I wish I'd never sold my.....?

[KyleSTL]

The 20D I fixed a couple months back. I expected a little over $200, only got $155 on eBay for it (I think it has a lot to do with the auction ending on a Friday night). If I'd known it was going to sell for so little, I would have just kept it for a second body.

On the topic of cars, my dad and my grandfather have three regretible sales:
1953 Corvette
1973 Porsche 914 2.0L silver (99% Concour quality)
1985 Porsche 911 Carerra Cab red (to fund 2000 Boxster S)

Often I miss my 1998 Volvo V70 wagon, despite my current V50 T5 being nicer, more powerful and newer. I think sentimental reasons are why I miss it.

 

[unruled]

Sometimes I regret selling my EF 85mm f/1.8. I sold it after getting the EF 85mm f/1.2L II, a lens which I love...except for the slow AF speed. I got rid of the 85/1.8 before getting a 5DII, and I would have liked to see how it does on FF, especially since I usually shoot the 85L at ~f/1.6.

I don't think you were missing much, I had the 85 1.8 for a few months before getting the 85LII, and the bokeh always looked kinda strange to me. It's a great lens for the money, but no comparison to the 1.2

not sure what you mean, the bokeh on that lens is pretty sweet I think personally.

I regret selling my 350d w kit lens. Not for the lens, but the body. I used it to fund my 2nd hand 40d and tamron 17-50 f2.8... But, despite its annoyances would have been a solid backup and lighterweight alternative which I'm feeling now that I have issues w. My arms.

 

[EELinneman]

Sadly, for me it would be my 68 Chevelle SS 396.....sigh

 

[Canon Rumors]

I've bought and sold the 17-40 f/4L 3 times.... I wish I had just kept the first one.

 

[illogict]

I don't really sell that many things at all, and being a relative newcomer in the photography world I still have everything I bought.

However the one and only thing I regret selling is my MG TF 160... Such an extremely great little car! Pretty sure I'll buy another one some time.

 

[K-amps]

I sold my very first L lens which was the 100mm f2.8L macro.. it was an awesome lens but i sold it to fund a 5d mk 2... and i know i wouldnt do as much macro photography as i would with street and landscape... Although the upside is i got a full frame i wish i would hold on to it

+1 Me too... that copy I had of the 100 Macro f2.8 was razor sharp and great bokeh too. Sold it for the L version which did not dazzle me...

 

[Angie]

Oh, man, Daggers through the heart when I saw this thread. I've read all the posts up to now and so sad and the regrets...always that one or two that you wish you never got rid of or had to sell and wish'd you kept -- not only photog gear but other things as well. Your babies!! Not literally but ya know what I mean.

Mine is *sigh* till this day...great sorrow of sorts because of deep love of photography. Only hobby I've ever had where everything was left behind, work pressures, etc., when I'm out shooting. And all that mattered at that moment is what I'm seeing through viewfinder and how beautiful it may be and capturing it. Long story short, my tale is massive family crisis 3 years ago....long story...but started selling off equipment for son's med bills piling up, doctors coming out of wood work, etc. 5dMII, many L series lenses that took long time to get...started with lenses didn't use all that much such as fisheye, ultra wide angles, then telephotos, then two macro lens 100 and the 180L, then speedlite, then twin lite for macro shots, then filters and....Every one broke my heart but had to. My last to go was the 24-70 f2.8L and at that time my fave lens and then my 5dmii. Couldn't part with my 5dmii so the 24-70 went first. Told myself that I would not sell my 5dmii unless I absolutely had to. Love the cam. But sadly, day came when I had to sell it too. Wouldn't even touch it and had friend come over to clean it up a bit, get box, manuals, etc., and out the door it went and he sold it for me. Really sucky time all the way around but I have to admit, although my deep love for photography, there was a deeper love and that was my son. Although great sorrow on many levels then but in regards to photography very much so and still pains me to this day but it was well worth it because it helped give me my son back, my family back, and normalcy once again which he is doing absolutely wonderful now!!!!!! (gotta walk away from this one now for just a bit :'( :'( :'()

So my smugmug account has been sitting idle for 2 years, still paying every year and reminder that one day soon....not sure when but one day soon will come back to it....love reunited!!!! Determined and photog bug constantly biting me in the butt, workin' butt off. I bought the 24-70L in September/October of this year with a flash card but no cam body to put it on so it sat in box starin' me down everyday. Then bought the 100 f2.8L macro a few weeks later but still no cam body to put it on and now a growing display of lenses starin' me down. But pushing me that much harder. As a friend giggled at me and said, "You're building a museum of lenses." And still no cam body to put them on. LOL Yeah, yeah, I know, I know. I'm gettin' there. slowly but surely.

