GAS GAS: Please share your latest near acquisitions - a.k.a. "what did you ALMOST buy"

I almost almost almost was buying the GRIIIx - it had my most loved focus length, compact, cute, and with a lovely community on the web.
Went most of the road there, read everything, joined here and there.

And then nobody who sold them wanted my micro4/3 gear to ease the pain - so I went over to the dark side, got my beloved x-e4 with its 27mm for lovely 40mm-e happiness from the most ancient camera store in Florence (who flipped all my old gear in less than a week), and promptly entered a GAS-filled nightmare.

Now shoot I should, but work I must. Then Petra next month, and Jerusalem if stars align.
 
Paul, I've owned two Leica film outfits, one in the 1960s and the other in the mid 1990s.

I would never buy another one. Beautifully built, but ...
Truth be known, I'm very happy with my Oly kit. I really don't need anything more. I know that a Leica Q would not deliver better photographs, but I like the idea of an FF, fixed lens compact. The only other option is the Sony RX1rii, but its handling is "challenging" and battery life is terrible. I think there's a market for something like this that doesn't cost Leica money - an Olympus Trip for the digital age.
 
I was shopping for some photo gadgets on a very nice local site. They had a bicycle mount with the regular thread for cameras. Thought it could be cool to mount a camera on the bike! ....but, after some thought. I would not like any of my real cameras there, it would hurt my poor cameras. Better with a dedicated action cam then. But.... that will not happen in this lifetime :)
 
I’ve come close on several occasions to buying a Leica Q. Last time a guy on a local Oly forum was selling his - but I just can’t justify the sort of money it goes for. I still lust for one, but I suspect I’ll never do it!
It’s a shame Panasonic didn’t release a Q as they did with their other “un-badged” cameras they made and are making in collaboration with Leica.
 
Almost opted for a Fuji X-E4 or X-S10 while I was searching for an X70. If I'd seen either of the ones currently over on FM I might have picked one up. But I did find the X70 so.

I did an offer on a Olympus E-P7. I am still not sure I 100% wanted it. I kept true to my max offer I wanted to give for it. But the camera doesn't really inspire me too much.

I saw it as a upgrade for me E-pl8.
  • Faster shutter speed
  • 4k video
  • Better ibis
  • same compactness
  • no EVF :/
Just not really sure it's worth >450 euro.
I guess you can look at the E-P7 like an upgraded E-PL8, but I find mine an upgraded Pen F in some ways. Yes the Pen F has the EVF and the build is just.....

But I like the controls, speed, tilt screen, and smaller/lighter body of the E-P7 over the Pen F I use to have.
 
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It’s a shame Panasonic didn’t release a Q as they did with their other “un-badged” cameras they made and are making in collaboration with Leica.
Yes, a Panasonic Q would be nice - half the price of the Leica and a little less premium, but with a decent 28-35mm lens and an FF sensor. I'm sure that could be designed at the $1000-$1500 mark.
 
Almost opted for a Fuji X-E4 or X-S10 while I was searching for an X70. If I have seen either of the ones currently over on FM I might have picked one up. But I did find the X70 so.


I guess you can look at the E-P7 like an upgraded E-PL8, but I find mine an upgraded Pen F in some ways. Yes the Pen F has the EVF and the build is just.....

But I like the controls, speed, tilt screen, and smaller/lighter body of the E-P7 over the Pen F I use to have.
I've owned three Pen-F's over the years (at different times). When I had one, I loved to look at it and handle it - but its features were lacking and at some point these came to frustrate me (poor AF, slow electronic shutter, relatively small EVF, old-style menu system, poor battery life, no weather sealing, ...). So I sold it only to yearn once more for its "gestalt". And because I'm weak, I bought back in - twice! But it was a rinse-and-repeat story - once the "cute" phase wore off, it was back to the same limitations . I sold the third earlier this year for an EM5.3 and it's definitely the last time I do this flip. The 5.3 has nowhere near the same fashion factor, but it's a better camera in nearly all other ways.

As regards the E-P7 - it looks a nice-enough camera, but I vowed years ago I'd never buy another serious camera without an EVF.
 
@pdk42 hi Paul, like you i prefer cameras with EVF..
But i could not resist to buy a Pentax Q and a Sigma DP.
Once i have owned the analog pen f with 1.2 lens.
I still own a Rollei led analog camera.
 
@pdk42 hi Paul, like you i prefer cameras with EVF..
But i could not resist to buy a Pentax Q and a Sigma DP.
Once i have owned the analog pen f with 1.2 lens.
I still own a Rollei led analog camera.
I owned a Sigma DP1m in the past. I loved the images from it; but just about everything else, from the clunky operation to terrible PP tools, drove me crazy. If only Sigma had got into the m43 world, a Fovean-equipped m43 camera would have been an excellent option. Even better would be an Oly or Panasonic camera with the sensor from Sigma. A nice dream...
 
