My digital camera fell 4 feet onto the carpeted floor of my apartment. Now it coughs and sputters as it tries to extend it’s lens thingy. I think the gears are dislocated or striped. Cost of camera: $250. Cost of repairs: $171.
Excluding camera costs, digital pictures aren’t cheaper to develop nor are they better quality than traditional film. A good “analog” camera tends to be bigger , but so much more durable and cheaper. Heck, you can even get soft copies of analog photos at the developers. So why digital? Two reasons: First, I can see my shot via the LCD screen. Second, I can get to my most recent photos without “finishing off the roll”. When my childhood friend moved away I got a poleroid camera for this same reason. Just this past week I have had two golden photo moments that were perfect for the website. Sure my text is intellegent and witty, but the people want something pretty to look at.
So I scowered the online world to see if I could get a comparable or slightly better model for a similar price. Alas, my camera goes for $250 and the next best thing is $350-$400 . My gadget geek instincts conflicted with my dedication to my frugal budget. In the end I opted to repair the old thing.
That said, let me tell you about Sony’s flat-rate repairs. The closest repair shop is in Texas, so you can imagine how much trouble it would be to get an estimate, approve the repairs, etc. So instead I tell them the model of my camera and they tell me (based on statistics) what it will cost me. The actual cost could be much less–or much more. Devices that are abused are exempt from the flat-rate policy and anyone can opt out of it if they feel they’d be under cost. Very neat idea.
Lastly, Image-Resource is an excellent place for very detailed reviews about digital cameras.