I was ready to tie the knot before I left the house. Today was the day I was going to look at Nikon's new Coolpix P80. Before I left the house, I knew I wanted that camera in my life. Huge megapixels. Unbelievable optic zoom.Have you ever gone on a blind internet date? I have. And I did again today. I took a quick glance over the long counter of cameras. No potential candidates walkied in beauty like the night. I thought, with hope in my heart: maybe she's not here. Then I looked closer and found it.
What a disappointment! I expected the camera body to be a bit bulkier than my current S4. But it was like comparing Kate Moss to Rosie O'Donnell. There would be no way to fit the P80 into my pocket. And when the zoom lens was in full 18X position, it looked like -- well, it looked like Pinocchio had been telling political tales. Svelte, it is not.
But my greatest disappointment came when I picked up the camera. It was light. It was light because it was cheap plastic.
That is when two strands of my day ran together. The first was the camera's price: $400. Now, $400 is not a lot of money -- about a day's salary. However, $400 for a bulky, plastic camera -- no matter how seductive its megapixels and optical zoom may be -- is simply unconscionable.
The second strand is really a matter of timing. My small group Bible study is currently reading Richard Foster's classic: Celebration of Discipline. Our discipline for Monday night is simplicity -- a discipline I have been struggling with as I attempt to make the move to Mexico. I am finding that I am tied to some of my possessions far more than I had supposed. I certainly do not need to build up a relationship with a camera that does not give money for value when I can continue to use the camera I already have.
I left my potential romance sitting alone at the café. Don't worry about her. I think I saw Eliot Spitzer sitting at the next table.
Ah, that is disappointing. I was excited about the camera when you first mentioned it. I, also do not need a new camera but that combination of megapixels and zoom got me thinking, hard.
ReplyDeleteDarn!!!!!
Celebration of Discipline ... great book!
ReplyDeleteSimplicity something most of us Westerners struggle with.
Mexico has a slight draw for me because to move there would require me to simplify.
Brenda -- There is always the possibility that I will change my mind about the camera. One mistake I make is to idealize everything before I see it in person. That may explain a lot about my dating life.
ReplyDeleteCory -- Celebration of Discipline is a great book. I went through it in the 70s, but I am far more enjoying my current in-depth study of it. Moving to Mexico is really helping me with the simplicity portion of the study -- at least, externally. Now I can work on the internal part.
Giving up possessions so we could live full time in Mexico really brought into focus.....What do I really need? I came to the decision that actually my possessions possessed me. It was freeing to pare down. Now I just have to fight the urge to re-acquire "stuff."
ReplyDeleteSimplicity is not a simple matter.
ReplyDeleteMy husband and I have tended to live simply for decades, but there are always choices that are challenges. Living in Mexico can be simpler in many ways, but then there's the matter of more travel north, how to get things which would be easy to pick up in the US (like toothpaste other than Colgate and its ilk, books from Amazon, etc.)
No one choice is right or wrong, but collectively it matters -- a lot -- that we all come into a clearer and simpler relationship with our stuff. Good for you for working on it! I've been neglecting my Mexican blog lately to start a new blog at simplegreenliving.com -- not much there yet, but that project also came out of my faith... and the terrific Earth Day sermon I heard at St. Andrew's Anglican parish by Lake Chapala.
Sorry, I have to differ with you Steve. I don't passing on a camera in the same league with, say, getting rid of all of your old LP's. Or putting your CD's onto an iPod and then getting rid of them. You are a Blogger, an observor and commenter on life. You need a good camera. Keep researching and buy the best you can with the features you want. You will not be unhappy that you did.
ReplyDeleteHave to go with Wayne on this one. I have a Canon rebel XTi with lens was about 1500.00 - but well worth it for Blogging etc. SLR with changeable lens is the way to go - but it won't fit in your pocket. Of course there is a point of little return as you get into the high end - but this isn't it.
ReplyDeleteIf I made 400 bucks a day I would go directly to the Canon - I don't and I did anyway ;-)
John Calypso
Juan -- I own a great SLR from the 1970s: a Canon FTb with a full complement of lenses. The full set accompanied me around the world until 2001. I was in Vietnam and everything started going wrong with the camera and the lenses. I got frustrated and put away the entire set. I did not buy another camera until 2006 when I picked up my Nikon P4 -- solely for its optical zoom capability (10X). Like all old SLR-users, I was quite unhappy with the mediocre resultas -- even though I loved most of the zoom shots.
ReplyDeleteI may give the new Nikon another look. I know I am not yet ready to go back to my lenses. Maybe -- when I come south.
Hi Steve, I identify with your goal to simplify your life, including the "things" you've accumulated. Obviously, most items we keep are attached to important memories, people or milestones in our lives. By ridding ourselves of these "things", there is a fear that we will forget the feelings or people or memories they provoke.
ReplyDeleteMy husband died in October of 2006 but it took me until just three months ago to give away his clothing. I used to go into his closet and smell his shirts, just to feel close to him once more. How I loved his smell. And then I would weep.
After 15 months I finally woke up one day and said, "Today is the day". I called Donna, our mutual friend, and we cleaned out everything in his closet and drawers. We even had a few good laughs between the tears.
I still have a few more things, and I'll know when or IF I will also get rid of them. But, I've never regretted the decision to move on with my life, including giving away his clothes, because I was ready to let him go. By then, it was clear to me that no amount of physical items would either bring him back, or help me remember him. He is etched in my soul and for that I need no physical reminders.
Coincidentally, or perhaps not, the worst of my grieving subsided around the same time.
Steve, simplifying and streamlining your wordly possessions will allow you to psychologically rid yourself of what's anchoring you still to Salem. Your whole life!
You'll always have a few doubts and moments of trepidation. But the rest is really academic and should happen naturally provided you're sure that Mexico is your destiny, at least for the near future. Remember, the road to Mexico also returns to Oregon...or Madeira.
So, you've got to make a choice - or you will forever live in your dreams rather than making those dreams come true.
That's my profound contribution for the day - shall I blame you for making me think again? As always, I enjoyed your post.
Alee' Robbins
Alee' -- Thank you for shating those thoughts. Your shared wisdom will get me through what must be done. Whether or not I get that silly camera.
ReplyDeleteSteve,
ReplyDeleteI recently bought a new camera. I wanted something like a Nikon DSLR or so, but after a bit of thinking about pros and cons I decided to stay away from this.
I looked for weeks, read a lot of reviews, and finally found exactly what I wanted:
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ8.
Maybe this camera is interesting for you, too.
You can easily find reviews of it, for example here and here and there are lots more in the www, just ask google.
I own the FZ-8 for 2 months now and am really happy with it. Even it is mostly plastic. ;-)
Hollito -- As always, thanks for the comments. I am going to continue to look at cameras. Who knows? I may even pull out my old SLR and put it back in service.
ReplyDelete