Which camera(s) do you most regret selling?

I've seen way too many people regret selling their x100 to even consider selling mine - unless it would be to buy a newer version!
I think a lot of the people who regret selling their X100 DID sell it to get a newer version. As many operational warts as it had, that first X100 had something special about those files that I think was at least partially lost with the X-Trans iterations in the S and T models. Once I moved on to the RX1, I got over any regrets about getting rid of the X100, but I shot quite a bit with the X100S when it was first released and, except for a couple of pretty big operational improvements, I didn't see anything there I didn't like as much or more with the original. And that was after owning the X-Pro for a year or more, with the X-trans sensor. I think the original X100 will go down as kind of a flawed classic, but a lot of the originals will probably outlive anything Fuji has released since, which has all been replaceable with the next iteration with no loss of quality or character. Actually, there's a different look to the X-Pro and XE-1 files than there was to the XT1 and XE2 files, as well, so I'm probably wrong about that too.

edit - I see that Dean beat me to the punch on that one...

-Ray
 
Interestingly, I've never actually sold a digital camera - those I don't use anymore are stored; at the time I could have sold them, they didn't seem to have any market value left.

M.

Come to think of it, the only digital camera I have sold was my very first one (Canon Digital Rebel), which I only kept for 9 months and still sold for a substantial money loss. Everything else has either been given away or is waiting to be given away.
 
Hmm you guys may be right about the original X100's look, but for me, the usb charging that the X100T allows would be a major improvement in terms of minimizing my travel gear. Other than that, I'm absolutely fine with the original.
 
Come to think of it, the only digital camera I have sold was my very first one (Canon Digital Rebel), which I only kept for 9 months and still sold for a substantial money loss. Everything else has either been given away or is waiting to be given away.

Hmmm, Antonio, perhaps you'd like to forward a list of gear that "waiting to be given away" - I might be able to help you out with some of it! :D

Hmm you guys may be right about the original X100's look, but for me, the usb charging that the X100T allows would be a major improvement in terms of minimizing my travel gear. Other than that, I'm absolutely fine with the original.

Oh yeah, there are TONS of operational improvements in the next two X100 releases over the original, which had some idiosyncrasies that I got FAR too expert with at the time (particularly in the early days before the first couple of FW releases). I think the special thing about the original was just the clean 12mp files it produced. X-Trans has its charms and it seemed like a real technical improvement for a while (until others used the same basic sensor without that color array and did as well with it), but it also lost something that the original X-100 sensor had that still looks REALLY good today...

-Ray
 
Hmmm, Antonio, perhaps you'd like to forward a list of gear that "waiting to be given away" - I might be able to help you out with some of it! :D

I'm not sure there's anything you would really want. What's left is as follows, in approximate order of desirability: Canon 50D, Canon Rebel T1i, Olympus E-P1, Lumix GF-3, and a couple of old Kodak and Olympus P&S cameras.

Now, the list of lenses that need to be sold is getting to be quite extensive. Those are actually worth something, so I need to get to it at some point.

Cheers,

Antonio
 
I realllllly wish I had the money to take it off you... even if film is unpractical and just nowhere near as versatile as digital, I just love the concept of that camera and would love to have one to play with...


I've seen way too many people regret selling their x100 to even consider selling mine - unless it would be to buy a newer version!

yes, along with the old contax AX, the xpan is an engineering marvel, and is the closest to medium format quality. awesome gear.

the x100 is bayer sensored while the 'upgrades' are xtrans. as said many other places, different rendering. i much prefer the bayer sensor IQ and find xtrans raw bloody awful.
 
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I'm not sure there's anything you would really want. What's left is as follows, in approximate order of desirability: Canon 50D, Canon Rebel T1i, Olympus E-P1, Lumix GF-3, and a couple of old Kodak and Olympus P&S cameras.

Now, the list of lenses that need to be sold is getting to be quite extensive. Those are actually worth something, so I need to get to it at some point.

