherwise sell it and get a standard M6.
 
It's not clear to me why you bought it in the first place. If owning it gives you pleasure, then keep it. Otherwise get rid of it since you have other cameras to use.
 
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