Can a camera be to nice to use?

[divewizard]

I just received an Olympus 35sp I bought from sangetsu03 on eBay. I thought I had paid a bit much for it, but when I got it today it is the most perfect camera from that era I have ever laid my hands on. It does not appear to have ever been used. The lens and viewfinder are dust free. There are no marks on the camera inside or out and the Olympus care is perfect as well. The original vinyl strap is stiff, but does not have a single scuff mark on it.

I bought the camera to use, but it is such a beautiful piece I know I will damage it.

Should I use it?

 

[dbarnes]

It's only pristine once.

So the question is, do you need a piece of sculpture to admire, or do you need a piece of equipment to make pictures to admire?

 

[Spider67]

Yes if it's a never used Luftwaffe Leica in its original container....otherwise use it

 

[Brian Legge]

If you aren't a collector, you have two options. Use it or, if you think it is undervalued, try to sell it for more than you payed and buy another.

Given the risk that a later camera could be a dud, I probably wouldn't do this unless you stood to make triple what you originally paid for it. Also remember that whoever you sell it to may turn around and use it themselves. The camera
Won't be like new forever - either it gets sine wear through use or it eventually is lost on some other way.

 

[btgc]

Does that camera not only looks good but also works as it should? If yes, sell it for same or w/ profit. Buy same model in "AS IS" condition for minimal going price, clean aperture blades, open RF to wipe off dust and haze, adjust RF, lube winding gears, do light seals and you'll have user camera you'll not be afraid to drag around and use 🙂

 

[Richard G]

Do you mean can a camera be too nice to use? Certainly a camera can be nice to use, but I don't believe in too nice to use. Meanwhile should you use it? Of course. Once you scratch it slightly you'll relax.

 

[jesse1dog]

Use it!
What would be the point of just having it to look at.
You are getting older and so is the camera. Neither you nor the camera will last forever and as a fact of life both you and the camera will deteriorate with age. Use the camera while you can enjoy it.
jesse

 

[oftheherd]

If you are certain it is worth much more than you paid, I can see re-selling it. But if it is in good working condition, why not use it. Haven't you ever bought new before and used them? What's the difference?

 

[Ranchu]

Put a scratch on it with a sharp metal object. Then use it and don't worry about it, life's too short!

 

[David Hughes]

Double the pleasure by using the thing and looking at the prints and slides. Cameras are not made to be dusted or worshipped.

Regards, David

 

[Bhup]

Use it but take great care . relpace the starp in case the original one snaps.If you think its too nice to use then get a second one a user one . please do use this one every year 🙂 thats half way to becoming a collector..

 

[peterm1]

Yes a camera can be too nice to use. And its not a nice situation to be in if you are a user rather than a collector/fondler. I appreciate equipment that is in good condition and have never been able to be happy when using a rough piece of kit. But I like to use cameras not just look at them.

I have been in the situation a few times - two specific times that come immediately to mind being with a beautiful Voigtlander Prominent rangefinder in excellent condition and a boxed and mint Nikon F. In the end I had to sell them as I just could not bring myself to use them. I think you just have to make a decision and go for it. If you decide to use the camera, reconcile yourself to the fact that it will get marked. The best situation is a good clean user. One with a few marks but not so many as to be off-putting. Or buy another camera as a user and keep the mint one to fondle by the fireside like the family cat!

 

[divewizard]

I decided to use the camera. last night and today I shot a roll of HP5+ at ISO 1600 with an Hoya orange (G) filter. I now have a roll of TMAX 100 in it. When that is done I will send both off to NCPS.

 

[Richard G]

Good decision. My M2 has not been cosseted overly. It's been around the world a few times and hasn't been in a never-redy case for years. I can't see a mark on it that wasn't there from the MR meter when I got it in 1976. (The avatar picture shows it in an M4-2 case but I have only done that once or twice for rain.)

 

[unixrevolution]

cameras want to be used. I take care of them, but if they don't get to go out and take pictures they get all cranky, wee on the carpet and chew up the furniture.

 

[nikon_sam]

My first reaction is to say "Are you crazy...USE IT!!!"
But then I remember that I have a Nikon FM w/MD-12 & AH-3 and the Nikkor 50mm 1.4 lens in just about Mint condition sitting in the closet...I have used it but not very much...I have another FM and two FE's that I could also use but they haven't seen much action lately...
I would take it out for a spin just to see what it can do...You're going to love that G. Zuiko lens...I have the Olympus 35-S and they came with the same lens but only 1.8...run a roll of Tri-X through it...

 

[Roger Hicks]

Yes. In the early 80s I sold a mint IIIg (box, the lot) because it was 'collector' grade. Someone else would derive more pleasure from just owning it than I would from using it and maybe damaging it.

I'm not arrogant enough to mess up as museum-quality camera because 'cameras are meant to be used'. So I swapped it for a better, more usable camera. But this was a IIIg. Would I care as much about a 'museum quality' snapshot camera?

Probably not, irrational though this may be.

Cheers,

R.

 

[Chinasaur]

I had this with my new Zeiss Ikon. I fight it.

The cool thing to think about is whether the person who made your camera decades ago would have ever imagined that the product of their hands would still be in use today. The thought is too wild to think about. Certainly most consumer items aren't in use a decade after their manufacture, much less four decades.

Use it and honor the memory of the craftsman who put together such a fine mechanism. H..., that person might still be alive today 🙂

And then there's the flip side. Anyone of a "certain age" remembers the 60's and turning over an item in a store and remarking "Ohh..it's made in JAPAN..." and making a face.

How the wheel turned eh?

 

[Out to Lunch]

My 2 cents: if you buy stuff to 'look at', only, you'd be better off buying a photograph or a painting.

 

[ZeissFan]

It's possible to use a camera and not beat it to death.