Hepcat. I'm glad I got someone to laugh. Still, I'm not sure its funny all that gear is worth so little now. It held value for many years, then suddenly dropped perhaps 4-5 years ago. Honestly, its the *amount* of depreciation that has me bummed. Consider how selling your OM gear helped cover your Leica acquisitions. If I sold all my Nikon SLR, I doubt it would cover the acquisition of just one M9. I don't know how much OM gear you sold, but I have quite a few pro-level bodies and lenses.
I too started down the road of supporting myself through photography, although that was mid 1980s. My hat is off to *anyone* who can make it. Tough gig, and I actually had plenty of work. Diverse work too. I luckily chose another career path sometime in the early 1990's and I think it was the right choice. I continued to do a trickle of "photo work" until the early 2000's but I am a "personal" photographer today. Its best that way. Family and job are my priorities.
My Nikon SLR were always viewed as tools, and weren't necessarily consumer grade. The F2, F3 were the pro-level offerings at the time I got them. Not sure about the FE2 (that I've come to like most) or its siblings, but the EM I bought for "dirt jobs", was definitely consumer grade. Some lenses were consumer-grade and I'm not surprised at their depreciation, but a few were "pro-level" Nikkors. I do kick myself for being talked into the more expensive "system" avalaible during that time. I was young, it was southern California. Nikon was "where its at".
Back to Leica: My film Leicas have so far been honest "lifetime" cameras. I absolutely do not view digital Leicas as "lifetime" cameras. That's perhaps the main reason I'm loathe to fork over the new price. I guess used prices have me considering. Sheesh, so now perhaps deprecieation is my friend?
Thanks all for letting me vent.
Nikon, my friend, has
never been "where it's at." The dials and lenses have always turned or mounted "back@sswards" and nothing is in the "right" place. Even while my friends were consuming Nikon voraciously, I held them in the same contempt I hold for the Beseler Topcon Super D (the Navy version of a "pro" SLR.")
😀 Those Navy Topcons were what got me using Leica Ms to begin with. Quiet, small and weighed 1/4 what the Topcon kits weighed. They were seen as "quaint" by the rest of the shooting crew, so I had my choice of the best pieces from six kits to assemble my shooting kit. I was in heaven!
Tongue-in-cheek aside, of course I've owned and used several Nikons over the years and they're perfectly serviceable, but still, I never felt quite at peace with them.
I always wanted OMs but never bought them. I shot Canon EOS1 after the advent of AF in 1987, and eventually selling of my M4 kit and moving heavily into Canon EOS1 gear (and Hasselblad.) In about '99 I got out of the business for a while and sold all my pro film gear while it still had value. When I re-entered the fray in about '06, I had my choice of gear, and after investigating, I bought Olympus digital. The Olympus gear I sold was the latest digital gear, E5 bodies with the amazing Olympus glass including my dream lens, the 35-100 f/2 zoom. That may have been THE most amazing portrait lens EVER. That was the gear that paid for much of my current digi-M kit. I really liked Olympus 4/3rds. I only left Olympus because they stopped offering a "Pro" DSLR opting instead to go mirrorless. I dislike EVFs even more than I dislike Topcon Super Ds.
😀 In any event there wasn't going to be another true E body in 4/3rds so I sold my 4/3rds gear while it still had value and determined to return to Leica Ms.
I realized early on in my career with the Navy that all of this equipment is expendable... there are stories of troops pitching M4 (KE7A) kits out of helicopters and/or leaving them in the jungle and just packing the film out for recon. Bring the photos back. The photos are what's valuable, the equipment is replaceable.
Of course, there's a little different perspective when the cash for the gear comes out of your own pocket, but the lesson itself is still valuable. And while your Nikon film bodies may not be worth much any more, the lenses certainly will show more value now in this mirrorless adapt-all world.
The last thing to mention is that I always buy gear that is typically one generation back from the 'bleeding edge' and I always buy nearly new condition gear used. I let someone else eat that initial depreciation, and then I typically sell digital bodies when they're almost three generations back while they still have value in the market. I've done pretty well with that. I have to tell you that digital has gotten to the point now that I really don't feel the need to unload either my M8 or M9 to stay "current." They're both adequate performers and will remain so until they either give up the ghost and aren't repairable or I get out of photography. I'm really pleased with this bit of kit.
