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What did you cash out to buy an M246?


dante

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Ok. For people who eliminated equipment for space or for money to buy an M246, what did you give up?

 

My hit was two whole camera systems:

 

- A D700

- An MB-D10

- a 17-35mm AFS

- a 70-300 AFS VRII

- a 50/1.4D (Japan)

- an SB-800

- an X-Pro1

- a 14/2.8 Fujinon

- a 18-55/2.8 Fujinon

- a 35/1.4 Fujinon

- a 12/7.5 Kobalux

- lots of Nikon and Fuji batteries

- many vintage Swiss and Seiko watches

- some Sprintscan 120 carriers

- an iPhone being used for macro work

- some things I have probably forgotten

- a couple grand in cash

 

Although this was primarily to reduce things to just two systems (Leica M and Fuji X100/T), it oddly did not affect the photo clutter noticeably. :(

 

What did you axe?

 

Dante

 

#firstworldproblems

#richmansdilemma

#ramenfordinner

#hidetheamexbillfromthewife

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I have too many cameras and lenses that I'm not using.....If I sold everything I probably still wouldn't have enough for a new M246 but since I just purchased an MM1 and I'd most likely get an M240 instead but that won't happen....but this has given me food for thought about reducing my photo gear....:)

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Didn't get the M246, but I did sell my Nikon Df and glass (included the much-loved AFS 58mm f/1.4G) to buy a new M-E.  I wanted CCD and battery compatibility with my original M Monochrom.

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I bought the M9 and M Monochrom by selling lenses- most of them converted from Contax RF mount to Leica mount, also sold some J-3's, a Summaron, and a pair of collapsible Summicrons. Most of the lenses bought before the M8 came out. The days of $70 Summicrons and $95 Nikkor 5cm f1.4s are over.  Also sold an M3 and traded a Nikon SP w 5cm F1.4 for part of the M Monochrom, still have a dozen Nikon RF's. After all has fallen out, still have some 70 lenses in Leica mount.

 

I'm skipping the M246 and M240- 18MPixels is plenty for my needs, and I prefer working with 14-bit images. The new X-116 shows the improvement that has occurred in CMOS sensors over the last 3 years. It has set the bar for the next M.

Edited by fiftyonepointsix
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You gave up your cash, although I realize that for some this really is nothing, but for most of us this is SOMETHING!  Enjoy!

 

 

Money is something for everyone. But Leicas, in the grand scheme of things, are only expensive when you buy the first new digital body, and only then as to the cash aspect. They hold their value better than a lot of cameras (not my D700, though...), and the cost of owning a Leica body measured like that is about $1,000 per year or about $20 a week. That's pretty accessible, probably even at a U.S. median income, with the right budgeting. Some people have bigger Starbucks bills in a week.

 

We'll see how the Monochrom is, but from my experience yesterday, it will take me 3-4 years to master it. :-)

 

I had a bit of a purge for non-financial reasons because I got to the point that the X100T embodied everything I liked about the Fuji X cameras, and having a DSLR around the house tended to cause people to ask you to photograph their events for free. That's like having a shotgun on  the rack when the Zombie Apocalypse hits. I got a good 10 years out of my Nikon lenses (the 17-35 maybe 11), and the market price of a D700 when I sold was still 40% of what I had paid for it new 5 years ago. The Fuji was a burn - I bought it as a stopgap when I was waiting for the M 240, but it was never quite what I wanted in terms of responsiveness (I have small children; o/w would not have been an issue), and it has taken Fuji close to 4 years to update the X-Pro (now it's 2016, they say), which made the proposition of holding onto a bunch of idled Fuji lenses pointless (I also have no idea if they would be up to scratch with the next sensor). Fuji's pricing practices, which are basically to dump product on the market six months after it comes out (completely undercutting the secondary market), is why I don't think I would ever re-enter that system. 

