I HAZ BREAK-ED HART.
Well, I haz -- I mean HAVE. A broken heart. And a broken digicam. My beloved CoolPix 950 has gone belly up, gunny bag, pffffft. The watchamacallit thingie that pushes up the memory card has broken and something else inside there is out of wackadoodle and I can't put the card back in. At all.
When I got to checking back, I had to admit my little friend has held up rather well for a long time. I was astonished to realize I got it way back in May of 2000. That's seven-and-a-half years of almost daily use, which means the watchamacallit thingie got pushed easily 2,738 times. Probably more when you consider some days I had the card in and out several times.
I've been weighing the pros and cons of (a) having it repaired or, (b) getting a new digicam. A year ago I had to have the battery door replaced and that was, if I remember correctly, somewhere around fifty-plus yankee dollahs. Plus two 90-mile round trips to North Bend to the camera shop that handled it. And the down time when I COULDN'T TAKE PICTURES! And you reach a point of diminishing returns when the totals on repairs are more than the camera is worth and could be put to use toward an upgraded model.
Ah, but with a new camera, there is that initial outlay that dents the old pocketbook and makes you cry out in pain. And there is still the down time when you CAN'T TAKE ANY PICTURES!
I've become so used to taking pictures, it's like having a third eye. It's really awkward to suddenly have a blind third eye. Like today, when I made these really fabulous Snickerdoodle cookies laced with chopped sweetened dried cranberries and I can't even show them to you. Which won't ruin your day but it sure messed with mine.
Needless to say, I've spent long grueling hours cruising the Web, comparing specs and prices and reading reviews and developing a headache and making notes and muttering a lot. Good thing I don't live with anybody. They'd have netted me up and locked me in the basement by now -- and I don't even have a basement.
If anyone has any recommendations for an inexpensive (read cheep, cheep, cheep) digicam, by all means, lay it on me, please. You never know -- one of you may have run across a deal I've missed. Gee. I had forgotten how utterly tiring it is to power shop. Makes me whimper. There is hope for the mizzerbulls, though ... I will simply avail myself of Snickerdoodle Therapy.
When I got to checking back, I had to admit my little friend has held up rather well for a long time. I was astonished to realize I got it way back in May of 2000. That's seven-and-a-half years of almost daily use, which means the watchamacallit thingie got pushed easily 2,738 times. Probably more when you consider some days I had the card in and out several times.
I've been weighing the pros and cons of (a) having it repaired or, (b) getting a new digicam. A year ago I had to have the battery door replaced and that was, if I remember correctly, somewhere around fifty-plus yankee dollahs. Plus two 90-mile round trips to North Bend to the camera shop that handled it. And the down time when I COULDN'T TAKE PICTURES! And you reach a point of diminishing returns when the totals on repairs are more than the camera is worth and could be put to use toward an upgraded model.
Ah, but with a new camera, there is that initial outlay that dents the old pocketbook and makes you cry out in pain. And there is still the down time when you CAN'T TAKE ANY PICTURES!
I've become so used to taking pictures, it's like having a third eye. It's really awkward to suddenly have a blind third eye. Like today, when I made these really fabulous Snickerdoodle cookies laced with chopped sweetened dried cranberries and I can't even show them to you. Which won't ruin your day but it sure messed with mine.
Needless to say, I've spent long grueling hours cruising the Web, comparing specs and prices and reading reviews and developing a headache and making notes and muttering a lot. Good thing I don't live with anybody. They'd have netted me up and locked me in the basement by now -- and I don't even have a basement.
If anyone has any recommendations for an inexpensive (read cheep, cheep, cheep) digicam, by all means, lay it on me, please. You never know -- one of you may have run across a deal I've missed. Gee. I had forgotten how utterly tiring it is to power shop. Makes me whimper. There is hope for the mizzerbulls, though ... I will simply avail myself of Snickerdoodle Therapy.
7 comments:
Have a look at the Panasonic digicams, Dee. I have the DMC-TZ, which is superb--actually it's a Leica. Graham was so taken with it he asked for another, cheaper one, for his b'day. I don't reckon the Nikon ones anymore.
John Bailey aka oldgreypoet.wordpress.com.
http://www.dpreview.com/gallery/
And Dee, don't forget good old eBay, when you recover from the current feeling of shopped-to-death. It's work, but can sometimes (although not always) yield some worthwhile results.
I'm still happy with my Sony Cybershot. Bonnie the anon according to blogger.
I join all these voices and tell you my story. I walked into Frye's and saw a display model Olympus I liked at a price I couldn't afford. Then I went back and found it on sale. It had gotten dented, didnt have a lense cover and no book. They marked it down even further, gave me a Sony lense cap, and I downloaded the book. Makes me smile.
My suggestions are to get one with a viewfinder and image stabilization. The more pixels the better in case you want to print. The more zoom capability, the longer useful life the camera will have. The most important are the first two things. Never again will I buy a digital camera without image stabilization.
How bout them beans. :)
I'm amazed at how much resolution has changed in the four years since we bought our first digicam. The 7.2MP Panasonic is only $179 no this side of the border.
Ah, you people are so great. I do appreciate all the input and, believe me, I found it most useful while researching. I'm not saying I'm done looking yet but, by golly, I sure know a lot more now than I did before this post! Thanks, everyone. I'm huggin' on ya.
Bonnie, which model of Cybershot do you have? I know it takes nice photos.
Mage, I agree on the image stabilizer -- and I've had others stress the value of the optical viewfinder but, truthfully, I hate the durned thangs. With my spectacles, there is always the collision problem. I've got so used to the LCD screen that I never even think about the viewfinder. Even in the sunshine. I've learned to work around the glare problem.
Gordo, you are so right. We can get twice the camera for half the price any more. Amazing.
Bill, thanks for the preview link. That's a good one!
Wendy, I will be taking your advice about eBay. That falls under the heading of Leave No Stone Unturned.
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