D7 Focus Speed Poll After Upgrade

I asked a lot of questions yesterday about the d7 vs. d7UG vs D7i -- thanks for the responses.

For those of you that upgraded your D7 to the optional firmware, what increase in focus speed, and focus accuracy did you get?

Is it really 50% faster, and does the camera's responsiveness really seem better?

I'm still debating between the cameras on my short list (which includes the d7 and d7i)

Thanks.
--
Jim C.

why are you debating between the d7 and d7i? the d7 has been discontinued and the stores that still have them charge more for it then the d7i. plus the d7ug costs $40 which as far as i know minolta isn't even selling anymore.

just get the d7i

john

Jim Cockfield said:

I asked a lot of questions yesterday about the d7 vs. d7UG vs D7i
-- thanks for the responses.

For those of you that upgraded your D7 to the optional firmware,
what increase in focus speed, and focus accuracy did you get?

Is it really 50% faster, and does the camera's responsiveness
really seem better?

I'm still debating between the cameras on my short list (which
includes the d7 and d7i)

Thanks.
--
Jim C.

Click to expand...

Maybe a tad faster. The histogram made it worth it for me.

Jim Cockfield said:

I asked a lot of questions yesterday about the d7 vs. d7UG vs D7i
-- thanks for the responses.

For those of you that upgraded your D7 to the optional firmware,
what increase in focus speed, and focus accuracy did you get?

Is it really 50% faster, and does the camera's responsiveness
really seem better?

I'm still debating between the cameras on my short list (which
includes the d7 and d7i)

Thanks.
--
Jim C.

Click to expand...

--
Please visit me at:
http://www.caughtintimephotography.com

Jim Cockfield said:

I asked a lot of questions yesterday about the d7 vs. d7UG vs D7i
-- thanks for the responses.

For those of you that upgraded your D7 to the optional firmware,
what increase in focus speed, and focus accuracy did you get?

Is it really 50% faster, and does the camera's responsiveness
really seem better?

I'm still debating between the cameras on my short list (which
includes the d7 and d7i)

Thanks.
--
Jim C.

Click to expand...

Hi Jim,

Bryan has written an excellent article about the D7u vs D7i. See it at

http://webpages.charter.net/bbiggers/DCExperiments/html/d7ug_vs_d7i.html . He owns both cameras and is a good authority.

I have owned a D7 for about a year and upgraded last summer. Although I do not own a D7i, I did try one out for a few days last fall. The focus on the 7i is faster, but only by a hair. I liked the improved grip on the 7i, but other than that I prefer the original camera because of the wider color space and ir capabilities.

The biggest improvement that I found to the upgrade was the addition of a grid and crosshairs plus a histogram and yes, the focus is faster and locks on better than the original.

I hope this is helpfull,
Ray

http://www.pbase.com/xray

Several Reasons:

1. I can buy a used D7 and save a couple of hundred bucks. I could care less about whether it's really new or not (as long as the camera is in mint condition and works like a new one). Used D7i's seem to be hard to come by. My wife already thinks that a new digicam is a waste of money (it's only a hobby, and I don't even have a wide format printer to take advantage of the extra pixels -- I'm using an HP Photosmart 1215 now. The longer zoom, and ability to crop more aggressviely, are the biggest advantages that I see to upgrading my digicam.

2. I'm still not convinced that the D7 doesn't have the better photos because of it's wider color space (once run through the viewer software). There seems to be some debate over this, and I've found some very nice photos from the D7, that look better than the nicest photos I've found from the D7i. This could be the photographers skill (and post processsing) -- I have no way of knowing for sure.

3. The D7 allows IR photography.. The D7i has a built in Hot Mirror Filter to filter out IR. If I want to filter IR, I already own a 49mm Hot Mirror Filter anyway (purchased for an Epson 3000z that I owned a couple of years ago). I've never tried IR photography, but the ability to do so does interest me some. Chances are, this really doesn't make much difference though. But, who knows, I may regret it later on.

If the focus speeds are pretty close, then a used D7 seems like a better choice, for my photography needs -- I really don't take very many photos anyway. My wife and I like to take long weekend drives.. We sometimes just get in the car, and just drive --- with no idea where we'll end up...not even using a map.

We'll often just take a random turn, driving for miles and miles -- and I sometimes stop by the road and take photos of interesting landscapes. I really don't need the features of a D7i for most of my photography.

