The Nikon had better files. The Sony had a finder I liked better. But in the end it was really the better files I craved.
Your experience?
4.23.2018
During your tenure as a photographer is there one camera which you regret having sold? Why did you sell it and, just as important, why did you regret it?
The Nikon had better files. The Sony had a finder I liked better. But in the end it was really the better files I craved.
Your experience?
37 comments:
I sold a Nikon F3 and strayed into the new mid-range Canon EOS ethos for auto focus and built-in ergonomic motordrive. I missed the professional solidity and ease of my Nikon and the quality of the lenses I gave up (55 F3.5 Micro Nikkor for one) for just OK Canon lenses.
5DMkII. Still can't get the lovely skin tones and colors that it gave me. The 5D3 that replaced it, the Olympus E-M5, E-M1 and the Sony A7II that replaced it do not do better.
However, I am glad I don't have to deal with the crazy dust spots anymore.
Mine is leaving Canon and a 5d MKII with an incredible 35mm 1.4 and going to Sony. The only positive is that when I came back to DSLR’s I moved over to Nikon and have never been happier with a piece of photographic equipment.
Thank you for your time and thoughts with all the blog posts.
The Rolleiflex that I got from my aunt shortly before she died. I sold it to buy a Mamiya RB67, sold that to buy a Plaubel 67, sold that to buy a Pentax 6X7, sold that to buy a Mamiya 7 and sold that to buy a Rolleiflex GX. Wished I kept the first one even if the GX is slightly better.
My Hasselblad Xpan 2 and all three lenses. Miss it almost all the time. It was the most solid camera I thin I've owned. Sold it to get into Digital which for the most part has been good. Will always miss it though. Times were simpler before digital in my mind.
Not one... every Canon I've replaced by a newer one has been an improvement.
A1, F1N, EOSRT, 20D, 5D, 5D2, 5D3, 5D4... all magic.
I miss my Pentax 67, because I loved that camera - but I don't regret selling it - no way I want to shoot film ever again.
Quite a few I regret buying though... all the mirrorless stuff.
(OMD-EM5, Sony A6000, A6300)
Nope. The camera / lens combo I'm using today is the best I've ever used for the type of photography I do (long-exposure, nighttime, urban documentary stuff) and I know of no commercially available alternatives that can do a better job overall.
That said, the camera body dates from 2013 and the lenses from the '70s and '80s, so I am happily keeping some distance between me and the bleeding edge of photo technology. To my surprise, I find the current generations of the camera body and lenses I'm using arguably perform somewhat less well for my purposes than do their first generation versions.
It's both hard to believe and sad to say, I know, but IMO, it's also very much true. So for now, at least, I will continue looking back to the future!
I gave away a Rolleiflex that I had bought for $50. I was too busy with my studio and had not used it for a while.
I loved the whisper-like "snick" of the shutter and the full flash sync even if it was only 1/500sec.
The lens was not a razor sharp affair but rather rendered images with a creamy smoothness that made landscape and portraits alike look beautiful.
However I have to admit that I have zero interest in going back into the darkroom.
For me it was my Olympus E-P5. I left the 4/3 world for Fujifilm X cameras and lenses. I love my Fujifilm gear, but I miss the Olympus touch screen and the in camera processing options. I loved the Zuiko 17mm f1.8. I miss the 12-40mm. I loved the 75mm.
I don't want a do-over, but I would like to possibly pick up a used E-P5 and the17 and the 75mm.
Sold a couple user Leica bodies and several lenses I had acquired from a wonderful friend and co-worker in a Houston camera department, back in the day, between jobs. Bought a Hassy body and standard lens with proceeds. I now figure I lost 75% in that deal. Stupidity knows no limits among the callow youth. But the allure of MF beckoned, and lasted for about 5 rolls of film.
Sony A65. Loved the files but hated using it. Maybe my expectations were too high. Maybe I should have taken more time to learn the crazy Sony menus. Never really gave it much of a chance, always reached for my Rebel XS instead. Would like to give it another try. Full disclosure: it's also the only camera I've ever sold. The others have either died or are still hanging around.
I really regret having sold my one of my old film cameras, Canon F1 and my early digital cameras, the Olympus E-10. Both of those cameras were built like tanks and I would love to just have them both sitting on a shelf to remind me of the past.
