Letting Go....

[das]

Every time I go through and gather equipment that has not been used in a while to sell, I always hesitate. Will I ever need it again? Will I ever be able to replace it? I really hate "hoarding" usable and desirable equipment that other people have been looking for, would appreciate, and would actually use. Do any of you ever have trouble "letting go?"

 

[Ray Vonn 2023]

Yes, but until the need arises to purchase a camera then all of a sudden selling unused gear makes a lot of sense.

 

[Pál_K]

The only camera I ever sold was an Argus C3 somewhere around 1970. I didn’t like it and don’t regret selling it. In the following 50 years I’ve kept every camera I’ve ever bought. I have quite a lot of the classics, but none of what I have is rare, except perhaps a Minox II. I use them all - eventually in rotation - and I appreciate them. Any camera I have can still be bought today at somewhat reasonable prices, so I don’t feel like I’m depriving anyone.

The Leicas and a few others that have gone up in price? I bought them all, with a lens, at under $1600 many decades ago. The current prices seem silly.

 

[nikon_sam]

BIG problem letting go here...
I still own my first 35mm camera and everything that came with it minus the camera bag/hardcase. I have cameras I know won't get used for the most part but due to maybe an emotional connection or huge price drop I've decided to keep them.
I have two Nikon FMs & three FEs where I could keep one of each and sell the rest but I haven't....yet.
Then there was the Canon A-1 that a friend gave me...I tried using it but never got along with it so I sold it...that was easy to do...
I've picked up package deals where all I wanted was part of it and was able to recoup most of the cost by selling what I didn't need/want.
And now on to lenses...some I don't use much are kept because to replace them in the condition that I have now would cost more...I have given away a lens or two that I later replaced so I'm very cautious of that now...
I've rarely sold camera gear to pay for more camera gear. I service Printing Presses and have a lot of Press parts, some are very pricey, I have purchased gear from selling these parts...that's how I paid for my Sony a6000, a few lens mounts, the 16-50mm lens and Meike battery pack.

 

[JeffS7444]

Do any of you ever have trouble "letting go?"

Depends. If I had Hasselblad Xpan, Plaubel Makina 67, Minolta TC1 and other super-hot items that weren't seeing use, they'd be long gone! No camera was built to last forever, and some are more challenging to keep alive than others.

Most of the stuff that I keep for myself is on the cheap side, else it's got enough quirks that I'd expect resale value to be low.

 

[JohnWolf]

....Do any of you ever have trouble "letting go?"

Oh, yeah. I recently listed my M6 for sale three times and withdrew it all three. Selling seemed perfectly sensible but just couldn't go through with it.

John

 

[farlymac]

When I was younger and in the Navy it made perfect sense to trade-in a camera in order to get something better. There were other cameras that a shipmate would take a fancy to, and if I didn't have an attachment to it I would sell to them. But later on I started keeping whatever I bought, even the ones that turned out to be junk as I could use them as props. Some years ago I had to sell almost all my camera gear during the process of being declared disabled. I only kept an Argus CC that belonged to my father, a Yashica Electro GTN that was a favorite, and my Nikon N90 outfit because it was the newest camera I had at the time and I didn't want to have to rebuild that lens grouping.

Fast forward to today, and I've accumulated another collection of various brands and formats that quite frankly I can't see hanging on to anymore. So once the Classifieds gets sorted out I'll be posting some to there, but will likely wholesale the rest to either KEH or sell at auction. It'll feel good to put that stuff back in circulation.

PF

 

[Retro-Grouch]

In the past (pre-digital), there were always cameras available new that did what I needed. I didn't hesitate to sell or trade off equipment. Not the case now; if I have something in nice condition that I'm not using, I'll think long and hard about parting with it, since the chances of finding its replacement in nice condition, should I ever want to use that item again, are getting slimmer by the day. Case in point: my Leicas, an M6 and an M6TTL. As I've moved primarily to medium format, they've been virtually unused for a couple of years. Their market value now is two to three times what I paid for them, and the cameras and lenses could bring a sizeable chunk of cash if I were to sell them. But if I should sell them, then decide in the future that I need to shoot with a 35mm RF, it would be impossible on my retirement income to replace them. They may eventually go, but I'll have to be very certain that the decision is permanent. And it's virtually impossible to say for certain what direction my work may take me! I know, many folks wish they had my problem...

 

[Ko.Fe.]

Would you go to the camera your parents had as wedding gift? Or camera your mother paid for?
I also have camera not in real use recently which was my main everywhere camera for years. And I still getting thanks for pictures from this camera.
Or couple of cameras from your dear relative who isn't around anymore?

The rest is nothing but tools. They come and go. No crap is given.

 

[raydm6]

.... Do any of you ever have trouble "letting go?"

No. I still don't mind acquiring a vintage camera or two - albeit, at a slower pace these days.

I think it's OK to own them, admire them, occasionally use them - even though some get little usage. I don't feel it's "hoarding" and do not a feel a responsibility to let them go. I'm sure there are collectors out there that have way more usable cameras than most of us that are just sitting dormant.

Mine will be released at some point in the future for others to enjoy; but I'm not ready to presently.

 

[jackbaty]

Oh, yeah. I recently listed my M6 for sale three times and withdrew it all three. Selling seemed perfectly sensible but just couldn't go through with it.