I was waiting for the 5dmiii but all the delays and no announcements which I understand. The announcement for the 1Dx beautiful cam but ticked me off a little because I was hoping for the 5dmiii announcement but nadda. So 2 weeks later the day finally came and bought my 5DMII with extra battery and a grip !!!!!!!!!! ;D ;D OMG, OMG, OMG!!!!!!! Finally, 2 years or so without anything and determined to get it back and did!!!!!! So now, still workin' butt off and making list of getting back what I gave up and which to get first. First, telephoto lens, then speedlite, then mp-e 65mm, then fisheye and sigh...the list will continue to grow but don't mind at all. I got my cam back!!!!! and 2 lenses to keep me good for a bit and it's ALL GOOD!!!!!! As I get more time, I can finally get back to cleaning up my site, organizing it, taking stuff down and adding NEW STUFF soon hoping!!!!! YaY, YaY, YaY!!!!!!

Not sure if this will be appropriate to say or not but will go ahead and say it......Don't live life in regret, it's too short because today may be your last. If it's not, do your damndest to get back what you love -- lost, gave up!!!!! With great sorrow always comes great happiness!!!! Makes you that much more stronger!!!!

Angie

 

[distant.star]

Wow! What do you say after that story?

Sure glad to hear your son is now okay. Nothing is more important than family. Also glad that, because of your strength and passion, we'll all be able to see your vision continue.

Thanks for a moving story.

Oh, man, Daggers through the heart when I saw this thread. I've read all the posts up to now and so sad and the regrets...always that one or two that you wish you never got rid of or had to sell and wish'd you kept -- not only photog gear but other things as well. Your babies!! Not literally but ya know what I mean.

Mine is *sigh* till this day...great sorrow of sorts because of deep love of photography. Only hobby I've ever had where everything was left behind, work pressures, etc., when I'm out shooting. And all that mattered at that moment is what I'm seeing through viewfinder and how beautiful it may be and capturing it. Long story short, my tale is massive family crisis 3 years ago....long story...but started selling off equipment for son's med bills piling up, doctors coming out of wood work, etc. 5dMII, many L series lenses that took long time to get...started with lenses didn't use all that much such as fisheye, ultra wide angles, then telephotos, then two macro lens 100 and the 180L, then speedlite, then twin lite for macro shots, then filters and....Every one broke my heart but had to. My last to go was the 24-70 f2.8L and at that time my fave lens and then my 5dmii. Couldn't part with my 5dmii so the 24-70 went first. Told myself that I would not sell my 5dmii unless I absolutely had to. Love the cam. But sadly, day came when I had to sell it too. Wouldn't even touch it and had friend come over to clean it up a bit, get box, manuals, etc., and out the door it went and he sold it for me. Really sucky time all the way around but I have to admit, although my deep love for photography, there was a deeper love and that was my son. Although great sorrow on many levels then but in regards to photography very much so and still pains me to this day but it was well worth it because it helped give me my son back, my family back, and normalcy once again which he is doing absolutely wonderful now!!!!!! (gotta walk away from this one now for just a bit :'( :'( :'()

So my smugmug account has been sitting idle for 2 years, still paying every year and reminder that one day soon....not sure when but one day soon will come back to it....love reunited!!!! Determined and photog bug constantly biting me in the butt, workin' butt off. I bought the 24-70L in September/October of this year with a flash card but no cam body to put it on so it sat in box starin' me down everyday. Then bought the 100 f2.8L macro a few weeks later but still no cam body to put it on and now a growing display of lenses starin' me down. But pushing me that much harder. As a friend giggled at me and said, "You're building a museum of lenses." And still no cam body to put them on. LOL Yeah, yeah, I know, I know. I'm gettin' there. slowly but surely.

