For some weird reason, all of my gadgets have started acting up on me ever since I flew them over here. Just last week, my CD drive suddenly disappeared from my laptop... my Palm PDA refuses to hot sync with my computer at the worst possible time... now, to top it off, a traveler's worst gadget nightmare has happened.
My digital camera has apparently kicked the bucket.
I got my Cybershot as a medical school graduation gift from my parents, and it's been a constant travel companion eversince. It's been with me through far and wide, high seas and mountains (not a lot of these, though), good and bad weather, drunk and sober times (yes, this is relevant). I've never had much trouble with it over the past three years and change I've had it - so its demise has come as a complete shocker.
Well, maybe not a complete shocker. It's been doing that flickering LCD thing ever since Aman - which I initially put down to overexposure from the blinding white sands of the beach. I thought it had had it when we were in Anawangin after it got caught in the rain - after my last sunset shot, it flickered and died. Thankfully, it came back to life after I charged it back home, so I thought it was probably just the battery.
I've been going around my adopted city these past two weeks with it in tow, but being a traveler alone makes it tricky to take too many pictures. It seemed alright the few times I brought it out - I was even able to get a picture of me and my landlady at the bed and breakfast I was staying at last week. So imagine my dismay when I tried it out right before I left for a day exploring King's Park the other day (more on that another time).
When I turned it on, I was treated to a laser light show complete with hissing sound effects instead of a functioning LCD and zoom lens. I took out the battery and put it back in, then turned it on - and the retractable lens just peeked at me, moved out halfway, then died. I plugged it into the wall, in an attempt to charge it, but when I turned it on, the anti-red eye orange light blinked several times, the flash went off once - then it died.
It has since then refused to switch on since. Not even for a flicker.
Given labor and repair costs here - which are atrocious - it may be cheaper to throw it out and get a new one. You can imagine just how distressing this is for me - I'm living in a foreign country and just itching to take photos as I explore it for posterity, I am trying to save up and my first paycheck is already accounted for by expenses even before I get it... and this happens! I wasn't planning on a new camera until after a year... only then, I was planning on getting an SLR. So much for that!
Besides that, it feels like I'm saying goodbye to a really good friend. *sigh* (Now you have an idea why I am such a pack rat.)
So long, my little Cybershot! :(
Sunday, July 13, 2008
R.I.P.
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7 comments:
That's too bad. But I agree with you that the cost of repair makes getting a new one a better option. Before you grab yourself a DSLR, I just want to share that Canon is coming out with a relatively inexpensive one soon. Check out cnetasia.com.
Happy weekend!
Shucks. Sorry to hear about that... From my experience, sirain talaga ang Sony cameras, but at least yours lasted this long!
Maybe you can get an SLR on installment. But when you're out with friends, it can be cumbersome to whip out a giant camera just for a "whoo-hoo! Look at us!" shot. Maybe you should just stick to a good point-and-shoot. Plug: I love my Canon Powershot G9. Hehehe.
it surely has served it's purpose valiantly... time to move on to better things... and shots...and there's always plastic...
@em: wowee! cheap SLR! unfortunately, everything her eis expensive. the cheapest SLR i saw costs 1K AUD at least, which is crazy when you can get one in Quiapo for around 500 AUD. :( and of course it's crazy to wait that long when there are so many places to take photos of.
@manggy: i didn't know that about sony! the canon is a bit pricey, isn't it? i think i'd like to get one around 150 AUD max, para naman my SLR dream can remain a reality. may canon ba na ganon? what's the lowdown on the other P&S brands?
@ness: i really hate using plastic. :( and i'm still quite deep in hock as it is to my parents...
Oh what miserable timing! I hope you are able to replace it soon, I know I'd be lost without my camera.
Doc Clairebear, sorry to hear about your camera. I've had both Canon and Sony point-and-shoot cams and they both worked fine, though I am partial to the T series of Sony. (It just feels better in the hand, I think, but Canon has the best rep when it comes to cameras.) As for the entry level DSLR, it's the Canon EOS 1000D which slots beneath the 450D. There's a review here at http://www.dpreview.com/news/0806/08061002Canon1000D.asp in case you'd like to read on it. But yes, Doc Mark is right- it can be a little hard to lug around a big camera always (besides being a little geeky too, hehe). :-)
Hope you are doing fine down under, chilly weather and all. God bless! ~♥Kittymama
Sayang. Then again. I am a Canon lover, forever and ever. It's always good to have a point-and-shoot camera handy, and Canon PowerShot performs really well.
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