how unfortunate! dead camera on honeymoon

[Cybix]

well my Hong Kong trip is over..

I bought a 350D last week, a couple of days before my trip to Hong Kong..

After passing through customs and sitting waiting to board the plane, I figured I'd get some random plane shots through the airport windows. On goes the 350D. click, click, etc... hang on, the pics look distorted in my LCD.. the images got worse and worse until they went totally black. I freaked out, my less than 10 shot's old 350D was cactus. I couldnt do anything, sitting, in the airport, awaiting to board to start our honeymoon, with a broken 350D.

I went to the airport camera shop (nearby) and hijacked a 350D from the display cabinet to test with my CF/batt.. snapped some shots, all worked fine, put the card back in my camera. could preview the shots i snapped with the airport camera, but my shots still screwed. (dead sensor/elecs or something?) tried diff lens' etc...

Luckily I packed my super portable Sony cybershot U-20 2mpx camera.. At least I could capture the trip, even if the image quality is poor and my shooting was much more selective. (few/no night shots).

I knocked up a photo gallery you can see here:
http://gallery.cybix.com.au/Hong Kong/
(made with my MBP and iPhoto / iWeb)

I'm returning my 350D tommorow...

On another note, whilst in HK I bought:

Lowepro Slingshot 200 bag (awesome)
EF 50mm f1.8 lens
Kendo UV(0) 52mm, 58mm lens filters
Battery Grip
2x extra genuine batteries

already have kit 18-55 lens, and 75-300mm lens (addition to kit)

I bought the 50mm lens after reading this forum (recommendations).

hopefully get to actually use my new toy(s) when i get the camera replaced tommorow *sigh*..

so there you have my sad story!

I'll still get some small prints out of the pics i took (esp the disney pics, for the wife!) hehe

James

 

[Abstract]

Wow, that's sad. Lucky you had your other camera with you.

I'd check to make sure that your new camera works before going on the trip. I mean, take more than 10 photos and check that the thing works so that you know whether to send it back or not. It's just a general suggestion.......I'd do this for every new electronics product I buy.

 

[Cybix]

thanks for your advice, I'll keep it in mind for next time! hahaha.. DAMN.

 

[extraextra]

Good thing you had your extra camera!

But always test a new camera before taking it somewhere important!

 

[Mammoth]

For something as important as a honeymoon, I would buy a camera as good as a 350 in Hong Kong, and return the 350 when I got back.

 

[Chip NoVaMac]

We always shudder when customers come in just days before their "dream trip".

As you found out things happen. For others I would suggest at least 2 to 4 weeks as a minimum before an important trip. This does not mean that nothing will go wrong, but does help beat the odds.

 

[Chip NoVaMac]

BTW: some great pics from what I saw on the first page (darn the iPhoto webpages slowness)....

 

[Cybix]

it was just bad luck...

I tested the camera before going away, mind you only a handful of shots, etc.. it was just plain unlucky the camera failed right before I stepped onto the plane, after passing through customs and sitting in the departure lounge.

my Sony Cybershot U-20 (P&S 2mpx) grabbed a damn lot of pics over the trip, around 500... I'm sure I would have snapped at least 2,000 pics with the canon had it been working.. oh well.

lesson learned, put new device through it's paces before going away.

Perhaps it was a sign... telling me that i would have needed time to learn the camera first anyway... hahaha

 

[seenew]

Cybix, let me know how you like the 50mm. I too, just got a 350D, with the kit lens and the 75-300. I also got the 28-90mm.