I was waiting for the 5dmiii but all the delays and no announcements which I understand. The announcement for the 1Dx beautiful cam but ticked me off a little because I was hoping for the 5dmiii announcement but nadda. So 2 weeks later the day finally came and bought my 5DMII with extra battery and a grip !!!!!!!!!! ;D ;D OMG, OMG, OMG!!!!!!! Finally, 2 years or so without anything and determined to get it back and did!!!!!! So now, still workin' butt off and making list of getting back what I gave up and which to get first. First, telephoto lens, then speedlite, then mp-e 65mm, then fisheye and sigh...the list will continue to grow but don't mind at all. I got my cam back!!!!! and 2 lenses to keep me good for a bit and it's ALL GOOD!!!!!! As I get more time, I can finally get back to cleaning up my site, organizing it, taking stuff down and adding NEW STUFF soon hoping!!!!! YaY, YaY, YaY!!!!!!

Not sure if this will be appropriate to say or not but will go ahead and say it......Don't live life in regret, it's too short because today may be your last. If it's not, do your damndest to get back what you love -- lost, gave up!!!!! With great sorrow always comes great happiness!!!! Makes you that much more stronger!!!!

Angie

 

[pelebel]

I wish I never sold my soul to photography! Now I'm trapped in torments of pure creative pleasure!

 

[Angie]

Wow! What do you say after that story?

Sure glad to hear your son is now okay. Nothing is more important than family. Also glad that, because of your strength and passion, we'll all be able to see your vision continue.

Thanks for a moving story.

;D Ty!! He's doing absolutely beautiful now. Such a strong boy and close to full recovery -- although has a few psychological scars from such a traumatic event. But other than that, couldn't have asked for anything more!! What brings even more joy to me is that we finally get to go do what we enjoyed so much before and that's camping trips, photography trips, hiking, seeing new places, etc., esp seeing the look on his face with it pressed up against the glass when we get there early morning sunrise and he gets to see wildlife. So many benefits not only for myself but my son's as well. It's the little things that we all take for granted and so used to having. But when it's stripped away from you, it's the little things that count the most and what brings you the most pleasure.

When I told him I was getting my cam again, he was so excited. But the day it came from B&H and I showed him, his eyes lit up with a huge smile. First thing he said was, "When are we going to Yosemite? Mom, I don't want to camp. We can stay in a hotel where it's warmer." LMAO!!! Life is good and glorious. Long road to get it back and almost there. Hoping to make it to Yosemite in the next two weeks or definitely after Xmas or even Death Valley would be nice. But my son's fave is Yosemite and the snow so that will be the place we will go for first photog trip!!! What we all do for our loves be it family or photography!!!

 

[distant.star]

That explains why I take lousy pictures!! Never sold my soul -- didn't know you had to.

I'm relieved now to have a plausible explanation.

I wish I never sold my soul to photography! Now I'm trapped in torments of pure creative pleasure!

 

[willrobb]

Sometimes I regret selling my EF 85mm f/1.8. I sold it after getting the EF 85mm f/1.2L II, a lens which I love...except for the slow AF speed. I got rid of the 85/1.8 before getting a 5DII, and I would have liked to see how it does on FF, especially since I usually shoot the 85L at ~f/1.6.

I actually have the same regret there too. I used my 85mm f1.8 a lot with a film body, then wen I got a 30D I stopped using it so much and sold it. Ever since I went full frame a few years ago I've really missed it.

 

[funkboy]

Part of me wishes I had gotten the 135mm f2 instead of the 70-200 f2.8 IS II.

An interesting perspective...

I started out with the 70-200 f/4L (non-IS) and wrapped it in gaffer tape shortly thereafter (following an experience of taking it out of my bag on the grounds of the US Capitol building & having every security guard on the grounds stare at me for the next 5 minutes).

I picked up the 135L & 1.4x TC a couple years later. The 135L just felt so much more useful as it's great for portraits, low light, *and* telephoto, & it's smaller & lighter than the 70-200. The amazing aperture makes it a lot easier to get a *really* sharp handheld shot than the 70-200 f/4L. It's especially versatile with the TC in your bag (admittedly not as handy as a zoom lens, but if you know what the shot calls for in advance then you don't really have to mess with it). A big plus for me is that I generally find that prime lenses push me towards more creative composition.

I think I traded the 70-200 f/4L against a 50mm ZE Planar. All the other points aside, the thing that really pushed me to sell it was that it just didn't fit conveniently in most bags. Sure, I had a TLZ bag specifically for it, but it's just too darn long to fit in non-camera bags when you just want to throw your camera in & go. My 40D with the 135L on it fits that bill nicely, and the 20mm Voigtländer fits just about anywhere it in its little bag. I find that those lenses plus a 50 are usually enough to cover most situations.

