Sunday, November 27, 2005
my camera slapped me on my face
I realized today how important it is to have a good camera with you. I have this Canon A20 camera, more than 3 years old. The lens cover is half broken. It is bulky, looks awfully antique compared to slick cameras you find today. It generally doesn't take good pictures if there is little light, even with its flash. But it was working. It was taking good pictures for me for most occasions. It was way much better than the cameras you get in the mobile phones. Few months back, it stopped working for half a day but after that half-a-day glitch, it started working fine again. So I never bothered to buy a new one. Or just waited to buy a new and fancy one when I have a good summer internship or when I know about a good paying job after my MBA graduation.
But today it slapped me on my face. It dinged me. It broke the trust that we had with each other. My wife had invited two Spanish friends and their Portugese boyfriends for dinner today. We took some pictures. It worked fine. Then my wife brought them to her room and dressed them up in Sari. They looked very beautiful. That was a special moment to have Spanish girls dressed in Sari. My wife and I tried to take pictures and thats when the camera said "adios". It acted like it was working. The flash worked, but it didn't capture the picture. What good a camera is when it cannot take a picture when we need it most. So I am taking the memory card out and then dumping the camera. If you want to try to play with it, let me know. Or I will put it in Ebay for 1 dollar for those who want to break it apart and want to find out how a camera works (or doesn't work).
Few weeks back, we had a marketing case about Kodak films. Kodak saw its market share of Kodak Gold film decreasing because of cheap films coming out. But Kodak didn't really decrease the price of the Kodak Gold film and the main message it wanted to give to customers was "Kodak Gold is for special moments". You are right, Kodak. I couldn't agree more after what happened to me today.
I am attaching the picture my flatmate took out of his PDA. Its not the best quality one, but its better having something than nothing.
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The same thing has happened to me, Pradeep! I have my big, clunky Olympus from 2001 and it has been dying a slow death since I arrived in Spain. Good thing Christmas is coming... I can ask for a new one! ;)
Indeed it's so frustrating if camera stops working when we need it the most. I can imagine how bad you might have felt to miss taking pictures of such a special moment to have Spanish girls dressed in Sari. Wooo I wish this Jiten cha was there. ha..ha.
To avoid such frustrating moment again there are few things you should keep in mind. Obviously a good camera is a boon to take good pictures but it is not just a good camera, also lack of awareness. Most people don't have ample knowledge of their camera's features and its limits. Because of this people don't take simple precaution, though most problems are easily avoidable. In case of digital cameras, they are fun and easy to use but also come with lots drawbacks, which certainly is a real pain in the neck. Such as, run out of memory, low battery, pictures out of focus, blur pictures and many more.
That's why know your camera's features and its limits by using it frequently. Art of taking good pictures is like doing mathematic, more you practice, better you will be. And it is always wise thing to check your camera whether it is working properly or not (especially battery and memory) before you go out to take pictures of special occasion. Keep your camera handy and check your gears thoroughly before any event where you might use it. And yes you can agree more that it's not only KODAK GOLD for special moment also digital.
To avoid such frustrating moment again there are few things you should keep in mind. Obviously a good camera is a boon to take good pictures but it is not just a good camera, also lack of awareness. Most people don't have ample knowledge of their camera's features and its limits. Because of this people don't take simple precaution, though most problems are easily avoidable. In case of digital cameras, they are fun and easy to use but also come with lots drawbacks, which certainly is a real pain in the neck. Such as, run out of memory, low battery, pictures out of focus, blur pictures and many more.
That's why know your camera's features and its limits by using it frequently. Art of taking good pictures is like doing mathematic, more you practice, better you will be. And it is always wise thing to check your camera whether it is working properly or not (especially battery and memory) before you go out to take pictures of special occasion. Keep your camera handy and check your gears thoroughly before any event where you might use it. And yes you can agree more that it's not only KODAK GOLD for special moment also digital.
Thank you for the suggestion, Jiten. But there was nothing I could be careful of this time, it had batteries, the disk was not full. It was the camera engine, not the empty petrol tank or flat tyres if we compare it with a car.
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