Conscience? Indecision? Moral Dilemma? Or What?

[kxl]

I want an M240.

However, I'm hesitant to shell out $6950 out of pocket, so the alternative would be to sell my DSLR/SLR gear (which has seen very little use of late). Selling that gear would generate more than enough $$$$ to be able to afford an M240 (if/when I can find one).

Here's where I get stuck. Even with that kind of money in hand from the sale of my DSLR gear, I find it difficult to spend all of it on a one-time purchase of a single piece of camera equipment. It's money that I can use to fund other things, such as travel.

Does anyone else go through the same dilemma? I'd like to hear your experiences and how you resolved that dilemma.

 

[Godfrey]

If you have enough gear that selling it USED will net you enough to pay $7000 for a new body, I can't see any point to worrying about spending it on whatever suits your fancy.

I thought about an M9 for a year and some before I bought mine. $7000 is a lot of money. I bought a Leica USA demo camera that had been certified by Leica for $700 off retail list, which ameliorated the expense by a little bit, but it's still a lot of money. Good news is that I have not regretted buying the M9 for one second in the year and a half I've been shooting with it.

Spending your time trying to fathom the moral dilemna is time and energy spent not enjoying photography. 🙂

G

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Nope. If I want a camera, lens, light meter, or anything else for photography, and I can afford it, I buy it without regret. No dilemmas. I sold my entire Hasselblad kit a few months ago because a Mamiya 6 would be better for the work I do. Used the Hasselblad money to buy a complete Mamiya 6 kit...body and all 3 lenses. There was no worrying and certainly no moral concerns. I wanted it, didn't want the Hasselblad anymore, so I got it and I'm glad I did.

 

[back alley]

some people don't travel because there is nothing tangible afterwards to hold onto...
one of my ex's could not understand spending 3k on a parrot that i wanted...she kept saying,'but it could die!'
if it were a leica monochrom and i had the ready cash i would buy it in a heartbeat...

as i age i watch my buds with cash get old and feel like crap half the time...they would have had a better time spending some of that cash when they were young enough to get the maximum enjoyment out of it!

 

[Lauffray]

Does anyone else go through the same dilemma? I'd like to hear your experiences and how you resolved that dilemma.

Here on RFF ? Oh no, not at all, never 🙄 😛

 

[gustavoAvila]

I also lust for a M240! If I could comfortably afford to buy one, I would do so in a heart beat!

However, in an either/or situation (camera or travel but not both), I would choose travel every time! Memories are priceless and enduring, expensive camera bodies are tomorrow's e-waste!

 

[squareshooter]

First I ask myself, "do you want that pricey tool because you NEED it or just for the bragging rights?" Then I ask how long it will be before they make something a lot better and a whole lot cheaper? I remember when a DSLR body was $35,000 and they were selling. A lot of news organizations thought that price was a bargain and they saved the purchase price in not having a wire service transmit their photos but doing it themselves. Are you actually buying a classic item or the equal of a huge 1957 Plymouth with monster tailfins and very poor construction?

 

[clayne]

I highly doubt you're being limited by the equipment you have now. Yes, you should be suspect of dropping 7 grand on a single camera body - and your instinct should be telling you this is insane.

 

[kdemas]

I got a call yesterday that my black M-240 was in. Bad timing as I just started a new job and the money tree is just starting to bloom again.

My hesitancy in general comes from the selling phase, not buying. My regrets have always been on the selling side of the ledger.

 

[mdarnton]

Just about everything I've ever sold, I've regretted it later. I've pretty much settled in to the habit of using stuff until it's only worth giving away, and then giving it away.

 

[kxl]

Interesting thoughts...

Is dropping $7K on a single camera insane? That's part of the dilemma. On one hand, yes, that is way too much money for one piece of equipment. OTOH, I already have that much money tied up in gear that is seeing little use these days. So it's a $0 net spend, just a transfer of platform from DSLR to DRF.

Now if someone were willing to trade their M240 for a D700 and a trio of f2.8 zooms plus other stuff, then I would NOT feel any kind of remorse since no money would have gone through my hands. 😀

Kent - yeah, I feel some remorse when selling gear, but I somehow get over it when I buy new stuff. 😉

 

[robbeiflex]

Then again, if you buy an expensive new car, it will depreciate that much or more in less than a year. 😉

 

[CameraQuest]

I want an M240.

However, I'm hesitant to shell out $6950 out of pocket, so the alternative would be to sell my DSLR/SLR gear (which has seen very little use of late). Selling that gear would generate more than enough $$$$ to be able to afford an M240 (if/when I can find one).

Here's where I get stuck. Even with that kind of money in hand from the sale of my DSLR gear, I find it difficult to spend all of it on a one-time purchase of a single piece of camera equipment. It's money that I can use to fund other things, such as travel.

