Possibly slicing something.

I guess I'm a "boomerang collector."

In 1966, I saw a Werra 1 East German camera on display at U.S. Army Intelligence School in Baltimore. It was part of stuff taken from a DDR agent. Months later, assigned to Washington, DC, I found the same camera in stores for $30 and bought one. I sold it years later to a guy who was dating some gal with the last name "Werra."

Now, YEARS later, I got one off eBay for about $30.

In 1971 I was working in a small camera store in Santa Barbara and spotted a cheap little USSR "Smena" 35mm camera. It launched my interest in 'Russian' cameras and resulted -eventually- in my first magazine article in Modern Photography, titled "From Russia With Lens." It got tossed some time later, but I bought on on eBay.

Boomerang!

Have you checked eBay for some of that 79's gear values? It's "been discovered," especially the lenses, by the bokeh crowd.

Oh! You have a Lytro too!!!

[Joke]

My flawed plan is: "Is it worth putting on eBay?"

If YES, do it. But I often can't find the time.

If NO, donate it.

Case in point: I have two 14MP Fuji bridge cameras with zooms from wide to either 250mm (equiv) or 500mm.

I see them for $25 -or best offer. By the time eBay/PayPal gets a cut, I box it up and haul to UPS, it is not worth my time.

However, my old 1970's lenses was a different story. But selling something for $25 is a waste of time.

Donate the stuff. The charity may only sell it for $3, but it gets used and is not ewasted.

"There is something about a [fill in the blank] that makes me grab for it, often leaving newer, more expensive cameras at home."

That is the essence of my question.

In my broadcasting world, I also am a "pro," still making a living with my voice, writing and editing skills.
In an upcoming book podcasting, I make suggestions on microphones and studio setups based on what has worked for ME for 40 years. As with our photojournalist friend, showing what works reliably for me just might help another person make a better choice for them.

For example, as many of my interviews are recorded on location, I do NOT use a so-called "studio mic." I use an "ENG" [electronic news gathering] mic with better durability, built in wind and "pop" filters and an extended handle. Studio mics are meant to be used in a noise-reduced studio and not touched.

A lot of wannabee podcasters spent too much money on a studio mic AND HAVE NO STUDIO! They have a noisy bedroom.

So my advice on what works for me is a strong suggestion. It is not about my career, but passing on information based on hard fought experience is worth a bit of consideration. This applies to gardeners, woodworkers, cooks, auto enthusiasts and anything else where you sometimes learn the hard way best practices.

Somewhere, I clipped out an image of a seriously wounded soldier in courtyard clinging to the cassock of a priest. I know it was South America, but not sure where. Any chance it was your photo?

That's a bit past my level of handiness. However I had good results with EndlessOS and Fedora.

Remarkable ability to "see" what was around him.

Stepping away from comparing specs, is there a camera that you just like?

It could be ease of use, results, handling, fun to use or any of those and more. It may even be a camera that you return to even when, by some measures, it is obsolete.

My 2012 Pentax X-5 "Superzoom" 16 MP bridge camera is one. I was surprised they were still going for around $120 when most others from that time were $30.

Fast handling, easy control, but not much manual exposure options and a decent lens. It does have some visual highlight/shadow warnings that are handy in the less-than-perfect EVF. More than once I've returned to it, or rediscovered shots taken with it that I liked.

Thoughts?

Pretty hard to compose when only looking at a screen outdoors.

There used to be someone here who ended each post here with "I wake up in the morning and I'm feelin' good, because I stretch out my arms and I don't hit wood!"

IF you have a spare aging Windows PC, it is now easier than ever to install a 100% free OS with ton of 100% free apps, including "office" types and quite a few photo apps. Linux does not run Windows apps natively.

For non-enthuiasts, try EndlessOS. Install the basic version and then pick and choose the "flatpak" apps that install with a click. The "full" version has a lot of educational stuff for kids you my not want.

You could hand Endless to a new user and they might think it was Windows.

One click up is Fedora Workstation. Same apps, but a bit more responsive.

With so few people using non-zoom lenses, some might think "prime" indicates best quality!

"Fixed" is short for "fixed focal length," which if used along with the 100mm, should accurately describe the lens.

Of course, if you have never used anything but zooms and grew up with them, the whole concept is new.