Inherited gear sell or save?

[AlexBG]

I inherited an M3 a few years ago from my late grandad. At the time I had an EOS 30v, Olympus OM2n and a few cheap rangefinder fixed lens cameras. I wasn't a huge fan of the M3 but saw it as a tool to take photos when not using my digital gear. Fast forward a few years and the camera is currently still getting a CLA but I'm sat here with a collapsible elmar 50mm 3.5 and goggled summaron 2.8 that came with the camera that I don't use. I'm a 50mm shooter so the summaron is not to my liking no matter how good a lens it is and I don't like collapsing the elmar and the overall way the aperture is adjusted.

I've never thought about selling either as they were my grandads but now I'm starting to think I should and buy the planar 50mm that I've always wanted. I'm not in a position to save up for one so selling what I have for my ideal set up is the only way. Before the camera went off for CLA I was using a jupiter 8 on it which I still have but would also get rid of.

Just wanted peoples thoughts on selling parts of an inherited set, I also have a 135mm or something like that in the attic as well as a leica leather case, but again, that has been up there for years.

 

[Pál_K]

If there’s no emotional attachment and the camera/lens doesn’t appeal to the way you work, then I say sell it.

 

[keytarjunkie]

It’s always difficult to answer these as it depends on your personal relationship to your grandfather. Personally I think as long as you continue to use the camera in the spirit of your grandfather, the lens can be whatever you choose it to be. The Zeiss planar 50mm is quite a bit larger than your other lenses, just something to keep in mind. It is a fantastic lens and would be a great pair with the M3 if you decide to make the swap.

 

[lukx]

I say go for it. Your emotional attachment is to your grandad, not to his photo gear. You'd be keeping the camera, the main piece if you will. You'll still remember your grandad when you use it. And you'll use it more if you like the lens on it.

 

[Uncle Fester]

I'm sure you're going to get a lot of different opinions for this question. Here's mine, If you're not using the lenses
and don't really like them, I say sell them and get that Planar if you really want it. It seems that you have no real
attachment to them other than the fact that they belonged to your grandfather. If so, why not make them available
to somebody who would really want to use them and use the proceeds from that sale to get the lens that will
meet your needs. I'm sure your grandfather would understand and approve. Just my two cents...

 

[JohnWolf]

I inherited a Rolleiflex 3.5F from my mother-in-law and know the feeling. I also CLAed it. I don't use it but am reluctant to sell. The dollar value doesn't seem much compared to the sentimental value. Although, knowing her, she'd prefer I have something I enjoy.

In your case, the sale of some parts would bring the camera back into service. I think it's safe to say of most loved ones, they're happy when we're happy.

John

 

[JeffS7444]

If you've already owned it for several years, but it hasn't "clicked" with you, chances are that it never will. I'd sell the M3, 50 and 28 mm lenses separately.

135 mm rangefinder lenses tend not be to very sought-after, and your average 135 Leitz Hektor likely will fetch less than $50. Maybe sell this item "as-is" and be happy if you get a decent amount of lunch money for it.

 

[steveyork]

Not sure there's one correct or better answer here. Although I'm usually in the sell-if-don't-use camp, and am only a 35mm guy for rangefinders, I regret my brother in the 80's sold my grandmothers' M3 and lens after she passed away. Something about having a piece of equipment that connects with spots in your history/timeline. Still have slides she took with that camera, family pics and all over the world, but it would've been cool and special to shoot with it today.

In fact, I've always a little regretted selling cameras for which I've known the explicit provenance.

 

[Evergreen States]

These items were not a collector's set whose value increases when they are sold together. They were only a "set" to your grandfather. You clearly have no attachment to them but you can use them to get something that you do want. There is no shame in that. Sell the lenses, get the Planar, take some pictures.

 

[jsrockit]

I think your grandpa would understand and would probably be blown away by the Planar. Imagine how much he would enjoy knowing you actually use it instead of putting it in a closet. In todays Market, you only have to sell the summaron and you will have cash to spare.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

If you have money to CLA it, no reason to sell, since you are not desperate. Keep it exercised few times per year and it will only gain in price more and more for as long as 135 film is available.

Also, at some time, if not soon, the conversion to digital will be available by some services.

 

[santino]

I say keep it. I think you would regret selling the gear in a few years. And while the Planar is optically an excellent lens, mechanically it is a totally different beast than vintage Leitz lenses. Is your J8 properly shimmed? It is a nice vintage lens and produces that really pleasing Sonnar look.

 

[james.liam]

I say keep it. I think you would regret selling the gear in a few years. And while the Planar is optically an excellent lens, mechanically it is a totally different beast than vintage Leitz lenses. Is your J8 properly shimmed? It is a nice vintage lens and produces that really pleasing Sonnar look.

1+

Regret and sentimental attachment to inanimate objects inherited from forebears, curiously appears after it is sold to a complete stranger. Only then does the impact of the act become felt.

The Planar? Ehh. You can do (far) better with a Voigtländer. The Summaron is indeed a special lens. Think thrice before you unload it.

