Need it. Want it. Gotta have it.

[John Kasaian]

My apologies to Cold Stone Creamery!
So I'm looking at a spare room full of photography gear, much of it I thought I "Need it" but a lot of it just sits and collects dust and I'm unsure whether or not I "Want it" or don't "Want it." I do know that I don't "Gotta have it" but maybe someone else "Gotta have it."
What I should do is wade through it all and see what has the most dust, of course some of this stuff I'm rather attached to.
Case in point: A Wollensak 159mm f/9.5 WA yellow dot I bought years ago from Butch Welch. I have actually used it quite a few times and I like how my pictures come out, but....but...lately I just haven't had the need for something that wide. What use I do find for the Wolly is for table top stuff.
I find it especially difficult when it comes to lenses--I get attached to the lil' guys! I have been able to part with some of my barrel lenses over the years, but only because they've already been replaced with shuttered brothers. I can see the attraction of collecting lenses, but I try to avoid collections since I have too many interests and I don't like being spread out and besides I'm allergic to dust.
How do you decide what to keep and what to sell?

[DanK]

I wish you luck....I'm in the same boat deciding what I need to keep, and what needs to be 'passed on' so it will at least see use....because I doubt I really will use a few, though I might...

But every lens has 'some' potential....and may actually be that perfect lens for that perfect shot, somewhere down the road....kind of the 'have and not need, rather than need and not have' syndrome...

A new dimension all together is pricing the darn things....especially if you know what the lens(es) is(are) capable of....

Again...Good Luck...
Cheers,
Dan

[Daniel Stone]

Of course we don't "need" anything but food, shelter, and some clothes to hide our guts . But when it comes to camera "stuff", I'm mirroring you EXACTLY!

Just when I thought I was going to sell my Nikon kit, thinking I would only shoot MF as my "small" format, I use it when photographing at a friends B/day party last month. Guess what! When those 5 rolls of slides came back from the lab, I fell in love again with the spontaneity, and quick handling of it, and the photographs(or burst of photographs in particular, in rapid succession) it allowed me to make/capture, that's what keeps it in my equipment closet. I might only use it 2-3x a year, but when I really NEED it to make a photograph, it'll be there for me to use.

I've bought and sold a LOT of things over the past 2 years. Many things of which I wish I had kept. Alas, some of those things might never be seen again(like a Blue-Dot Trigor, shoulda kept that one , stupid me thinking a 360 Symmar was sharper, psshhhh...

Live and let learn. Move on is what I plan to do. Its only equipment, not your children(though some here might treat their cameras/lenses like their children, or better !

-Dan

[Steve Hamley]

John,

Before I retired, my philosophy was to buy what I wanted - and I wanted to try classic and modern high end lenses- and later after I tried them out, sell off the ones I found less amenable to my style.

I retired in April 2011 and am not through that my any means, but I have sold some things.

One thing I think about is that those perfect Golden/Gold Dot Dagors and Commercial Ektars without cleaning marks will not come about easily again.

Some people who bought in will not take a loss until their heirs sell off their assets; they'll leave them on a shelf until they die rather than take a loss, just like their ancestors.

Cheers, Steve

[John Kasaian]

One fear I have is that most of my shutters are senior citizens and if a lens needs to go into the shop for a CLA its good to have a spare in a similar focal length.
One spare lens is prudent, two is indulgent, but three or four spare lenses is plum ridiculous, no?

[Mark Woods]

I'm about to sell of duplicate gear. But I know what you guys are speaking about with the lenses. I feel the lenses all have personalities, but that said, I've never taken an image with some of the lenses I bought that were part of the huge Sinar package I initially bought. But I know they're great lenses. ;-)

[dsphotog]

He who LIVES with the most toys wins.

[Brian Ellis]

Here's what I think it comes down to. Let's say you sell something like the Wollensak lens you mentioned (great little lens, I've had two of them). You get around $300 for it. A year from now you're not going to know what happened to the money. But you'll always remember that nice little lens and I almost guarantee that some day in the future you'll wish you had it.

I've sold a lot of photography gear over the years. But the only reason I ever sell anything is to buy something else that I think I'll use more. I never sell just because I haven't used something in a while. That's not to say I never regret a sale - I still wish I had kept one of my 8x10 Deardorffs for example. But in general it seems to work out pretty well - sell only to finance the purchase of some other photography gear that you think you'll actually use. And if there isn't any such thing right now then don't sell anything right now.

[John Kasaian]

If I to recycle any profits back into my photography, it wouldn't be in equipment but film, paper, chemicals and travel.
An interesting idea!
Wolly lens= helicopter ride to St George Reef Lighthouse?
Dagor lens= road trip to Black Canyon of the Gunnison
Anny Speeder= 200 sheets of Fomabrom
Yeah, I could ge used to this!

[Peter Gomena]

I've been thinning the herd lately. Time to divest myself of equipment I'm just not using. Proceeds are going to repairs on the items I do want to use, maybe toward a new . . .

Peter Gomena