Traveling= Graveyard of Tech?
Monday, March 23, 2009 at 5:54PM Traveling is always a great experience for many reasons; a change of scene, beautiful sights, and observing a different culture. Unfortunately, I discovered that many of my gadgets were the causality of my wanderlust.
I traveled to India and China these past few months and I can't believe the amount of stuff that went haywire. I am not sure if its the voltage conversion when charged [240v vs. 110v], or if its environmental issues such as dust, weather, etc. My Casio Exilim EX-Z50 no longer turns on and has it's zoom lens permanently protruded. Luckily, this happened on the tail end of my trip in China, but still, I loved my camera as it was compact and really took some great snaps. Next on the list were my favorite earbuds, V-Moda Bass Frequency's, that I gifted my brother. He had a very silent trip home on the plane since they only worked when the cord was held at a 180 degree angle. That's a tough 10 hour plane ride, alright! His Palm Pilot also stopped working briefly, but has since been resurrected.
Worst of all is my laptop, which I specifically did not take to Asia fearing that it wouldn't make it back. When I came home, I charged it and expected it to boot up normally. Instead, it would not charge or even boot. I think it may be a motherboard issue and am currently having it diagnosed by some professionals [who are geekier than me]. My laptop was where I usually do all my business including blogging, so I really hope it gets well soon. Surprisingly, My 5G 60GB Apple iPod has now been to Asia and back twice [for 3-4 months each visit] and is still is going strong. Apple gets mad props for this, while my PCish products are collectively epic fails.
Does traveling kill all technology or am I just the unlucky new gizmo Grim Reaper? When I went to India in 2006, my camera at that time [a Minolta] also died. I guess the silver lining is that I do have a great excuse to finally buy that DSLR that I have been eying. :) Perhaps, or maybe I'll stick to getting an ultra compact or a hybrid like this Sony DSC-H10. I don't think my Casio is worth getting fixed as it would be costly, but I just might if I don't find something that's just as good. I haven't gotten back my laptop back yet, but I consider it to be in the tech ICU. Let's pray it gets better so I can blog it up whenever I want--I'll keep you posted regarding what happens. In the meantime, I am open to suggestions for affordable, awesome cameras that you guys have experienced and I will be researching this as well.
Reader Comments (9)
well. i just traveled recently. not for months and stuff, but i did go to 3 countries in 2 weeks. the voltage conversion shouldn't be a problem since most chargers has voltage conversion in them. is it possible that you were at places that are really dusty or the extreme weather might have affect it? i think earbuds usually died out in a year anyways. i have to get a replacement for my UE headphones after I came back from my trip. But i do think traveling can get a strain on your gadgets since you use them more frequently and the change of weather might have affect it.
I had a similar experience with a Casio Exilim camera, lens got stuck out wouldn't go back in. I was eventually able to get it to retract after a little "forceful engineering" but it never took pics quite like it used to. I ended up upgrading to a Canon DSLR and love it!! Its takes awesome pics and is great at taking pics of my niece, but there are def. times when I like having a little point-n-shoot I can easily carry around. I have recently been using a Samsung TL34HD takes great pics, video is 720p and really good in decent light and still decent in low light.
After reading your blog I am less certain of my original advice on Twitter. I like my cheap, slim Sony. Its lightweight, fast, and has excellent battery life. Its also super easy to use and takes far better pictures than the more expensive superzoom kodak I bought before. My Sony has been replaced by the newer w150 (which is just now being replaced by a newer model still). The w150 got great reviews in particular for battery life and speed. Some reviewers said it was the fastest point and shoot they had ever seen (on par with some SLRs). This was partly because it was 8 megapixels compared to the higher model w170 at 10 megapixels. The newer model is now 12 megapixels which may be a bad thing for speed (write time to memory card and image processing time). Higher megapixels can also be bad in small cameras because the image sensor is so small. Cramming more megapixels into an already tiny sensor decreases low-light performance and basically adds digital noise (think film grain almost) to your pictures.
Scott Bourne, Alex Lindsay and Leo LaPorte all seem to be huge fans currently of the Panasonic Lumix LX3. That said, it looks like newer models are right around the corner again with the big photo trade shows having just wrapped up.
Given the new models out now or due soon, if you can wait a little longer, you should. Lastly, if you are ready to jump to a DSLR, go for it! Its a different kind of camera, and experience, but I know you are smart (and geeky) enough to take it on. If the budget allows, consider a nice DSLR, and a point and shoot to fit in your pocket or purse for those times when the DSLR isnt practical.
Boy, can I be long winded or what? I typed this all on a painfully small netbook too! At any rate, welcome back to the US, hope you enjoyed your trip. You should do a video blog of some sort and tell us about your trip! I would enjoy seeing your wonderful smiling self in video form. Enjoy the new camera, whatever it may be.
I've owned several pairs of V-Moda headphones for 11 months now and no pair has lasted longer than 2 months. What's nice is that V-Moda has a great warranty program in place, as long as you have your receipt and you bought it within a year. All you have to do is fill out a short form on the V-Moda website (http://www.v-moda.com/our%20world/supportform.aspx" rel="nofollow"> Link ) and send in the old pair and they will replace. With regards to the camera, at least you remembered to bring it back with you...my camera is somewhere in Mumbai with my memory card!
Welcome back Neha! Very glad that you're back safe and sound. Hopefully the tech troubles right themselves soon and you get back to blogging at your heart's desire. LOL! :)
I personally have a Sony T200 and a Canon dslr. I love my Sony and always go back to it no matter what. The dslr rocks as well, but I don't carry with me as often as I do the Sony. My advice is always do your research (which I know you will). There are plenty of choices out there! :)
Well sorry to hear you had such terrible experiences with tech. Stuff dies, it's a fact of life. So long as in the end you got your full use out of the item and as many miles as possible. I use that description as I'm used to cars and how intricate, and sturdy they are, yet they too die. Let our gadgets die well after a strong and faithful service to us.
Could be worse... they could get stolen. Then it's just lame.
Glad to have you back! Time for a beer!?
-=Sam=-
I had a similar exp with my laptop in India. I am thinking it is definitely to so with the 240V/50 Hz voltages and surge currents too. My laptop equipped with vista went mum when I got it back to US. It took a day and a half. But it did return back to normal. Though the adapters say they can stand different voltages, am really not sure.
If you are looking for Hybrid, go for Canon S5 IS. Its the best camera I have ever seen. It gives you all features of DSLR with 12X optical zoom, and its still compact camera...and I don't have to tell you where to find reviews for it :)
So my Casio recently bailed on me and I found out its the camera, not you. I would talk to Casio and get a replacement!