What was your biggest mistake?

Dave Dawson

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Feb 15, 2009
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Either buying something or selling something?

Mine was selling a Linhof 5x4 Technica system

Cheers Dave
 

Rick A

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Mar 31, 2009
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Laurel Highlands
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Selling both of my Kowa super 66's and lenses, swapping my first Yashica D for a motorcycle, buying that (then new)74 Chevy van(a major POS)and marrying my previous wife(the currant model is a definite keeper)

Rick
 

David Brown

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I traded an Olympus XA with flash and some cash for a Zorki 4. The Zorki worked for about 24 hours ...
 

John Jarosz

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Mine was not persevering with 8x10 when I first tried it. Twenty years later I jumped in again, this time to stay, and I've gone further with 8x20. Contact printing alt process is my niche..
 

jgcull

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Jul 11, 2003
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nc
I guess it's not huge compared to others, but when I first set up my darkroom I accidentally bought a good sized box of 8x10 color paper (rather than b&w). They wouldn't take it back, so it was a good little chunk of money down the drain.
 

coriana6jp

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Apr 13, 2005
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Japan
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About two years ago, I was loading 8x10 Velvia into holders in my bathroom (read that as darkroom) and I forgot to warn people not to come in. Well, my wife turned on the lights opened the door and there went a full box of film down to the garbage. Hadn't even loaded one holder yet.............sigh.

Gary
 

HerrBremerhaven

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Mar 23, 2006
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Linhof cable release. While it does work very smoothly, it is far to much a pain threading it onto a Copal shutter; the finger area is simply too small for my big hands.
 

Philippe-Georges

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Flanders Fields
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Selling my two Leica M5s and three lenses, I had to finance …
I know, they were just eating dust, not only because I do no more shoot 35 mm film, but these two jewels…I feel sick and stupid!

Philippe

P.S. I kept the M3 and a Summicron 7 elements
 

darkosaric

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Apr 15, 2008
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Hamburg, DE
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Buying bunch of stuff that I used almost never (argus, zorki, lubitel, yashica ME, minotla hi matic, lomo, druh, isolette...) ... and on the end using F3 most of the time. Now I am selling (sold) all except of nikon gear and going for leica M6. F3 and M6 - this is all I need

But I think this is usual for many people ... those cameras are so cheap today
 

Laurent

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Oct 15, 2004
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Recently ? Selling my Yashica mat (was recently CLA'ed) because I didn't trust it enough... Now that I'm hooked to TLRs, I always fear that my Rolleiflex may fail some time in the near future (it's already 50 years old, I've put nearly 100 films through it last year...)

Less recently, I sold a Canon F1 (the first model, with full metal winding lever) and Servo-EE finder because I needed cash. I loved the beast !
 

Vaughn

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Dec 13, 2006
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Humboldt Co.
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Not exactly selling something, but...

Mistake: Leaving my 5x7 kit in the truck at a motel on the way to Yosemite -- gone.
Outcome: Used the insurance money, plus some more cash, to buy 8x10 kit.
Lesson: Sleep with your camera stuff. Have insurance.

Vaughn
 

lxdude

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Apr 8, 2009
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When I was new to fleabay, I was bidding on several examples of the same camera. I got mixed up on which was which and bid on one which I had topped out on earlier in the bidding, thinking it was another, much better one. I ended up being high bidder. Aaaahhhh, crap!

Lesson#1: Don't bid on multiples of the same thing unless you have a way, like say, a list,:rolleyes: to keep straight which is which.

Lesson #2: Don't hit that button unless you're positive it's what you want to do.

Lesson #3: Saying "Oh, well. Live and learn." doesn't make me feel any better about it.
 

rphenning

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Mar 2, 2009
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California
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Med. Format RF
saving up $11K when I was 17-19 and spending it on digital cameras when I could have spent a quarter of that on the good film stuff I am using now and spent the rest on plane tickets.
 

Jerevan

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Nov 19, 2004
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John Jarosz said:
Mine was not persevering with 8x10 when I first tried it.
Click to expand...

Similarly, I think that letting go too fast of equipment and not sticking out for a good while to really get to know what I had in my hands, regardless of negative size or camera model, has been the biggest mistake I have made.
 

removed account4

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i don't have any mistakes in the buying department
but selling: too many to mention.
 

Jesper

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Mar 29, 2009
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Sweden
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I seem to be the opposite of jnanian

I don't have any mistakes in the selling department since I don't sell anything.
I do however have a lot of mistakes in the buying department since I buy way too much stuff that I don't need.
 

ronlamarsh

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Jan 2, 2004
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461
Location
Seattle Wash
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Multi Format
Mistake

Getting rid of my M3 doublestroke#%^&*&(( and going through a bunch of MF gear then settling on my rolleiflex when I could have just got one up front, LF regrets.............I didn't buy that Linhof 4X5 monorail when it was on sale new for $400!!!!
 

Miskuss

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Joined
Dec 27, 2007
Messages
60
Location
Alberta
Format
35mm
Trading in my Olympus OM system for a Nikon F4. The F4 is still in use and it's a great camera if you like to carry a boat anchor, but the OM system I truly loved, it was just not very durable for real life day to day shooting.
 

Resoman

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Jan 17, 2008
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35mm
Trading in my elegant gray leather Rolleiflex Model T. I traded it on a deal for a gorgeous Rollei E3 which I've used ever since, but the model T was so classy, and I feel I deserve two Rolleis!

Of course, I couldn't have afforded the E3 without the trade-in...

Gary,
East Snook, TX
 

DWThomas

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Jun 13, 2006
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Photographically, I'd say buying a Minox B back in the roaring 1960s when I suddenly found myself with disposable income. I'm sure it's a marvel for its time, but I can't say the pictures I got out of it lived up to my expectations (saw too many spy movies I guess). I still have it; maybe I should try it with some recent variety of film and see what it does. I've jokingly described it as a "cell phone camera before there were cell phones."
 

lxdude

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Mike1234

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South Texas,
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lxdude said:
So it wasn't the buying or selling, but more the having, hm?
Click to expand...

Yes... ever buy an automobile that seemed nice... drove well, reliable, economical, treated you nicely... but then completely turned into a hateful lemon... like it was possessed by some evil being?
 
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