may be I bought something I didn`t need? in the last 12 months or maybe the money could have been spent better on a different bit of kit?

[spudhead]

So I waited a what seemed like a life time for the a9iii, well it came and did not make any sense to me so I went feet first for the a1, possibly the lowest cost I have seen it through Panamoz. So the fact is the a1 is ok no big earth changing moments so far, its does not do most things any better than the a9 mk1 I have, plus points mp count and menus easier, I can shoot all the old screw drive Minolta prime glass on the lea-5 and shoot crop at 21mp. So the question is would I have been happier with a nice fast Prime lens? possibly, but the 300 2.8 looks nice on paper but there is not much gain at 600 end with 2x which I dont think is great anyway. Yes primes render nice etc but to have made a real difference I guess one of the big primes 400 2.8 might have been the way forward for me. So not really regret on the a1 but as always good glass makes a lot of difference in my eyes. So have you bought something you didn`t really need or thought I should have bought something else instead? all replies welcome

 

[Landshark99]

There have been a number of those kinds of purchases in a list of interests. When it comes to Sony the largest mistake was buying an A7SII body with an EPZ 18-110mm F4 G OOS power zoom lens thinking now that I was semi retired I would get into video in a bigger way. All i shot was some video at my younger daughter's wedding, that was no different than shooting it with any other camera i owned at the time. Never used either again and sold both at a a sizable loss.

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

Sony's 10-18mm f4 OSS lens: at the time I bought it, it was the gold standard for anyone vlogging with the APSC camera. By the time I had set aside all the funds for it and purchased it, the Coronapocalypse had ruined most of my travel plans and my interest in making videos for youtube rapidly evaporated. So yeah, that turned out to be a purchase I regret.

Maybe I should have traded in my a6400 and added those (10-18mm) funds towards an A6600 instead... but then I'd regret that when the A7C came out. G.A.S. never ends...

BTW @Landshark99 wowzers that's an expensive lens!

 

[Uncle Kevriano]

Your experience with the A1, plus my own thoughts about how much I really need a faster AF given my results in general, have actually put me off of buying one now. I am still going to look at the Sigma 500, but, it's close focus isn't as good as the 200 600, though it was originally rumoured to be 300mm, it's 10 times that, so I don't think i will gain much, other than weight saving, and may compromise my hit rate by all accounts of it's AF performance on the R system cameras.
To answer your actual question about failed purchases, as such, then not specifically cameras or lenses. I've always been very careful as I do not have the finances to make big mistakes, so have always done a lot of research first. The biggest waste was a gimbal head, quite how anyone shoots birds in flight with one is beyond me. I sold it for half of what it cost.
Outside of photography I have one big one, which was an Audi TT, that was great for a while, but deteriorated badly and had some very well covered up issues in the end. I lost 3.5k on that in a year.

 

[spudhead]

Your experience with the A1, plus my own thoughts about how much I really need a faster AF given my results in general, have actually put me off of buying one now. I am still going to look at the Sigma 500, but, it's close focus isn't as good as the 200 600, though it was originally rumoured to be 300mm, it's 10 times that, so I don't think i will gain much, other than weight saving, and may compromise my hit rate by all accounts of it's AF performance on the R system cameras.
To answer your actual question about failed purchases, as such, then not specifically cameras or lenses. I've always been very careful as I do not have the finances to make big mistakes, so have always done a lot of research first. The biggest waste was a gimbal head, quite how anyone shoots birds in flight with one is beyond me. I sold it for half of what it cost.
Outside of photography I have one big one, which was an Audi TT, that was great for a while, but deteriorated badly and had some very well covered up issues in the end. I lost 3.5k on that in a year.

I dont regret the A1 but I think I talked myself into it in the end because the a9111 was so far off what I was hoping for, so the A1 was a little knee jerk, for sure I could not have bought it cheaper than I did, but honestly I don`t use many of the features a lot of people find important. low rate is my go too and I don`t use tracking really, I have all I need set up on buttons and I like the dials, so it could be age but if it works leave it alone. We all are chasing reach for birds and wildlife so glass is still very important and it shows on here when you see what the big primes can do for many of the lucky few

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

My a7iv has made me a big fan of APS-C

That sounds worse than it is. I do love my a7iv and I do feel a sense of pride in owning such a great full-frame camera. One thing I know, for sure, is that there are pros that do not spurn this camera (other than those who buy the much cheaper a7iii, of course) and whatever may be wrong with the photographs, that'll be me, not the a7iv.

Six months ago, I was in a situation of having a decent selection of kit centred on an a6500. My selection of lenses, from 17 to 180, covered by two zooms and a selection of primes along the way, was perfect for the kind of concert portrait photography I do. It was not at all bad on a holiday too.

So... GAS decreed more. The a6700, late in this country, was just around the corner. I decided to go full-frame and set my sights on the a7iv, hopefully for very long-term ownership.

But, by loosing the crop factor, I set myself back a couple of years on lens reach, both at the wide and telephoto ends. Hardly a surprise: of course I knew that. And that the new lenses would be heavy and expensive.

I think that APS-C permits the collection of super range of lenses at reasonable price. The smaller, lighter-weight cameras are just lovely to hold and use. And any loss of of quality, at least in good light, is minimal.

My a6500 will remain my holiday camera. Mostly with my Tamron APS-C 17-70. I wish I could get a FF f/2.8 equivalent!

But I am enjoying the very superior auto-focus and tracking of my a7iv in the concert hall. I am enjoying being able to go to ISO 3200 and beyond.

And I'm saving up for a 24-70/2.8. I guess it will be the Sony, simply because... weight.

 

[Jccabin]

My a7iv has made me a big fan of APS-C

That sounds worse than it is. I do love my a7iv and I do feel a sense of pride in owning such a great full-frame camera. One thing I know, for sure, is that there are pros that do not spurn this camera (other than those who buy the much cheaper a7iii, of course) and whatever may be wrong with the photographs, that'll be me, not the a7iv.

Six months ago, I was in a situation of having a decent selection of kit centred on an a6500. My selection of lenses, from 17 to 180, covered by two zooms and a selection of primes along the way, was perfect for the kind of concert portrait photography I do. It was not at all bad on a holiday too.

So... GAS decreed more. The a6700, late in this country, was just around the corner. I decided to go full-frame and set my sights on the a7iv, hopefully for very long-term ownership.

But, by loosing the crop factor, I set myself back a couple of years on lens reach, both at the wide and telephoto ends. Hardly a surprise: of course I knew that. And that the new lenses would be heavy and expensive.

I think that APS-C permits the collection of super range of lenses at reasonable price. The smaller, lighter-weight cameras are just lovely to hold and use. And any loss of of quality, at least in good light, is minimal.

My a6500 will remain my holiday camera. Mostly with my Tamron APS-C 17-70. I wish I could get a FF f/2.8 equivalent!

But I am enjoying the very superior auto-focus and tracking of my a7iv in the concert hall. I am enjoying being able to go to ISO 3200 and beyond.

And I'm saving up for a 24-70/2.8. I guess it will be the Sony, simply because... weight.

I have found the Sigma 28-70 f2.8 lens to be a relatively light, sharp lens. Yes, I forego the 24mm focal length, but I usually bring along Sigma’s companion 16-28 f2.8 WA, which is roughly the same size, though it uses a larger filter size: 72 vs 67mm or Sony’s 20mm f1.8 which also fills the gap nicely.