Have you ever made a "bad purchase"

[redline]

so what have you purchased and regetted later having wish you didn't
buy them?

me: tamaron 28-200 xr lenses, it was replaced my carl jenis 28-200 which got stolen by some theives.

[Alpha_7]

2.5 x Teleconvertor (not the kind most of your are thinking off)

Takes shitty photos like

Hmmm, I also got a lot of sub-par stuff bundled with my camera... tripod for example... while it has served me well I would of prefered to go straight to a decent one.. but in hindsight the tripod was better then nothing...

[Onyx]

Not so much bad purchases as in later regret having bought them, but more why did I buy it as I haven't gotten much if any use out of them - the ML-L3 remote and ND4 2-stop neutral density filter.

[Greg B]

Yes indeedy.....

My Velbon tripod. Useless, but now replaced with the fabulous Benro. The Velbon will be moderately useful, however, as a stand for the SB800

I bought a couple of Lowepro bags, Nova 2, (nowhere near big enough although it was mainly for the G3 plus lens attachments), the Nova 3 (No Greg , No). Now have the Mini Trekker AW, good, but already full

I'll post again when I think of more

[losfp]

Hmmm... don't know if this counts, but "back in the day", I bought my Sony Ericsson T610 partly because it had an onboard camera.

Of course, in hindsight, the tiny plastic lens and 352x288 resolution weren't so great as selling points.....

Most of my camera purchases have been pretty damn good, if I do say so myself.. Mostly because I spend hours researching on dpreview and online messageboards first Although I am sure that I will start to get a couple of lemons now that I'm going to get involved in SLRs.

[Raskill]

Yeah, but you live and learn.

My Sigma 70-200mm got me a couple of paying jobs, sold for more than I bought it for and allowed me to buy a 70-200 VR.

It's all about what you can afford versus what you want versus what you really need.

Best purchase, Nikkor 50mm 1.8 for $60 U.S.

Worst, either my Lowpro Trekker (No room) or my tripod (which I still have )

[owen]

Kodak every day picture paper... flimsy thin pieces of garbage.

[MHD]

My Kit...
Ie stuff bundled with camera...

Only using the camera and kit lens from it now..

I have:
*70-300G = paperweight
*Elcrappo tripod
*256mb CF card which is used for file transfer only
*crap camera case...

[MHD]

Best:
umm... that is harder...

I love my 105/2.8 micro
it would be a close call between that and the 50/1.4

[Zeeke]

My D70... Just Joking

but the accessories that came with it were a joke..(got it from Ebay)... the tripod was a 3 legged desktop deal that was so flimsy and weak it couldnt even support the weight of my lil silver P&S.. the camera bag was so small that it couldnt even fit the d70 body.. the P&S just fits...

everything else ive been pretty happy with

Want a 80-200 VR... but the sigma 70-200 sigma will do me for now

Tim

[sirhc55]

Triumph TR7 and three wedding licences

[Nnnnsic]

Triumph TR7 and three wedding licences

Triumph make cameras now do they?

[Killakoala]

I have a Tokina 100-300mm F5.6-F6.7

Sure, it's old, but it was crap when i bought it and it's still crap now.

[Dug]

1966 i bought a Diana 120 camera for $2.

I fell in love with photography and have spent the rest of my life chasing the perfect photo.

No regrets really. I have had so much fun, seen so much, been to so many amazing places and met such wonderful people.


I have just been given a Diana 120 flash camera I must get out and use it soon.

[Oneputt]

Chris how can you put a TR7 and three wedding licences in the same sentence? Come to think of it I cannot remember a TR7

[Glen]

Oneputt, the ad for a TR7 had a leggy blonde and asked the question "can a 6ft blonde find happiness with a 5'2" accountant?". The car was yellow. Having met Chris I can confirm he is not a 5'2" accountant. The TR7 was like a swiss watch compared to their Stag, that was a real POS.

[LOZ]

a SOFT 24-120 VR LOZ

[Geoff]

Haven't really had any bad buys, but as Scott said the crappy bag that came with my D70 was practically useless - so it was ebayed.

Best buys..whoa..hmm..thats a tough one. I'd have to say the 50mm 1.4 and the 70-200VR!

Next on my purchase list is a tripod!

[birddog114]

a SOFT 24-120 VR LOZ

LOZ,
Sorry to hear that! but you can fly back to Japan and return the lens for service while you there.

[gstark]

Triumph TR7 and three wedding licences

TR7.

Three marriages ...

Sigma lenses ....

Anybody else seeing a pattern here?

[gstark]

Chris how can you put a TR7 and three wedding licences in the same sentence? Come to think of it I cannot remember a TR7

A few years ago they used them for the parade lap before the Melbourne F1GP.

But they could only find 21 that were able to make it around the circuit under their own power; the final car (1 for each driver) was not a TR7.

[gstark]

My cat ??

[horstflotow]

Sigma 70-210 f2.8 great lens when new, now has foggy rear lens element which Sigma won't repair/replace.

A few of the "kit lenses" that came with various cameras and other accessories like camera cases that would require a shoehorn to stuff a Minox in and tripods that even Ebay cannot remove from your storage area.

