Last night I went to Gary's house for a birthday party for my friend Alan. While there, I got to try out the Nikon 5400 that Gary would like to sell. I like it--a lot. The macro function is terrific. The lowish light autofocus doesn't seem to be too much of a problem. I thought the speed was acceptable. Unfortunately, there's one significant problem.
All of China has a vacation at the beginning of May. It's their version of Labor Day. However, China gets much more than a day off or just a long weekend, unless you consider a full week to be a long weekend. (I suppose you could look at it that way since we have to make up our Thursday and Friday classes the following Saturday and Sunday, which is something I'll undoubtedly discuss on a future blog.)
Last night Alan and I decided to go tour Beijing together for the holiday. I've never been there and almost feel like I need to go. Alan's been in China for several years but has only been to Beijing once. And he said that he doesn't have any photos of it because his camera broke the first day there. Both of us finish our week of classes on Thursday, so we're planning on taking the night train from Dalian, arriving in Beijing on Friday morning. We'll probably spend five or so days there seeing the Great Wall, Forbidden City, Riverdance, etc.
Which brings me back to the camera problem. Since my main lens (wide-angle) is broken, I was really wanting a digital camera by the May holiday--before a special hike this weekend, actually. But Gary needs to keep his camera until after the holiday because he's also going on vacation and won't have a way to take pictures once he sells the camera.
So, I'm back to being camera-less, and the driving force behind my digital-impulse is blunted. Now I don't know if I should wait for Gary's camera and buy a cheap-o film camera to see me through the holiday or buy a less powerful digital camera before the holiday. Additionally, one of the other teachers here isn't planning on traveling for May Day, and he offered to let me take his little digital camera with me.
But the longer I wait, the more I wish I knew how to get my lens fixed. I know how to get good shots with it without having to think too hard. I know that I don't have to worry much about the weather conditions. I like my camera. I know what it can handle, which is just about everything.
Anyone know a good repair shop in Dalian?
Posted by at April 21, 2004 9:17 AM