disapointment/overated kit

[al1966]

Nikon D200 it had suspect af and the iq was no place near the fuji s3
A Seagull TLR feels horrible to use though I do quite like the square format for portraits.

 

[Chris101]

Bummer.

I've never shot a camera I didn't enjoy. Sure some are more ergonomic than others, and some are built like little tanks while others are barely held together plastic. But they are all fun!

 

[gavinlg]

Nikon FM2n - much loved by the nikon collective, but I couldn't deal with the film advance 'step'/shutter lock that made it impossible for me to hold it vertically without the advance lever sticking into my eyebrow. Drove me crazy. Besides that, I wasn't crazy about the nikkor lenses either.

Yashica electro gsn - Bought 3-4 of these after witnessing the hype and seeing some gorgeous images taken by them on this forum and flickr. Each one had some debilitating problem that made it non-functional. With the money I spent trying to buy 'mint' ones I could have just bought a nice OM set or even a canon f1 body. Also, they're ergonomically akin to a brick, and trying to find the rangefinder patch in the VF is like trying to find the loch ness monster in a puddle on the road.

Canon EF 50mm f1.4 - a very average lens. Fine over f2, hazy and useless at f1.4

Every Nikkor I've used (35/2, 28/2.8, 50/1.8, 50/1.4G, 85/1.4, 18-200) - Never met a nikkor I really like. Not sure why - just seem to prefer most other brands lenses.

Minolta AF plastic SLR - Some midrange dynax or maxxum SLR my dad used to use - had little plastic rocker switches to adjust shutter and aperture which were impossible to use quickly, and the lens had a solid smooth rubber focus ring which really bugged me for some reason.

 

[wlewisiii]

Bummer.

I've never shot a camera I didn't enjoy. Sure some are more ergonomic than others, and some are built like little tanks while others are barely held together plastic. But they are all fun!

I can agree with the idea that all of them have been fun in many, if not most, ways. Yet some cameras come into my hands with so much hype that reality leaves me significantly dissapointed. The OM was especially egregious in this respect.

 

[scottgee1]

TVSiii

TVSiii

My T3 is a desert island camera so I thought I'd like the TVSiii. As much as I tried, I couldn't like it -- fiddly, ergonomics were odd. Despite the fine lens, I sold it.

 

[Nando]

My first, only and perhaps last DSLR - a Canon 300D. I hated everything about that camera. Luckily it was stolen from me.

Other disappointments were a Zorki 1c and a Flexaret. Both kept braking down. With the money I spent on the Zorki and the various repairs on it, I could have purchased the real deal. However, I didn't have very high expectations from these cameras.

 

[rphenning]

canon mark III, all 2.8 L zooms. Terrible set for me.

 

[SolaresLarrave]

Several purchases that failed to meet my expectations.

Anything Med Format. Never got into it. Never could. Never wlll.

Yashica GS. For some reason, I thought it'd be like the Canonet III QL-17 that got me into rangefinders, but it wasn't. It was bigger, ugly, unwieldy... I just didn't like it.

Kiev camera. Got curious about FSU cameras while my M3 was in Don's shop, so I purchased one with two lenses. First, I couldn't wrap my mind around the lens mount and the focusing wheel. Then, the viewfinder was dismal. I sold it with the two lenses it came with, but I never ran film through it.

Right now, I falling out of love with my Nikon S2 kit. Reason? I only can use a 50mm lens (it's a beauty...), and any equipment expansion (like a fast 35mm or almost anything) will cost me more than a Leica... and will have to use viewfinders. I may send it out for repair (the RF is slightly out of line) and then sell it... Probably to regret it, but then, I have now a nice M5 to keep me company!

 

[FrankS]

These just didn't do it for me: (YMMV)

Yashica Electro
Contax RF pre and post war
Nikon S RF (later ones are probably better)
Kiev RF
Olympus XA - several with reliability issues
Minox 35 cameras - several with reliability issues
Canon AE1 and A1 slr's (love the F1, EF and FTb though)
Mamiya TLR - advantage with interchangeable lenses, but feels crude compared to Rolleiflex
any half frame camera - 35mm frame is already small

 

[Sam N]

I can't think of and really big gear disappointments, but maybe that's because I have lowish expectations and do a lot of (way too much) research.

A couple smaller ones:

Mamiya 645 AF - Optics were fine, but AF and use are SOO clunky compared to a modern Canon/Nikon SLR (film or digital).

