The last time you were utterly disappointed with a purchase?

smash

For me it's the Sony Cyber-Shot HX300 with the 50x Optical Zoom.

I wanted a camera I could take out and about when I didn't feel like lugging around an SLR and a few lenses.

The criteria was simple:

• Good zoom.
• Good image quality.
• HD video

It was slightly more expensive than others in it's range but it's been getting good reviews for a dropped a few hundred on it, and I really wish now that I'd just bought a new lens for the SLR instead.

The photos are noisy even at iso100 with great lighting conditions and the image stabilisation on the longest zoom just doesn't do it's job: tripod definitely needed.

Like a dummy I forgot my memory card to show some sample pics but I'll upload them later. Until then, what's your most disappointing purchase?

Mister Vain

Hama ND filter that I bought from Amazon. The quality from it is rather poor.

Also he 50mm 1.8. Granted its a very cheap lens, but I just hate the focusing on it. It's very noisy too.

flyingsnail

A set of pixel king flash triggers, they always seemed to be going to sleep and have to be reset.

Alanstrainor

I don't know if utterly disappointed is how I would describe this....but a Samsung NX1000 M4/3 camera. I bought it for traveling around South America, the idea being that it was small and gave me manual controls. However, I just didn't really like it...I missed having a view finder an awful lot, and although it was small it still wasn't pocketable....it did take good images, and served it's purpose, but I wish I had just brought my 60d!

inkedpt

Sigma 50mm f/1.4 art! Some swear by this lens but I must have gotten the worst copy ever from the assembly line. Soft in all apertures with horrible focus problems that couldn't be solved neither with the usb dock or micro-adjustments in camera.
Money back... hello canon

smash

Here's a few samples from the HX300

Sample 1 - Parrot in tree - 0 zoom
Sample 1 - Parrot in tree - 50 zoom

Sample 2 - Parrot Chicks in tree - 0 zoom
Sample 2 - Parrot Chicks in tree - 50 zoom

Sample 3 - Mountain - 0 zoom
Sample 3 - Auditorium on Mountain - 50 zoom
Sample 3 - House on beach - 50 zoom

They're all large images so you'll see the quality at 100%.

Comparison image from an 8 year old Sony DSC H-5 - Now the settings are different but there's a very noticeable difference in quality.

dirtyghettokid

first major disappointment was back in 2005. i was wanting to upgrade my fuji finepix 1.3mp bridge cam. guy in the camera shop sold me a sony point & shoot. the spec looked impressive, but when i used it, it was awful! i normally hang onto cameras for years before upgrading, but after i bought that, i sold it within a few weeks, and bought another fuji bridge cam.

i've bought disappointing cheap filters.. but not that big of a deal. but one massive disappointment for me, was buying the 50mm f/1.4 & then suffering through front focus issues. also my 5d2 depresses me from an AF point of view.. but not enough to abandon it altogether.

.Longshanks.

A tilt shift lens. I really should have just hired one for a week or so instead of buying it. Within a week I realised it was - to me - a one trick pony and I quickly sold it shortly after

M.J.M.C

.Longshanks. wrote: »

A tilt shift lens. I really should have just hired one for a week or so instead of buying it. Within a week I realised it was - to me - a one trick pony and I quickly sold it shortly after

Did you lose much on the resell?

dirtyghettokid

.Longshanks. wrote: »

A tilt shift lens. I really should have just hired one for a week or so instead of buying it. Within a week I realised it was - to me - a one trick pony and I quickly sold it shortly after

those things are ridiculous money too! very cool for a couple of shots i'd say, but you're right. better off renting for a weekend!

.Longshanks.

M.J.M.C wrote: »

Did you lose much on the resell?

I bought it used and sold it for a 10% loss. No big deal. But yeah - hire would have been better. I took this shot and then suddenly realized every other shot was going to be something very similar....(since I don't architectural shot or food macros)

Bokeh

Lyaiera

.Longshanks. wrote: »

I bought it used and sold it for a 10% loss. No big deal. But yeah - hire would have been better. I took this shot and then suddenly realized every other shot was going to be something very similar....(since I don't architectural shot or food macros)

So not a one trick pony at all. Just not the right tool for you.

.Longshanks.

Ahem.....yeah I kinda already acknowledged that above

almorris

iphone 4. Over hyped to the max.

swingking

Bought a time interval timer for my DSLR for time-lapse.

Still haven't used it to make a timelapse.

smash

swingking wrote: »

Bought a time interval timer for my DSLR for time-lapse.

Still haven't used it to make a timelapse.

I've used mine twice in around 6 years.

dinneenp

smash wrote: »

I've used mine twice in around 6 years.

That's a massive time-lapse!;)

LUZ

swingking wrote: »

Bought a time interval timer for my DSLR for time-lapse.

Still haven't used it to make a timelapse.

i was going to download magic lantern to do the same thing, 2 years later..havent yet... saved money i guess!!

Monkey Sampan

The 50mm 1.8 from Canon, nearly made me quit as it was my first lens and is the only one I've ever bought brand new.

Only got three months use out of it as it fell from my bag and cracked into two pieces, I was so angry at myself that almost didn't take the leap into digital


Since then I've bought a good few M42 primes and have just started on FD lenses after picking up a lens doctor adapter, which I much prefer to the AF happy meal lens.


Haven't been disappointed in anything else since as I would put a lot of research in first before parting with cash and nearly always buy used.

fret_wimp2

LowePro slingshot. When it arrived I found the strap went across my left shoulder and not my right like every other bag i ever used. As a right handed person it feels un-natural not to have the strap over my right shoulder. The strap was sewn on so no option to swap it over. Tried it for a day and was so uncomfortable that I sent it back.