Diario de andreacala

Saturday, June 29, at Leo Carillo State Beach
Image 6116, as far as I know, could very well be the very last photograph I ever took with my beloved Canon EOS 60D, of a Blueband Hermit Crab (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/28074989) and a piece of Kelp with eggs. First I thought these eggs could be the beginning of whatever the fatal problem was, but for whatever it's worth, they are also in image 6115.

My next picture was meant to be another one of a Striped Shore Crab who had lost the tip of its left claw (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/28074812), but the camera didn't focus. I checked the lens to see if it was on manual focus, then saw on the monitor a blinking "Err 80." I switched off the camera, switched it back on, nothing. I put in a full battery, nothing. I tried a few more times, then drove home, feeling very anxious. I tried trouble-shooting by removing lens, battery, SDHC card, then holding down the shutter release for 30 seconds, and inserting battery, card and lens step but step, but got nothing. I drove to a camera shop in the neighborhood, they put in their own battery, nothing. It never came to life.

I had bought the camera on November 28, 2010, at Samy's Camera in Los Angeles, and had paid $1,399.95. There was not a single issue over the eight and a half years I had this camera. I took tens of thousands of pictures with it, some of them very dear to my heart.

I called Samy's last night and spoke with a repairs person. He shared my love for this sturdy camera and said he is using it to this day to compare settings at other cameras, and understood my reluctance to give up on it. But he also said the camera is obsolete, and repair will cost upwards from $275. He said, "I want you to write this down: EOS Rebel T6, which is the successor of the 60D. Same settings, same protocols, but lighter, faster, much more advanced. You will kick yourself for not switching to the T6 earlier." Samy's is not even selling that model, so he wasn't looking for my money, he wanted to help me out. I spent a bit of time researching, but when I found a steep discount at B&H that was to expire in 6 hours, I ordered the T6, for $399. It comes in a kit with two lenses, but I will be able to continue using my fantastic 300mm zoom lens that's actually more expensive than the new camera plus kit. The T6 should be in my hands Tuesday morning.

In all this tech trouble anxiousness, I tried to download the pictures I took that day, but the card had no pictures whatsoever on it. I was desperate! Camera bust, and all the images gone? I called my computer guy who had rescued data for me, and he said he will try his best, on Monday. I was close to tears... Waiting until Monday seemed torturous, so I tried to keep my cool and analyze this. Maybe the reader is kaput? I inserted my second card... and that showed over 1,000 pictures. Sometimes I expect Murphy's Law and create it.

I had spent the day in the burn scar of the Woolsey Fire, at the bottom of Mulholland Hwy at PCH, where the fire jumped PCH and burned all the way down to the ocean. It's still very gloomy, mood-wise, even though there's lots of new life, and reassuring evidence that our native plants can deal with fire. It's beautiful if it weren't so eerie and depressing. There were many many Funereal Duskywings flitting about, reinforcing the spookiness. And then a fatal camera crash... not too good a day.

Tuesday, July 2nd: The new camera arrived and I'm charging the battery... Meanwhile, I posted some of my observations of the day, among them my first of a Common Yellowthroat (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/28009424), and this year's first of a Wrentit (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/28067177) and WB Nuthatch (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/28009336). The last day with the EOS 60D wasn't so bad after all.