GAS What was your best purchase of 2021?

[mike3996]

A mixture of acquisition/gear review! I scanned a topic of this sort on a photo forum somewhere, but I can't now remember what forum and where.

So, looking back to 2021. What single piece of gear that you bought was the highlight purchase of the year for you?



To me it was the 175 € Fuji FinePix X100, bought in November. It's a turbo machine for the money paid and works in dark much better than a perhaps more capable M4/3 cameras of same size thanks to its OVF. It also slips in and out of jacket pocket better than my GX80 thanks to its non-grippy rubber eyepiece.

 

[agentlossing]

I had to go back through my memory and a couple websites to remember what I did in 2021 with gear... that sounds like a bad thing. Am I over the hill?

Anyway, I did try out quite a few different things last year, mostly not for long periods of time. There were no major gear purchases in terms of net dollars spent; gear turnover has been more the order of the day for the past couple years. My biggest and best purchase was the Ricoh GR IIIx, but that was a "side-grade" rather than an upgrade over previous gear, because it replaced my GR III. I also tried out a few film cameras: an Olympus OM-1 and an XA, both of which are rightly lauded but didn't quite do it for me (the OM-1 was worn out and the linkage for the aperture stop-down inside the camera broke, otherwise I'd have happily kept it. The XA was just a bit too fiddly for me), and a couple more instant cameras.

The GR is my overall top purchase, but since I already owned one, I'll give the award to the runner-up: the Olympus E-M5 II. It's back to just a comfort zone of M4/3 competence, not astounding IQ but capable, fast, dependable cameras and lenses. I picked it up barely used in a shop for a great price.

 

[gordo]

Honestly - nothing.

I bought more gear than I would have liked in 2021. None of it met my expectations, or in some case, needs. It was all moved onward. Very frustrating.

2021 was also a year of de-acquisition for me. Downsized to one system, then downsized that system.

 

[AndyMcD]

Mine was the reacquisition of a Fuji 16/1.4 to replace the one that I stupidly sold earlier in 2021. Does this count?

 

[mumu]

By far the best money I ever spent was for DxO's Photolab, and in particular, its DeepPrime noise reduction tool. It immediately improved the high ISO performance of all of my cameras.

 

[Mr_Flibble]

Tough choice, as I was given quite a bit of good gear and some came in a lot.
Probably my nicest purchase was a 1959 Leica IIIg for a good price, or my World War 2 US Army Speed Graphic 4x5

 

[agentlossing]

By far the best money I ever spent was for DxO's Photolab, and in particular, its DeepPrime noise reduction tool. It immediately improved the high ISO performance of all of my cameras.

Agreed, I forgot to mention software, but PL5 Elite has been a great purchase so far.

 

[The Electric Squirrel]

The clear winner for best toy of 2021 for me is my Canon Pixma Pro-200 printer. And it's not even close to being the most expensive purchase of the year, far from it. But it has make a marked difference in the way I view my pictures, and subsequently in the pictures I take.

A distant second to that might be my switch from Canon to Sony, maybe. It hasn't done nearly as much to my actual photography as getting a printer has, but it opened up a more interesting ecosystem of lenses. The RF mount ecosystem isn't exactly crowded...

 

[MountainMan79]

I bought entirely too much gear in 2021, however my best purchase is by far the Nikon Df. I absolutely love that camera, and it’s quickly become my go-to. If I could only keep 1 camera out of the 20ish or so that I have, it would be this one. I simply adore it.

 

[Stu]

A Pana 12-35mm f/2.8 [mark i ]
This has extinguished my lust for any other lens in this in his approximate focal range.

 

[Lawrence A.]

I reacquired a Leica X 113, one of my favorite cameras, after foolishly selling mine ('cause I was broke), but it was a gift, so maybe doesn't qualify. I didn't buy any other camera gear until January 2022, so my Samsung Note 10+ and Tab S7 are my best purchases for last year. I do use both of them with Snapseed to edit photos on the fly, but I didn't get them really as photographic tools. So 2021 was a year I largely used what I had, except for the joy of getting that Leica again. It's damned near perfect for me.

 

[drd1135]

The GRiiix.

 

[gordo]

I reacquired a Leica X 113, one of my favorite cameras, after foolishly selling mine ('cause I was broke), but it was a gift, so maybe doesn't qualify. I didn't buy any other camera gear until January 2022, so my Samsung Note 10+ and Tab S7 are my best purchases for last year. I do use both of them with Snapseed to edit photos on the fly, but I didn't but them really as photographic tools. So 2021 was a year I largely used what I had, except for the joy of getting that Leica again. It's damned near perfect for me.

It's nice finding "that" gear, isn't it?

 

[Lawrence A.]

It's nice finding "that" gear, isn't it?

Yes, some cameras you just hit it off with. I tried the Rx 1 at one point, but even though the full frame files were wonderful and I got some great shots with it, using it just wasn't as much fun for me. It is a great camera; but there is just something about the Leica X that gives me pleasure everytime I pick it up. This time, I'm keeping it until it falls apart in my hands.

 

[mumu]

A Pana 12-35mm f/2.8 [mark i ]
This has extinguished my lust for any other lens in this in his approximate focal range.

It's a great lens. It's the first lens I bought when I went all-in with micro four thirds and continues to be my most-used lens.

 

[Glevum Owl]

An Olympus 60mm f2.8 Macro lens. A second hand bargain; cosmetically not pretty but optically and functionally perfect. Initially I bought this to digitise my old 35mm negatives with the intention of selling it on afterwards. Having played with it for macro and portraits I’ve decided it’s a keeper.

 

[John King]

E-PM2.

Always wanted one of the tiny Olympus bodies. Fits in a polo shirt pocket with my 14-42 EZ + JJC auto-opening lens cap. Has the nice 16 MPx Sony sensor. Same one as the Olympus E-M5 MkI and MkII.

Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

 

[retiredfromlife]

Fuji X-T4 and Tamron 18-300

 

[bartjeej]

Fuji XF10. Even though it's not quite as nice to use as the X100, it has a minimalist user interface that does the exposure triangle and not much else, but then that's all I need. Same great jpegs, and unlike the X100 it goes everywhere with me because it's small enough to not bother me, whereas the X100 with its size doesn't fit pants pockets and with its weight skews my jacket, so it's either a neck strap camera or a bag camera, and often I don't want either of those things (I don't go on dedicated photo outings).

As a result, I haven't touched the X100 since getting the XF10, also because the X100's 35mm equivalent is just not sufficiently different from the XF10's 28mm equivalent to make it worth bringing both. The 24mp XF10 crops down to a 15.4mp 35mm equivalent if need be. A 50mm X100 might make me want to bring it along with the XF10, but then a theoretical 50mm XF10 would still trump the theoretical 50mm X100 on account of its portability.

 

[Ad Dieleman]

Very few photographic equipment purchases at all in 2021, so it's an easy pick: the Zeiss Loxia 2.4/25, most used lens since its acquisition. It was the last Loxia that I bought, because I thought for a long time that I didn't need a 25mm when I already had a 21mm. I was totally wrong. The angle of view fits me very well, especially when using in-crop camera to a 4:3 aspect ratio, leading to a 28mm equivalent field of view.

Edit: picture added

Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)