The Biggest Let Down

In order of my (fanboi) rage:

Nikon 1 / Leica Vario X : tie for 1st place, by a LARGE margin

Leica M240
Leica X2
Canon M
*****
D600 - honorable mention




***** is reserved for the undoubted disappointment that will be the DF. Nikon has been doing such a great job of taking an idea that is simply too awesome to fail and then investing incredible amounts of time/effort/resources in figuring out a way to ruin it, basically since the D700

This also doesn't address the woeful shell of a company that was once known as Hasselblad
 
Well, it's ancient history… but how Leica initially handled the M8 release ruined my faith/trust/respect for Leica. I was so disappointed I never bought the camera.

This was the end of RF photography for me since it was apparent (even back then) that convenient access to film and develoment would suffer greatly due to the proliferation of smart phones. When the Leica M8 was released my local camera store (a chain of 10 regional stores) had hundreds of rolls of film of all varieties and during every visit a cutover was picking up prints and negatives. Two weeks ago there was less than a dozen rolls of film and a dozen print-it-yourself kiosks. The Walgreens here are a similar story.

Later I realized this was a blessing in disguise. My opinion now is Leica did me a favor. With the exception of an experiment with m4/3, my work has benefited from the diversity of film and digital cameras I've used since 2006 when I realized I would never be a Leica customer.
 
Well I have to agree with the Leica P&S cameras that and just about any Pen. I just don't see it with the Pens. They turn into old technology almost as soon as they are out.
 
Canon EOS M. After being so late to the mirror less party, I thought surely they would come out with something great. My reaction once I knew what the specifics were was "why did they even bother".

I know some folks dislike the Nikon 1 system due to the tiny sensor. But I found it to be a really nice camera for my wife to use (and sometimes I grab it when I can't make up my mind which of my cameras to use).
 
In terms of this year, less a camera, more a pricing issue.

The Canon EOS M with 22mm & EOS adapter bundle being on fantastic close out prices in the US, but still being the full price here (more than the full price in the US of course).

I've always had a blind spot at 35mm, and that appealed as a way to work on it.

However, the heart ruled the head and I ended up buying a Contax T3 instead, which is wonderful.
 
The biggest let-down is living in a golden age when digital cameras have become astonishingly competent, diverse and affordable, the best film cameras can be had for a relative pittance, film and paper are still widely available, expert guidance on technique (even for nearly extinct techniques like wet plate) is only a tap away, and yet people still complain and complain and complain about photographic equipment.

That's the biggest let-down.

That, and the termination of Kodachrome.
 
Taking a gamble on 80 sheets of expired 4x5 Velvia, only to find that it really was truly expired. It's not as if I didn't know it was a possibility, though.
 
RX1 Auto Focus system. It's a great camera, but when the light isn't perfect I miss shots... enough that I zoom each shot in the LCD to make sure it's in focus. Sad.

EOS-M was a depressing release. I owned a 5d2 until it was stolen a few months ago. Would have gladly jumped on the EOS-M bandwagon but it just looked boring and subpar.
 
semilog said:
The biggest let-down is living in a golden age when digital cameras have become astonishingly competent, diverse and affordable, the best film cameras can be had for a relative pittance, film and paper are still widely available, expert guidance on technique (even for nearly extinct techniques like wet plate) is only a tap away, and yet people still complain and complain and complain about photographic equipment.

That's the biggest let-down.

That, and the termination of Kodachrome.
Click to expand...

+25 for the death of Kodachrome...
 
My biggest let down was when I realised, no matter how much I spent on gear it won't improve my photography.

This is also the most helpful thing I've learnt.
 
Maybe Leica R8, I knew it was massive going in, but didn't count on it working so poorly. Just seemed to to be a badly thought out camera bigger than my medium format cameras, but only shot 35mm frames.
 
Nikon Df.. looks clunky, no video, exclusive F-mount, dial frenzy overdo, no split-screen focusing screen and most of all ridiculous price.
 
Ronald M said:
Any cheap camera will be a let down if you know the difference. Rolls is always better than Chevy for the people who can afford one.

I don`t hold my breath anymore. I just wait for real user reviews.

Leica M8 & 9 , D7000, D800, D700, D3 all please me. D200 in its own way. I REFUSE TO GET EXCITED OVER cheap cameras
Click to expand...
Dear Ronald,

Well put.

Cheers,

R.
 
Digital in general.. I had hopes for the Df, but they crammed it full with "digital" features, which is contradictory to their promotional message. No interchangeable focusing screen is ridiculous. And the price! thinking about adding a digital camera to my film kit is becoming a nightmare. Only Leica has what I want in a digital camera but I can't afford one. The closest would be a Fuji, and I might go for that, but still a sh-tload of feature I don't need. I think a BASIC affordable digital camera would sell by the boatload, but nobody is going to make one :-( Nikon sure dropped the ball with the Df..

Gil.
 
The Contax AX.
Followed by the Leica M9.
Followed by the disappointment of planned built-in obsolescence in new Nikon products. (G lenses, cameras that can't utilize manual focus lenses or lenses which aren't AF-s or later, etc.)

Phil Forrest
 
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