Don't get me wrong, the 70-200 f/4L is a great lens & a fantastic deal for the money (it's the least expensive L). If you do most of your shooting from a tripod or travel with a vehicle where size & weight doesn't matter then it's certainly the most accessible way to reach L territory. I often find myself eyeing deals on the IS version as it's even sharper and has awesome IS, but really the only reason I consider it is that a 135L IS is probably not on the cards any time soon.

 

[willrobb]

I've bought and sold the 17-40 f/4L 3 times.... I wish I had just kept the first one.

That was my first L series lens 5 years ago and I still use it a lot. I sometimes thought about selling it and getting a 16-35mm f2.8L, but it gives such good images I couldn't be without it.

 

[funkboy]

T50 + nFD 35-70 3.5-4.5

I want my T90 back!

What an amazing camera. The "averaged spot" metering was awesome for landscapes with Xperia. I feel the T90 form factor is just about perfect.

 

[willrobb]

Really sucky time all the way around but I have to admit, although my deep love for photography, there was a deeper love and that was my son. Although great sorrow on many levels then but in regards to photography very much so and still pains me to this day but it was well worth it because it helped give me my son back, my family back, and normalcy once again which he is doing absolutely wonderful now!!!!!! (gotta walk away from this one now for just a bit :'( :'( :'()

Angie, of all the tales about selling stuff here, yours is the only one that is going to touch hearts, what you did was absolutely wonderful and I think everyone will agree with me when I say I have so much respect for what you did.

Photography is great, life changing for many of us, but when push comes to shove family always comes first.

 

[tron]

Maybe I am off topic but I regret NOT selling a Tokina ATX28-70/2.8 which now can be used only by a subset of analog CANONs....
I had a chance 13-15 years ago but I didn't do it . Later it could not work even with an EOS50e.
(On the other hand it works with EOS1n and the 600 series...).

I remember it was sharp (with a little less contrast maybe).

Generally I am reluctant to sell and only if I do not want to use the lens any more.
So far I have sold a 35-70mm/f3.5-4.5, a 100-300/f5.6 (non-L) and recently a Sigma 400mm/f5.6 APO and a CANON 28-70/2.8L (the later 2 lenses helped to fund a 5DmkII with a 24-105/f4L)

No regrets

 

[samueljay]

I didn't sell it, but a little part of me died inside when the shutter advance broke on my favourite camera (Minolta X-500).

I haven't sold anything film related, but I collect video games, and I have lots of regrets about selling stuff in that field... mainly my original Sega Mega Drive / XBOX / and original copies of certain games which are now worth a lot more Now I don't sell anything, and have over 400 games across 15 systems

 

[pwp]

Re: I wish I'd never sold my.....?

My 300 f/4is which I sold when I got the 300 f/2.8is. There's definitely room for both lenses in anyone's kit.
My stellar EF 50 f/1.4. What was I thinking? Replaced with am erratic, bulky Sigma 50 f/1.4
The other is ridiculously old...a Vivitar 283 flash. What a stunning performer. Sold for a Canon 540EZ.

Moral of the story...keep the old bit of kit for a few months after replacing it with the shiny new whatsit.

By the same token, there is a long list of items I wish I'd sold a lot sooner than I did. The Mamiya RZ kit which I virtually ended up giving away, the under-performing Canon 1Ds which cost me about $73 billion when new, sold for $750. I guess it did earn me a lot of money. Not to mention the very high quality darkroom equipment. I was in denial for years on this one. All given to a film nut. The Profoto floorpacks looking like abandoned truck batteries in the corner of the studio for years until a few months ago. Best not to think too much further along these lines.... Yikes, this is hilarious!

Aww I feel for the poster who sold his Chevelle 396. We've all got a car a bit like that tugging at us from the past...

Paul Wright

 

[Eisbaer]

T50 + nFD 35-70 3.5-4.5

I want my T90 back!

What an amazing camera. The "averaged spot" metering was awesome for landscapes with Xperia. I feel the T90 form factor is just about perfect.

Yes, that's true. In the early 80th I bought my T70 but I couldn't stop dreaming about the T90. About 10 years later it was out of order and I bought one second hand. I used this camera till 2008.

I mean, the T90 was a revolution, a camera that was never seen before. But, I didn't get used to it completly. I feel the pictures I made with the T70 were better. :-\

Best regards
Eisbaer