 

[rfaspen]

Don't feel bad about selling those lenses and keeping the M3 body. If you get a lens that has you using the M3 often and enjoying it, then you will remember your grandfather that much more. He would be happy with that. If it were me, I would be comfortable selling the 35 summaron, 50 elmar, and 135, plus any bits that won't get use, then be good about using those proceeds for a lens I will actually use.

Of course, I happen to like the 35/2.8 summaron, even the goggled version. Lucky I got one

 

[DownUnder]

If I was you (which obviously I'm not, so this is merely mindspeak on my part) I would keep it all.

My rationale here is twofold, actually threefold. One, it's a sort of family heirloom, you inherited it, and basically this means it's yours to mind for now, but should be kept in-family and maybe passed on to someone else in your tribe the long term. Two, Leicas are one-of cameras, built in their day by hand and with materials to a standard unknown in this day and age, especially so with digitals and even those from Leica. Three, current prices for old Leica gear are not especially high these days, so what is the point of selling such quality equipment for cents on the dollar??

Unless your grandpa was a Vanberbilt or a Rockefeller, obviously he wanted a Leica and he would have had to save up for a fair while to afford to buy that M3 and those lenses. I would keep this in mind and I would try to respect his effort.

I mean, you didn't pay for this equipment. It was left to you by someone in your family who respected your love of photography and (I'm assuming here) your high regard for good cameras and lenses.

So me being me, I would keep it, make sure it stays in good working condition, and use it now and then to let it know it's being thought of and loved.

I have my family's Brownie 616 from 1947 - it hasn't seen a film since the late 1970s, but that isn't the point, it's the camera my parents used for my baby photos and that means something to me. Also an Ikonta 6x6 an uncle by marriage left me when he passed in 1979.

My own contribution is a Rolleiflex 3.5E2 I bought in 1966, after seeing it on a shelf in our local drug store (where it had sat unbought since 1962 when a local businessman paid a deposit to order it, but then died before it arrived and he could finish the purchase - his widow very kindly let me have the deposit on it when I bought it, which reduced the price to one I could afford on a 19 year old's money from photography and writing articles for our regional newspapers. It means a lot to me. I still use it, and I intend to keep it until I'm no longer here to enjoy it. After this, well, it's no longer my concern. But you get my drift, I'm sure.

Life is too short to think about such good cameras in terms of dollars and cents. Buy the Planar 50 you want and add it to the collection. It will be your own heirloom...

Speaking about cents, the above is just my two's worth. To be considered, but taken as such.

 

[jsrockit]

So, the answer is are you sentimental or not and is something better being used or sitting on a shelf because it is not as useful as it could be simply because of it being inherited. That is the jist.

im just going to add that just because you like the camera does not mean that anyone in the future in your family will. They might just sell it at a garage sale for $30.

 

[AlexBG]

I'm sure you're going to get a lot of different opinions for this question. Here's mine, If you're not using the lenses
and don't really like them, I say sell them and get that Planar if you really want it. It seems that you have no real
attachment to them other than the fact that they belonged to your grandfather. If so, why not make them available
to somebody who would really want to use them and use the proceeds from that sale to get the lens that will
meet your needs. I'm sure your grandfather would understand and approve. Just my two cents...

I like this, never thought about the lenses just being sat in my safe and not being used. A photographer friend borrowed the camera a while ago, he' a 35mm shooter so only used the summaron and loved it. Probably the last time it was used.

 

[AlexBG]

If you've already owned it for several years, but it hasn't "clicked" with you, chances are that it never will. I'd sell the M3, 50 and 28 mm lenses separately.

135 mm rangefinder lenses tend not be to very sought-after, and your average 135 Leitz Hektor likely will fetch less than $50. Maybe sell this item "as-is" and be happy if you get a decent amount of lunch money for it.

I'd never sell the body, getting the M3 stopped my GAS on manual focus film cameras. I do see cameras more as a tool now than wanting the next best thing. I shoot a Fuji X-T1 with the 18-55 2.8 as my digital camera. Love the sensor and the versatility of the lens.

 

[AlexBG]

I say keep it. I think you would regret selling the gear in a few years. And while the Planar is optically an excellent lens, mechanically it is a totally different beast than vintage Leitz lenses. Is your J8 properly shimmed? It is a nice vintage lens and produces that really pleasing Sonnar look.

Yes properly shimmed. Took me a long time to sort that. Sonnar look is nice, I do prefer the planar look and pop of the zeiss though.

 

[farlymac]

I think you have a firm plan for using the camera, Alex. There are lots of folks who use only one focal length on their Leica M's, which is why there is such a market for certain lenses and not others. Using a goggled lens is kind of an acquired skill, and not everyone cares for the added bulk and weight. I would like to think that your grandfather may have traded for different lenses himself at some point or another, maybe even for those two lenses. But they were what he liked, and even if you sold the entire outfit to someone else, there is no guaranty they would have kept the group together. Using them to get the lens you want is a good way to keep your grandfather's legacy intact, because otherwise you might not use the camera if the lenses don't inspire you to do so. I hope you receive a good price for the lenses and find a great deal on a Planar. Make your grandfather proud.

PF