The biggest problem with the D7 (versus the D7i) that I see, is low light focusing capabilities. I don't know how much (if any) this has improved in the D7 Firmware Upgrades. From what I'm gathering, not much. This is occasionally a problem for me --- as recently as Thanksgiving, I couldn't get a Nikon 950 to focus on a group of people in a dark room (in front of a Christmas tree). I had to turn on the room lights to get the camera to focus.

I suspect that the Minolta D7 is better at this, but have no way of knowing for sure. Anyway, this is RARELY a problem for me.... I take mostly landscape photos -- but faster focus locks would be nice.

john grayson said:

just get the d7i

john

Jim Cockfield said:

I asked a lot of questions yesterday about the d7 vs. d7UG vs D7i
-- thanks for the responses.

For those of you that upgraded your D7 to the optional firmware,
what increase in focus speed, and focus accuracy did you get?

Is it really 50% faster, and does the camera's responsiveness
really seem better?

I'm still debating between the cameras on my short list (which
includes the d7 and d7i)

Thanks.
--
Jim C.

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

--
JimC

Perhaps it's just my imagination, but I keep comparing photos from both cameras in Pbase albums -- and I've been able to find better photos from the D7 (versus the D7i)..... I have no way of knowing whether or not this is the photographers skill, or the wider color space in the D7, used with the Viewer Software.

There seems to be some debate on this in the forum posts that I've read.

Since I take mostly landscapes, the D7 may be a better choice for me(especially since I can save money if I purchase a used one -- used D7i's are hard to come by.

Decisions, Decisions -- I tend to debate and debate my choices of almost any purchase -- down to the last pro and con, before making up my mind.

Thanks for the input.

Ray Brown said:

Jim Cockfield said:

I asked a lot of questions yesterday about the d7 vs. d7UG vs D7i
-- thanks for the responses.

For those of you that upgraded your D7 to the optional firmware,
what increase in focus speed, and focus accuracy did you get?

Is it really 50% faster, and does the camera's responsiveness
really seem better?

I'm still debating between the cameras on my short list (which
includes the d7 and d7i)

Thanks.
--
Jim C.

Click to expand...

Hi Jim,

Bryan has written an excellent article about the D7u vs D7i. See it at

http://webpages.charter.net/bbiggers/DCExperiments/html/d7ug_vs_d7i.html . He owns both cameras and is a good authority.

I have owned a D7 for about a year and upgraded last summer.
Although I do not own a D7i, I did try one out for a few days last
fall. The focus on the 7i is faster, but only by a hair. I liked
the improved grip on the 7i, but other than that I prefer the
original camera because of the wider color space and ir
capabilities.

The biggest improvement that I found to the upgrade was the
addition of a grid and crosshairs plus a histogram and yes, the
focus is faster and locks on better than the original.

I hope this is helpfull,
Ray

http://www.pbase.com/xray

Click to expand...

--
JimC

About 50% faster sounds right. I find that the difference is especially useful for focussing on moving subjects. Without the upgrade, this was very hard to do with the D7. If your subjects are mainly static, I would say it's not worth paying for the upgrade just to get the faster focussing, but it adds a few other nice features.

If you buy a used D7, I would suggest you only do so if the seller offers some kind of warranty or return option. It's a great camera, but it seems to have more than its share of malfunctions, and is expensive to fix. Moreover, unlike most electronic devices, it can seem to work in one setting and have some defect you only discover after a few days of use. (Do a search for "gross overexposure" for one example.)

http://ca.geocities.com/spirope/MinoltaD7.htm

Jim Cockfield said:

I asked a lot of questions yesterday about the d7 vs. d7UG vs D7i
-- thanks for the responses.

For those of you that upgraded your D7 to the optional firmware,
what increase in focus speed, and focus accuracy did you get?

Is it really 50% faster, and does the camera's responsiveness
really seem better?

I'm still debating between the cameras on my short list (which
includes the d7 and d7i)

Thanks.
--
Jim C.

Click to expand...

It isn't 50% faster. OK, some aspect of it might be faster than the original 021 firmware that came with the D7, but most people have upgraded to the 122 firmware which is a free upgrade, and the ug firmware is not 50% faster in any way than the 122 firmware that I can tell. It might be a little bit faster, but not much.

p.s. I also do think that you should get a D7i unless you can get a real good deal on the D7. The focus IS faster on the D7i/hi than the upgraded D7. The D7 could be a good deal if you shoot a lot of landscapes and really don't care that much about the speed; it will be faster than your 990 that you have been living with.
Bryan

Jim Cockfield said:

I asked a lot of questions yesterday about the d7 vs. d7UG vs D7i
-- thanks for the responses.

