Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Camera Fries Itself with Sparks and Gunshot loud Bangs

My camera that I received as a gift only three and a half years ago has fried itself. It worked fine yesterday when I took photos of cats I got fixed and out at HTN. But today, I go to take photos of the cats I was taking in to the vet for fixing this morning, and the LCD window display did not come on. I turned the camera off then back on, and the display was fine. So, I snapped a shot of the white cat in the trap. There was a loud snapping noise.

Startled, I looked around to see if the receptionist had heard it. I didn't think she had. I didn't get much sleep last night due to back pain, so I thought 'I'm overreacting.' I pushed the shutter again. The crack was so loud the receptionist ducked and I jumped. I thought the camera was going to explode.

I took the batteries out.

I was in Salem after dropping off the cats. I stopped in and asked a clerk at a store that sold electronics what I should do. She is young and looked at the camera, listened to my story of what it was doing, then said, in a "well, duh" tone, "This is a really old model. You should just throw it away and get a new one. We have a camera like this, only several models newer, on sale, because that model is outdated now too. Wanna buy it?"

I came home and called my brother. He had given me the camera as a gift to help me with my cat thing, so I could post short videos and photos of rescued cats and make fliers to help them get adopted.

He said to try it again. I held the phone right by the shutter of the camera so he could hear the sound and pushed the shutter. The sound was so loud he thought it was a gunshot. He said "well, do it about twenty times, maybe it will clear itself up."

On the third push of the shutter, the cracking spark sound of arcing snapping current, along with a significant cloud of smoke puffing up from the flash, was so loud I hit the deck, sure the camera was exploding.

At this point, I ceased depressing the shutter. The camera is fried.

I called the camera store my brother bought it from. The man said "It's fried. Get a new one." I said "A new camera costs a lot of money. This is just to chronicle rescued and fixed cats. My brother gave it to me. And it's only a little over three years old!"

My statement left the man unmoved.

He said "Look. This is the way it is. These cameras are built in foreign countries cheaply. They are extremely sensitive and don't last long. Your contacts inside the camera have corroded over time when exposed to even small amounts of humidity. Or they have shrunk or received slight jolts and are no longer in alignment, so now they're not properly passing current. Your camera is fried. Damage done. It can't be repaired for less than the cost of a new camera. Not even close. Because they would be repaired in this country at our wages. That's just the way it is. This is the disposable goods age. Nothing's built to last. Get a new camera."

I tried to mumble something about having a 35mm Minolta for over twenty years and the person who has it now still uses it. He said "Well this is a different age."

I hung up feeling very old and very out of touch and actually, quite angry about "this disposable age".

And I'm sad. I loved taking photos of the cats and making short videos. I need a camera to help adopt out cats effectively. I treated that camera like it was a million dollar bill. I never left it in my car, for fear it would be stolen. I kept it always in a padded case. I never exposed it to heat, cold or moisture. I slept with it beside me safely packed in its padded case.

It was actually the only thing of value I had. I treasured it, took care of it and that didn't matter at all in the end...

....in our disposable goods age.

My window on the world is dead.

11 comments:

  1. I'd be willing to donate some money for a new camera...I appreciate all the work you do helping the kitties (have donated to Poppa too...but I'd like to help you directly if I can). If you have a PayPal account I can send it that way...

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  2. I'm going to post this over at the cat blogosphere. Someone may have a point and shoot camera that they've upgraded and the old one works fine right now (hopefully it will run for awhile). This way the camera gets to continue to be loved until it fries :) and you get a camera...or if that doesn't work I'm sure you'll find people willing to donate!

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  3. Well, thank you, both of you. I do not have a paypal account pezzy. I used to, but closed it. My brother hinted he might get me a camera for my birthday. Not sure. Anyhow I thank both of you for the offers. In the meantime, I am attempting the impossible, to fix it myself. Well I haven't tried yet, but I sure as hell am going to try. I know zero about their inner workings.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I saw where Chey posted this over at the cat blogosphere. Only old one I have is 35mm & I'm not entirely sure it works plus film & developing costs are horrid. I'll be glad to chip in for a digital one for you to document the cats you help.

    As a formerly feral cat myself, I appreciate all you do to help the cats you cross paths with...

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  5. I posted Chey's notice about your camera. Three years is actually a long time for one of today's cameras to last.
    Don't worry, if your brother doesn't come through, we can hold a raffle or something with $5 to $10 tickets and get you a Kodak, or whatever you prefer. I mention the Kodaks because a lot of friends use them, they are just point and shoot, and they seem to hold up better than some other brands. We couldn't stand to be without your photos/movies either.
    ML

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  6. Oh, and for donations and such, she always used my Paypal account... it is listed under Jody on the CB Cat Friends Helping Friends.

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  7. You cats are too great. I"m already missing the darn thing. Three and a half years is old for a camera? I thought it was a spring chicken and would have decades of life if I cared for it properly.

    ReplyDelete
  8. There's a Fuji FinePix Z10fd at Dell Home.
    109. - 30. rebate = 79.
    Slim, big screen, 7.2 MP. Takes an SD HC card. Decent, not great, camera.

    Until the 23rd, Kmart is selling PNY 4GB High Capacity SD Memory Card for $19.99

    You need HC for videos.
    So for 100. you'd be set.

    Link to the fatwallet topic:

    http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/topic.php?catid=18&threadid=810123&highlight_key=y&keyword1=camera

    ReplyDelete
  9. I checked out that camera. It doesn't have a good zoom capacity, which is one of my primary needs in a camera, since I can't get that close to many of the cats. I will look for a digital with an optical zoom of at least 10x. I know they make them much "zoomier" now, but the camera that just died, had a 10x optical zoom and I loved it, thought it was just right. A digital zoom compromises image quality, so I stay away from those. Most of the photos I took with the tragically deceased camera were on full zoom. However, I used almost none of the other features. So a simple camera with zoom is all I need. All the fancy features, I never even read up on what they were. Didn't have the time.

    ReplyDelete
  10. We have a very old digital, no zoom, no video capability, holds about 23 pics before you need to dump it, that I can send you with the cable and software if you want it. It's not much, but it will hold you until you can get a new one.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I just upgraded to a new camera - I'll gladly let you have the old-but-quite-functional one (2mpixel, 3x zoom) just for the satisfaction of knowing that it'll go to a good home :-)

    Drop me a line.

    ReplyDelete

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