[adpo]

Which lens have you sold that you regret selling the most?
Tell your stories, post your pictures and we'll all mourn the lenses we wish weren't gone

Found myself lying in bed this morning, remembering my old Tokina 80-200 f/2.8. It was a big heavy lens with a really long MFD, all manual focus and some CA issues, but it was a beautiful lens to shoot with, aside from the fact that it was trying to murder my arms with its heft. The image quality I got out of it was wonderful, we had made some beautiful pictures together. It handled much better than the sigma 70-200 i currently own too, now that i think about it.

I regret selling it cause I sold it to the wrong person. Person as a pain the ass to deal with, called himself a "collector", harassed me over some scratches on the tripod collar despite never contacting me for more information about the lens before purchase and i eventually sent him a partial refund to get him to shut up about it. Oh yeah, he never left feedback on the lens either.
As much as i dont miss the pain in my joint, i wish i still had that lens sometimes when i shoot my sigma and at other times, i wish that it had at least gone to someone who could appreciate it as much as i did.

here's a picture from the last time i seriously used the lens, it was for a south asian dance show or something like that

[Digitalis]

My entire* Leica R lens line up, camera bodies included the R-4 to R-8 - I had a more or less complete lens line up from the Leica Elmar-R 15mm f/2.8 ASPH to the Leica R-Telyt 400mm f/2.8 APO . I sold them to a collector in Japan. I could have converted most of them to Pentax K mount easily but I had to sell them to afford to update my Nikon gear, and purchase the Nikkor AF-S 400mm f/2.8G ED VR. I still have enough money left over to buy a 645D but there are several lenses I want to buy with it, notably the new 645 25mm f/4 so i'm still trying to save up for that.

*Of course I kept a copy of the Summilux-R 50mm f/1.4 and Summicron-R 50mm f/2.0 for my 50mm lens collection. I also use a Leica summilux-R 80mm f/1.4 on my canon DSLR because of the squarish bokeh you can get from the canon 85mm f/1.2L, the bokeh becomes squared off because of the rear baffle on the canon EF 85mm f/1.2L - I wish canon would get rid of it.

[8540tomg]

Nothing quite so dramatic as Digitalis in my case.

I’ve only ever sold one of my lenses and as fate would have it I regret it. It was a SMC Pentax M 100/2.8. I got it to use as a portrait lens for my Pentax MX. It was a perfect fit mated to the MX. I took almost all of my best shots of my children with this lens. In any case I sold it to help finance a much more expensive A 100/2.8 macro. I just couldn’t justify, even to myself, having two 100mm lenses. The macro was just as fast, sharper but a lot heavier. It also works well as a portrait lens. There are times when I miss the light weight and rendering of the old M 100/2.8. Maybe someday I pick up another one. I guess if I have only one regret I'm not doing too badly.

Tom G

[interested_observer]

Well, I have 4 lenses that I have acquired that I have not sold as of yet, but wondering if it would be a mistake. They would go a very long way in funding a K5 or K3...

Kit lenses - 18-55 (ver I) and 50-200. These are just kit lenses that I acquired with my K100D, but for some reason, they seem to do much better than what I see from other copies. I really do not use them any longer, so considering letting them go to help someone else.

K 28/f3.5 Shift - Its a big heavy lens. I really like it, and have found other ways to use it, beyond its original intent. I have learned a lot from using it however, I find that I am not using it as much as I anticipated - actually hardly at all. Its a specialty lens, its nice to have, but consumed some $$ to acquire. It has turned into a bookshelf queen. My Contax CZ 28/f2.8 is usually mounted, and I have been stitching a lot with it instead. Its great to shoot the points of the clock (the 12 points + the center) and stitch them together which essentially provides the resolution of a 645, however I have a wonderful panning ballhead (single row) and a nodal ninja (multiple row) so I can easily replicate the multiple stitching.