Cheers,

Antonio
Well, I was just kidding - there's very little even in the way of new premium gear that I'd have much interest in these days - but that's some gear that some budding photographer should be able to get a lot of life out of yet. As for the lenses, I'm a recent enough contributor to your troubles that I won't make any more offers there... ;)

-Ray
 
I miss my X-Pro1 + 35mm f1.4
There was something supremely satisfying in it's "ker-chunck"
And the 35 was a masterpiece in my opinion.
I have "better" gear now.
But I miss that combo still....
 
well thats the thing, what is 'better'? if you love using it and you love the results, what is better than that?

i honestly gave up on this concept and it has been very liberating. i love my rd1--i love using it, i love the files. its 6mp and frankly my dear i dont give a damn! i love my x100--i love using it, i love the files. i never found an af issue, i think that aspect is way overblown. it does what i want and thats enough for me. no one--and i mean no one-- has ever looked at the images these tools generate and said to me i need new equipment. rather--as just hapoened to me last month when i photographed my sister in laws wedding with my original 12mp x100 with its criticized low light af ability--viewers typically rave about the results. my sister in law 'couldnt believe the colors' and 'you didnt use a flash, how can these be so clear?' etc etc etc.

my advice, stop looking for the holy grail, its a fools errand. lafayette, you are here!
 
I just purchased what I think may be my fourth E-P3. It's more of an admission that I am done chasing the "best" camera than anything else. I just find that I'm not very good at photography AND I don't do it very often. So it makes more sense for me to have a camera and lens that costs $250 rather than $1,250. And frankly, the photos won't be any worse than the ones I would have shot with more expensive gear.

Although the throwaway shots from mt RX1 were amazing looking (IQ-wise) :daz:
 
...that's some gear that some budding photographer should be able to get a lot of life out of yet.

True. I'm thinking I will donate the 50D to the Museum of Contemporary Art; the problem is that I really have no lenses to donate with it, and they won't have any use just for the body. I have considered picking up used 18-55mm and 10-18mm which can be had relatively cheap so that I can give them a full set, but haven't done it yet. Same problem with the T1i. The E-P1 has the kit zoom lens, but is a hard sell even as a gift because of the lack of a built-in flash. The two point and shoots are simply worthless. They weren't any good when they were bought almost 10 years ago, and are put to shame by even the most basic phone cameras today.

Cheers,

Antonio
 
well certainly that is the definition. i guess my point was, given that definition and that what you like 'more' is not knowable til you try loads and loads plus the next new thing, the logic is a never ending chase that yields never being truly 'satisfied' because there always may be something you like 'more'. it is the very giving up of that logic that i posit 'sets you free' to enjoy what you already enjoy. my point is, if you really enjoy it now and enjoy the results, why keep looking for something better. if we handled marriage with that philosophy the divorce rate would be 100%! ): at some point we should know ourselves well enough to pick what makes us most happy and happily keep it for a good amount of time.
 
My Contax G system. Given how little use my film gear is getting these days it would probably be sitting in my cupboard gathering dust, but what a lovely system it was.

Antonio
I still have mine tucked away in a case, along with my original Nikon F system and Nikon SP rangefinder system. Also still have my XPRO 1s because I waited too long to sell them. I will never sell my XT100, may not use it much but it is a classic, the XT10 is now the office camera. Some of my older cameras that were not bought for my old cameras collection have now been added to it, like my first compact Sony Digitals, early GRs, Contax TVS, Contax TVs II, Contax Tix, Canon Elph, and Nikon 35af, etc.
I have bought a number of cameras for the collection which I probably will not sell until I retire, clean out my office display and the wife asks where the hell are you putting those. When that happens, I think I will sell all of the old wooden bellows types, the folding ones, some of the 110s, some of the 16s but keep the Leicas, Nikons, Contax, Robots, Pentax 110 SLRs, Rolies and Minox, I should have room for them. As one can see I tend to keep more cameras than I sell.

