Purchase regrets

[Pentode]

Regrets, I’ve Had a few....

 

[oftheherd]

I just regret having taken so long to stop my GAS. And now, having retired for the 2nd time we have decide to downsize and move into a smaller house or small apartment.

Help.

 

[Phil_F_NM]

Does Swedish rust have a special bokeh?

It tastes different than German rust, I can tell you that much.
Phil Forrest

 

[Richard G]

Apparently an Aldi special a while back was an electronic guitar tuner. People who had no guitar and couldn’t play still bought them. Must have led a few to get the guitar, try to tune it, strum a little and their attic acquired two new precious items.

 

[Huss]

It tastes different than German rust, I can tell you that much.
Phil Forrest

Kinda has a herring aftertaste.

 

[lemalk]

Not a camera purchase, but an equipment purchase. In 2001, I bought a brand new iPod, and PowerBook G4 - about $3k. If I had instead purchased APPL stock with that $, it would now be worth north of $200k considering all the stock splits. The iPod? lost somewhere in a drawer. The PowerBook? I lent it to an ex girlfriend as a backup machine and never got it back. That cash, tho....

 

[jsrockit]

Apparently an Aldi special a while back was an electronic guitar tuner. People who had no guitar and couldn’t play still bought them.

Where did you see this? Too funny.

For me, whenever I buy any Sony camera it doesn't take too long for me to regret it.

 

[Keith]

I don't have many individual regrets that I can think of ... my main regret is the quantity of stuff I have finished up with.

I'm generally a pragmatic person and have never been a collector or hoarder of anything but what I will confess to is buying things when I've been down to make myself feel better. Mental health has never been my strong suite and in those bad times it's so easy to turn to a bit of 'retail therapy!' 🙄

 

[Doug]

Commiseration on the bad experience... I'm reminded of a camera show purchase, a used Kiron 500mm mirror lens. Lovely condition, in its fitted leather case with rear-mount filters. I'm a Pentax user so I assumed the lens had an interchangeable T-mount. Nope, and it was for Olympus OM. Did I take it back to the seller? Nope, I compounded the error by scurrying around while folks were packing up their unsold gear and bought an Olympus OM-G body for $50. Then I found it was really hard to hand-hold a 500mm lens... So I added versatility with a 50mm and 135mm lenses. Deeper and deeper... Not very smart. Nice little camera though.

That made me laugh! 😛😛😛

Thanks, Keith... The camera and lenses were donated to another RFF member - except for the 500mm Kiron which is once again an orphan... 😱

 

[Rayt]

More than once I would get into a new system because of one lens and then it snowballs. Too many examples.

 

[jsrockit]

I'm generally a pragmatic person and have never been a collector or hoarder of anything but what I will confess to is buying things when I've been down to make myself feel better. Mental health has never been my strong suite and in those bad times it's so easy to turn to a bit of 'retail therapy!' 🙄

Yep, been there and done that.

 

[wwfloyd]

Not a camera purchase, but an equipment purchase. In 2001, I bought a brand new iPod, and PowerBook G4 - about $3k. If I had instead purchased APPL stock with that $, it would now be worth north of $200k considering all the stock splits...

THAT is an intriguing perspective.

 

[benlees]

Does Swedish rust have a special bokeh?

The rust was definitely not the pinhole variety. It was wide open... Too bad the shutter was so slow.

 

[Pál_K]

... If I had instead purchased APPL stock with that $, it would now be worth north of $200k considering all the stock splits...

20-20 hindsight. Who was to know? Apple had been on the verge of extinction numerous times. If I remember correctly, even Microsoft helped them stay alive in the 1990's "for the good of the industry" or somesuch.

I got an offer to work at Microsoft in 1991 - before announcement of the IBM PC. I turned them down. Friends tell me I'd be a millionaire had I took the job. No, I wouldn't: I wouldn't have been able to survive in their stressful culture. If I ever find their offer letter, I'm going to frame it.

As for cameras, one day I was just itching to buy something at my favorite camera shop rather than walk out with nothing. Against my better judgment, I bought a Zeiss Ikon Contaflex Super with someone's driver license ID scratched onto the back of an otherwise perfect body. The shutter stuck open a month later.

 

[CharlesDAMorgan]

I just regret having taken so long to stop my GAS. And now, having retired for the 2nd time we have decide to downsize and move into a smaller house or small apartment.

Help.

I know the feeling. I'm letting my current house to move down to the South West, and as I look at bags and boxes full of cameras to move, and those remaining to be packed (it's a two trip job) I marvel how one small parcel a week could snowball into something quite so substantial.

Then in order to enable me to sell stuff, I'm packing the boxes and bubble wrap they came in to start with.

 

[Doug]

...I got an offer to work at Microsoft in 1991 - before announcement of the IBM PC. I turned them down. Friends tell me I'd be a millionaire had I took the job. No, I wouldn't: I wouldn't have been able to survive in their stressful culture. If I ever find their offer letter, I'm going to frame it.

Must have been 10 years earlier, 1981. 🙂 By 1984 when the Mac came out, the IBM PC had already become the industry standard.

 

[Fjäll]

Don't be afraid to misalign the front ring of the V4 Summicron. I'm sure I wrote this in a previous thread of yours but you can fix the front ring misalignment yourself super easy. It's literally moving it to the right position and tighten the screws. I've completely disassembled the V4 multiple times and I really can't wrap my head around how anyone fails to assemble it properly calling them selves repairmen.

 

[RObert Budding]

Forget the money. Are you happy. Concentrate on the happy.

No, don't forget the money. Ask if there are other uses for #2,700 that would make you happier.

 

[Pál_K]

Must have been 10 years earlier, 1981. 🙂...

Aaaghhh! Yes, 1981. At my old age I'm constantly making mistakes like this. Cannot believe it's 2019!

What really warps my mind is thinking my cousin's grandchildren are his children. I'm not handling the passage of time well.

 

[Pál_K]

Don't be afraid to misalign the front ring of the V4 Summicron. I'm sure I wrote this in a previous thread of yours but you can fix the front ring misalignment yourself super easy. It's literally moving it to the right position and tighten the screws. I've completely disassembled the V4 multiple times and I really can't wrap my head around how anyone fails to assemble it properly calling them selves repairmen.

I will try that. Thank you!