Does anyone else go through the same dilemma? I'd like to hear your experiences and how you resolved that dilemma.

get a used M9 instead

use the extra funds for travel or ?

Stephen

 

[clayne]

So what's your plan when it comes to wide angles and telephotos? M's aren't particularly well suited to either without significant adjustment and pain in approach. This is usually why people own both an SLR and a rangefinder.

 

[Boris Stupak]

I'm the same age as you guys but I have young kids. Like really young. Like babies and Kindergarten.

My first priority is give the kids everything, the second is buy whatever I want, because how much time really left nobody knows.

Lucky for me I can do both and and have plenty left over, which will all go to them if I croak.

I've got an M9 and more lenses than you could imagine. Just bought a Nikon D600 because I wanted one. But I'm really good at buying and selling all this junk, so I don't really "spend" too much.

some people don't travel because there is nothing tangible afterwards to hold onto...
one of my ex's could not understand spending 3k on a parrot that i wanted...she kept saying,'but it could die!'
if it were a leica monochrom and i had the ready cash i would buy it in a heartbeat...

as i age i watch my buds with cash get old and feel like crap half the time...they would have had a better time spending some of that cash when they were young enough to get the maximum enjoyment out of it!

 

[peterm1]

If you are not using your DSLR and you don't know if you can bring yourself to spend big on an M240 then it sounds as you you don't have the passion for photography. Sell your gear, go on a holiday and if necessary buy a cheap $300 digicam to take with you for holiday snaps. If not use your mobile phone for the same and stay an extra night in a nice hotel on the money saved.

 

[Boris Stupak]

"Passion for photography" does not equate to tens of thousands of dollars spent on expensive equipment.

If you are not using your DSLR and you don't know if you can bring yourself to spend big on an M240 then it sounds as you you don't have the passion for photography. Sell your gear, go on a holiday and if necessary buy a cheap $300 digicam to take with you for holiday snaps. If not use your mobile phone for the same and stay an extra night in a nice hotel on the money saved.

 

[Vince Lupo]

I didn't think twice about it -- I wanted the Monochrom, sold the M9, saved the rest, paid for it, done. No regrets. Also managed to buy a D4 and a D800 last year too, and no regrets with either one of those.

 

[Rayt]

If you are going to put the M to good use then yes buy it. Being in Sunny SoCal you are within a day's proximity to in my opinion the most beautiful parts of the country - the Arizona desert. I have to fly half way around the world to access that scenery every year! Enjoy what you have.

 

[noisycheese]

Interesting thoughts...

Is dropping $7K on a single camera insane? That's part of the dilemma. On one hand, yes, that is way too much money for one piece of equipment. OTOH, I already have that much money tied up in gear that is seeing little use these days. So it's a $0 net spend, just a transfer of platform from DSLR to DRF.

Now if someone were willing to trade their M240 for a D700 and a trio of f2.8 zooms plus other stuff, then I would NOT feel any kind of remorse since no money would have gone through my hands. 😀

Kent - yeah, I feel some remorse when selling gear, but I somehow get over it when I buy new stuff. 😉

Back in the summer of 2008, I faced the same situation.

The f/1 Noctilux had just beed discontinued. I had poked at the idea of getting a Noctilux off and on for years and had never taken the plunge when they were priced at $3200 USD. Now, in the summer of 2008, that damned supply and demand thing had driven the price up to $6500 USD.

I thought about it and decided "screw it." I had about $2000 ready cash available. I decided to sell off my seldom used Mamiya 7 II kit to raise the additional $4500 needed to get the Noctilux. So I did. I was able to get one of the last of the last standard edition Noctiluxes to enter the U.S. (mine is not one of the "Last 100 Noctiluxes" that sold for $16,000).

Yes, $7000 for an M240 is pretty damn salty, just like $6500 for a lens is pretty damn salty. These facts beg the question: SO FREAKING WHAT??

If you can afford the M240 without selling a kidney, running a meth lab, making your wife turn tricks, stealing several elderly people's social security checks or robbing a bank, then I say JUST DO IT.

The pain of paying soon fades (which coincides with FedEx delivering your purchase) and is replaced by the satisfaction of daily use of your dream camera or lens. That satisfaction lasts forever - just as the regret of not obtaining your object of desire will last forever. I know which I'd rather live with.

Postscript:
I still have my f/1 Noctilux. Not one time in the past five years have I regretted selling the Mamiya 7 II kit, nor have I regretted paying what was for me a king's ransom for my Noctilux.

Someone ought to make a line of teeshirts, hoodies fleece jackets and baseball caps that proclaim "Leica: It's a quality of life issue." I have told my wife this on more than one occasion (to which she replies with rolled eyes 🙄 ).