Ah well, it's live and learn (and get what you pay for).

[tasadam]

Hhmmm "regretted" - strong word. I suppose I am happy with all I have owned and do own camera-wise.

Even tho my Olympus C750 broke down 3 timeswithin a year so they replaced it with the C770,
and the batteries for that are sh!tty and don't last, and it broke down too and had to be repaired,
and having an instant digital like that made me realise I couldn't do enough with my photography with it so I had to go get a D70,
and now my D70 is off for repairwith a stuck shutter,
and I currently have on loan the 80-200 f2.8 which makes me realise what a POS the 70-300G kit lens is,
and then there's my F80 which is 5 years old and hasn't been used for 3 years and isn't worth spit now,
and all my other film gear that will never be used again - including 2 bodies and various lenses that go with,
and my Metz 45-CT4 flash that makes a greatly bright flash but compared to what an SB800 will do really makes it obsolete,
oh and then there was that 110 film camera when I was a kid...

No regrets, only lessons...

[Potatis]

I've outgrown my camera bag. I should have got a bigger one. I thought I'd never need more than 2 lenses. Then I met you lot! It won't go to waste though, Genista will use it when she (or I) buys her camera, whenever that is. Otherwise I'm happy with all my camera gear and wouldn't part with any of it.

[Steffen]

Not really anything I regretted getting, but some stuff I got rid of:

Back in the 90's I had one of those 35-80 f/4-5.6 AF-D zooms. I sold it, I guess because I don't like slow lenses and I'm not too fond of zooms. In hindsight I must say this was a pretty good lens (it was the earlier metal mount version with aspherical element, not the later crappy all-plastic one), great colour and contrast.

I also got rid of my 50 f/1.8 AF-D. A fine little lens, but I rarely used it. I found myself reaching for the 35 f/1.4 Ai or the 85 f/1.8 AF instead most of the time. For close range/indoor shots I already had the (hefty) 50 f/1.2 AiS.

A Tamron 70-200 f/4-5.6 zoom. Blech! But no regrets, I sold it for as much as I bought it for...

Wait, there maybe one regrettable purchase: I got a 135 f/2.8 AiS quite few years ago. Tossing up between that one and the 105 I decided to get the 135, since I already had the 85. Great performer, very compact, nothing wrong with it whatsoever. That was in the 35mm age. Today, after the 1.5 inflation, I wish I had gone for the 105. Then again, maybe I just have to rediscover it for the new format...

Cheers
Steffen

[mchampio]

A few people in this thread have commented on camera bags that ran out of room.

I have just spent a frustrating lunchtime trying to replace my 20 year old Lowepro mini mag deluxe.
I have a D70, 18-70, 70-300G and an SB-600. This isn't much gear, compared to a lot of the more wealthy (or poorer) members of this group.
My only requirements were: all the stuff fitted and I wanted to be able to lift the D70 with 18-70 in and out of the bag

I tried to stuff this gear into the Lowepro AW 2, AW 3, Off Road, Off Trail and the new Mini Mag AW, just like it shows in the pictures on the Lowepro site.
I came to the conclusion that the camera, flash and lenses in the pictures on the Lowepro site are definitely not made by Nikon!

So I walked out with my trusty old bag, which at least presents a less tempting target for theft.

[Steffen]

I came to the conclusion that the camera, flash and lenses in the pictures on the Lowepro site are definitely not made by Nikon!

I've been hunting for a combined photo/laptop backpack for the last few weeks, and came across the Lowepro CompuTrekker series. The marketing blurb promises room for "pro SLR's with battery grip", but the backpacks simply don't have enough depth for my D2H. I ended up ordering a Tamrac, that has the full 6 inches, and still comes with a laptop pocket. Expecting delivery any day now...

Cheers
Steffen.

[Mal]

Nikon CP5700 - I tried to convience myself that this was a DSLR, mainly because I could not come up with enough money to buy the D70.

Well it only took six months with the CP5700 before I realised my mistake and took the plunge and bought the D70. Thankfully I was able to offload the CP5700 to someone who thought it was the bee's knees and was willing to pay a good price for it!

[birddog114]

Nikon CP5700 - I tried to convience myself that this was a DSLR, mainly because I could not come up with enough money to buy the D70.

Well it only took six months with the CP5700 before I realised my mistake and took the plunge and bought the D70. Thankfully I was able to offload the CP5700 to someone who thought it was the bee's knees and was willing to pay a good price for it!

So another victim with your CP5700 he/ she might off load it for the D200 soon

[MattC]

Mal,

You are lucky. You managed to sell yours. My CP5700 died before the arrival of my D70. Great little camera but the shutter lag had me howling at times. BTW, my CP5700 cost more than the D70 kit.

My most disappointing camera related purchase is the 70-300G. I learnt real quick that you get what you pay for.
My best bargain is probably the 50/1.8. Great bang for the buck, but unfortunately never used these days. I bought a 50/1.4 only a few weeks after buying the 50/1.8.
My most valued purchase? That would be a toss up between my tripod and SB800 for their ability to open up more shooting opportunities.

Cheers