John

I did the exact same thing with my M6 recently. I bought an MP to replace it so there's no need for the M6. And yet, after 3 withdrawn listings, it's sitting next to me, loaded with film. It's hard because it's worth more than twice what I paid for it. On the other hand, it probably always will be, so until I truly need the cash, it's just a less liquid asset.

Last week, for the first time, I sold KEH a bunch of unused gear and I already regret it. It's for the best, but yeah, letting go is hard.

 

[Rob-F]

Letting go is hard for me! I have a 60mm Hasselblad CT* I've tried listing, only to take the listing back down--twice. I bought a 60mm CF to replace it, but then couldn't sell it. I can't seem to let go of it, even though I have the newer CF. As a matter fact, I rarely use the CF either. Logically I should sell at least one of them, generally reaching for the 50mm CF rather than the 60. Hasselblad lenses are big and heavy, and it makes no sense to own more than I really want to carry. But we humans are not necessarily logical, are we?

 

[das]

I am all for holding onto items that are incredibly rare or sentimental as possessing these items can and does produce some joy. Like my Dad's N2020, I don't see myself using it; but it would never permanently dispose of it. But it seems that given the relative scarcity of what used to be common camera bodies and lenses plus the skyrocketing prices on certain items, it does seem at least partially driven by our collective "collecting" or in some cases "hoarding." I have been trying to sort things into "rare/sentimental," "things I actually use," and "things that I like looking at but don't use." It's still hard to let go!

 

[kuvvy]

Yeah it’s hard to let some gear go. Certain gear gives you pleasure just in using it not necessarily because it gives fantastic results.
At the moment I’m facing a slightly different dilemma.
I’ve been considering thinning out my collection, not that I have as much gear as many of you guys. I’ve barely shot much in the last couple of years. Yes Covid played a part and me generally not having much time.
Saw my oncologist a couple of days ago and there has been a change in my prostate cancer, it having spread a little to the lymph nodes.
While I will be having further treatment I’ve no real idea how well or badly this will go and for how long. So rather than leave a pile of ‘stuff’ for my wife to shift I’ll probably set to selling things myself.

 

[jsrockit]

I have no problem letting go when it comes to equipment I don’t use. It would be hard for me to let go of equipment I do use and love due to financial situation though. Thankfully I haven’t had that yet.

 

[Doug]

Yeah it’s hard to let some gear go. Certain gear gives you pleasure just in using it not necessarily because it gives fantastic results.
At the moment I’m facing a slightly different dilemma.
I’ve been considering thinning out my collection, not that I have as much gear as many of you guys. I’ve barely shot much in the last couple of years. Yes Covid played a part and me generally not having much time.
Saw my oncologist a couple of days ago and there has been a change in my prostate cancer, it having spread a little to the lymph nodes.
While I will be having further treatment I’ve no real idea how well or badly this will go and for how long. So rather than leave a pile of ‘stuff’ for my wife to shift I’ll probably set to selling things myself.

Yes, I'm starting to thin the herd, letting some items go. Sold an M8 and a couple of lenses through PopFlash recently. But you let your 40mm Nokton go in 2006 after only 7 months or so, and I still have it! It's been great on the Minolta CLE but not so much on a digital M so I will probably pass it on. Best of luck with the prostate issue - I've been through that too, still have some of the side effects of treatment.

 

[Rob-F]

I did the exact same thing with my M6 recently. I bought an MP to replace it so there's no need for the M6. And yet, after 3 withdrawn listings, it's sitting next to me, loaded with film. It's hard because it's worth more than twice what I paid for it. On the other hand, it probably always will be, so until I truly need the cash, it's just a less liquid asset.

Last week, for the first time, I sold KEH a bunch of unused gear and I already regret it. It's for the best, but yeah, letting go is hard.

And i did the exact same thing as you. With the exact same two cameras. I use the MP; I don't use the M6 at all. But sell my M6? "No rush," I tell myself. "Maybe later." I seem to know I'd regret selling it, just as I regret selling my XPAN.

I think we bond with cameras and lenses we have made some of our favorite pictures with. And I think we bond with them for other reasons as well.

 

[Pál_K]

I’m taking all my stuff with me - just like the Pharaohs. That’s why there’s a Pyramid in my back yard.

 

[Darthfeeble]

I don't have a problem letting go, my problem is regretting having done it. Sold an RD1 and regretted it, got another and sold it and regretted it, now I have two. Sold an M8 and didn't really regret it but wanted another Leica. Bought a new M9 and sold it for some project money and regretted it later, bought a used M9 which developed the corrosion, pretty near gave it away and regretted not having a Leica so I bought an M9 with the new sensor and wound up not using it so I sold it too. Now I regret that and I'm waiting for the M11 so I might be able to afford an M10. Is there professional help for guys like me?

 

[Archiver]

I don't buy with the intention of selling later, so generally it doesn't enter my mind to let something go. The only times I've sold/traded in was once when a sudden emergency made me sell a Canon zoom and an old Canon RF lens, neither of which I used much, and neither of which had much sentimental value. The second time was trading in a couple of unused Voigtlander lenses to get a secondhand Zeiss Distagon 35/1.4 ZM, which was one of the best decisions I've ever made for gear. The Distagon's quality is stunning, and I use it so much more than the two lenses I let go.

Since those two experiences, I'm a little more open to trading in or selling gear. On the other hand, the rest of my gear is either highly sentimental, or would hardly fetch anything, anyway. It all still works, and I use things from time to time, so there's not much reason to let anything go these days.