I have also sold a few and have no regrets, never thought about buying them again, once gone, they are gone, honestly I think that is true with whatever I have sold or given away. I sold or given away multiple Olympus and Panasonic M/43 cameras and lenses, Ricoh GXR, Sinar 4x5, Leica digital P&S, Sony digital, Canons, all of the Video cameras I have owned, as well as the underwater housings, lights, cases. No regrets, they either stay or I move on, just sold my RX1R to offset the new RX1R II, happy happy withe the new, almost forgot I had the other.

And we have not really even touched the amount of pro gear I have gone through in some 40 plus years of shooting
 
I just purchased what I think may be my fourth E-P3. It's more of an admission that I am done chasing the "best" camera than anything else. I just find that I'm not very good at photography AND I don't do it very often. So it makes more sense for me to have a camera and lens that costs $250 rather than $1,250. And frankly, the photos won't be any worse than the ones I would have shot with more expensive gear.

Although the throwaway shots from mt RX1 were amazing looking (IQ-wise) :daz:

well first i think youre too hard on yourself. none of us here are ansel adams. we do this as a hobby, and a hobby should be ALL about making us happy! i agree with giving up 'the chase', but maybe not so much about the cost/benefit analysis. if you loved the $1200 camera and thats not a financial burden, then let it make you happy. if you love using and seeing the results of the $250 rig just as much, then let that make you happy. again assuming its not a burden, its not about the cost or the chase, its just about what you enjoy using and seeing. when youre enjoying the process you will make better photos.

the realization i personally came to was how much fun i had using certain equipment. coincidentally, i happily also really enjoyed the end result yielded by those tools. i then had to force myself to just STOP, admit how much fun i was having in the process, and decide to just let it be. very liberating.
 
well certainly that is the definition. i guess my point was, given that definition and that what you like 'more' is not knowable til you try loads and loads plus the next new thing, the logic is a never ending chase that yields never being truly 'satisfied' because there always may be something you like 'more'. it is the very giving up of that logic that i posit 'sets you free' to enjoy what you already enjoy. my point is, if you really enjoy it now and enjoy the results, why keep looking for something better. if we handled marriage with that philosophy the divorce rate would be 100%! ): at some point we should know ourselves well enough to pick what makes us most happy and happily keep it for a good amount of time.

Totally agree.
The difficult part might be to find something that works for you and - ironically - realizing that it works for you :)
Looking at photos and forums online, we see thousands of great pictures done by other people with other gear. It's always tempting to think that what works great for them should make your photography better too...

Which brings me to another point. The notion that our photography constantly has to get "better". Sure, it's our hobby, and we'd like to improve our skills in it. But that's just it - it's more about learning how to use gear better than about better gear.
(And even then, if someone's goal is to have fun with his hobby rather than constantly "getting better", that's perfectly fine too. :) )

Anyway... kind of off-topic all this :)

The only camera I slightly regret selling is the Pentax MX1 and its brilliant supermacro mode. I got a refurbished Oly E-PM2&kit lens for the same money, which get's me better image quality in a similar sized body, but I miss the macro capability.

On the other hand I just ordered a backup body of my Olympus E1. A camera that defies all my 'camera-buying logic' :) It's big and clunky, doesn't have live-view, not much resolution, or anything... But I love the output and I enjoy using it... :)
 
i wish i could 'like' your post more than once! what you said about 'realizing' what works best for you and 'using equipment better vs using 'better equipment' could not more more true and cannot be overemphasized. i literally had to force myself to stop and take stock of my user experience and my end-result goals. we forget that the 'hobby' should be more about the 'happy' than anything else.
 
After I bought a Sony Rx1, I sold off all my Canon DSLR's.....HA! No regrets, those boring bodies are OUT OF HERE! Since then I haven't sold any cameras, but I have given away a Sony Rx100, some Samsung cameras and some Olympus cameras.
 
well certainly that is the definition. i guess my point was, given that definition and that what you like 'more' is not knowable til you try loads and loads plus the next new thing, the logic is a never ending chase that yields never being truly 'satisfied' because there always may be something you like 'more'. it is the very giving up of that logic that i posit 'sets you free' to enjoy what you already enjoy. my point is, if you really enjoy it now and enjoy the results, why keep looking for something better. if we handled marriage with that philosophy the divorce rate would be 100%! ): at some point we should know ourselves well enough to pick what makes us most happy and happily keep it for a good amount of time.

