Huss
Veteran
My regret is buying new gear when there is so much incredible used gear available for pennies on the dollar.
Regret purchasing?
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nickthetasmaniac
Veteran
Come to think of it, probably my biggest photographic regret was not purchasing a 35mm f2.8 Summaron when the AUD was worth $1.10 USD 🙂
ACullen
Well-known
My regrets are mainly centred around my inability to move gear on that I’m not using sufficiently. I’ve a D700 with a number of AF lenses which rarely get used but for the occasional sports photography. Sentiment has me keep a Yashica 124 I’ve had since 1982 but which has hardly been used since succumbing to a 3.5F. A Contax 139Q system also bought in the early eighties lies under used having been displaced by an M2. And so it goes.
steveyork
Well-known
All the top end Leica lenses I used to shoot on my top end Leica M bodies. I belatedly learned my pictures are just as crappy with less expensive stuff. They held their value though; in some instances I actually made money. Not much of a rangefinder guy anyway.
Roger Hicks
Veteran
Occasionally I bought cameras I thought were valuable with an eye to making a profit, and either didn't make the profit, or didn't make enough profit to be worth the effort. But that was decades ago. I don't think I ever lost money, though. O happy days, when there were many more camera stores, and no internet.
Cheers,
R.
Cheers,
R.
ASA 32
Well-known
Konica Hexar AF
bayernfan
Well-known
every digital camera i've bought except the Ricoh GXR. you tell yourself "this is gonna be the one" and one month later it's just another lost cause. i think i've learned my lesson.
benlees
Well-known
Looking at the bloody prices for film kit I regret selling all that I did in the last few years!
I sold a Mamiya 7 w/ the 80mm for $800! Going for more than double that now. Crazy.
I sold a Mamiya 7 w/ the 80mm for $800! Going for more than double that now. Crazy.
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The only cameras I have regret buying were the FSUs. Reliability was the issue and after spending twice what I paid for them to bring them up to speed I pulled the plug. Loved the cameras for themselves, but I need to be able to trust what I'm using and I just couldn't.
YMMV.
B2 (;->
YMMV.
B2 (;->
Takkun
Ian M.
I think I get serious buyers remorse over every purchase. I once bought a pen and regretted it deeply for a month. Camera gear hasn't been immune, definitely always a 'why do I want/need this again?"
Ones I regret outright:
Back in high school, a couple bought when I 1- worked at a camera shop (discount!!) and 2- had more disposable income and no bills--
A Holga 120, long before the trend and selling for $50 at urban outfitters, but it's something that clogs up space and I don't think I'll get around to using. MF film, processing and scanning is too expensive to spend on playing with it.
The bare-bones Seagull TLR. Mine wasn't great, light leaks abound and what I now think was a decentered lens. Little did I know I'd inherit my grandfather's Mamiya C330 soon after. Still, it was fun, and discovered the magic of getting back a roll of Ektachrome, even if I didn't have any way of projecting it.
Two digitals: One, buying a used EOS 10D. I've always liked the Canon handling more than Nikons, and much preferred it to the D70 at the time. Problem was, I had a lot of old Nikon AI/AIs lenses I'd been given from various family members, which obviously didn't work with either, really, and no budget for more than a nicer kit lens (the old 28-105). Ended up trading it for the other one on my list...
The Nikon D1x. Huge. Clunky interface held over from the F5. Terrible low-light. This was 2007, and I should have bought something modern, but didn't, and heck, it got me through journalism school just fine, and doubled as a weapon if needed.
The other list, of those that got me into buying new gear....
-Fuji X100. Got it when I was laid off from being a staff photog and started working at an office, wanted something as an everyday carry type camera. Got me to sell off most of my SLR gear, dust off the old Bessa, and dive into RFs whole-hog.
Canon XL-H1. I used to do a lot of music photography, and was always getting asked to do video. So instead of making a sane decision and buying a DSLR with video, I pick up this beast of a camcorder on auction, and I'm hooked on video now. Been asked a few times if I'm with the news. Tapes are a pain, but I like to think of it a bit like film—a lost craft.
Ones I regret outright:
Back in high school, a couple bought when I 1- worked at a camera shop (discount!!) and 2- had more disposable income and no bills--
A Holga 120, long before the trend and selling for $50 at urban outfitters, but it's something that clogs up space and I don't think I'll get around to using. MF film, processing and scanning is too expensive to spend on playing with it.
The bare-bones Seagull TLR. Mine wasn't great, light leaks abound and what I now think was a decentered lens. Little did I know I'd inherit my grandfather's Mamiya C330 soon after. Still, it was fun, and discovered the magic of getting back a roll of Ektachrome, even if I didn't have any way of projecting it.
Two digitals: One, buying a used EOS 10D. I've always liked the Canon handling more than Nikons, and much preferred it to the D70 at the time. Problem was, I had a lot of old Nikon AI/AIs lenses I'd been given from various family members, which obviously didn't work with either, really, and no budget for more than a nicer kit lens (the old 28-105). Ended up trading it for the other one on my list...
The Nikon D1x. Huge. Clunky interface held over from the F5. Terrible low-light. This was 2007, and I should have bought something modern, but didn't, and heck, it got me through journalism school just fine, and doubled as a weapon if needed.
The other list, of those that got me into buying new gear....
