Camera Woes

Yes, the Canon A620 is broken again. You may have read my previous post about the lens assembly issue I had when I was in San Antonio, and my subsequent meltdown. As soon as I got back to Massachusetts, I took the camera down to Precision Camera Repair in Connecticut. They replaced the lens assembly, charged me $140, and had it back to me in about 10 days (during which I was in agony to be without a camera). I won't go into all the details, but it has now (in less than a month of use since the lens repair) developed another problem that I suspect is the CCD sensor failing. I'm going to contact Precision Camera to see what they have to say about it, but in the meantime I've taken the plunge and ordered a new camera. After much debate between a Nikon D5000 DSLR and a Canon G11 point and shoot, I've decided to go with the G11 on the recommendation of my pal Maggie Jones who just bought one and has great things to say about it. As much as I would love to have a DSLR one day, I think the G11 makes sense for me right now -- it costs less and will be much easier for me to carry around with me on my travels. It should arrive from B&H Photo tomorrow. Sad as I am about the A620, which gave me over 4 years of service and probably 20,000 images, I'm psyched about moving up to something a bit better. The G11 has the articulating LCD screen that I loved in the A620, a great lens, and will probably give me a lot less noise at higher ISOs. Keep an eye on my Flickr photostream as I put it through its paces.

The Fall

There was a small incident on Sunday involving some broken pavement, my toe, and the sun, which was shining straight into my eyes. This unfortunate combo resulted in two very bruised knees, some scrapes on the heels of my hands, and a wee dent on one corner of my camera just at the bottom of the cover to the memory card. After my knees collided with the ground, my right hand must have then taken the rest of the impact or the camera would have been toast. So yesterday on my lunch hour I took the camera out for a short walk around campus. All seems well, which is really, really good because I'm not too keen on the thought of buying a new camera at the moment, having just ordered a new pair of glasses that cost a bundle but will be well worth it if they help me to see where I'm walking. It would also help if I'd pick up my feet.

One Year on Flickr

It was a year ago today that I created my Flickr account, just after giving myself the digital camera for my birthday (I'm still accepting this year's birthday greetings until the end of this week -- hint, hint). Here's a snapshot of my stats as of today:

Number of photos: 338
Number of sets: 13
Number of contacts & friends: 23
Number of groups: 29 (Guess Where London is my favorite)
Views of my photostream: 4930 (My goal for my anniversary was 4800)
Flickr inspector number: 1483 (I'm not entirely certain what this means. It's some kind of relative number based on your photos, views, comments, favorites, etc.)

If you haven't looked at my photostream in a while, check it out. Leave me some comments if you're so moved. If you have a Flickr account, add me to your contacts and I'll do likewise.