Sweet and Sour

[Krosya]

Hi all,
Here is another idea to discuss our beloved camera and lenses.
I was wondering if there people that found themselves in a situation where - you just get this GAS to get a specific camera or/and lens - either due to others rave about it, it just looks pretty on a photo, or whatever the reason - you just gotta have it. Well, you finally get it, after having your nose glued to the window while waiting for a postman to deliver your dream item. You use it................just to find out it's NOTHING what you expected it to be. Sweet dreams turn Sour experience. It could be some famed Leitz lens that turned out being a complete dog or anything else. So, any stories like that anyone cares to share?

 

[Pherdinand]

yep...! I have a story.
I was all excited about getting this Kowa Six kit with a normal 85/2.8 and a wide 55/3.5 lens. Sorry it's a MF SLR not a RF, but anyway.
The 55mm lens needed a bit of cleaning in the shutter (it's a leaf shuttered like Blad 500C) but i bought it coz it was really good price and i was excited about using a 28-ish wide lens in 6x6. It also can focus reasonably close.
I cleaned it up nicely (very easy job by the way),and...then i put it nicely away... and since then, i NEVER used it.
It just does not happen. It's extremely loud and bulky (read: huge heavy tank) and that might be the reason that i don't carry it anywhere, but i have not used it even at home! 😱

I'm considering selling it, or maybe trade...

 

[Doug]

I'll bet there are a lot of our expectations that turn out optimistic. I guess you're talking more about stuff in new or fine condition that just didn't measure up to expectations? Not so much the eBay item where the guy says "seems to work ok but I don't have a battery to test it with" and when it comes the internals are all corroded from sitting in water. Yes? The latter seems to happen quite a bit (several times to me anyway) despite trying to be careful.

I guess one example of the former would be the new Bessa-T with trigger winder. I like the trigger winder but have a hard time remembering to use it! And the Bessa-T has turned out to be a "least used" camera as it just doesn't fit well to what I'm shooting. Which is often at relatively close distances where the parallax from the accessory viewfinder is a noticeable factor to deal with. As a result I more often take a different camera with me to shoot. For urban or rural landscapes it would be fine. So I'm somewhat disappointed.

 

[Krosya]

I'll bet there are a lot of our expectations that turn out optimistic. I guess you're talking more about stuff in new or fine condition that just didn't measure up to expectations?


Yes,
Thats exactly it. Just something you see sometimes and think - I could really use THAT. ANd once you get it - it's just either not all that good or simply maybe not your style. Like your Bessa T. Or Kowa Six in a previous story. Both can be a great cameras - just for someone else.
You know it's like - you see some great photos, for example by HCB. You know that he used Leica. So you get one just like his and..............wonder - how in the world did he take such great photos with this strange camera with a squinty viewfinder? Suddenly your old Canon or Nikon SLR feels better.
Or You hear all about a great Summilux, save up your money for a year, get it and................it's just so heavy and big, and you just still prefer your old trusty collapsable Summitar.
This sort of thing.

And BTW - Not just RF stories are welcome here.

My story is about Rolleiflex TLR. WHile I loved the feel and quality of the camera - after a few times out with it just didn't feel right. I actually like idea of a TLR, but for some reason Rollei is not my cup of tea. I much prefer my Ricoh diacord in the way it handles. So now I sold one Rollei 2.8C and still have a cheaper one, with tessar, but it just sits on a shelf. I try to use all my cameras - some more , some less, but Rolleiflex became a decorative camera more so than a user one.

 

[mbisc]

A few years ago, I remember reading a lot of praise about Rolleiflex TLRs, and after some considerable research decided to get one. It was the most beautiful piece of engineering you could imagine, worked like a charm and was just the best to work with.
Problem was that I discovered very quickly that I absolutely hated square negatives, so I sold it after about a year...

 

[Ash]

Worse. By the looks of it, my 'dream' camera won't even ARRIVE!