Gadgets

The End Of My Lumix… Or Maybe Not


17 days shy of 3 years… my Lumix digital camera FX-9 would have been 3 years old.

I’ve carelessly dropped my Panasonic Lumix once on the street. I’ve also dropped it during my Mount Kinabalu climb. But the most unforgiving drop happened yesterday… just a small drop from my dining table to the floor… and everything went kaput! The retractable lens barrel only close half-way as the inside filament is teared (I don’t know what it’s called. But it’s that paper thin thing that protects the lens).

I still can repair this camera. But is it worth it?

I’m without a camera now. I feel like I’ve lost a limb.

So I thought maybe this is the sign to get my dream DSLR camera. Ah but no! no! no! My dream DSLR is still way beyond my budget. The one that I can afford Nikon D60 doesn’t have an built-in focus drive motor which means it can auto focus only with lenses which have their own drive motor (AF-S and AF-I lenses) (from dpreview.com). So I don’t know whether it’s good to get this model. Any comment?

Even if I get a DSLR, I still want a compact digital camera for rough use (for family use). So I might as well get a compact one first.

Is is true that DSLR & its kick-a$$ lens cost so much cheaper in US?

Anyone can recommend me a good (as in give discount) camera shop for me in Klang Valley?

… need to … have a … camera by this weekend… beh tahan……

Previous Post Next Post


You Might Also Like

21 Comments

  • Reply FeR February 10, 2009 at 5:09 pm

    hmm…some cameras+kit lens cheaper in US but not for those canggih-er lens (I compare with NZ, almost same price due to exchange rate now).
    Also…warranty not international, i think. so maybe more worth it to get in Msia – but wait or scout for promotions?

  • Reply FeR February 10, 2009 at 5:10 pm

    aiks. come out bold pulak! how come i cannot have paragraphs one?

    testing.

  • Reply annant February 10, 2009 at 6:06 pm

    another one gotta get a dslr πŸ™ :crying:

  • Reply annant February 10, 2009 at 6:08 pm

    ee..why auto bold niao one?

  • Reply Che-Cheh February 11, 2009 at 9:03 am

    FeR, oh ya I forgot about the warranty part. Bold because you key in a bold html text. Okay liao. My comment box gilar gilar one. Must put paragraph html baru okay.

    Annant, not so soon lo. Still beyond budget. πŸ™

  • Reply xin February 11, 2009 at 11:26 am

    hmmmmmmmmmmm buy a new p&s πŸ˜›

    if u think tht u can bring yr dlsr everywhere then you can get one, otherwise if it is only at home, then its pretty useless

  • Reply Angie Tan February 11, 2009 at 4:45 pm

    Hmmmm.. If you’re looking for a digital Point-n-Shoot, you can consider the slightly higher end PnS instead of the standard range, i.e. go pro-sumer.

    The problem with DSLR is that my friends don’t know how to use it even after I set it to auto. They still want to look through the live view instead of the viewfinder. So, only me, myself and I can take photos in my upcoming trip. Hence, no pics of me. :LOL:

  • Reply Che-Cheh February 11, 2009 at 10:22 pm

    Xin, yes I’m thinking of going for PnS first. πŸ˜€

    Angie Tan, hmmm… pro-sumer is above RM1k… it’s like buying a dslr liao…hahaha I’ll just go for normal PnS. Aiya like that no fun la… no pics of you. :tongue: Quick educate them! kekeke

  • Reply keeyit February 11, 2009 at 11:53 pm

    But sayang le for the Lumix…
    Nvrmind.. Old not go where got new le… Go go go for DSLR.

  • Reply Che-Cheh February 12, 2009 at 9:26 am

    Keeyit, ya sayang. Sad lo. I’m still contemplating. Found a blogger who get his D60 for RM1800 nia. Advice is buy the cheapest dslr you can afford, because it’s the lens that makes the different. πŸ™‚

  • Reply hedonistics anonymous February 12, 2009 at 9:27 am

    i carry my lumix everywhere i go but never use one.

    try shashinki.com?

  • Reply Che-Cheh February 12, 2009 at 9:29 am

    Hedo, check liao. The Nikon price they offer is same as the one Nikon website offer. No cheap also. I’m going to call some shop later.

  • Reply jam February 12, 2009 at 11:17 am

    In that case, D60 is not worth buying. My opinion is buying a DSLR which comes with more than 1 lense (1 wide angle lense and another zoom lense) in one package. The 2 lenses should be more than enough for your everyday shooting purpose. That is more economical too. Can consider Olympus E-420 or E-520. BTW, you have been tagged. A rare one from me :hehe:

  • Reply Cecil Lee February 12, 2009 at 2:15 pm

    P&S as we all know is point and shoot, anywhere, anytime, to capture some important moment which could not be missed, but bear in mind, not for poorly lit scene or indoor portrait photos… :shame:
    DSLR on the other hand, cannot or bulky to carry along everytime, everywhere, but if you’re going for a special outing, like travel, or parties, or shooting indoor, or your Chester, dslr could deliver some amazing quality photos…. :dancing:
    Both have their value of existence, depends on what you need… Cheers!

    p/s: is that me you mentioned who bought D60 for RM1.8k?

  • Reply Che-Cheh February 12, 2009 at 2:28 pm

    Jam, you get both lenses in your E420? I don’t want to use other media memory besides SD. I know Olympus use other type. Ya I know I’ve been tagged.

    Cecil, I know I want to buy both PnS and SLR. Just that dunno which one to buy first. Hahaha Yes you’re the one I’m talking about but I must be dreaming when I said that coz you didn’t mention you bought at RM1.8k :doh: I mis-read! Hahahaha I called up a shop, the person said lens with AF-S is much more expensive. In the long run, D80 more worthwhile. Ahh dunno la. D80 old model. Get one quotation at RM2.9k. Need to touchy-touchy the body first :laughing:… then decide. I might just go grab PnS Lumix FX38 or FX36 first.

  • Reply hcfoo February 12, 2009 at 4:21 pm

    Oh dear. Well I dunno who to rekemen. Maybe get a new one instead? I don’t know much about camera let alone DSLR to advise you :laughing:

  • Reply iWalk February 12, 2009 at 11:29 pm

    Hi Che-Cheh,

    I changed my Sony Cyber-shot to Nikon D70 about four year ago. Yeah, I think DSLR is great, But I find I still need something shoot video, So I suggest you buy a DSLR which can shoot Video at the same time.

  • Reply dawn February 13, 2009 at 1:03 am

    Get a P&S now and a dslr after much thorough review.

  • Reply Che-Cheh February 13, 2009 at 1:16 am

    Hcfoo, hehe still thinking. Hahaha I don’t know why I am making my life difficult…such simple thing.

    iWalk, Hello…I think if the PnS (which I’m going to get sooner or later) already have video function, I don’t need them in the DSLR.

    Dawn, that’s what I think. But hor being a woman hor…my head and heart think differently le. I said to myself once Lumix damage must get DSLR… Now I’m thinking get PnS first. But once I get PnS it will be another year or 2 before I get dslr because I don’t usually splash on stuff like this. Moreover buy the same kind of machine(called camera) πŸ˜€

  • Reply Neo February 15, 2009 at 2:21 pm

    Faster get a dslr. Get Nikon D700. :devil:

  • Reply Che-Cheh February 15, 2009 at 4:35 pm

    Neo, I’m not rich la. How to get D700. :beat_up:

  • Leave a Reply

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.