Photography, a life-long interest

 I love photographs. Photography has been a long-time hobby of mine.

Until the 1960s, my photographs were black and white.

The 1960s brought in 35 mm color slides. firstly from second-hand  cameras that I could afford. Then as these successively failed, I bought my dream camera, an Asahi Pentax reflex with an f1.4 lens. This cost me the princely sum of $120, but it served me for 40 years. 

I bought a digital camera when they became affordable, and then my family gave me a Canon AS2000 IS for my birthday 11 years ago. It was perfect. It gave crisp photos and good videos until I dropped it a year ago. 

I no longer take many photos, so I looked for a cheap replacement. Walmart had a small Polaroid on clearance for $24. (a set of batteries cost me $6). So for $30 I was back in action. Within 6 months I brought it back to the store. "Can you replace this camera? Here is the receipt and warranty papers. The pictures are blurry and it goes through a set of batteries almost every time I use it." "We are sorry but the in-store part of the warranty is only 90 days. But the manufacturer may be able to help." 

As I looked at the cameras in the store, I noticed that the cameras in the $20-30 range tended to be a single-use camera or a film camera. A Walmart employee suggested that I check Staples or BestBuy if I wanted a better camera. I had recently been given $200 for some family history research, so I decided that this would be my camera budget. (I could afford more of course, but I have learned to be frugal.)

Staples' cameras started at a few hundred dollars and Best Buy's started at over $700. I discovered that cell-phones had eliminated the market for inexpensive cameras. 

Wait, I have a cell phone, but the camera app usually does not work. With some tinkering I found that if I reboot the phone, the camera app will usually work. But the phone has other problems. It is an LG Q5, which I have owned for nearly 4 years. The case split open when the phone overheated while doing navigation. So the phone is being held together by tape. And sometimes it fails to make or accept a call, It was time to look for an affordable new phone.

My cell-phone carrier is Koodo and they had been advertising pre-owned certified phones. I decided to get a Samsung S20 FE for $120 ($5/month added to my regular bill for 24 months) I was worried that it would be a beaten-up unit that I would need to return as unacceptable, To my surprise, when the phone arrived it appeared to be brand new. in the factory packing. Wow. It has taken me a few days to get it fully set-up, but so far. I can't believe that I am getting a $600 phone for $120, I assume Koodo makes up the difference through the monthly phone bills. 

And it looks like it will be a very usable camera. Wish me luck.