Rereading this old but very entertaining thread and I realized, in many ways, I have been - and still am - quite a fan of a number of abandoned Cameras. And quite a few more than the Lumix LX7 and the Olympus C-8080 I mentioned in a post a few years back. My list of favorite abandoned cameras has to include:
* the tiny Panasonic GM1 and GM5 ("jewel-like" is an adjective that comes to mind). Truly exceptional little picture-making tools.
* the smaller Ricoh GRD's. Arguably they weren't so much abandoned as superseded or replaced by the newer, larger, and larger-sensored APS-C GR models - next to which my GRDiii was truly tiny.
* the tiny Pentax Q and its more capable sibling the Q7. Insanely tiny and, as those of us who've followed and admired John Flores's work for years know, insanely capable small mirrorless camera systems. Confession: I have one of each and still use them.
* the smaller-sensored Fuji X10/20/30 series. Unlike some other posters here, my favorite is the last of this line, the X30 - which in spite of its modernized lines, is still a remarkable smallish camera. 2nd Confession: I still own one, and have come to appreciate its small but eminently useful EVF.
* the Olympus Stylus 1 / 1s. There truly is nothing like this camera, with the extreme telephoto end of its zoom, its smallish but thoughtfully designed body (which is close to being a clone of the E-M5's), and the not-surprising quality of its Zuiko lens. 3rd Confession: I've been wanting one for years, and am trying to buy one now.
I think my fondness for abandoned cameras is only equalled by my fondness for abandoned cars. My personal list includes a Corvair, a Triumph Spitfire, a Saab 96, a VW Karman Ghia and a Suzuki Swift, but the ones I truly miss are the VW and the Suzuki, since they both ran well and without problems...as opposed to the others which often spent more time not running or being endlessly repaired, then actually getting driven.
Anyone else have any other recently abandoned cameras to add to the list?