There is a saying that’ You can never have too many cameras’. While I’m guilty of practicing this, there comes a time when where a good Spring cleanout is needed.
The first to go was the SQ-Ai. The battery holder design quirk was starting to annoy me and I got myself an earlier SQ body that takes a single battery, to replace it. The other problem was the 40mm f/4. With the fixed lens hood, it was just too bulky to carry around in the new downsized Tenba DNA9 slim bag I had just moved to. Then there was the CD metering turret, which I can’t remember the last time I used, so it just made sense to make a working camera with all these and a spare unwanted 120 and polaroid back, and move it on.
To replace the 40mm lens, I found a mint 50mm PS f/3.5 from Japan. The FOV is not as wide at the old 40mm, but at only 75mm in diameter, is similar in size to the 80mm and 150mm lenses and all of these fit into my new bag. The other advantage is that I can now fit filters to the 50mm. Something that wasn’t possible to do with my B.Way filter system.
I also sold the second spare Bronica Speed grip that came with the SQ body. This sold well and recovered about a third of the cost of the SQ body, so I was pleased with that.
The other camera to go was my Nikon D80 and the Sigma 17-70mm APO zoom. I got this new in 2006 and is the camera that got me back into photography again. The last time I used this on a regular basis was in 2013. With the acquisition of the Fuji X100V last year, having two digital cameras didn’t make sense, So that was moved on as well.
So what’s filled the space by clearing these two out…….?