I must be sick, or am I really...?

For the few of you that may remember me from my long-time presence over at DPReview (since 2002 - on a multitude of forums)), you may recall that at one time (at any given moment) or another, I usually maintained an average collection of 40+ digital cameras. Yes, color me sick or what - but that was the case for a long time. However, over the past 5–7 years, I sold most of my cameras, and now I'm down to 9 (mostly Fuji). And during that time, I sold off my massive collection of regular 4/3 and Micro 4/3 cameras that I happily maintained in pristine condition.

As many of you (may) sometimes do, I periodically go through and peruse the thousands of images taken with different cameras over the past 20 years or so, thinking of the memories of the events captured, along with the clarity and colors of the cameras and lenses used. And with each personal review, I keep coming back to those images that were taken with Panasonic's early GF1 camera. The variables that always strike me are the clarity of the images (in particular taken with the early 14-45 F3.5-5.6 OIS zoom lens), the colors, and the striking presence of each image. And then I am reluctantly reminded of the fact that I sold my absolutely pristine GF1 and various accessories some 4 years ago.

Well, although my main focus right now (things do change, y'know) is with high-end audio (yes, in addition to being into photography, I'm a friekin' Audiophile also), I found myself perusing eBay and once again, caught myself looking for a mint-condition GF1 camera. I assumed that I'd never find one in the condition I wanted, but wallaaaa, I did find one the other day from a Japanese eBay store vendor - it was listed as near mint at only around $150 USD. Needless to say, I didn't think twice, and I pulled the trigger on that one. I've always had great luck purchasing from various Japanese vendors, because of how they described their gear, their actual condition, and the speed of shipment - always being exemplary and accurate (with my experiences, that is).

I'm betting that many of you were (or will be) in this situation, where a camera (or cameras) that you previously sold, was (were) once again purchased because of fond memories of superbly captured photos that you experienced in the past.

So that begs the question - "How many of you have experienced this sickness in the past (or more recently) - that is, the re-acquisition of camera gear that you've previously sold?"

Boy it sure would be nice if this site managed to find a hosting/storage site, so we could insert images into postings directly from our computers (like we were able to do on DPReview). I don't have any photo hosting sites that I can link to - just on my PC. Oh well....

Ben Herrmann
Fuquay-Varina, NC

A while ago I had several Sigma/Foveon cameras including a new-in-box SD15 DSLR.

But I often remembered my first Foveon model a used SD9 DSLR from a dozen years ago. Raw only, very simple system. One showed up new-i n-box on eBay a couple years, bought it and sold everything else except the 17-50mm f/2.8.

Later, I fondly recalled the manual-only Sigma SA-mount 50mm Macro f/2.8 with aperture ring that was thrown in with my first SD9 ... yep, bought another 50mm.

My first µ4/3 was a Lumix G1 ... sold to upgrade to the GH1 ... then I picked up another G1 and has it converted to IR and of course sold the GH1.

best regards,

Retro Ted

I too have never re-purchased. I do a pretty thorough 'matrix' of +'s and -'s of a camera and when I get rid of a camera, it is to replace it with something I prefer to shoot 'now' and my current 'style/need'..... I am pretty anal on my matrix so no, no re-purchases needed! jim

I've never done that myself, but have thought about it a lot! Good to see you here Ben. Hope you will drop by from time to time, maybe during an intermission...

Ol' Don

i too have up graded my cameras along the way and sold all my previous cameras ,one of my favs was the fz150. but recently i have fired up my Olympus xz1 as it produced great images as well. charged up the battery which only lasted for 30 min but it was enough time to take a few pics and put it back in the cupboard, my cheap phone takes awesome images and the lcd is on another level ,

fz150 image, nothing wrong with the detail on this image.

I traded in my C-5060 to get a C-7070 in 2005. The camera store offered "half-back" within a year of purchase, and the Canadian dollar reached parity with the US dollar, so the basically I got the C-7070 for $150 CAD or something like that. I'm not sure if that counts as re-buying a camera, but you be the judge.

Only other I camera ever bought was E-M1 II in 2019, and of course I've yet to sell it. Digital cameras are little more than computers, so the value constantly declines like a computer, not much point selling them, let alone re-buying them. Lenses are different story since they maintain their value, but I still avoid buying them used.