For those of you that upgraded your D7 to the optional firmware,
what increase in focus speed, and focus accuracy did you get?

Is it really 50% faster, and does the camera's responsiveness
really seem better?

I'm still debating between the cameras on my short list (which
includes the d7 and d7i)

Thanks.
--
Jim C.

Click to expand...

Ray Brown said:

The biggest improvement that I found to the upgrade was the
addition of a grid and crosshairs plus a histogram and yes, the
focus is faster and locks on better than the original.

I hope this is helpfull,
Ray

http://www.pbase.com/xray

Click to expand...

Yes having the grid is great as is having the histogram but the most useful thing to me is the 1/16 and 1/4 power manual flash mode. I use that with an external flash with slave for portraits, flowers, macros etc. I "calibrate" by first shooting with the slaved flash off and look for what looks to be 1 to 2 stops underexposure. That gives me a range of 2 to 3 to one lighting ratio.
--
Howie
http://www.pbase.com/howier My Galleries

D7 is good for infrared photography, the others cannot do it. That's why i got the D7 instead...the D7i was about the same price, but i got a nice refurbished for around 500$

Minolta is still selling the upgrade kit.

john grayson said:

just get the d7i

john

Jim Cockfield said:

I asked a lot of questions yesterday about the d7 vs. d7UG vs D7i
-- thanks for the responses.

For those of you that upgraded your D7 to the optional firmware,
what increase in focus speed, and focus accuracy did you get?

Is it really 50% faster, and does the camera's responsiveness
really seem better?

I'm still debating between the cameras on my short list (which
includes the d7 and d7i)

Thanks.
--
Jim C.

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

--
Daniella
http://www.photosig.com/viewuser.php?id=26918
http://www.pbase.com/zylen
C700 FORUM: http://www.c700uz.com

You can find refurbished often on ubid.com and they cost from 520 to 560$us and come with a 6 months warranty.

Jim Cockfield said:

There seems to be some debate on this in the forum posts that I've
read.

Since I take mostly landscapes, the D7 may be a better choice for
me(especially since I can save money if I purchase a used one --
used D7i's are hard to come by.

Decisions, Decisions -- I tend to debate and debate my choices of
almost any purchase -- down to the last pro and con, before making
up my mind.

Thanks for the input.

Ray Brown said:

Jim Cockfield said:

I asked a lot of questions yesterday about the d7 vs. d7UG vs D7i
-- thanks for the responses.

For those of you that upgraded your D7 to the optional firmware,
what increase in focus speed, and focus accuracy did you get?

Is it really 50% faster, and does the camera's responsiveness
really seem better?

I'm still debating between the cameras on my short list (which
includes the d7 and d7i)

Thanks.
--
Jim C.

Click to expand...

Hi Jim,

Bryan has written an excellent article about the D7u vs D7i. See it at

http://webpages.charter.net/bbiggers/DCExperiments/html/d7ug_vs_d7i.html . He owns both cameras and is a good authority.

I have owned a D7 for about a year and upgraded last summer.
Although I do not own a D7i, I did try one out for a few days last
fall. The focus on the 7i is faster, but only by a hair. I liked
the improved grip on the 7i, but other than that I prefer the
original camera because of the wider color space and ir
capabilities.

The biggest improvement that I found to the upgrade was the
addition of a grid and crosshairs plus a histogram and yes, the
focus is faster and locks on better than the original.

I hope this is helpfull,
Ray

http://www.pbase.com/xray

Click to expand...

--
JimC

Click to expand...

--
Daniella
http://www.photosig.com/viewuser.php?id=26918
http://www.pbase.com/zylen
C700 FORUM: http://www.c700uz.com

Thanks... I just read your article on your web site a few minutes ago..

I didn't realize that the earlier firmware upgrades improved the speed until today... I should have searched more through the previous forum posts before asking this question.

Well.... I'm still trying to decide if I really want to spend a couple of hundred bucks more for a D7i.

I've been seeing used D7's selling for as low as $510.00 bucks in the last few days on Ebay. A D7i would run me about 719.00 (buydig.com).

It's too bad that there aren't any used D7i's around yet!

I hate to spend too much on a digicam (sort of like computers)... I tend to buy the discontinued models to save some bucks... I usually don't see that much improvement in the new ones for what I use them for.