Super Tak 85/f1.9 M42 - I had been looking for an 85 for several months. Its a wonderful lens in perfect condition (circa 1960). The first time I used it at night - I went to change it for a K mount, I had to fish out the M42/K adapter in the dark with a flashlight. It really did not go so well, as I inadvertently put a finger print on my mirror (easily cleaned). Now I am thinking that an all K mount lens set would work best for the way I shoot - ambient light in the evenings. I found a Contax CZ 85/f2.8 new in box old stock and that should be coming today - being followed by a new mount kit. I am thinking that with a K mount lens would work much better - particularly at night. I do not need the speed - stopped down at f4 on a tripod is just perfect.

So, will I be sorry? I have only acquired, and never sold a lens, but I am finding that there are limits. I am pushing the limits of my K20 (which I never really thought possible) in terms of sensor noise in ambient low light, dynamic range, and lower ISO (80) would be really nice. Being able to disable Dark Frame Subtraction would also be a really nice change. So for once - rather than being lens limited, I am finding myself perhaps sensor constrained - which I find amusing, since I do not think that my skills are that good.

Am I being stupid?

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Last edited by interested_observer; 07-05-2011 at 08:15 AM.

[RioRico]

If I let myself be weighted-down with regrets, I'd be unable to move. My major lens mistake was an overpriced purchase, not a gee-I-wish-I-hadn't sale. But BFD!! (and I don't mean Bad Frog Day). However I've mishandled a few lenses pales in comparison to mishandling myself and other people, thoughtless things I've said, all the interpersonal stuff. Lenses? They don't matter. Living with your actions -- THAT matters.

In other words: don't sweat it.

[luftfluss]

A couple years ago I had a Tamron 28-75. Great lens, although it FF'd a little. However, I had a good copy of the 18-55 kit, and hardly ever used 50-75mm, so therefore only occasionally did I use the Tammy. I sold it.

Now I find that I use that range a lot, and the Tammy goes for about $100 more.

[StephenMerola]

I traded my DA70 for the DA21. I love the 21, but I wish I still had the 70.

[Aristophanes]

My entire* Leica R lens line up, camera bodies included the R-4 to R-8 - I had a more or less complete lens line up from the Leica Elmar-R 15mm f/2.8 ASPH to the Leica R-Telyt 400mm f/2.8 APO . I sold them to a collector in Japan. I could have converted most of them to Pentax K mount easily

The title of the thread is "regret".

Yours is a tragedy.

Convert to k-mount would be a double tragedy.

Perspective people.........perspective

[nater]

Convert to k-mount would be a double tragedy.

Conversion from Leica to K-mount is reversible and nothing is damaged in the process, so where's the tragedy?

[Just1MoreDave]

I bought a camera plus lenses package with the Pentax-F 1.7X AF Adapter, and sold it. I don't think I could use it enough to justify keeping it, but sometimes it would be nice to have.

[henryjing]

A24/2.8, a little bit miss her, though I have only used it for once during the 1 year I owned her...

[Lowell Goudge]

I have no regrets, I have never sold anything, which explains why I have 43 lenses at present

[philippe]

I was so stupid to sell my Leitz M Super-Angulon 21mm F3.4 and, also, a few years later the whole bunch: two Leica M5s and two M Summicrons 35mm + 50 mm (7 elements!) and two M Telyts 90 mm and 200 mm + Visoflex.
I still weep...

Luckily I kept the Bialetti, Illy brings me some consolation...
Leica and Illy, (was) the super combo!

[Aristophanes]

Conversion from Leica to K-mount is reversible and nothing is damaged in the process, so where's the tragedy?

More like a tragicomedy?

(which is what this thread will likely devolve to....seller's remorse)

[kathyk]

I have made many sales of regret, but for the most part with a little work and time, and money, I end up re-buying almost everything. I've been through the cycle more than once on a few lenses.

I had a like-new with box FA*85 and sold it, my current FA*85 does show wear and I don't have the original hood for it, but it's still wonderful.

But I did happen to buy second-hand the anniversary edition of the K10, and sold it. Now I wish I had not, and have not seen another one since, at least not for what I can afford.