Your favorite camera that you do not want to buy?

[Eric T]

Three for me:
Hasselblad X1D - body and lenses just cost too much
Nikon D850 - too big and I need another camera system like a hole in the head
Leica M-A - expensive and I just wouldn't use it enough. Too bad.

 

[JeffS7444]

Zenit-M: I think it's great that they're still in the camera business, even if the camera body is a rebadged Leica. But do I really want a big lens like a 35/1.0 Zenitar, and would I feel silly knowing that I could've had a GFX50R outfit for less money?

I'm still trying to decide whether the GFX50R itself belongs on this list. Rational side of my brain says nothing magical and next-level will happen, just as it didn't happen in moving from APS-C to FF. Not-so-rational side of my brain loves the rangefinder style body and memories of my old Mamiya and Fuji MF rangefinders.

 

[Peter Jennings]

I guess I'd go with the M-D. I think I'd really like it, but I know I'll never take that plunge.

 

[jsrockit]

I'm still trying to decide whether the GFX50R itself belongs on this list. Rational side of my brain says nothing magical and next-level will happen, just as it didn't happen in moving from APS-C to FF. Not-so-rational side of my brain loves the rangefinder style body and memories of my old Mamiya and Fuji MF rangefinders.

My exact thinking...

 

[Timmyjoe]

Original Leica Monochrom. I shoot miles of Tri-X in my M3, M4 & M6TTL and the older I get, the less enthusiastic I am about processing roll after roll after roll. The lazy part of me, and the fact that I don't currently have a wet darkroom, would just like to shoot B&W and immediately have a digital file. And the original, as opposed to the current, because I always loved the CCD sensor in the M8.2 and M9. I've got CMOS sensors in my Nikons and don't like them as well as the old Leica CCD.

But alas, it was always WAY out of my price range.

Best,
-Tim

 

[Roger Hicks]

I hear(d) this argument quit often and could follow this thought in the beginning of digital, but nowadays, what makes you think it will be obsolete? Does the same camera make bad photos in a few years?

Juergen

Dear Juergen,

My feeling too. I have a Nikon Df and a Leica M9. I find it hard to imagine why I would want to change either of them as long as they work.

To the OP: well, I've had (and still have) lots of impractical cameras, from Minox sub-min to Gandolfi 12x15 inch via Tessina and most film Leicas. Then there was the Peckham Wray with the Grafmatic backs, a Butcher postage stamp camera and a Thornton Pickard Hythe machine gun camera...

Of the ones I haven't had, I have to put in another vote for the Compass but probably the winner would be the combined rangefinder/ viewfinder Alpas. The 45 degree reflex viewing and the sheer price are what would put me off the latter, whereas the film/plate loading and (again) the price would put me off the former.

Cheers,

R.

 

[bayernfan]

this is a fun thread.

- Leica Monochrom 246, cost prohibitive, might buy when new monochrom releases
- Nikon F6, just wouldn't use it (not an SLR shooter)
- Mamiya 7II, it's good, but not as good as the current asking price
- Leica M3, I'm not a 50mm shooter, but I just found one at a price too good to pass, so I can cross it off this list 🙂

Zero interest in purchasing digital right now, but I do find it fun to watch the industry news.

 

[ruby.monkey]

I hear(d) this argument quit often and could follow this thought in the beginning of digital, but nowadays, what makes you think it will be obsolete? Does the same camera make bad photos in a few years?

Juergen

I can understand the concern that the sensor can degrade over time, and may not be replaceable by the time this gets bad enough for image quality to suffer; which is not a problem for a film camera.

 

[Dogman]

Leica M3 and Hasselblad 500CM film cameras. Love them for historical reasons. Would never buy them because I have no use for them.

Hasselblad H6D digital. You shouldn't have to ask why I wouldn't buy when the price lingers near 50 grand. Also, no real use for it.

 

[Roger Hicks]

I can understand the concern that the sensor can degrade over time, and may not be replaceable by the time this gets bad enough for image quality to suffer; which is not a problem for a film camera.

