138/365 - It's Back!!!

It's baaaaaaaaaack!!!

I first noticed the fungal bloom on the CMOS sensor during the 2011 Singapore F1 GP weekend. It really bummed me out, as I knew it would require a trip to the service center for my old reliable.

At the service center, the worst was confirmed - I'd have to have the CMOS sensor replaced. I had the money at the time, but I also knew it would be impractical to spend so much for a replacement sensor. Hell, I bought my LX7 a year or so later and it cost a few hundred Philippine pesos more at that time than the replacement CMOS sensor.

Besides, I was already seeing the negatives of having a DSLR as a main camera. The bulk, the weight, the hassle of switching lenses, the lack of a video option for my 30D. Having a DSLR was becoming impractical for me. I needed the compactness, practicality, and lightness of a point and shoot.

Also, as much as I enjoyed peering through an optical viewfinder to take shots, I knew this would be a challenge with my baby. I didn't want to actually miss out on her moments because I was peering through a teensy little optical viewfinder.

As a quick aside, a friend recently told me that sometimes photographers don't get to experience moments because they're too busy recording it. I experienced this at my daughter's UN Day presentation. A dad was busy watching his daughter perform through the LCD screen of his video capable DSLR. He was smiling, yes, but his daughter was also about four feet away from him. He just had to look up to see her dancing in the flesh, but he was too focused on capturing the moment on the DSLR.

During that same time, I was also watching my daughter dance, while I held my much loved LX7 at chest level, letting it record whatever it could from that angle. So I sort of killed two birds with one stone, I managed to record my daughter performing while enjoying the actual performance.

But I digress. I gave up on my 30D. I was expecting the fungal bloom to spread and ruin my camera. So I "put it in storage" so to speak. Left it for dead, and basically ignored it since 2011.

Today I had this impulse to bring it down from where I kept it. The battery still had a charge, and I still remembered vaguely how to use it. I turned it on. I took some test shots. Lo and behold, the fungal bloom did not spread. Great news for me.

So what's the plan now that my DSLR is back? I'll probably bring it out once in a while to take photos. It won't be my main camera, my LX7 will hold that role for a long time (unless I suddenly find enough money to buy a Leica or a Canon G1X). But on occasions that I will be able to bring the DSLR along, I'll gladly bring it along.

I don't think it was a coincidence I bought a photography magazine a few weeks ago. I think it was fate.

Apologies for rambling. I'm just really, really excited that I have a DSLR to play with again.

Out.