What do you MOST regret buying?

I would add that I USED to think the answer was a GF670 and Rolleiflex MX-EVS, both bought used, but after a long dormancy they have become favorites...
 
I only regret that I've bought too much -

Good point, made me think should add that to my list as well. Having known what I know now, buying 5D when it came, and keeping it, would have lasted in my use well into to this decade. Perhaps even until now. Sure it was quite pricey when new, but still much less what curiosity has driven me to try in a mean time 😛
 
I think it was a Rollei 35S. I don't know why, it looked nice at that time LOL.

I wanted to sell it off but I didn't get the chance. I still have it LOL. It's just with my other cameras for decoration.
 
I have made unwise purchases that I regretted, usually cheap ones. One time, during a full-on GAS attack, I made the stupidest purchase of all. It was a Rolleiflex 3.5A for $250. Everything on it was broken or bent. I sent it to Krimar for repair and he offered to save the return postage and just throw it in the trash. I got it back and put it on the shelf, serving as a reminder to me not to be so stupid in the future.
 
Nothing in the photography arena....but I bought a 1964 Opel Kadett for $250 and drove it all through graduate school. It got me there, but I hated every mile. An old wringer-type washing machine would have been better ride.
 
Back in 1997 bought a new 58mm 1.2 Noct-Nikkor ( and a FM2 to mount it on )
Unless stopped down , point sources produced balls of unfocused light the size of the moon.
Never bought a Nikon item since.

The Leica Noctilux proved far superior.
 
Canon 50mm f1.8 II. At the time it seemed like everyone in the Canon fan club would recommend it because it was low cost and f1.8. But it's older AF was horrible, and the MF ring is both way too small and in the wrong place (at the very front of the lens body). Oh, and the MF also seemed to not be very precise.
 
Norman strobes, we had 10-4000 WS packs, 20-2000 WS packs and 5-800 WS packs. The caps started exploding on almost every pack, not good when you work around explosives. We switched to Broncolor and never had a problem and never looked back.

I had a mixed bag of Speedotron black line that never failed and 3 4000, 6 2000 and 3 800 Normans. All of the new design packs including the 4000's failed. One of the 4000's went back to Norman for heavy duty diodes and a fan to be installed and when it came back I tested it. First shot ok, second shot it blew up. I never had a problem with my Speedotron units 4800's and 2400's. I sold the Normans and added more Speedotrons.
 
I'm with you on the CL, Moto Mark, could not get comfortable with it. But the CLE was a totally different matter, just loved it. And the Bronica RF645 seems somehow to have a similar character. No regrets on either of those!
 
M240 - should have bought an MP (analog) to begin with.
Now I'm trying to sell a barely used M240 at a huge loss. And it's not selling.
 
Now I'm trying to sell a barely used M240 at a huge loss. And it's not selling.

I don't think anything Leica is selling at the moment unless it is at almost giveaway prices. Dealers must be finding it quite hard at the moment.

I don't have any specific regrets but share the view expressed by one or two posters above that they have bought too much photographic gear over the years. I don't think I have bought any clunkers (on the contrary most of the stuff has been fantastic) but I have simply bought too much of it, too often. If I knew "then" what I know now I could have saved myself a genuine small fortune by avoiding buying and selling various digital Leica bodies and numerous lenses because the kit I am using now (Leica film bodies, 35 and 28 Summicrons) is essentially the same as what I was using ten years ago.
 
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