For example: I just bought a used laptop for my wife on Ebay for $212.00:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2080811604

My thinking -- the ONLY thing she's going to use it for is e-mail and internet browsing, so why spend extra cash on a new laptop, if faster CPU's, more RAM, etc., etc, won't help what she'll use it for.

I'll reformat it with Win '98 -- copy over her software and e-mail (I've got a portable USB Drive), and she'll have portable e-mail now when she travels.

What can I say -- I'm cheap (but I prefer to think of it as "frugal")....I just don't like to spend extra money on something, unless I can see clear benefits for what I'm going to use a product for (especially when it comes to electronic products -- they depreciate too rapidly).

Thanks for all of the input.. I'll weigh pros and cons and decide soon.

Bryan Biggers said:

Jim Cockfield said:

I asked a lot of questions yesterday about the d7 vs. d7UG vs D7i
-- thanks for the responses.

For those of you that upgraded your D7 to the optional firmware,
what increase in focus speed, and focus accuracy did you get?

Is it really 50% faster, and does the camera's responsiveness
really seem better?

I'm still debating between the cameras on my short list (which
includes the d7 and d7i)

Thanks.
--
Jim C.

Click to expand...

--

Click to expand...

--
JimC

from 1.2 to 1.8fps in burst mode? it's faster in burst mode but cannot remember how fast..

Peter Spiro said:

If you buy a used D7, I would suggest you only do so if the seller
offers some kind of warranty or return option. It's a great
camera, but it seems to have more than its share of malfunctions,
and is expensive to fix. Moreover, unlike most electronic
devices, it can seem to work in one setting and have some defect
you only discover after a few days of use. (Do a search for
"gross overexposure" for one example.)

http://ca.geocities.com/spirope/MinoltaD7.htm

Jim Cockfield said:

I asked a lot of questions yesterday about the d7 vs. d7UG vs D7i
-- thanks for the responses.

For those of you that upgraded your D7 to the optional firmware,
what increase in focus speed, and focus accuracy did you get?

Is it really 50% faster, and does the camera's responsiveness
really seem better?

I'm still debating between the cameras on my short list (which
includes the d7 and d7i)

Thanks.
--
Jim C.

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

--
Daniella
http://www.photosig.com/viewuser.php?id=26918
http://www.pbase.com/zylen
C700 FORUM: http://www.c700uz.com

P.S. -- I should confess (so that you don't think I'm too cheap)--- I have another old Toshiba Laptop (490CDT) that's broken (keyboard, LCD Display cracked).. It got smashed about a year ago by a rocking chair of all things (it was opened up on the floor underneath the chair).

It has the same battery as the one I bought for her,- and I've got a larger laptop hard drive that I can put in it, along with a faster modem. This weighed on my decision to purchase her this laptop... I specifically looked for one that could use parts (like the battery) from my old, broken laptop.

I'm not really as cheap as I sound -- but, I don't like wasting money either. Heck -- I consider it a bargain at 212.00 (especially considering the extra battery I'll have, etc.). I can't see that she'll need anything faster for quite a while --- and when she does, I'll probably be able to find a similiar deal then on a newer, discontinued model.

Jim Cockfield said:

I didn't realize that the earlier firmware upgrades improved the
speed until today... I should have searched more through the
previous forum posts before asking this question.

Well.... I'm still trying to decide if I really want to spend a
couple of hundred bucks more for a D7i.

I've been seeing used D7's selling for as low as $510.00 bucks in
the last few days on Ebay. A D7i would run me about 719.00
(buydig.com).

It's too bad that there aren't any used D7i's around yet!

I hate to spend too much on a digicam (sort of like computers)... I
tend to buy the discontinued models to save some bucks... I usually
don't see that much improvement in the new ones for what I use them
for.

For example: I just bought a used laptop for my wife on Ebay for
$212.00:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2080811604

My thinking -- the ONLY thing she's going to use it for is e-mail
and internet browsing, so why spend extra cash on a new laptop, if
faster CPU's, more RAM, etc., etc, won't help what she'll use it
for.

I'll reformat it with Win '98 -- copy over her software and e-mail
(I've got a portable USB Drive), and she'll have portable e-mail
now when she travels.

What can I say -- I'm cheap (but I prefer to think of it as
"frugal")....I just don't like to spend extra money on something,
unless I can see clear benefits for what I'm going to use a product
for (especially when it comes to electronic products -- they
depreciate too rapidly).

Thanks for all of the input.. I'll weigh pros and cons and decide
soon.