I know what you're saying - we've had one version or another of this discussion a few times I think. And I don't disagree that there comes a point. The question is when you know you've gotten to that point and the process you use to get there. I feel like I'm there now, but it took a fair amount of buying and selling and trying and experimenting to get there. While I was going through that process I was getting to know a lot about two things - how I liked to work as a photographer and how different features and capabilities in my gear made how I worked easier or harder as I evolved as a photographer.

When I was shooting as a kid with film and a Pentax K1000, I was happy as a clam and as satisfied with my gear as I knew how to be. When I got back into photography with an EP2 and a few lenses almost six years ago I was thrilled with that gear - it was so much better than what I'd used as a kid in almost every way (except for narrow DOF). But as I got more into it, I found areas in which it frustrated me as my photographic pursuits expanded. And so I tried other stuff and found ways in which I liked it more and ways in which I liked it less. And over the course of time, as both my photography and my understanding of gear and features both changed and, hopefully, improved, my understanding of what I wanted from my gear became more specific and refined. Finally, when I tried the DF, I realized it had everything I'd hoped for in one camera, and with a bunch of really great and mostly affordable lenses that were a perfect match for what I wanted from my gear.

So now I feel like I'm there, I'm sated, it does everything I want a camera to do with any lens I'd ever care to use. I want for nothing at the moment and don't see anything in the stores, or even on the reasonably visible horizon, that interests me. I can imagine some future melding of the best features of today's DSLRs and mirrorless into a camera body that I might eventually upgrade to, but I don't think that's close to here yet and it's not like I'm looking for it, but if it emerges, I'll probably be open to it. And also, the technology seems to have plateaued at a point that I'm really satisfied with after a few years of explosive improvements. I know Nikon is working on the D5 with a sensor that will probably put the one in the D4 and DF to shame in one way or another, but the DF can already do everything I ask of it, whereas the Olympus and Fuji gear I'd mostly used leading up to this point couldn't - it left me frustrated in one way or another. Not to say I didn't have a blast shooting with it and made plenty of images with it I still like a lot. But what I've got now I like using MORE and like the results from MORE.

But the main point is there was a real process there that DID take a fair amount of buying and trying and selling and growing before getting to the point where I could settle down with one photographic "wife". I "dated" a lot of cameras before I knew enough about them, and about ME as I continued to grow, to know which one(s) I could be happy with for a period of time. I did the same thing before getting married to my actual human wife, BTW - I dated quite a bit as I got to know more about women and about myself and what kind of personality I could be really comfortable with over time. If I'd married the first woman I ever fell in love with, I'd have definitely been divorced by now - probably multiple times if I'd maintained that same approach going forward. As it is, I didn't get married until I was as sure and comfortable as I figured I could ever be. It's been 30 years of relative bliss but I don't think it would have been without that process of trying and failing and trying again until I found the right fit.

Still, I'm open to technological progress that might matter to me in cameras, so I never say never even though I'm really happy with my gear and have been using the same stuff for nearly two years now. I'm a lot less open to technological progress in women - I think I'll sit tight with the one I'm with for the duration. Plus, she has to love me back - my cameras don't have any sort of say in those relationships... ;)

-Ray
 
I only ever regretted selling my Pentax K200D, so I re-bought that and am happy to have done so. I keep thinking to sell other cameras but I'd regret the sales and so even though I don't use them much, I store them until the mood takes me to get them out. What I have realised is that I will always have a superzoom and in spite of having "good" DSLR gear, the superzoom's flexibility is what I need for what I do with my photographs (which often is not much more than shooting stuff that makes me smile). I havent printed anything in years and thats unlikely to change, to the point where I do intend to sell my printers to give myself more space.

There was a 35mm rangefinder-esque camera with a fixed lens that I had in the early 1970s and I always really liked it. I have NO idea where it went. Perhaps a housemate liberated it. I cannot even remember what brand it was, though I keep hunting for possibilities.
 
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