Earlier this year, I listed my Q2 Monochrom for sale, but balked at selling it when someone actually contacted.
Now, several months later, I still have the camera, but I have used it once since that decision to keep it.
So, my mind tells me I should list it again. After all, any digital camera can shoot B&W and I shoot B&W film with my film cameras. And while I do like the Q, I don't think it's worth the money for what it is, generally speaking. Only the fact that mine is Monochrom was a rationale for keeping it.
johnvanr wrote:
Earlier this year, I listed my Q2 Monochrom for sale, but balked at selling it when someone actually contacted.
Now, several months later, I still have the camera, but I have used it once since that decision to keep it.
So, my mind tells me I should list it again. After all, any digital camera can shoot B&W and I shoot B&W film with my film cameras. And while I do like the Q, I don't think it's worth the money for what it is, generally speaking. Only the fact that mine is Monochrom was a rationale for keeping it.
Invert this ... and that's where I am about buying a Q2M.
I think that with specialty cameras (i.e. my M246, etc.), you have to look at them in a different light than a value proposition. In the case of lenses, I've got my M 135/3.4 APO. I shoot it like almost never. And yet, I don't want to sell it because of how much I regard what it does / can do for when I do use it. Having it in my hip pocket provides a different value than $$$ alone does.
At the end of the day, I think your evaluation of value for specialty items, such as this should be measured in terms of joy that it brings you vs. $$$. Mainstream tools vs. specialty tools will always have a differentiated "value" proposition ... such, that if trying to use the mainstream yardstick against the specialty tool, it never "measures up".
Imo, if there is something that converting the Q2M into something else will be an uptick in the joy you get from something different from the Q2M, therein lies the advantage of selling the Q2M. If it is just the monetary conversion alone ... yeah, that yardstick can leave you a bit ambiguous about whether to keep or sell.
Been in this situation many times. Kept a piece of gear "just because", even though I rarely used it. Better to sell and use the funds for something else or at least clear up the clutter. It is not a heirloom mechanical watch that will go up in value.
johnvanr wrote:
Earlier this year, I listed my Q2 Monochrom for sale, but balked at selling it when someone actually contacted.
Now, several months later, I still have the camera, but I have used it once since that decision to keep it.
So, my mind tells me I should list it again. After all, any digital camera can shoot B&W and I shoot B&W film with my film cameras. And while I do like the Q, I don't think it's worth the money for what it is, generally speaking. Only the fact that mine is Monochrom was a rationale for keeping it.
Well, if you bought the Q2M just because you like B&W images, then any other digital or film body can do that, so you can sell it without remorse. If you bought it because it captures B&W images than are different and are arguably better than B&W film and converted digital color images, you will regret selling it.
johnvanr wrote:
Earlier this year, I listed my Q2 Monochrom for sale, but balked at selling it when someone actually contacted.
Now, several months later, I still have the camera, but I have used it once since that decision to keep it.
...
Others?
Been there done that, twice. The first time I regretted selling my Q2M, so I bought another. After a time with the 2nd Q2M, I regretted buying it. It wasn't the voodo BW magic I was expecting. I sold the the 2nd Q2 a few months ago, I still don't regret it.
What I discovered, for me, was the lack of being able to edit no more than contrast & exposure levels in post. Converting a color image to BW was far more flexible being able to adjust the RGB mix/levels in addition to contrast & exposure. And, with a good camera like a Nikon Zf, pretty much any Fuji camera, and many more brands/models, one can fiddle with in camera adjustments to get the look you want. With a Q2M you need a set of colored filters. But if you still didn't get the look you were hoping for, there is less ability in post to "edit to taste".
I now have a Nikon Zf, Fuji X-T10, a Ricoh GR III and a handful of lenses. I have about the same amount of money tied up in all of that, as I did with the Q2M. The gear I have now gives me a lot of flexibility for different use cases, more-so than the Q2M. And all those cameras are a heck of a lot for fun to shoot with.
Put it in your closet for a year. If during that one year you don't reach for it, it is time to sell. If the prospect of losing value during that one year bothers you, you are ready to sell it now.
I don’t have mine anymore because I got frustrated with the shit AF which was as good as a mid 80’s Nikon with that little screwdriver. No exaggeration. You need to hold it up to your head, press the shutter half way, wait for the little green rectangles to settle, and press shutter. It’s useless for street so I ended up zone focus it @5.6, but then why not get an M10M and zone that? For static objects like rocks, trees and grandpa it’s great. If you are not using it then sell it. It’s not an M4 so you can keep it in the closet and dig it up years later. I hesitated selling my SL2 in the beginning and now the resale value is so low I won’t bother.
johnvanr wrote:
Earlier this year, I listed my Q2 Monochrom for sale, but balked at selling it when someone actually contacted.
Now, several months later, I still have the camera, but I have used it once since that decision to keep it.
...
Still, I'm afraid I'll regret it.
Lighten your load. Leica is stable as of now, they'll be more Monochroms (sp?) in the future. I'm hard pressed to think of any digital camera I sold, that I still missed after a few months. This includes a 5D II I shot the snot out of, a 5D III I never really gelled with, an M9-P that I sold "too early" ($, could had $$!) and an M10.
I really regret selling my CLA'd M3 DS converted to SS. I won't make that mistake with my M7 - love that camera and I did the VF and ISO reader upgrades to it as well.
Digital comes, digital goes. Film bodies not so much. Say "auf wiedersehen!"
RustyBug wrote:
...In the case of lenses, I've got my M 135/3.4 APO. I shoot it like almost never. And yet, I don't want to sell it because of how much I regard what it does / can do for when I do use it...
The central hotspot would likely only be a problem at the smallest apertures, and, even then, it's easy to minimize. You wouldn't loose anything, since you can still shoot just vis with a Leica/B+W 486 UV/IR Cut or like filter on the lens. And not only do you get the deep mono look with high cut-off filters, any color filter on the warm side of the spectrum will give you a different, softer look with some IR pollution. It could reignite your passion for the camera or it could be waste of time, but I think you'd be more likely to recover the cost of the conversion when selling that camera than with a cheaper mirrorless.
I would lean towards sell in this case. One of the biggest things that I learned when I began downsizing my collection was that it made no difference if I lost the capabilities a particular camera offered to me if I never used them. Plus, once I figured this out, those cameras I didn't keep went to homes where they were used more and now live better lives, and what I got from their sale went towards things that helped me enjoy photography more now that I knew what I wanted better.