Bryan Biggers said:

Jim Cockfield said:

I asked a lot of questions yesterday about the d7 vs. d7UG vs D7i
-- thanks for the responses.

For those of you that upgraded your D7 to the optional firmware,
what increase in focus speed, and focus accuracy did you get?

Is it really 50% faster, and does the camera's responsiveness
really seem better?

I'm still debating between the cameras on my short list (which
includes the d7 and d7i)

Thanks.
--
Jim C.

Click to expand...

--

Click to expand...

--
JimC

Click to expand...

--
JimC

why not get a refurbished? they sell for around 550$ on ebay and have a 6 months warranty.

Jim Cockfield said:

It has the same battery as the one I bought for her,- and I've got
a larger laptop hard drive that I can put in it, along with a
faster modem. This weighed on my decision to purchase her this
laptop... I specifically looked for one that could use parts (like
the battery) from my old, broken laptop.

I'm not really as cheap as I sound -- but, I don't like wasting
money either. Heck -- I consider it a bargain at 212.00
(especially considering the extra battery I'll have, etc.). I
can't see that she'll need anything faster for quite a while ---
and when she does, I'll probably be able to find a similiar deal
then on a newer, discontinued model.

Jim Cockfield said:

I didn't realize that the earlier firmware upgrades improved the
speed until today... I should have searched more through the
previous forum posts before asking this question.

Well.... I'm still trying to decide if I really want to spend a
couple of hundred bucks more for a D7i.

I've been seeing used D7's selling for as low as $510.00 bucks in
the last few days on Ebay. A D7i would run me about 719.00
(buydig.com).

It's too bad that there aren't any used D7i's around yet!

I hate to spend too much on a digicam (sort of like computers)... I
tend to buy the discontinued models to save some bucks... I usually
don't see that much improvement in the new ones for what I use them
for.

For example: I just bought a used laptop for my wife on Ebay for
$212.00:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2080811604

My thinking -- the ONLY thing she's going to use it for is e-mail
and internet browsing, so why spend extra cash on a new laptop, if
faster CPU's, more RAM, etc., etc, won't help what she'll use it
for.

I'll reformat it with Win '98 -- copy over her software and e-mail
(I've got a portable USB Drive), and she'll have portable e-mail
now when she travels.

What can I say -- I'm cheap (but I prefer to think of it as
"frugal")....I just don't like to spend extra money on something,
unless I can see clear benefits for what I'm going to use a product
for (especially when it comes to electronic products -- they
depreciate too rapidly).

Thanks for all of the input.. I'll weigh pros and cons and decide
soon.

Bryan Biggers said:

Jim Cockfield said:

I asked a lot of questions yesterday about the d7 vs. d7UG vs D7i
-- thanks for the responses.

For those of you that upgraded your D7 to the optional firmware,
what increase in focus speed, and focus accuracy did you get?

Is it really 50% faster, and does the camera's responsiveness
really seem better?

I'm still debating between the cameras on my short list (which
includes the d7 and d7i)

Thanks.
--
Jim C.

Click to expand...

--

Click to expand...

--
JimC

Click to expand...

--
JimC

Click to expand...

--
Daniella
http://www.photosig.com/viewuser.php?id=26918
http://www.pbase.com/zylen
C700 FORUM: http://www.c700uz.com

I've been keeping an eye out.. none on there right now (or under Minolta's online store refurbished section) ... Perhaps after Christmas we'll see some more listed, thanks to all of the returns.

I suspect that if I'm patient for just a little while longer, I'll find pretty good deals on refurbished 7's and 7i's.

Daniella said:

Jim Cockfield said:

It has the same battery as the one I bought for her,- and I've got
a larger laptop hard drive that I can put in it, along with a
faster modem. This weighed on my decision to purchase her this
laptop... I specifically looked for one that could use parts (like
the battery) from my old, broken laptop.

I'm not really as cheap as I sound -- but, I don't like wasting
money either. Heck -- I consider it a bargain at 212.00
(especially considering the extra battery I'll have, etc.). I
can't see that she'll need anything faster for quite a while ---
and when she does, I'll probably be able to find a similiar deal
then on a newer, discontinued model.

Jim Cockfield said:

I didn't realize that the earlier firmware upgrades improved the
speed until today... I should have searched more through the
previous forum posts before asking this question.

Well.... I'm still trying to decide if I really want to spend a
couple of hundred bucks more for a D7i.