 

Dante

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My rithm of trading in gear for the latest Leica lens or camera has considerably slowed down since I own the M9 and MM1. Much too happy with the (colors of) CCD-sensors and the 18Mp from it. Somewhere I had to draw the line between the M's getting bigger and drifting off from the original principle of ' less is more ' . My last buy was an M4, which didn't need any cashing out. 

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I would point out that by despairing of seeing the M246 this year, I bought a used ZM 18 and 25. And literally five minutes after I hit send on the second of those two Paypals, my dealer contacted me to say they were shipping the M246. So much for the de-clutter thing. 

 

Dante

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When I decided to start saving for the rumored 246, I promised myself no out of pocket spending-- so, I combed the attic and house and sold (among other things):

 

Studio lighting that I hadn't used in 5 years

CV 40mm

CV 35mm f1.2 that I hadn't used since picking up the 35mm Summilux FLE

a 35mm Summicron V3, again that I hadn't used since picking up the 35mm Summilux FLE

Minolta 5400 scanner

loads of books I had boxed up in storage

believe it or not, several suits  that I hadn't worn in years and a load of neck ties!

 

by the time the camera was announced, I had the funds ready and waiting, and the camera ended up being $500 cheaper than I had anticipated.

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Ironically, I used a refund on overpayment of German taxes in 2013 and 2014 that my law firm sent me.  I decided to send some of it back to Germany in exchange for a M(246). :)

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When I decided to start saving for the rumored 246, I promised myself no out of pocket spending-- so, I combed the attic and house and sold (among other things):

 

Studio lighting that I hadn't used in 5 years

CV 40mm

CV 35mm f1.2 that I hadn't used since picking up the 35mm Summilux FLE

a 35mm Summicron V3, again that I hadn't used since picking up the 35mm Summilux FLE

Minolta 5400 scanner

loads of books I had boxed up in storage

believe it or not, several suits  that I hadn't worn in years and a load of neck ties!

 

by the time the camera was announced, I had the funds ready and waiting, and the camera ended up being $500 cheaper than I had anticipated.

 

 

That is a great loss to charity shops. UK literacy and most infants in the UK have benefitted greatly from my donations, and the next England opening bat may well be using my kid's helmet and pads.

 

I had this mad idea that I would sell my M9 and lenses and get a Q and about £1,000 cash in my pocket.  

 

I ended up with a Q, a very clean second hand MM1, two of my old lenses, a new 50mm Summicron-M and a hole in my credit card. Such is life. No regrets.

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That is a great loss to charity shops. UK literacy and most infants in the UK have benefitted greatly from my donations, and the next England opening bat may well be using my kid's helmet and pads.

 

For any high-value item, like a camera, it's generally better to sell the item for the best price you can get and donate the proceeds to charity. The charity nets far more (they usually have no idea how to deal with high-value items - and sell them for pennies on the dollar), and as an added bonus, you get a much better tax deduction. As to clothes, make sure they're actually going to someone who needs them (such as via a clothes closet charity for people re-entering the workforce). A good amount of general donated clothing is resold (in bales, by the pound) by charities.The best case is to fiber recyclers. Unfortunately, for a lot of stuff, the sale is to exporters, who then send it to the third world, where the resale of your old jeans, for example, sinks local textile industries. 

 

Sermon aside, I sympathize with the idea of coming up with the list of things you think you will sell - and then keeping them! This is how my 2.8F Rollei escaped the M246 purge.  :)

 

Dante

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I cashed out nothing. But I should have. I wasn't going to buy it when I found out the cost but after reading all of the reviews and liking the M platform functionality I changed my mind. I went to buy a noctilux because there was a sale till end of May. I said to my dealer if you can get me a 246 by next week before I go on my holiday I will buy it, otherwise I can wait until the initial rush dies down and I will get it in 6 months. Surprisingly he phoned me 5 days later and said I will have one for you in today's delivery. Gulp! Hello Mr. giant visa bill![emoji33] I had also determined that the noctilux would be my last lens purchase but now find my self thinking about a good used MATE and a CV 35 Nokton.

When will it end?!!!

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