(almost)Non-picture post

It's not what you think it is, I swear!

Or maybe it is, I don't know. It's the latest in my arsenal of photo taking accessories. This sweet thing is a bulb blower used to clean dust off the sensor of my camera. Remember that speck problem? Gone. For now anyway. I haven't been able to take pictures lately because I've been terribly busy with studying for the CSETs. Currently, I am procrastinating and figured I'd rant.

So the issue about the speck on the camera is (to me) more profound that what it seems. There were a couple of options before me in terms of what to do once I found out the dust speck was there and that it was past the 14day return policy on defects.

One option was to bring it back to the store and see if a manager could possibly still honor the camera as a defect as the dust is on the sensor and I've had it for about 19 days. This would have worked because one of the managers at work was cool, however, we were out of stock of my camera. Nuts I say.

Another option was that I can leave it to Geek Squad to send the camera to Nikon to clean it for me. When I asked the guys how long it usually takes, they said, "A couple of weeks". It's a typical vague Geek Squad answer. I've had the camera up till then for 19 days and I've almost used it every day since. Would I be willing to wait "a couple of weeks" and leave my camera to hands of people I don't know?

My third option was to ask online about what I can do. I had a general idea but I wanted to know exactly what options I had in front of me. This is what I find great about the internet. It is an amazing tool for people who are do-it-yourselfers or weekend warriors. A couple of posters suggested I get the blower and actually clean it manually myself providing some detailed instructions. This seems very right to me seeing as I started this hobby with wanting to learn. How could I learn about problems with my camera if I just sent it off to someone to fix? I have the same feelings about car repair, but that would lead to tangents on more philosophical issues and i'd contradict myself way too much.

So I went to Action Camera on Taraval and 26th st.(cool camera store; lots of oldies) and picked up the 15 dollar blower and the rest is history. I could have potentially lost 'a couple of weeks' with the camera if I had gone with that option and I would not have learned anything. 15 dollars for a new skill I have for the rest of my life and the life of my camera? Worth it.