I've been seeing used D7's selling for as low as $510.00 bucks in
the last few days on Ebay. A D7i would run me about 719.00
(buydig.com).

It's too bad that there aren't any used D7i's around yet!

I hate to spend too much on a digicam (sort of like computers)... I
tend to buy the discontinued models to save some bucks... I usually
don't see that much improvement in the new ones for what I use them
for.

For example: I just bought a used laptop for my wife on Ebay for
$212.00:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2080811604

My thinking -- the ONLY thing she's going to use it for is e-mail
and internet browsing, so why spend extra cash on a new laptop, if
faster CPU's, more RAM, etc., etc, won't help what she'll use it
for.

I'll reformat it with Win '98 -- copy over her software and e-mail
(I've got a portable USB Drive), and she'll have portable e-mail
now when she travels.

What can I say -- I'm cheap (but I prefer to think of it as
"frugal")....I just don't like to spend extra money on something,
unless I can see clear benefits for what I'm going to use a product
for (especially when it comes to electronic products -- they
depreciate too rapidly).

Thanks for all of the input.. I'll weigh pros and cons and decide
soon.

Bryan Biggers said:

Jim Cockfield said:

I asked a lot of questions yesterday about the d7 vs. d7UG vs D7i
-- thanks for the responses.

For those of you that upgraded your D7 to the optional firmware,
what increase in focus speed, and focus accuracy did you get?

Is it really 50% faster, and does the camera's responsiveness
really seem better?

I'm still debating between the cameras on my short list (which
includes the d7 and d7i)

Thanks.
--
Jim C.

Click to expand...

--

Click to expand...

--
JimC

Click to expand...

--
JimC

Click to expand...

--
Daniella
http://www.photosig.com/viewuser.php?id=26918
http://www.pbase.com/zylen
C700 FORUM: http://www.c700uz.com

Click to expand...

--
JimC

Done the update to firmware 2.0 and it's really a lot faster in normal good light conditions. The extra's you get are very usefull. The userinterface changes also. I'm very happy with the update to 2.0. The update 21 to 22
brought me no changes exept for flashphotos.

Jim Cockfield said:

I asked a lot of questions yesterday about the d7 vs. d7UG vs D7i
-- thanks for the responses.

For those of you that upgraded your D7 to the optional firmware,
what increase in focus speed, and focus accuracy did you get?

Is it really 50% faster, and does the camera's responsiveness
really seem better?

I'm still debating between the cameras on my short list (which
includes the d7 and d7i)

Thanks.
--
Jim C.

Click to expand...

It might be a tad faster but it still stinks!

Jim Cockfield said:

I asked a lot of questions yesterday about the d7 vs. d7UG vs D7i
-- thanks for the responses.

For those of you that upgraded your D7 to the optional firmware,
what increase in focus speed, and focus accuracy did you get?

Is it really 50% faster, and does the camera's responsiveness
really seem better?

I'm still debating between the cameras on my short list (which
includes the d7 and d7i)

Thanks.
--
Jim C.

Click to expand...

Member said:

What can I say -- I'm cheap (but I prefer to think of it as
"frugal")....I just don't like to spend extra money on something,
unless I can see clear benefits for what I'm going to use a product
for (especially when it comes to electronic products -- they
depreciate too rapidly).

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Being frugal is a good thing. You hardly ever become rich by living like a rich person. With electronics, you can save a lot of money and/or get better stuff by your method.

Somebody might spend $3000 on a brand new laptop. It may last for about two to three years, or at a price of $1000 to $1500/yr. Alternatively, you might buy a $500 laptop each year. The first year, it may be twice as slow as the expensive one. The next year it may be equal in performance to the expensive one. Finally, in the third year, you can probably buy a $500 laptop that will outperform the previously expensive one. So, you averaged the same performance (slower, then equal, than faster) for half the price. You also have backup laptops or were able to sell the previous year's model for some amount of money (or, like you said, use batteries and other parts from it). In addition, if you lose it or break it, you didn't lose as much money (just accelerated your next purchase).

Of course, I can't talk. I just bought the 7Hi. I can be frugal with a lot of things, but I tend to go overboard on whatever my current interest may be. I used to buy expensive computer equipment too, but I got sick of the loss of value.

I'll probably get that way with digital cameras as well, but I'm too new to them (been around computers for a long time, though). I went from a 35mm point-and-shoot to a point-and-shoot digital (Canon ELPH S110, which I still have), to the 7Hi. I hope the 7Hi will last me for a couple of years, though, but I'll see.