nobbylon
Veteran
I've had quite a few mint cameras pass through my hands and this is my outlook on it.
If you are a collector then none of this applies.
I have bought cameras and still do in a search for 'my perfect camera' which of course doesn't exist. This of course means that until i'm sure it's not for me I have to look after it and try to ensure that I don't lose too much money on it.
Once i've decided a particular camera is right for me then I don't care that much about how it ends up looking because it's not about how IT looks. Yes I'd like to start off with a mint one but that's just a desire to settle on a particular camera and then use as my own.
I remember my dad treating himself to a new Yashica tl electro in the 70's. It was his first new SLR and apart from keeping it dry never worried about getting it scratched or bashed. He's still got it and it still works fine. The black paint is chipped here and there and to someone else this camera means nothing but to him and me this camera has history and memories locked into it.
That's the difference between a user of cameras and someone who has a desire to own cameras.
I was in the latter but have moved closer to the former by finding out which cameras I like to use. My dad however didn't have that luxury. He picked what he liked and what he could afford and that was that.
My D700 falls into definite user category as does the Leicaflex SL2 my parents bought me for Xmas.
The rest of my gear including my MP is still in the 'not sure whether to keep' category and therefore don't get used in the same way as those two SLR's.
In the end anything we buy is just an object and is replacable. Some things just take more time to aquire than others but will always just be objects until we create memories with them.
If you are a collector then none of this applies.
I have bought cameras and still do in a search for 'my perfect camera' which of course doesn't exist. This of course means that until i'm sure it's not for me I have to look after it and try to ensure that I don't lose too much money on it.
Once i've decided a particular camera is right for me then I don't care that much about how it ends up looking because it's not about how IT looks. Yes I'd like to start off with a mint one but that's just a desire to settle on a particular camera and then use as my own.
I remember my dad treating himself to a new Yashica tl electro in the 70's. It was his first new SLR and apart from keeping it dry never worried about getting it scratched or bashed. He's still got it and it still works fine. The black paint is chipped here and there and to someone else this camera means nothing but to him and me this camera has history and memories locked into it.
That's the difference between a user of cameras and someone who has a desire to own cameras.
I was in the latter but have moved closer to the former by finding out which cameras I like to use. My dad however didn't have that luxury. He picked what he liked and what he could afford and that was that.
My D700 falls into definite user category as does the Leicaflex SL2 my parents bought me for Xmas.
The rest of my gear including my MP is still in the 'not sure whether to keep' category and therefore don't get used in the same way as those two SLR's.
In the end anything we buy is just an object and is replacable. Some things just take more time to aquire than others but will always just be objects until we create memories with them.
Mablo
Well-known
I bought recently a Pre-war 6x9/6x4.5 Bessa which is to my eye unused. Even the original manual (auf Deutsch) is there. I'm going to load it with film and use it.
Phil_F_NM
Camera hacker
My M4 was near mint, as close as I've ever seen but without the box when I got it. Then it went through 5 months of combat with me. Along with my M2. Sold the M2, still have the M4 and that camera has a lot of scraping and tool marks here & there. A few red badges of courage that I get to tell stories about.
Use it.
Phil Forrest
Use it.
Phil Forrest
Will post a picture later. No, it´s not a Leica. Hope no one will be disappointed. 
cambolt
Green Spotted Nose Turtle
This is why I like to buy user condition cameras. I have a very user condition M2. Scratches and dents everywhere, and even some brassing (it's chrome). It's great, because I don't have to worry about scratching it, if I do, I'm just adding another chapter into the camera's 53 year history.
Sparrow
Veteran
... look for the perfect strap .... and bag? perhaps
Gabriel M.A.
My Red Dot Glows For You
It would be less complicated to just get a few crisp $1,000 bills and frame them.
Spicy
Well-known
1) do you have any reason to believe the camera is the last of its kind?
if no, why isn't it loaded with film and why aren't you out shooting?.
if yes, proceed to question 2).
2) Why isn't it loaded with film and why aren't you out shooting?
if no, why isn't it loaded with film and why aren't you out shooting?.
if yes, proceed to question 2).
2) Why isn't it loaded with film and why aren't you out shooting?
nobbylon
Veteran
The funny thing is that there are people in this world that have bank notes of different issue in frames on walls!
Collectors will collect whatever is their interest. Nothing wrong in that.
For cameras and lenses,
There is no dilema for the collector.
There is no dilema for the user.
The problems arise when a user becomes a collector and mixes his interest!
If I'm not using a camera, it gets sold... regardless of rarity or condition.
jamais
Established
I bought a never used Nikon F4. Tried it, sold it, never looked back.
I bought a never used Leica M4-P. My daughter dropped it a week after. It has a beautiful ding since then.
I bought a never used Norita 66. I have no idea what it might be worth to a collector...
I bought a never used Leica M4-P. My daughter dropped it a week after. It has a beautiful ding since then.
I bought a never used Norita 66. I have no idea what it might be worth to a collector...
shadowfox
Darkroom printing lives
What's not to get?
Some put a Ming vase or silver dishes or a trophy, we put old cameras in cabinets.
The cameras that I use live in my bag.
raytoei@gmail.com
Veteran
i think it is a form human misjudgement:
i buy an expensive equipment in EX or Mint condition but i don't use. (eg. summicron, summilux )
i buy a cheaper user-grade equipment and I carry it around (m4-p)
i then buy a beaten up UG- camera and I use it daily (Leica CL with canon 50/1.9 lens)
and then all my nice photos take in exotic countries were made by the lowest denominator camera....
raytoei
i buy an expensive equipment in EX or Mint condition but i don't use. (eg. summicron, summilux )
i buy a cheaper user-grade equipment and I carry it around (m4-p)
i then buy a beaten up UG- camera and I use it daily (Leica CL with canon 50/1.9 lens)
and then all my nice photos take in exotic countries were made by the lowest denominator camera....
raytoei
Spicy
Well-known
a case of "best camera is the one you have with you" + "more use = more familiarity = better pictures"
Cyriljay
Leica Like
If it is a M6 special edition 24K GOLD PLATED don't use it ( I mean in the public ) It'll cause you problem and even you'll risk your life!!!!
burancap
Veteran
Exactly!
I don't know if I am a collector by definition, but I often think that 90% of the thrill in this hobby is the search, purchase, and the anticipatory delivery.
I came from Nikons and have taken a bit of a world tour with my purchases. From Japan, I went on to Sweden, then Germany, and now back to Japan having just purchased an F5.
After years and years and countless $$$, I think I have come to the conclusion that I was always "home" but just didn't realize or perhaps appreciate it.
My older brother, by 17 years, has been a lifelong film guy and has thousands of rolls under his belt. I was so excited when I took delivery of my first Hasselblad, that I couldn't wait to share the news with him. His response: "You might as well be speaking Greek to me." -and that was it! I was gutted.
I often wish I was him. His camera is no different to a hammer or any other tool. One camera, one lens, and one roll at a time. Just shooting for the love of photography.