Cutting down your collection: the hardest thing to do

I'm coming at it from a very practical point of view. Its gotten to the point where I finally nab a camera or lens I've wanted for years, shoot a roll with it and then quickly move on to the next target. I don't like it and I don't like how I go through cameras like I do socks. Time to be sensible and start putting the money towards other things, like finally realizing a dream, saving for a ring (!) and a house. Once I settle down and get too old to travel and do wacky **** perhaps I'll be able to buy back all the stuff I've let go.

I've got a nice lightweight OM kit. A perfect 'street Leica' combo. My favourite camera of all time in the Mamiya 6. And a small, quick shooter in the Petri. I am also keeping my Stylus Epic for fun snapshots.

Did I mention I also let go of a Yashica T4 and a Contax T3? Bah.
 
It's not easy. And scary how much stuff accumulates over 40 years.

I picked up the M9 by selling gear.
 
I've been selling cameras that I don't use and will likely not ever use again. Once a camera is gone, I don't regret it - It's just that getting to the decision point to sell something is so hard.

The digital era has helped me get rid of some cameras - I still have an use film cameras but the digital cameras add another dimension to taking the kind of pictures I want to take.
 
Selling cameras that I don't use has allowed me to buy an M9. The M9 has given my photography a boost, both from the capability of the camera and my enthusiasm for using the M9.
 
I may sell some cameras, Lord knows I need the money to pay for my M9. Lately, however, if a camera needs a CLA, like my old Leica (LTM), I give it away on condition that the recipient has the camera repaired. My colleague spent some $250 to fix the Leica and now strikes an impressive pose with the camera in Central Park!
 
I know who I am and I know my faults. I also know that a fault is whatever you care to define it to be. So, I define my "hoarding" of camera equipments as a hobby. I feel no guilt when I have something that someone else doesn't have. I work very hard for my money and spend a small portion of it on camera equipment. That said, I don't like the process of selling equipment, but I would like to sell some digital equipment. My basic fear, in the end, is that I will be dead and leave my wife to sell my cameras and firearms. So, some concern here about my collection of cameras. I guess that I need to start selling, or just never die.
 
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What did it for me was to see some really nice collections go up for sale as estates. They didn't get anything near what they were worth, and seemed to be treated with not a whole lot of respect.

And, I wanted new stuff to play with.

The hardest part was deciding what to sell - all my stuff had reasons behind their purchase (e.g. had to have Leica Midland stuff, had to have key examples like "mint black Nikon F with NKG logo", and so on and so on).

But, if I had the determination to photograph it for sale, then, it was gone. If it didn't make it to the photographing stage, then it meant that I wasn't ready to sell.

Maybe the silliest notion is "hey, that version of lens has a fingerprint that I've read about, I gotta get one to try". That hoard is one that I should start to cull - got many old Leitz lenses under that category.

For my 50th birthday, I gave a "reverse present" to each of my siblings - an example of collection to each, e.g. a Leica M2 and M3, Rollei 2.8F, and Alpa 10d. I wonder if any of them have run film through them at all. Or even know how to use them.

So now, I made a vow not to sell any Leica stuff - too many cases of wanting to buy back in and paying more.

Got a Hasselblad kit that is way too big. Including a PCP80 projector kit (with all 3 lenses!).

Should sell some stuff to pay for travel.

should....

should...

....Vick
ps, I also like Roger's statement, of being frustrated by buyers who can be a pain in the butt. Some stuff just isn't worth the hassle of selling, especially if it is less than $100
 
This is interesting reading. Anybody feel the way I do? I hate keeping extra camera equipment that I don't use. Stuff that just sits in the closet.
 
This has really proven to be pretty easy for me. I don't keep anything I don't use on a pretty regular basis. If something sits for 6 months without being shot, I sell it.
 
Anyone feel the way I do? It's satisfying having a collection of classic manual (formerly high-end) cameras that I could not afford when they were new, sitting on a shelf, waiting on my whim to use.
 
I kept almost all of my accumulated equipment over the years.I found out that what sells best is what "is" best. So after selling a few RF items to get the cash to buy some other RF item, I start missing what I have sold off.

I now just keep and enjoy what I own. Many of the items are not expensive anymore, and they have become useful again with the introduction of digital cameras with the appropriate adapters. Some stuff I may just give away.
 
Everything I have has been used and likely will be used again so if I have a camera on a shelf, it's parked there because I'm using something else at the moment. I'm not knocking collectors -- I'm just not one of them.
 
FrankS said:
Anyone feel the way I do? It's satisfying having a collection of classic manual (formerly high-end) cameras that I could not afford when they were new, sitting on a shelf, waiting on my whim to use.
Click to expand...

Well put, Frank. I agree, the only problem is that I ran out of shelves! So, it was sell or find a place to put more shelves :)
 
I've sold a lot of cameras, like most of us here, and in many cases I've ended up buying cameras just like them at a later date! My motivation is always money. I get to thinking that I shouldn't have a lot of money tied up in what is essentially a money losing hobby/passion. Then, later, I start looking at the photos that those sold cameras/lenses produced and think "What? Why did I sell that? I must have been out of my mind", then end up buying another one at a much higher price. So it's always a battle between the "adult" that is looking at the bottom line and the more sensitive/creative guy (OK,OK, the child) that says to heck w/ the money, where 'ya gonna get a lens that images like that for less?

Photography is gear orientated and always will be. While it's true that better gear won't make me a better photographer, the flip side is that better gear WILL allow me to take better photos. This is in hard contrast to say painting, where a bristle brush that you found on the street won't be any worse that an ultra expensive one from an art store. If you got the painting talent, it don't matter. Many of my best photos could only have been made w/ the lenses that I like.
 
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I binged the last two years and now am in purge mode. Sold on RFF and APUG as the fees of the auction sites didn't make much sense to me. Have even done some great trades. Feels great to be in a mode that I'm happy with what I have (MP Hammertone - stop calling, I don't NEED you : )

I like the variety though. If I see a camera that's not seen use lately, I reacquaint with that old friend and remember why I got it in the first place!
 
segedi said:
I like the variety though. If I see a camera that's not seen use lately, I reacquaint with that old friend and remember why I got it in the first place!
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Right, variety. I'm committed to one woman only. I can accept/deal with that, but I don't see why I have to limit myself to just one camera. (or just a few cameras)
 
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FrankS said:
Anyone feel the way I do? It's satisfying having a collection of classic manual (formerly high-end) cameras that I could not afford when they were new, sitting on a shelf, waiting on my whim to use.
Click to expand...
I hear you! I wanted an Olympus Pen SLR many years ago but they were (or seemed to be at the time) scarce. With the wide-spread use of the Internet I was able to track down some of the gear.
 
Yes, absolutely.

Just don't put the list on a spreadsheet and look at the total amount spent :)



Vick

FrankS said:
Anyone feel the way I do? It's satisfying having a collection of classic manual (formerly high-end) cameras that I could not afford when they were new, sitting on a shelf, waiting on my whim to use.
Click to expand...
 
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