Buying the same camera twice

[Roger Hicks]

Sell a camera (or lens)... Realize you miss it... Buy another the same. Surprisingly many RFF members seem to regard this as the norm. Why? Who else has never done it, and who makes a habit of it?

The only time I've done it was with a 135/2.8 Elmarit-M, because it was so much better on an M8 than on film. If I found a 58/1.4 Nikkor I might consider it, or a 150/6.3 Tessar, but even then, I doubt it. I sold both 30 years ago, but I've never really missed them that much.

Of course there have been times I've bought a camera cheap, to swap or sell on (my last M3, for example), but that's not quite the same thing.

Cheers,

R.

[Austerby]

Agree entirely: I've often noted correspondents here describing how they have had multiple copies of the same model. I've owned several different M Leicas but never the same model more than once.

[fixbones]

Since I started shooting film, I have sold:

Nikon D700 and lens, Konica Hexar AF, ZI, Zeiss 50 C Sonnar, CV 28mm f3.5.

So far, no longing to revisit all those gears........ yet

[ReeRay]

Frequently reminisced but always avoided the temptation.

[Pickett Wilson]

I've bought again a couple of cameras I owned years ago out of nostalgia, but you really can't go home again. Contrary to my memory of how great they were, in reality they were just old, clunky cameras.

[HuubL]

I'm a shooting collector. I sometimes get two of the same, keep the nicest and sell the other. The only M I've two of is the M4. Can't decide to keep the Cla'd one with the original levers or the very late one with the M3 style levers...

[Jamie123]

I never thought I would buy the same camera twice but coincidentally I'm just about to do it. I used to have an extensive Hasselblad kit but sold it when I bought a 5DII. For a while I had a Bessa III to replace it but sold that too a while ago. I was about to replace it with a Mamiya RZ system but then recently a photographer offered me his 'old' (it's actually quite recent) Hasselblad kit as payment. I thought long and hard about it and finally accepted as it is really still my favourite from all the cameras I've used as far as handling and results are concerned.

[tom.w.bn]

Bought an M8, sold it after some time, a year later I bought one again. I don't collect things and I can't stand it when something lies around and is not used. Space in my apartment is too limited to have something that is not used. The consequence is that I buy something a 2nd time from time to time.

[Roger Hicks]

Originally Posted by Pickett Wilson

I've bought again a couple of cameras I owned years ago out of nostalgia, but you really can't go home again. Contrary to my memory of how great they were, in reality they were just old, clunky cameras.

I can relate to that. My first ever decent camera was a Pentax SV, but it was written off 30+ years ago when some cretin drove into the side of my motorcycle at almost zero mph. I wasn't hurt, but the camera (in a soft saddlebag) was written off. A few years later I was given a black one. I still think it's a beautiful camera, with superb ergonomics, the nearest SLR ever to a screw-mount Leica. But do I use it? Um... Errr.. Not as such. Why would I, when I have other cameras that do the same job better?

Age may also be a factor. When I was young, I used to buy and sell cameras all the time, though the real users (Leica Ms, Nikon Fs) stayed. I haven't sold much for years (except an M2 to Cam -- how many Ms do you need?) Even so, I'm tempted to sell some of my 4x5 inch cameras. one of my 5x7s, the 12x15 and maybe some MF as well, because I could probably just about afford another M9 if I did. At least, I'd get in sight of the price...

Cheers,

R.

[mfunnell]

I've bought the same camera twice, well, twice. Both times with good reason. I bought an OM-4T to replace my beloved but stolen OM-4. I bought a second Hexar RF so I'll have a spare should one break, given the repair situation (both get regular use to make sure they're operational).

Aside from those, no. I do, however, have multiple (different) camera bodies within the same camera system. I have an M3 as well as the Hexar RFs. I have an EOS 30V, 30D, 5D and 50D and so forth.

...Mike

[Jamie123]

Originally Posted by tom.w.bn

Bought an M8, sold it after some time, a year later I bought one again. I don't collect things and I can't stand it when something lies around and is not used. Space in my apartment is too limited to have something that is not used. The consequence is that I buy something a 2nd time from time to time.

I agree wholeheartedly. Nothing worse than having a camera lie around not getting used. Not just because of the space they take up but it's also money tied up in a paper weight. If you sell it at a good price you can always buy it again later at the same price.

[dee]

Maybe this is where , for the most part , Photography parts company with Collecting .
I have never sold a camera and bought another the same , in terms of considered snapshots .
Though I have added a couple of SRTs / XD7s in the past !

Of course , in respect of ex-USSR lenses , selling one to buy another ' identical ' is nigh on impossible LOL .

However , I do gain some respite from the noise of Autism through my many near identical Kontaxes , Minolta SRTs , Zorki group , Fed group , reclaimed Prinzflex STTLs [ 1st camera ] Weston meters etc .

It does not even fit with the usual creating a set of versions as I like ' same again ' or just minor differences . But this has very little to do with taking photographs whereby one Kontax II or IV / Leica IIIc or II / and various digital cameras form a core of equipment .

[John Lawrence]

I've never done this.

There have been times when I've felt the need for a particular camera (or lens) I used to own, either through nostalgia or because it would have been ideal for the shoot I was undertaking at the time, but then I always remind myself of why I sold that camera in the first place.

If anything, rather than seller's remorse I suffer from owner's regret - I wish I'd had the cameras I now have twenty or thirty years ago!

