What would you do if you were my age?

[nikonhswebmaster]

The original poster has a lot of gear, and not all of it could be easily replaced.

Any camera usually sold under $2000 is not rare, but the real issue is repair.

If you, for instance, own a recently CLA'ed Alpa, now could be your last chance.

10 years from now the camera might be so cheap it seems a bargain, but there may be no one to fix or even clean and lube it. Cameras can be "new old stock" and not be truly functional. I bought new M4 bodies, that even 15 years ago, were gassing so badly the viewfinders were useless.

 

[Calzone]

Any camera usually sold under $2000 is not rare, but the real issue is repair.

If you, for instance, own a recently CLA'ed Alpa, now could be your last chance.

10 years from now the camera might be so cheap it seems a bargain, but there may be no one to fix or even clean and lube it. Cameras can be "new old stock" and not be truly functional. I bought new M4 bodies, that even 15 years ago, were gassing so badly the viewfinders were useless.

Good point.

My Rollie 3.5 F "Whiteface" has been "Fleenored." All my Leicas "Sherrie'ed." I also even had my Fuji "Texas Leicas" serviced by Frank Marshman.

If I continue to use these cameras, and they don't become shelf queens I should be good for the rest of my life. I likely with the 13-15 cameras I currently own am rather challenged to use all of them. When I retire it will be easier, and actually might prove wise to have kept all of them.

My Nikon F3P I have owned and used for about 25 years. Still going strong. Was serviced by Nikon just before I bought it. It was a real Press camera, was in Operation Desert Storm, and was once owned by the newspper "Newsday."

I still have to get my sensor replace on my now almost 4 year old Monochrom...

Cal

 

[BillBingham2]

Do we have any young people in this forum? ..... 🙁

Does remembering when they invented dirt make me old?

B2 (;->

 

[BillBingham2]

......You don't have to look very far to see the other side here in NYC.

Cal

I have yet to live anywhere where I wasn't able to find someone who could use "Stuff" more than I could. While I might have had to dig a bit more in Northbrook than I do here in Ames, it's still there. Can't think of a city I've visited that was true too.

We are still trying to prune down from two houses. This house had way too many surprises that still are being fixed to have time to sort through.

B2 (;->

 

[David Hughes]

Hi,

Every time I come back from a camping trip or holiday I wonder why I need all the stuff in the house. And nowadays I spend a bit of time wondering if I need all the stuff I take when camping and am working on that as well.

I also know someone who went sailing one summer and came back home and thought about it for a while and sold the house, got rid of a lot of junk and bought a houseboat to live and travel the canals in.

Regards, David

 

[Doug]

I've been thinking along the same lines, being also "of an age"... And one idea that might be useful is to consider donating camera gear to your local college art/photo department. Consult first of course, to see what sort of things they would find most useful.

 

[Contarama]

Just don't put them in a storage unit and then die soon thereafter.

 

[willie_901]

I've been thinking along the same lines, being also "of an age"... And one idea that might be useful is to consider donating camera gear to your local college art/photo department. Consult first of course, to see what sort of things they would find most useful.

Or just tell people you care about how to use KEH. Problem solved.

 

[David Hughes]

Hi,

So what was the decision? I keep thinking of Mies van der Rohe's comment that less is more and wondering...

Regards, David

 

[HuubL]

Hi,

So what was the decision? I keep thinking of Mies van der Rohe's comment that less is more and wondering...

Regards, David

As a matter of fact, I sold three cameras this week 🙄 and thinking about what could go next. However, I couldn't resist buying a new one for the profits 😕. Well, I suppose cutting down on numbers is kind of a start.

 

[Steve M.]

Just sell them all either individually or as a lot and keep one camera, assuming that you're a photographer. Some people are simply collectors. Your kids in all likelihood will not care about a bunch of old cameras, and if they express an interest in them, give the cameras to them now, not after you're dead. It's more pleasant to give than to get.

I have never understood collecting photography gear. It's hoarding, and is usually just another human addiction which may initially create a little bit of happiness, but that quickly leads to suffering, as do all actions based on acquisition and not usage.

 

[Dralowid]

As a matter of fact, I sold three cameras this week 🙄 and thinking about what could go next. However, I couldn't resist buying a new one for the profits 😕. Well, I suppose cutting down on numbers is kind of a start.

So you have started, keep it up, a little at a time and often. OK so stuff will inevitably come the other way, after all it is a habit of a lifetime and hard to kick but as long as the cupboard starts to get a little emptier each month it is all going in the right direction!

 

[skucera]

I've seen many sides of this conundrum. I benefited when my dad died unexpected in 2001, and I inherited his prized Konica camera and lenses in one bag. He'd sold his other cameras years earlier. My wife's grandfather died in 1995, and I packed his Leica kit up to shipping to my wife's uncle. He thought so much of my careful packing that 20 years later he gave me his father's Leica kit in its entirety. If you have family members who will prize your cameras and use them, or preserve them for another generation who will use them, then keep them and pass them on. Designate an inheritor, and mentor the enthusiasm that will result in future enjoyment.

However, I've seen evidence of how camera collections are handled by family members who don't care about a loved one's photography hobby, or were even angered by it. Thrift shops often have lots of camera equipment, including complete outfits of dark room equipment, and occasionally some rather nice cameras. I've heard from coworkers who had to clean out parents' houses after their deaths that they've just taken cameras and dark room equipment to the dump, which makes me just shudder. They often are genuinely surprised that people still use film. Sad.... If your family is like that, sell your own cameras and enjoy the money while you can.

Scott