I regret selling my 4x5 Zone VI Ultra Light. The best damn camera for portraits ever. Every other camera is just a tool.
One thing I do NOT regret is dumping my Canon gear for Panasonic. Once the GH3 arrived on the scene I was done with full frame forever. No regrets.
None really, though I tend to keep most of my gear. I'm a bit of a hoarder. Maybe a question for another day might be, which camera/lens combo do you regret buying? I could populate that list.
No regrets. I loved my Sony 828, but it was just too slow shot-to-shot, especially in RAW. But if Sony would bring back the design and lens with an up-to-date sensor and processing engine I'd buy one in a minute.
My favorite film camera, a Deardorff 5x7 with 4x5 back, is on the shelf behind watching over my office. I doubt I'll ever use it again, but it is nice to have it around.
I regret selling my Leica M3 many years back, and I regret selling my first 'serious' camera: the entirely British made, AGI uncoupled rangefinder. I should have used it relentlessly and not bought into the SLR craze of the late '60s, although I should probably have hung onto my Nikon FM2n and even added some lenses.
I never regretted selling any of my DSLRs from Canon or Nikon (the last was a D800E). I was quite happy to see the end of all of them in favour of an augmented Leica kit, and more and better micro 4/3 stuff (just added the 17 1.2 Pro). I have finally come to understand what I want from the gear I buy, and so try to stay in line: Finding this out however has cost me an extraordinary amount of time and money!
Peter Wright.
Not sure it counts because I didn't sell it-instead we were evacuated out of the country in mid-civil war and had to leave it behind. Mine would be a mint condition 2x3 Crown Graphic with both film holders and roll film back that I was just beginning to figure out. Sort of made me feel like a mini-Weegee....
Nikon D300. I became enchanted with the Olympus OM-D, and I still am, but I wish I had kept my D300. I have been looking to get another. Luckily I kept all my good lenses. I had several very nice Graflexes which I have sold and regret, but that is a different category. Cannot keep stuff anymore that is not being used (except one mint 1966 Hasselblad)
A Contax G2 and three lenses, not that I would ever use film again but they were nice to look at and hold.
Ha, here is the third person who regrets selling a Rolleiflex! I had used two 'flexes for 25 years, but sold them around 2010 when I thought my Fujifilm GW690II would suffice for medium format and thought I would transition to mostly digital. Well you know the inevitable outcome: I missed the compactness, precision, and sophistication of the Rolleiflex. And no, digital is not a substitute for black and white film. Fortunately, I bought a 1959-vintage Rolleiflex 3.5E which has the most amazing 75mm Xenotar lens. This one was born on a lucky day, and everything in its production cycle worked out just perfectly. This one is a keeper.
As for digital, the Panasonic G3 was the most compact of the G series and fantastic for travel with a lens like the 20mm. Maybe I should have kept it.....
I should have kept my Leica M6, Canon F1N, Nikon F3, Nikon F100, Canon 10D, Canon 1D II, Canon 5D, and Nikon D700. Regret buying a Sony NEX and a Fuji XE 1 before moving to an Olympus micro 4/3 kit. Happy with my EM 1.2.
I've passed along to young photographers a fair number of 2005-2014 model digital camera bodies and a few lenses as I upgraded to newer M43 camera bodies with better image quality gear, and I've never regretted the passing along any of them.
My sole regret and "do-over" was trading away an uncoated 120mm Dagor large format lens several decades ago when I was in law school. It was one of the optically finest lenses that I've ever used and I wish I had it back now that I'm starting to shoot 5x7 BW again along with M43 Olympus and full-frame Pentax cameras as appropriate (right tool for the right job, etc.)
I regret selling my two Lieca IIIg bodies, five lenses, and the Benser case. I have never felt as bonded to a camera since. Nevertheless, I had four children to put through college, needed every penny I could get, and my Leicas had achieved collector value.
I bought a Cannon to replace them for much less money. I hated it.
Nikon D700. The most beautiful digi files of any digital camera I have used.
Eric
I don't regret selling any of my cameras, although I do regret paying too in my opinion for the Canon 5DIV, not that it is not a good camera: but I will never again pay over $3000 for a camera body. The return is simply not worth it. I miss my days as a Leica R photographer, but that is simply because I was young then.
