Everyone needs a big brother, right?

broken, originally uploaded by toyfoto.

It's been like a year right? Or has it really only been a few days?

I've taken at least three rolls of film (unearthed from the haunted house that is my office) since my digital camera shit the proverbial bed. I flew through 108 exposures faster than poop through a goose. Three. Rolls. I'd say I'd spent all of 13 minutes composing and shooting those three rolls. In U.S. currency that's about $15 in materials and $30 in processing costs. $3.46 per minute.


Of course I haven't sent the rolls for processing.

Yet.

What I have done is sent my D70 on an all-expense-paid USPS tour of Manhattan, where it will enjoy three weeks (at least) of rest and relaxation at a premiere spa for unemployed photographic equipment.

I thought I could be faithful and await its return, however I find myself surfing the Web late at night looking for a replacement ... one with more power, especially in low light. It pains me that these cameras seem so disposable. A few years in service and a broken pin or a damaged sensor can wind up costing as much to repair as the camera costs to replace. I was hoping to stick it out, go back to film (which I love) and wait until the fix-it people tell me the good news: That just some spit and polish -- and $19.95 (payable in song) -- will send my baby home in tip-top shape.

But it all seems so unlikely. Silas keeps smiling and doing cute things, and Annabel has started to allow more access to her pretty face and funny antics. I'm starting to rationalize my consumerist ways. After all, at the rate I'm going, I'll have paid for a new camera by the time I get the old one back and it becomes second fiddle.

Note to self: Next time forget futzing with the memory card and hook the camera up to the computer directly. Leave the card alone. It's more trouble than it's worth.