Interesting thread.
Offhand, I don't think I have any deal-breakers. EVF, viewfinder, screen, whatever... I can pretty much live with or without any of the above if I like the camera, and it takes good pictures for me, and (crucially) the process of using it is enjoyable to me in some way.
My only criterium which comes close to being a deal-breaker (though I've violated it, as well, on occasion), is a variation on what both Chris (
@MountainMan79) and Andrew (
@agentlossing) both mentioned: I tend to get unreasonably nervous if or when I find myself walking around with a camera slung over my shoulder which costs more than my car does. (Note: I'm not talking about the currently inflated automobile prices, both used and new, prevalent in the U.S., now, but rather the prices of some of the semi-affordable but rather used older cars I've owned or driven over the past several decades, including but not limited to Subarus, Suzukis, Isuzus with an old Saab for good measure).
Or, here's a different way to say it: on one or two horrifying occasions, I've either accidentally lost or accidentally dropped (and damaged) cameras I cared about at the time. Not a good thing, when it happens. But from an idealized Zen-like perspective (on the transitory nature of personal possessions), those losses are much easier for me to accept when the camera didn't cost me an arm and a leg.
But it's all relative.
Truth be told, apart from what I just wrote, I don't think I really have any serious deal-breakers. Except perhaps wondering if I need to rob a bank to buy a particular camera or lens... that could be an issue.
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