The Camera Issue

Some of you will recall my old Nikon D70s decided to stop working just before the holidays. I had issues with it for years. I would be happily clicking along then it would just jam up for no reason. I would have to remove the CF card and replace it or turn the camera on and off to restart it. It was a known issue I could have had repaired, but that would mean I’d have to send it off and be without a camera for months, so I never bothered, I just muddled through. Right before Christmas though, it decided my tinkering was no longer sufficient and it just jammed up all together.



After hyperventilating during my panic, I placed an order for a reasonably-priced camera that I thought would be good enough for me. I don’t always use all the bells and whistles a dSLR affords anyway, so I figured I could make do. I was wrong. Trying to take pictures of moving livestock with a dSLR is hard, trying it with a point and shoot is nearly impossible. It seems once you use a nice dSLR regularly, you can never go back.
So I thought, “Hmm, maybe I should send my old D70s in to Nikon and have it fixed?” As I was preparing to send it in, I discovered it had miraculously healed itself and was back to its usual intermittent-only issues. I packaged up the new camera and sent it back so fast it would have made your head spin.



It wasn’t long though before I realized the D70s really was on its last leg, now the sensors seemed wonky, and it was only a matter of time before I was going to have to do something. I knew I wanted the D7000 but it was sold out EVERYWHERE. I hemmed and hawed and debated and maybe even moaned a little. Then the other night, sleep deprived and worried out of my mind about Louise, I found a refurbished model offered for sale through the local camera shop. Local as in Indianapolis, which really isn’t local at all, but closer than say, Dallas, if you know what I mean. I had done business with the company before and decided it would be safe to try it; I knew I wouldn’t have any problem returning it if I didn’t like it.



The only issue with this company is that they are located in downtown Indianapolis. Don’t get me wrong, downtown Indy has lots to offer, obviously, otherwise they wouldn’t be hosting the Superbowl.  I lived in the city for three years and can even navigate the streets pretty well. I just don’t like to. I feel like they leave about a half-inch of space between my car and the next guy’s and the Roberts Camera parking lot is even tighter. I can barely walk through a door frame without hitting one side or the other, let alone drive a car through it. I prefer the wide-open space out here in the middle of nowhere. So I ordered the sucker online, leaving the navigation issues to the UPS guy.  Then Louise took a turn for the worse and I completely forgot about it.



During one of my bathroom breaks, while I was nursing Louise, the phone rang. It was Nick from Roberts Camera. Apparently the bank thought it was a little strange that a woman who normally only shops at Tractor Supply and yarn shops would be buying, returning and buying again electronic equipment, and so declined the transaction thinking it was fraud. I apologized, sighed, and said, “I’m kind of in the middle of nursing a sick llama.”

Nick replied, “Yeah, I know I read that on the blog. How is she doing?”

I sat there stunned as a bat, not able to respond. Finally muttering, “Excuse me? You read my blog?”



He proceeded then to explain that they research all their internet orders to make sure someone isn’t ordering it fraudulently,  so they had Googled me to make sure I was a real person, when he stumbled across the blog. His wife liked llamas, so he’d stopped to read what was going on.

It was all rather surreal given my mental state at the time.

In the end, I explained what was happening and I have to say they were the nicest people, saving the highly-sought-after camera for me and telling me not to worry about it until things here were settled, whenever that might be.

Something tells me they wouldn’t have done that at Best Buy. 

On Friday, after not leaving the farm or even showering for days, the Engineer was anxious to get me out and about. He chauffeured me downtown to pick up the camera, and as you can see it is working properly. I’m still not a fan of driving around downtown, but I am a fan of Roberts Camera, so if you find yourself in need of a camera or accessories I would highly recommend you give them a call.
As for the D7000? I’m still learning it, but have to say I was quite smitten after just the first two photos. Lightning fast shutter speed and settings out the wazoove, erything I always wanted. I think we’ll develop a good working relationship. I should mention, all the photos on this blog are straight out of the camera, completely unedited. Not only do I not own a copy of Photoshop, I wouldn’t know how to use it even if I did.