My approach to photography is that good glass is good glass. Cameras ger better over time and you upgrade. Well that's what I've done. The only flaw in that approach was when I upgraded my camera I ended up not selling the old one and keeping it as a spare or waiting until I was up to speed on the new one. In a case of rinse and repeat I've now ended up with 9 Nikons (6 Compact DSLRs, 2 Full Frame DSLR's and 1 Full Frame mirrorless) which is just ridiculous.
However, if I decide to sell the older ones and just keep the best 3 I'll end up selling them for, in some cases, 20% of their value new. They all work and all are more flexible and take better photographs than any mobile phone. The hassle of selling them and what I'd get for them balanced against what they are capable of as a fully functional and capable tool tells me I should keep them. The cheapest one (D40x) cost £400 new and I'd be lucky to get £50 for it now, sits in the boot of the car along with a tripod in case I come across something to shoot when out and about so if it got damaged it's not great loss. The others are all much better cameras.
Anybody else on here can relate to that and has ended up in the same boat with their cameras or have you just thought sod it and sold them on for peanuts? I know some of us have been through this loop with guitars but at least that's easier insofar as guitars depreciation is a hell of a lot lower so you don't take so much of a financial hit with them.
Keep or get rid?
Ian
Lowering my
expectations has succeeded beyond my wildest dreams.
Comments
Studio: https://www.voltperoctave.com
Music: https://www.euclideancircuits.com
Me: https://www.jamesrichmond.com
https://edmorgan.info
Canon EOS 30 film camera (it was my first camera, paid new)
Nikon FM2 (used)
Olympus OM2 (used and broken)
Sony A73 (new)
Sony A73 (new)
Sony A7R3 (used)
Fuji X100 (used)
Fuji X100VI (new)
Fuji X-T1 (used)
Fuji X-Pro1 (used)
Fuji X-S10 (used)
Olympus XZ-1 * (new)
*randomly, I just checked, why on earth does this decade old compact almost as much as I paid for it 10 years ago?! LOL damn hipsters !
I have no plans selling the ones I bought new, yet, got them at bottom of the market and they are not losing any money. The A73 are work cameras are will be replaced when the time comes. I see those as tools, the others I see them as "toys".
Ian
Lowering my expectations has succeeded beyond my wildest dreams.
Ian
Lowering my expectations has succeeded beyond my wildest dreams.
But that would definitely be too many.
Studio: https://www.voltperoctave.com
Music: https://www.euclideancircuits.com
Me: https://www.jamesrichmond.com
Ian
Lowering my expectations has succeeded beyond my wildest dreams.
I remember growing up, he would collect cameras sure that they were a solid investment - he had all sorts, Mamiya 645 systems, Mamiya 67 systems, some really nice and really old TLRs which were a work of art, and the usual everyday Canon SLRs, A1s AE1s, FT QL and a whole host of other bodies, lenses, and associated kit. He even had a plethora of darkroom equipment, which was fab as a teenage me, I used to love developing my own B&W negatives and prints - they were all awful, but the process was good fun.
Then digital photography was born and the value fell out of all of it overnight. He still has more cameras than Jessops and is still acquiring stuff even well into his 80s, but all the classic stuff he sold at a massive loss a few years back. My heart broke for him.
Modern camera gear comes and goes faster than the changing of seasons. It's largely unnecessary, I don't think IQ is getting better at exponential rates any more, even if manufacturers pack more and more MPs into their latest body.
I have a photo taken on a Fuji S2 at 6.3 megapixels which prints to 10 X 8 without any issue at all. I have another favourite taken on a Canon D30 - a whopping 3 megapixels, shot at ISO1600, which can just about make it to A4 dimensions without looking terrible - yes it's grainy/noisy and lacks a bit of definition, but it's still a wonderful portrait and unless you were looking at it with a view to scrutinising you'd probably never notice.
I suppose low light performance and dynamic range has got a lot better in recent years, and lens technology and focusing systems have come on leaps and bounds, but I do still wonder how far camera makers can push things before things plateau.
There is no 'H' in Aych, you know that don't you? ~ Wife
Turns out there is an H in Haych! ~ Sporky
Bit of trading feedback here.
I still own my Nikon F3HP film SLR and my first digital camera (an Olympus E-1) for nostalgic reasons, but I haven't used either in many years. Back in the day, I mainly shot large and medium format film, but I haven't missed those cameras at all.
I'm still shooting a DSLR. I may well be dragged into the 'modern era' at some point and buy a high end mirrorless, but my Nikon D810 is pretty good and I'm used to how it feels and operates. Haptics are important to me and the D810 is spot on for me.
I've still got most of the better glass I've owned because it continues to serve me well and I really can't afford or justify replacing it with newer versions which offer minimal improvements.
I guess I see camera gear primarily as tools. If it still delivers, keep it. If it doesn't and someone else would benefit from it, move it on, either for the small amount of cash it'll bring, or gratis to the next generation.
Ian
Lowering my expectations has succeeded beyond my wildest dreams.
Lovely old thing. Batterred and brassed all over, but still feels like it was put together in a Swiss watch factory. Pretty sure I'll never shoot anything else with it - but couldn't ever throw it out.
I have fond memories of my first camera, an Ilford Sportsman (http://camera-wiki.org/wiki/Ilford_Sportsman), even though it was a piece of crap.