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

[drummstikk]

The original EF 300mm 2.8 (non-IS). Thought I was being smart selling it when I did because it was was pretty obvious from internet chatter that the IS version was coming out soon. Got a very fair price for it through eBay from a guy in the UK. Not sure what he did, but I remember I shipped it to a performance/stage theater.

When the new IS version hit the stores, I had about half the purchase price saved up and was fully prepared to finance the rest. But I absolutely hated the handling of the new lens. The removable tripod collar is a BUG and NOT a feature. Also, the manual focus was changed and felt stiff and clunky compared to the silky smooth electronic focus of the original. The original *was* a battery hog due to using USM even while on manual, but the smoothness and responsiveness to fine focus adjustments was amazing.

I was very disappointed and never bought the IS model. I guess I found it was easier than I thought to live without a 300 2.8, but I still miss it. I'd love to get my hands one of the new ones, *after* an in-store test drive, but there's no way I'm financing any large gear in this economy. At least the tripod collar is permanently mounted.

I was briefly in the market for an old used original version 300mm 2.8 a year or so ago, but I was told that Canon no longer services this model. I find that hard to believe but I put the whole idea on hold before I got around to researching it. If that's true, even if I got the lens cheap, it would still be too much money to spend on a lens that can never be repaired if needed.

 

[Reed.Skyllingstad]

I've only sold three lenses in my photography career-

Canon 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6
Canon 70-200mm f/4L
and the
Sigma 120-300 f/2.8 EX

I really wish I didn't sell the 120-300 to fund my 70-200 f/2.8L IS (and it was too darn heavy.) I really miss the reach of that thing, even though the long end was only about 270mm.

 

[Halfrack]

200/2.8 - got an amazing 1993 copy for cheap, and ended up turning it loose after deciding I was not going into soccer games. To replace it would cost 1.5x as much now, and it's the best stealth lens out there - then toss in the tele's and you've hitting the entire field without a camera pass!

I'm stuck in the 'pre-regret' on my 85/1.2 - a lens I'm not using much, but know I'll be kicking myself if I let it go..

 

[kennykodak]

I'm stuck in the 'pre-regret' on my 85/1.2 - a lens I'm not using much, but know I'll be kicking myself if I let it go..

let mine go after i noticed the dust on it...
hated the free wheeling focus ring with the rear element exposed. mounting it was an accident waiting to happen at a poorly lit venue under duress.

 

[belfox]

Pentax 6x7; had a custom made grip on the right hand side, with an integrated cable release. Could be used like a 35 mm camera. But every shot sounded like a triple trap clap (mirror-up, shutter, mirror-down) and scared the living daylights out of people during wedding ceremonies ;D

For those posters regretting the T90, and the average spot metering : my 5D's don't even come close to that metering. I wish Canon would put that back into a camera (and the eye control autofocus of my 30V for good measure).

Geert

 

[funkboy]

For those posters regretting the T90, and the average spot metering : my 5D's don't even come close to that metering. I wish Canon would put that back into a camera.

The 1Dx has it

 

[stevevihon]

My first camera, a Minolta SRT-201, which I sold to buy a Contax G1 which I sold to buy a Contax NX which I sold to buy a Contax T3 which I sold along with my Leica M7 (bought after the T3 after my first and only big bonus at work) to buy a Nikon D300 and a 35f2 which I sold to buy a 17-55 2.8f which I just sold to very soon buy a 5D Mark II. Pretty much all the gear I have owned. I'm at the point that when I tell my wife about a new camera or lens I want she says, "Great, something else to sell and get pissed off about".