During my film days it was my OM1n with a 28mm lens then later my Minolta 9. In my digital days my Sigma SD9 SD10 Nikon D2Hs D200.
Why you ask? Because we all know newer is better, right, right? Got caught up in the Mega Pixel, bells and whistles race. Now I'm returning to my roots, the way I use to shoot 45 years ago, when I first started, and when I really enjoy photography, creating images not the need, the have to generate income.
Enjoy
Roger
I wish I hadn't sold my Olympus 410, E-30, E-3. Excellent jpgs, super sharp lenses. Sold it to get the one of the first Canon 5DMark1 in Canada. I wish I hadn't sold this one either, with it's big pixels.
I scour Kijiji and Craigslist looking for good copies.
I've learned my lessons. One camera I have now that I will never sell is my beat-up Sony RX10. Becoming apparent everyday that I should not sell is my new Sony A7III. I liken this A7III to the Nikon D700 and the Nikon D300S: instant classics when they were first released.
Nikon D80. A much maligned camera, lots of negative stuff written about its sensor. Yet, when I look at the photos taken with it they are surprisingly sharp and pleasing, even with the 18-135 kit lens. Hate to admit it, but obviously I lost my motivation at some point and simply didn’t pick the camera up often enough. Then sought to cure that by buying something new to replace it. A very rookie mistake on the part of one old enough to know better.
I can think of many but would have to say my F3HP and a small kit of prime lenses. I know it tops my regrets list because I have replaced almost all of it.
I re-read your post and decided to repost my answer.
During your tenure as a photographer is there one camera which you regret having sold? Olympus OM1
Why did you sell it? Money. Film was getting costly and I moved to Nikon Digital. It was a business decision. Like going to video.
Why did you regret it? The camera was part of me, it never failed me, be it rain, snow, sun, desert, mountains, street. The people, every time I picked up the camera it reminded me of all the great people, great photographers I was lucky enough to meet and call friends. All the fun we had competing against each other. Anyway I miss the OM1 and the people.
Have fun
Roger
Regret is amplified when the replacement fails to meet expectations. For me, it's the Nikon D700 and the M9, both sold when I "upgraded" to the D600 and the M240.
In getting an extra 12MP and video with the D600, I gave up the D700's much better/faster/more accurate 51-pt AF system (the 39-pt AF in low light is a dog); FPS flexibility; pro layout; one-button zoom-in review; dedicated AF-On button. I didn't think I'd miss the pro functionality, but was I wrong. I quickly sold the D600 and bought a D700 again, and it's still going strong.
In getting the M240, I thought the high ISO would be the winning move over the M9, but a couple of funny things. At low ISO, color rendition and look of the files are sufficiently different that I started to miss those M9 colors. And the M240 gained enough weight to be noticeable in actual, daily use. But the biggest M240 detractor is the start-up lag, enough to make the "decisive moment" a long-gone moment while I wait for it to boot up. I've read that the M10 does not address this problem.
A Samsung NX1. I really enjoyed the IQ, especially the 4K video, and functionality of this camera. Too bad Samsung exited the market.
My Nikon D90 - I am a Nikon APSC shooter and it worked great for my ameture need. Would I trade my current D7200? Naw!
Nikon Df. Right size. Right sensor. Good handling once you got used to it, at least for my purposes. If I did my job, it was unfailing in its ability to what it was supposed to do. Loved it. I moved along to others and almost immediately learned my mistake. Some hate it, but I still want to get another one.
I regretted having sold a Nikon S2 ,,, I never used it enough. Shortly after acquiring this camera I purchased a Nikon 135mm lens for it, regretted that purchase, lens became a paperweight, decided it was too expensive to be a paperweight but had to include the S2 to move the lens! .. however, as time passes I will never develop another roll of film and that S2 would just sit next to my Bronica on a shelf … So I'm perfectly happy with my digital cameras …. no real lasting regrets ….
I still really miss my Olympus OM-4 and the Multi-Spot Meter. The Old Zuiko lens were wonderful as well.
Nikon Df, traded for an E-M1 in order to downsize on a world trip, then back to a D800 on the return for a very cheap price. Still miss the results from the Df even if I hated the user interface and AF. Perhaps a D700 or D3s next.
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