Originally posted by MRRiley An unused LX is like an undriven Ferrari.... A WASTE OF POTENTIAL!
Yes! My humble perspective...
I made a decision a long while back that it is OK if I collect, but it is NOT OK if I do not use what I collect. That simply brings no joy to anyone.
I have a 1957 Asahi AP in condition 9. Less than 20,000 units ever made. This one broke in 1960, and was never used after that. It is so "new" that it still needs to be fully broken in. I repaired it and it is now my vintage daily driver. Seriously. And I LOVE that camera. It is as prosaic as it gets, and there is no hiding. Either YOU did something right or YOU didn't. Forget complaining about what the camera did.
I also have a 1958 Asahi "S." Condition 9+ Very rare at less than 5,000 units ever made. I got it for $150.00. Dumb luck. I've run about 12 rolls through it this year alone.
I like the concept of "treat it like it's the only one you will ever own." That fits perfectly with where I am with this. When I take a camera into the collection, it is with a commitment. The commitment is that I will always keep it in good repair, and that I will always use it. More than one person has alluded to the fact here that the former is largely dependent upon the latter, and I can tell you that that is absolutely true. I've sold some cameras recently because I was not using them.
Your camera is beautiful... but it's beauty derives in greatest part from its function. If we did not know and appreciate what it can do, and had no concept of what a camera is and does, there is nothing about it that is inherently beautiful. Actually, quite to the contrary, it is an odd looking contraption.
It's a camera. Use it. If you cannot bear to deflower it, then sell it to someone for more than you paid and leverage the profit to get a decent user with more in the way of accessories and or lenses. Nothing wrong with that.
woof!