I was shocked when I held the C-7070 for the first time in years, and realizing how primitive that LCD screen is. I also feel no nostalgia when I look back at the C-7070 files after years working with E-M1 II files, but most of that is due to the inferior lens and bad settings (e.g. diffraction). To attribute "clarity" and "striking" photography to the body you chose is not correct. What did the GF1 really give you back then, and what does it give you now? Probably nothing. Why the GF1 over the GX85?

If you want to upload photos online to share, you can start a free account on Flickr.

I must respectfully disagree with you on a few points. First of all, it is not prudent to assume what's in a person's mind when it comes to purchasing decisions. Since 1998, I've shot with a wealth of digital cameras - well over 110 - and there were just a few of them that gave me much pleasure. The ole' Olympus E-1 was one of them, along with several others. The Panny GF1 was one of those. I tend to always shoot in RAW mode, single AF - and I do lots of landscape photography. The images that I managed to coax from the GF1 were absolutely superb and many who saw some of those images consistently asked me which camera was used to capture those. Problem was that at the time, I had so many different cameras, I rarely got back to using the GF1 and I subsequently sold it. Now I wish that I hadn't, but I managed to find one again, and it didn't set me back much.

I've stopped using sites like Flickr (and others) because somehow, when you link to them, the quality of the images does not appear as high as if you uploaded an image directly into a post from your PC (like on DPReview). Oh well.....

Ben - you can upload images - instructions here: dprevived.com/t/how-to-upload-your-own-pictures-to-this-site/2039/

Tim

Ben,

It's nice to hear from you. I first knew you when I was using Olympus DSLR cameras (E-500 and E-510). I always thought it was neat that you collected a large amount of cameras. I've never sold any camera or lens. I gave one of them away to a relative.

You can insert images directly from your computer. Just push the arrow on the far right (as seen above when you reply). I resize mine as I did on Dpreview to save space and for another reason. Since using the Olympus brand, I have been using Canon DSLR cameras for over 10 years, including two mirrorless ones.

I never needed to buy again, a camera. For the simple reason that I never got rid of my cameras :)

History of the digital camera 1996-2023 by Marc Aubry, sur Flickr

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1 by Marc Aubry, sur Flickr

We always end up finding crazier than ourselves!

Wow, memories...
I haven't seen your name on DPR for years.
It's nice to see it here again.
I haven't bought any cameras I've sold, but I have fond memories of all the ones I've had.

André

Aside from buying a broken digital for parts, I've never repurchased a digital camera. That's because I never got rid of the old ones, I don't have 200, but probably have 20,

Great to see you here Ben! Just like Ben I have owned more than numerous digital cameras over the years. I loved trying different models (many of them following Ben's recommendations) but I always felt 'guilty' somehow when I had more than maybe 6-7 at a time. There were models I dearly loved but there was something about them that did not make me pick them up as often over others. Those got sold heavy-heartedly. The Sony R1 was one of them, so was the Panasonic FZ1000 as well as various Olympus models over the years (I tried so many times to get used to their UI and I couldn't).

But the cameras I re-bought after selling were all Samsung NXs. There is just something about them that draws me back in. Sold my NX3000 and NX3300 and NX500, mostly for the lack of viewfinder, just to re-buy all three again. Now resold the former two and bought a backup NX500 and using it with a ClearViewer viewfinder.

I'm sticking with 2 NX500s, an NX Mini and an Galaxy NX. None of these to be sold ever again. They are collectors items.
Now I'm also sticking with Fuji of which I have 6 models I all use frequently.

My big decision will be what to do with my G9 and GM1 with various lenses. I'm not using either that much. I upgraded my FZ1000 with the G9 and 14-140ii but find myself grabbing the G9 less often than I did my FZ1000. I took the G9 on various trips for its superb video capabilities, weather resistance, dual IS and for its sharp 14-140ii zoom. But now that I had a chance to use some of Fuji's finest I just am not satisfied with the G9 IQ anymore compared to my Fujis. When I say that I refer to jpegs as I mostly do jpegs only. I'm sure one can get beautiful results working on G9 files but for me my G9 cannot get close to what I get from e. g. my X-T2 sooc.

Don't get me wrong, I am a huge G9 fan. Handling, UI, Video, zoom are outstanding but I'm just not picking it up that much anymore after having started my journey with Fuji.

However, I'm almost positive that the G9 would be a re-buy again at some point if I end up selling it. Or its successor when or if it comes out. I'm planning to go to Africa again for a Safari trip and there the G9 with a not yet purchased 100-400 will definitely shine. Last time I used the FZ1000 with stunning results from that 1 inch sensor. But after dual IS it's hard for me to go back to OIS only, the difference is noticeable.