-Fuji X100. Got it when I was laid off from being a staff photog and started working at an office, wanted something as an everyday carry type camera. Got me to sell off most of my SLR gear, dust off the old Bessa, and dive into RFs whole-hog.
Canon XL-H1. I used to do a lot of music photography, and was always getting asked to do video. So instead of making a sane decision and buying a DSLR with video, I pick up this beast of a camcorder on auction, and I'm hooked on video now. Been asked a few times if I'm with the news. Tapes are a pain, but I like to think of it a bit like film—a lost craft.
luna92
Newbie
Gopro 6. The image is quite terrible for vlogging, just making short film about adventure only.
Bolo Kukus
en vacances...
this could be (this is) me...
this could be (this is) me...
Huh. This is me, in far fewer words than I could ever say it!
Like so many, I get periodic attacks of a form of GAS I identify as 'mediumformat-itis' - an overwhelming urge to go big, make large negatives, enjoy the (supposed) benefits of better sharpness, more definition, great mid-tones, and the like.
I got into MF in the '60s (Yashica D, Rolleis). I own three 'flexes and a 'cord Vb and still use them. The one-lens limit has always limited me, so I think.
Meantimes, I bought and used Speed Graphics, Linhofs, Bronicas, a Contax, and a handful of Mamiyas. The worst investment in time and money I made in MF, was a battered but functional GA645 I got dirt-cheap six years ago. A great camera, incredibly sharp lens, superb definition, it worked well - but I couldn't bond with it. My worst annoyance was I had to turn it on its side to shoot anything horizontal, and almost all my work is architecture. So I sold the beast, at a small profit.
Not content with this adventure, 18 months later I bought a GA645i. Same problems. I tried and tried, I used it for a year, I put 100+ rolls through it - and happiy fogged it off pronto when a friend offered me a profitable price.
Now, you think I would have learned my lesson about the Fuji GAs. Not so. In 2016 I had the offer of a GA645wi and I went into it again. Same problems, plus distortion I saw in my architectural images. I need undistorted verticals, and the GA645wi gave just enough distortion to bother me, unless I used a tripod, which wasn't suitable. So it went, for the price I paid, on Ebay, so a small loss after commissions etc.
I now use my two Rolleiflex Ts and 16 exposure kits, and do work that I regard as just fine.
Lesson learnt. Like presspass, I've not regretted any of this, and view the experience as part of my learning curve in life.
My Rolleis, like my Nikkormats, will stay with me. It's good to know what gear suits us best and to make the best of it, and I've learned this, if at times the hard way.
Digitally, my two firsts were Canons, a G10 I despised for its p*ss-poor framing and other quirks, then a 450D I made a valiant afford to like, but failed, mostly poor contrast and image sharpness problems (could have been software, or just a badly built camera). Got rid of both, bought a Nikon D90, now use two Nikon D700s. Happy as a pig in you know what. Short and sweet.
Excellent posts overall in this thread.
this could be (this is) me...
Huh. This is me, in far fewer words than I could ever say it!
Like so many, I get periodic attacks of a form of GAS I identify as 'mediumformat-itis' - an overwhelming urge to go big, make large negatives, enjoy the (supposed) benefits of better sharpness, more definition, great mid-tones, and the like.
I got into MF in the '60s (Yashica D, Rolleis). I own three 'flexes and a 'cord Vb and still use them. The one-lens limit has always limited me, so I think.
Meantimes, I bought and used Speed Graphics, Linhofs, Bronicas, a Contax, and a handful of Mamiyas. The worst investment in time and money I made in MF, was a battered but functional GA645 I got dirt-cheap six years ago. A great camera, incredibly sharp lens, superb definition, it worked well - but I couldn't bond with it. My worst annoyance was I had to turn it on its side to shoot anything horizontal, and almost all my work is architecture. So I sold the beast, at a small profit.
Not content with this adventure, 18 months later I bought a GA645i. Same problems. I tried and tried, I used it for a year, I put 100+ rolls through it - and happiy fogged it off pronto when a friend offered me a profitable price.
Now, you think I would have learned my lesson about the Fuji GAs. Not so. In 2016 I had the offer of a GA645wi and I went into it again. Same problems, plus distortion I saw in my architectural images. I need undistorted verticals, and the GA645wi gave just enough distortion to bother me, unless I used a tripod, which wasn't suitable. So it went, for the price I paid, on Ebay, so a small loss after commissions etc.
I now use my two Rolleiflex Ts and 16 exposure kits, and do work that I regard as just fine.
Lesson learnt. Like presspass, I've not regretted any of this, and view the experience as part of my learning curve in life.
My Rolleis, like my Nikkormats, will stay with me. It's good to know what gear suits us best and to make the best of it, and I've learned this, if at times the hard way.
Digitally, my two firsts were Canons, a G10 I despised for its p*ss-poor framing and other quirks, then a 450D I made a valiant afford to like, but failed, mostly poor contrast and image sharpness problems (could have been software, or just a badly built camera). Got rid of both, bought a Nikon D90, now use two Nikon D700s. Happy as a pig in you know what. Short and sweet.
Excellent posts overall in this thread.
skucera
Well-known
I bought an Exakta, only to learn just now NOT left-handed I am. I didn't realize that the entire camera was designed by a lefty for lefties, and I was just too right handed to enjoy it. 😛 At least I sold it for what I spent for it, so I wasn't out any money.
Scott
Scott
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