John

[Rob-F]

I bought a 50/1.5 Summarit, and a 35/2.8 Summaron years ago. Traded the Summaron for a Summicron, and the Summarit for whatever. I wanted to try the summarit again; and missed the Summaron terribly. Now I have them both again. Also sold an M3 and bought another years later. The M3 isn't getting much more use now than the first one did. I'm more of an M2 guy.

My Leica R gear may go if I don't start using it.

[Matus]

I have not sold all that much cameras up to now: Rolleiflex T, Olympus XA, Bessa R3A + J3. While I do not plan to buy any of them in the near future, I could very well imagine that if my time allowance for the photography changes in the future, I could as well get the Rolleiflex again and sell all the rest. The Rolleiflex T is a great camera - nice to use, reliable and delivers beautiful results. With the single lens it helps to keep things simple. Right now I use Mamiya 6 as main camera.

If I ever sell my 4x5 the chance that I will buy it again will be low. So I hesitate to sell it even though I used it very little in the last half a year.

[Phantomas]

Never. I don't like to play with cameras, I only like to use them. If a camera doesn't suit me for some reason (and that happened maybe on two occasions) I pass it on and move on. I don't sell my gear on a whim and do my research sufficiently before spending money so it has to be really unsuitable for me to sell it, after which I have no reasons left to go back.
I actually can't understand all this buying/selling/buying again business. Maybe coz I prefer shooting to playing around.

[Brian Sweeney]

I have sold some equipment to RFF members with the understanding that if THEY want to sell the item, I want to buy it back. The only reason I sell some of the stuff is because someone asked for it.

[goodtimes]

Oh yeah ! :

M6, M4-P, M2, F4-S, FE-2, F.
Only thing is that I did not only buy them again, but bought at least 2 or 3 samples again.
My wife complains (for no good reason thought) that I have too many cameras...

[Mackinaw]

I've only done this with with the M3. Bought my first one back in 1978 then sold it a few years later. Bought another one in the late 1980's and, again, sold it a few years later. I bought my current M3 in 1995. This one I'll keep until I die.

Jim B.

[thegman]

Never done it, but I've briefly considered it with the Mamiya 7, I sold it as I just didn't like it. Now I have a Hasselblad, I miss it's light weight, so occasionally I've mused getting one again, but I doubt I ever would actually go through with it. The Hasselblad is a pain to carry around, but a much nicer camera to use I think.

[rbiemer]

I have done it. And felt a bit foolish about it at the time.
I bought a Bessa R from our head bartender, used it for a while, (this is the foolish bit coming up) thought I'd got all I could from it and sold it, decided that I had made a mistake and bought another one from Stephen.
Now that I have mostly sorted out what works for me and what I like to use, the R will be sticking around even though I most often use my R2A lately.
Yes, I can and do use almost all of my LTM lenses on the R2A with no trouble but I'm keeping the R. It makes a good second to the R2A on the rare occasions when I want to carry two bodies.
Other than that first R, I don't really want to duplicate any of the other cameras I've owned.
Rob

[Pastor Chris]

I am in the process; I was once given the sage advice, "Never sell your M3, you'll regret it" Well, the M3 was the last of the items to sell to fund my M8, which, after 2 weeks, developed the dreaded "red line" issue. During the 3 months it was at Leica, I regretted selling the M3 even more. Well, Leica fixed it, and some other problems, under warranty, for a camera that was out of warranty, and it is finally back in fantastic shape. "Good things come to those that wait" said my dealer. That is indeed true. But I still miss my M3 and my M6, while a fantastic camera, just does not fill that hole. On the hunt for another M3 at the right price/time. So, never sell your M3, you'll regret it! (Yes, I know that this is all a hopeless addiction, have pity on me.)

[sreed2006]

When I moved to a smaller place 10 years ago, I tossed in the trash the rear cap for my lens and the body cap for my camera because I never used them - the lens was always on the camera. Also, the boxes the lens and camera came in got tossed.

I've regretted that stupid move, especially when buying those caps again. Now, I keep everything - even the boxes.

After GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) is TUMS (Time to Unload My Stuff). I'm still in the GAS phase, and don't really expect to reach a TUMS phase. I'll let my kids do that when I am gone.

[Stuart John]

Canon EOS 100 I trade for an EOS1 and then a year later bought an EOS100 from a friend. N90s I bought while working as a cruiseship photographer. Sold the camera to another photog on board and then bought another a few years later. Then traded the N90s a few months after I bought it for a Nikkor 105 2.5 and an F801. Haven't traded or sold any photogear for a few years now but getting close to make some changes.

[cosmonaut]

Originally Posted by Pastor Chris

I am in the process; I was once given the sage advice, "Never sell your M3, you'll regret it" Well, the M3 was the last of the items to sell to fund my M8, which, after 2 weeks, developed the dreaded "red line" issue. During the 3 months it was at Leica, I regretted selling the M3 even more. Well, Leica fixed it, and some other problems, under warranty, for a camera that was out of warranty, and it is finally back in fantastic shape. "Good things come to those that wait" said my dealer. That is indeed true. But I still miss my M3 and my M6, while a fantastic camera, just does not fill that hole. On the hunt for another M3 at the right price/time. So, never sell your M3, you'll regret it! (Yes, I know that this is all a hopeless addiction, have pity on me.)

Yep, I am soon to be in the market for one. Sold one and regret it. Really the only regret I have.