For sure I remember you Ben!
My advice, don't go back, you suffer from G.A.S.!!!
... unless you have money to burn just for fun!

Wow - what I fool I am. Guess I should familiarize myself with the various buttons and what they mean. Thanks for the clarification - sigh, now I feel stupid.

Ben

Holy crap - seeing all those cameras, reminds me of what I did some 6-8 years ago. I never wanted to get rid of any of them because I loved them all. This required tons of camera bags (which I now have dozens remaining that I keep in a closet - gathering dust).

Wow - talking about re-purchasing Samsung NX cameras only - I can see that. Some of the finest images that I've managed to capture (my opinion only of course) were those that came from a variety of Samsung NX cameras. I just loved the color tonality of those units. Although not as warm as Olympus or Fuji cameras, the images that came from the Samsung NX cameras were dynamic, superbly colorful, and they just captured your attention. Why I got rid of my NX cameras is beyond me, but like you mentioned, sometimes - regardless of if a camera is superb or not - you don't get around to using them much. Of course, this then got you into the mindset of eventually selling them - only to wind up missing them long term after-the-fact.

Hi Ben, I remember you, I only owned Olympus cameras: E-20, E-330, E-400, E-600, E5, EPL-1, EM5, EM-1, EM1 Mark II and OM-1. After ! sold the E-5 I always missed it (something about the pictures and the ergonomics), but once I got the OM1 I've never miss it again.

Hi Ben! I was always amazed at your collection and wondered how much work was involved in keeping them all in good working order with the batteries properly maintained, etc. I was always tempted whenever you put one of those gems up for sale.

I have never repurchased a camera because I just can't seem to let them go, even though I should since they are not being used. For instance, someone might like to have a chance to own and use an E-1 in good working order. I make sure to take it out, check on the battery and exercise it every so often; love the colors, but it's like slide film, it needs to be used within its parameters or your results can be disappointing, so it doesn't get the use it deserves.

Where I have repurchased though is on the lens side. Recently I got a new (old) 500mm Tamron Adaptall f/8 mirror lens. Previously I had the Olympus version (which cost a whole lot more) but found it too hard to use on m43, so I sold it. When I bought a Canon R last year and found out how easy it was to setup focus peaking and magnification with the multi-function bar I decided I really wanted to try a 500 again (I love long lenses!) The second time around seems much better. It actually came with an original EOS EF adapter so I can easily try it again with m43 as well, Canon EF being the universal donor lens mount. ;)

I didn't buy again the same camera or lens, but I had many times regrets selling stuff.
- A Leica M3 and a Rolleiflex 4x4 in perfect condition in the 1980s. How stupid, these cameras were fantastic mechanically.
- Tamron 180/2.8 SP Adaptall-II: an excellent lens wide opened.
- Pentax 28/3.5 KM: as good as the famed K version, small, well build, cheap
- Leica R 60/2.8 Macro: one of the best lens ever made
- Nikon 105/2.8 Macro AIs: excellent macro lens, relatively small
- Olympus OM 100/2.8: one of these excellent lenses that doesn't look special on paper
... and I forgot a few more...
As a general rule, follow your instinct. If you like to use a lens and it gives you excellent photos, don't try to 'rationalize' that you should sale it for whatever reason (bad review, similar to another lens you own, or even weak test results you did yourself), KEEP IT.

Ah, yes, you actually got me into buying the 16-50PZ, my first NX300 only came with the 20-50 (which already was quite impressive for a zoom). The lens that impresses me the most now is the 45mm, the only one that rivals the Fuji rendering for me. I love the Samsung rendering for all lenses I own and have owned but overall I think it is more of a technical output which I prefer for landscape shots. For most things else I prefer the more artsy (lack of a better word) and filmlike output of my Fujis. But boy that 45mm... not sure if you have tried it. I prefer it on my Galaxy NX over the NX500. Generally I prefer the Galaxy NX output as it seems a touch less digital than the NX500. But the NX500 is a beautiful camera.

Hope I am not a bad influence on you here regarding re-purchasing ;)

Now you have me thinking about the NX300 again - and perhaps the NX500. But finding any of them in absolutely mint condition may be impossible - but I can try at least. For landscape and scenic shots, I've found the Samsung renderings to be unique.