What I've learned from owning "too many" cameras ...

[BrianS]

My problem isn't cameras, I'm quite satisfied with the bodies I own. My problem is that I like glass. Lots of glass! Expensive, cheap, telephoto, pancakes, vintage, modern, fast, slow, etc. I base my camera purchases on what lenses are available and if I can obtain the lenses at a good price.

Yeah. I'm closing in on 100 lenses in Leica mount. Prices on lenses coming out of Japan are way down compared to 10 years ago. Lenses that went for $750 10 years ago are under $100 now.

 

[MoonMind]

Yeah. I'm closing in on 100 lenses in Leica mount. Prices on lenses coming out of Japan are way down compared to 10 years ago. Lenses that went for $750 10 years ago are under $100 now.

You had to go and tell me that, right?

M.

 

[dougpayne]

I pick up a lot of lenses at flea markets, so I have a representative sample of bodies for testing my finds. I make a little money selling the better ones on Ebay. I keep selling the Olympus E-M10ii body and then buying it again. (Amazon had it new in black for $349 on Cyber Monday.) I think it's the most camera in the least amount of space that has acceptable controls and EVF. All it lacks is weather sealing. Is it possible to own too many cameras? Possibly.

 

[davidzvi]

You know in reality I think we're all fine......

Unless one of us is secretly this guy:

Massive 1,000+ Piece Camera Collection Being Auctioned on eBay

Want to own a giant collection of vintage cameras, but don't want to spend a lifetime acquiring them one by one? If you have deep pockets and money to

petapixel.com

 

[BrianS]

Looking over that lot- more pieces than what I have...

But I would not trade my set of 1940s Leica mount Nikkors for the whole thing.

 

[donlaw]

You know in reality I think we're all fine......

Unless one of us is secretly this guy:

Massive 1,000+ Piece Camera Collection Being Auctioned on eBay

Want to own a giant collection of vintage cameras, but don't want to spend a lifetime acquiring them one by one? If you have deep pockets and money to

petapixel.com

That is an amazing collection.
I have gone through a lot of cameras over the years. But as many of you do, I sell and buy and mostly don’t collect them.

However, I still have 3 functional film cameras (Nikkormat, Rollei 35 SE, Leica M5).
And I have settled over the last couple of years on three digital cameras (Nikon df, Olympus E-P5, Leica M10p). Can‘t see changing any of those in the near future. I do miss the Leica Monochrome 246. I sold that to get the M10p. Looking back on those monochrome files, they are incredible on a large print or monitor. But for viewing on phone, iPads, or laptops, it is hard to tell much difference between the monochrome and converted M10p.
For now, I may start checking out some of those $100 lenses that Brian mentioned...

 

[Jonathan F/2]

You know in reality I think we're all fine......

Unless one of us is secretly this guy:

Massive 1,000+ Piece Camera Collection Being Auctioned on eBay

Want to own a giant collection of vintage cameras, but don't want to spend a lifetime acquiring them one by one? If you have deep pockets and money to

petapixel.com

I can't wait to see the future of digital photography collectors and what odd collections they'll accumulate!

 

[drd1135]

I can't wait to see the future of digital photography collectors and what odd collections they'll accumulate!

I wonder how many will still be functional. Or even fixable. Mechanical things can be fixed and even parts can made. It’s far harder to replace a battery or a microchip once they stop being made. Electronic things just go obsolete.

 

[BrianS]

I can't wait to see the future of digital photography collectors and what odd collections they'll accumulate!

I have the first Kodak Digital Infrared Camera , a DCS200ir. At least 2 were made, mine is the first. Also have a Nikon E3, full-frame Digital from 1997. The latter used "reduction optics" to get the image onto the CCD. Maybe 100 made, mine is 67th.

 

[BrianS]

I wonder how many will still be functional. Or even fixable. Mechanical things can be fixed and even parts can made. It’s far harder to replace a battery or a microchip once they stop being made. Electronic things just go obsolete.

Sometimes things just keep working for far longer than the developer thought they would. I have a prototype Infrared Scope from ~1940 and the production Infrared Scope from ~1944, both still work. Both use a CRT and high voltage converter. Fortunately, they use D-Cell batteries. These were used during WW-II for viewing Infrared Signaling Lights used by ships.

 

[BrianS]

For now, I may start checking out some of those $100 lenses that Brian mentioned...

$76 with shipping from Japan-

[EXCELLENT] Canon 50mm f/2.8 Leica Screw mount L39 LTM(1951) | eBay

Canon 50mm f/2.8 Leica Screw mount. This item is in EXCELLENT. However,I will provide courteous and responsive service. This lens does not have any defect which affects images. ◆Functional.

www.ebay.com

And just over $100 with shipping from Japan.

"TESTED / EXC" CANON 50mm f2.2 Leica screw mount L39 LTM From JAPAN | eBay

1- CANON 50mm f2.2 39mm LTM Lens. 1- CANON Lens Filter. This is an item from Japan. We prijzen koopwaar niet beneden waarde en we kunnen objecten niet als ‘cadeau’ opgeven. Dit is bij de Nederlandse en internationale wetten verboden.

www.ebay.com

The 89th lens made.

Both in EX++ condition, optics are very, very clean.

 

[agentlossing]

I am planning on probably getting a Canon 50mm f1.8 or similar rangefinder lens. They are actually quite nice, tiny and cheap.

 

[BrianS]

Leica Showcase - Canon 50mm F1.8, later Black version.