Rolleicord V - Who thought it would be a good idea to have a shutter lever instead of a button? On a large format lens I can see this, but not on a camera designed to be handheld.

Toy cameras / lomography in general - The fisheye is fun very occasionally, but the action sampler / octomat is just a horrible waste of film.

 

[Krosya]

Overhyped : Leica M3, M6, IIIF - none were "perfect for me" and all needed CLA/repair.
Every Yashica RF camera - all had mechanical/functioning problems.
Most Leica lenses - not bad, but ones I tried made by other brands in same FLs were as good or better.
Fuji MF - none were as great in actual use as some other brands similar cameras.
Mamiya 645 and RB/Z 67 - just way too large for my taste.
Olympus RF cameras - just didnt feel comfortable in use nor were as great as I expected based on pictures I have seen from similar cameras, and that was AFTER CLAs.

I have tried many cameras over the years and now I'm finally pretty happy with what I have.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Hasselblad 503CX with 80/2.8 - nice enough kit, but painfully slow to focus and use. How on earth do people use these for shooting on the street? Hasselblad should be spelled "Hassle" blad 😱

You don't. They're studio cameras, not reportage cameras, lol. I have the same kit, plus the 50mm and 150mm lenses and I LOVE mine. I use it for landscapes and architecture. A Rollei TLR is a much nicer street medium format camera if you want square format; a Mamiya 645 Pro with wind grip if you want something that handles like a big 35mm.

 

[back alley]

tlrs...make me dizzy.

 

[PlantedTao]

A M5, thought I would like the build and shutter compared to my Bessa R2... it was too bulky and I hated the viewfinder. It does have a quite shutter though. I miss my R2, but will never miss the M5, it really is a beast of a RF.

 

[jonmanjiro]

You don't. They're studio cameras, not reportage cameras <snip>

yeah, no kidding. took me all of 5 minutes to figure that out once i had it in my hands 🙄 but some people do use them on the street, and very well too. i take my hat off to them.

 

[kemal_mumcu]

Polaroid. Actually the idea is kinda fun and funky but the Polaroid one-six hundred camera looks and feels like it should belong in a kitchen drawer.

 

[AldPixto]

Olympus XA - images, especially corners, didn't look as sharp as Minox 35s or Rollei 35S. electronics problems - on humid days the self-timer would 'self-activate' when clam shell was opened, other times shutter wouldn't fire.

Rollei 35S - controls were ergonomic nightmare - hold down tab with one hand, turn dial with other hand. not so bad if I used a tripod, but then what was the point of such a small camera?

Contax G2 - many shots with 90mm were out of focus. Sold it after a few years when I realized I kept unconsciously favoring my Hexar AF over the G2.

 

[Frank Petronio]

Any zoom lens. All the Russian items I've tried. Anything Lomo. A Zeiss 50/2 M that wobbled. Seagull TLR. Zeiss Tengor box camera... All pinholes. Auto-Focus cameras from before 1995 other than the Hexar AF. 4x5 Super Speed Graphic. Toyo cameras. Cambo cameras. All 120 folders. Nikon large format lenses. The Mamiya 6, RB, and the Polaroid 600. And the Fuji 6x17. And the Aero Ektar on Speed Graphic. And the Polaroid 110 to 4x5 conversions - the convertors are nice enough but the camera itself is a POS.

I used to use Nikon FMs and FEs in the 80s but when I tried them again recently I saw how crappy they were compared to the Leicas and F-bodies I used afterwards.

And the absolute worst? A $2400 professional Sony FP-3 small-sensor digicam I bought in 1999... based on this model: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Sony/sony_d770.asp Biggest screwing of my life.

Basically the high-end brands have mostly been great. Vintage Graflex and Kodaks, Leica, many Nikons, the Fuji 6x9 series, Rollei, Sinar, Arca, Hasselblad, Schneider, Rodenstock... the all-time best has been Linhof. But that sounds snobby... all the Olympus Stylii with the fixed 35mm have been awesome, even the ones I bought for $8.

 

[Vincent.G]

Most camera bodies and lenses that are often-discussed-about and overhyped in forums and review websites. The ones that I get without reading too much about them on the Internet tends to suit me. 🙂

 

[Keith]

Zeiss 50mm/1.4 ZF was a humongous disappointment. Zeiss would have been better off calling it f/2.0.

????????

I have one of these and I use it for Digital and film and love it!

In fact I just tested mine on two different bodies out of curiosity and it reads a grey card the same as my Sekonic L308s at f2 and f1.4