Trying to offload the Leica SL2s. I've tried in vain to love it but it's just too heavy in practical use, especially with the Sigma 35mm 1.2 Art lens attached. It's nice to use and easier to focus M lenses but that's not why I bought it. It cannot beat the Sony A7IV for focus. Thinking about trading all for the Fuji 50SII but thinking I should hire one before I make another mistake!
 
....
As regards the E-P7 - it looks a nice-enough camera, but I vowed years ago I'd never buy another serious camera without an EVF.

@pdk42 hi Paul, like you i prefer cameras with EVF.....
And next week I'll own both the X70 and E-P7. If I were still shooting events or sports it would be a requirement for me as well. But most of my shooting these days is at heights and angles which makes using the EVF more difficult and restrictive than using the LCD.
 
I owned a Sigma DP1m in the past. I loved the images from it; but just about everything else, from the clunky operation to terrible PP tools, drove me crazy. If only Sigma had got into the m43 world, a Fovean-equipped m43 camera would have been an excellent option. Even better would be an Oly or Panasonic camera with the sensor from Sigma. A nice dream...
I want a fully mechanical rangefinder with Foveon. It would actually suit the slow and heat-challenged nature of that sensor tech to have the metering and the display/composition taken off of the sensor.
 
I've owned three Pen-F's over the years (at different times). When I had one, I loved to look at it and handle it - but its features were lacking and at some point these came to frustrate me (poor AF, slow electronic shutter, relatively small EVF, old-style menu system, poor battery life, no weather sealing, ...). So I sold it only to yearn once more for its "gestalt". And because I'm weak, I bought back in - twice! But it was a rinse-and-repeat story - once the "cute" phase wore off, it was back to the same limitations . I sold the third earlier this year for an EM5.3 and it's definitely the last time I do this flip. The 5.3 has nowhere near the same fashion factor, but it's a better camera in nearly all other ways.

As regards the E-P7 - it looks a nice-enough camera, but I vowed years ago I'd never buy another serious camera without an EVF.
Similar experience, although I never bought another. Many F’s sat in MyCart, however.
 
I've owned three Pen-F's over the years (at different times). When I had one, I loved to look at it and handle it - but its features were lacking and at some point these came to frustrate me (poor AF, slow electronic shutter, relatively small EVF, old-style menu system, poor battery life, no weather sealing, ...). So I sold it only to yearn once more for its "gestalt". And because I'm weak, I bought back in - twice! But it was a rinse-and-repeat story - once the "cute" phase wore off, it was back to the same limitations . I sold the third earlier this year for an EM5.3 and it's definitely the last time I do this flip. The 5.3 has nowhere near the same fashion factor, but it's a better camera in nearly all other ways.
One should always consider function before form IMO Paul.
As regards the E-P7 - it looks a nice-enough camera, but I vowed years ago I'd never buy another serious camera without an EVF.
Ditto.

So here I am with an E-PM2 ...

However, also now waiting for delivery of a VF-4, that has cost me 3x what the E-PM2 did!

I have always lusted after one of the tiny Olympus mFTs bodies, and the E-PM2 has the same very nice Sony 16 MPx sensor that's in the E-M5 MkI.
 
Well I only got a Pen-F for a month now and it's been pretty great. I do get the critique about the AF performance, I put it at E-pl8 levels. Not great, Not Terrible.

But I got it mainly for use with my favorite lens, the mitakon 25mm f0.95, and it's quite a match. It's amazing/interesting how manual glass completely sidesteps all the "issues" it has.

Other uses I have are using the P12-32 for some basic home video stuff (think birthday vids), and it's actually great at this job. Flippy screen, god-tier ibis and good enough 1080p footage.
With this new m43 attempt, I also had to try the Sigma 56mm f1.4 on and it's just amazingly good. Lovely lens!

Does the PEN-F's Autofocus nail every shot, no, not at all. But a hyper-active toddler going crazy will make most cameras from that era loose it.

Is it worth the money though? I doubt it. It's a great handling and good looking camera. But I do see the issues people have with it.
For now I am going to stick with for at least half a year.

I can say, every time I switch over to my XT-3, I am amazed by how much better it is, at pretty much everything 😅 .
 
@Tili, the E-P7 has better AF and I believe better video (not sure I don't shoot video). But if you like the articulating screen then the Pen F might suit you better.

It will DEFINITELY suit you better if you use more manual lenses. The "F" lets you load lens data into shot metadata. I only have one manual lens (the 9mm BCL) so it doesn't really make that much difference to me.

But the reality is also that you can get the Pen F used for about the same price as the E-P7 since, in the US anyway, you have to import them. So you can buy and sell the Pen F without really loosing much if you decide it's not for you. Not the case with the E-P7.
 
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