Now I know why this lens is claimed to be the sharpest of the Canon 50's in Leica Mount. It is. The 50mm F1.8 Serenar was introduced in 1951, replaced the 50mm F1.9 Serenar. The 50/1.8 Serenar is much sharper than the older F1.9. The Black version is a new lens, even though it retains the same...

cameraderie.org

CANON 50 mm f : 1.8, screw mount lens for LEICA L 39 | eBay

Serial # 210183.

www.ebay.com

Just over $60, shipped.

 

[donlaw]

$76 with shipping from Japan-

[EXCELLENT] Canon 50mm f/2.8 Leica Screw mount L39 LTM(1951) | eBay

Canon 50mm f/2.8 Leica Screw mount. This item is in EXCELLENT. However,I will provide courteous and responsive service. This lens does not have any defect which affects images. ◆Functional.

www.ebay.com

And just over $100 with shipping from Japan.

"TESTED / EXC" CANON 50mm f2.2 Leica screw mount L39 LTM From JAPAN | eBay

1- CANON 50mm f2.2 39mm LTM Lens. 1- CANON Lens Filter. This is an item from Japan. We prijzen koopwaar niet beneden waarde en we kunnen objecten niet als ‘cadeau’ opgeven. Dit is bij de Nederlandse en internationale wetten verboden.

www.ebay.com

The 89th lens made.

Both in EX++ condition, optics are very, very clean.

Thanks for sending these. I will keep an eye out for some like that!

 

[dougpayne]

Speaking of too many cameras, I picked up a Canon S100 at our flea market on Sunday for $20. Testing it out:

yellow_leaf_CanS100_Dec19 by D Payne, on Flickr

 

[pictogramax]

Moonmind, as you are in the mood to ponder many different cameras, may I profit from your direct experience in a particular way?

How would you compare the viewfinders of Sony A6000 and Fuji XE3? Have you been focusing manually some legacy glass in magnified view on both? Are the experiences similar, or is the little Fuji better? Or worse?

And on a side note, if you have tried it, throw in your opinion on viewfinder of Fuji XT1, please - it seems to be the manual focusing heaven, judging by the many reviews.

Thanks!

 

[theoldsmithy]

Moonmind, as you are in the mood to ponder many different cameras, may I profit from your direct experience in a particular way?

How would you compare the viewfinders of Sony A6000 and Fuji XE3? Have you been focusing manually some legacy glass in magnified view on both? Are the experiences similar, or is the little Fuji better? Or worse?

And on a side note, if you have tried it, throw in your opinion on viewfinder of Fuji XT1, please - it seems to be the manual focusing heaven, judging by the many reviews.

Thanks!

I’ve had an a6000, X-E2 and X-T1. The X-T1 does indeed have a splendid EVF. However I thought the focus peaking wasn’t very helpful on it, or on the X-E2 (which has a worse EVF). The a6000, IIRC, had a perfectly usable EVF even if it is lower resolution. I certainly used it a lot for manual focus. I can’t speak for the X-E3 unfortunately.

 

[MoonMind]

Moonmind, as you are in the mood to ponder many different cameras, may I profit from your direct experience in a particular way?

How would you compare the viewfinders of Sony A6000 and Fuji XE3? Have you been focusing manually some legacy glass in magnified view on both? Are the experiences similar, or is the little Fuji better? Or worse?

And on a side note, if you have tried it, throw in your opinion on viewfinder of Fuji XT1, please - it seems to be the manual focusing heaven, judging by the many reviews.

Thanks!

I think the EVF in the X-E3 is nicer - both finders are rather small, but the Fuji's is a bit more vibrant and looks smoother overall; it may also be a bit brighter (or rather, it most definitely is, because its visibility in bright light is better than the Sony's). That said, I still prefer the Sony for manual focusing (I do prefer magnified view to focus peaking by some margin, btw.), and it's something I use very often - my preferrred lens for the A6000 is the 7Artisans 35mm f/1.2, a tiny, flawed-yet-wonderful fully manual lens. For everything else concerning handling, I prefer the Fuji, but only just - the A6000's simplicity has a charm of its own, and I have it set up to suit my preferences pretty well. The real clincher is Fuji's "kit" zoom, the 18-55mm - that's a very desirable lens indeed, and Sony doesn't have anything that's readily comparable (even though the 16-70mm f/4 isn't that bad, either).

M.

 

[pictogramax]

Thank you both for your opinions!

I'm not concerned about focus peaking as I never use it - I largely prefer working in magnified mode, so that's my main concern.

I don't have real problems with A6000 viewfinder, I'm getting the shots I want, but if I could get the same (or better) kind of precision with a bigger and brighter view, my aging eyes would thank me, I guess

I started researching XE3 as it seems great and about the same size of my A6000, but majority of users in this thread on Fuji X downplay the viewfinder on it:

XE2 to XE3 - worth the upgrade?

Thinking about upgrading from the X-E2 to the X-E3. Obviously more megapixels but apart from that is there much difference?

www.fuji-x-forum.com

So I'm thinking of getting the used XT1 for it's apparently superior viewfinder and possibly better balance and ergonomics with some of my bigger Minolta lenses. These I use the most, hence my insisting about the experience of manual focus in magnified mode.

 

[rayvonn]

The X-T1 does indeed have a splendid EVF. However I thought the focus peaking wasn’t very helpful on it

Really? I wonder why, my model had possibly the best EVF and focus peaking for legacy lenses. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the X-T1 in that regard.