Is "degrade" the right word? Wouldn't "suddenly stop working altogether" be more likely? Sure, a new sensor for every shot (film) is ideal, but I don't know enough to worry about "degradation".

Cheers,

R.

 

[thawkins]

Leica M digital.....too expensive. Nikon F6.....obsolete.

 

[silkyfeet]

i have two.

first. hasselblad xpan. for the amount that they go for at present i feel its a gamble for a camera which cant repaired and its a electronic camera.

second. widelux f7/f8. ive been looking for one located in england london for a long time. They have a problem with banding. I have seen two on the ebay market which are based in uk and something is always stopping me due to the banding issue and also weather it can be fixed. i nearly won a f7 a couple weeks ago but i was tight on my maximum bid. ideally i would want to test a roll to see if the banding issue is present.

i love the panoramic/anamorphic style look

 

[Phil_F_NM]

Hasselblad SWC, any variant.
EDIT:
I'm adding a few I have had a chance to think over.
Graflex KE-4
M4 black paint
Pentax LX
Nikon F2 Titan
Any Nikon reissued rangefinder
Mamiya C330 (too big)
Any Alpa

Phil Forrest

 

[jbharrill1]

Any of the Fuji medium format rangefinders. Not so much due to price but because of all the talk of them not being serviceable anymore. Please, I beg you to change my mind!

Also either a mamiya 7 or the bronica rangefinder equivalent, and those are indeed due to the current asking prices.

 

[Hogarth Ferguson]

Any of the Fuji medium format rangefinders. Not so much due to price but because of all the talk of them not being serviceable anymore. Please, I beg you to change my mind!

Also either a mamiya 7 or the bronica rangefinder equivalent, and those are indeed due to the current asking prices.

Just had my Fuji GF670 serviced, it is on its way back to me as I type, actually.

 

[bayernfan]

i have two.

first. hasselblad xpan. for the amount that they go for at present i feel its a gamble for a camera which cant repaired and its a electronic camera.

agreed. it have to be an unbelievable deal on a super low-mileage camera to get me to bite. i have almost zero confidence in electronic cameras.

 

[mod2001]

i have almost zero confidence in electronic cameras.

Is this just a feeling, based on experience or always repeated internet gossip? I have more confidence (based on experience) in old electronics than in the cheap stuff they build in these days. Also, at least in case of the most sought models like the Xpan, you can still sell it even broken for half the price you paid before, either to people who need spare parts or freaks who can fix nearly everything when it comes to electronic. Me personally, I'm more afraid of mechanical parts which can't be replaced.

Anyhow, I'm almost confident that in 2028 you see somebody shooting happily with his XPan and you will ask yourself why you didn't buy one in 2018.

If you see a nice offer, buy and enjoy. Life is to short to be afraid.

Juergen

 

[Huss]

Lomo LC-A 120.
Absolutely love the images from it, love the concept, don't actually mind the price, but I tested one (thanks Stephen Gandy) and it dropped 2-3 frames per roll which I can't live with.

Same! Even used the same camera from Steve. I didn't have issues with frame dropping, and I used an assortment of film so it makes me wonder if that only was because I was the first one to use it, then tolerances widened..

But that camera also had an issue with focus. Pretty much things would only be in focus if it was set to infinity. Too many things wrong with a $400 camera. But it is really cool!

 

[Huss]

Nikon SP 2005 black paint, because I don’t really need it and there are limited lens options.

For me it is the S3 2000 in black, which I think is perhaps the best looking 35mm RF made. But I can't pull the trigger because I tried one, and as nice as it is to look at, Leica Ms are just better to use. Better VF, much better RF patch, nicer to hold, much bigger lens selection (Leica, Voigtlander, Zeiss etc)

 

[Mr_Flibble]

I'd like to buy another Epson R-D1(x) as I miss my old one. But I don't really need another digital M-body 🙁