My Canon Sisters

I have had a constant companion for the past four years. She has never been farther than arms reach. She has accompanied me on nearly all of my assignments and has travelled with me aboard Chopper 9 on every mission. She was with me when I was in Torino last year, recording my pain and frustration when my edit suite crashed. She was nearby as I posed with the Great One and she has been a frequent contributor to this very blog.

Sadly she has with me for the last time. Yes after a full and useful life, my Canon A-80 digital camera bit the dust and has taken her last photo. She had taken over 10 thousand photos to be sure. Shots of work, the dog, the kids, the gang, you name it. But at the end of the record breaking flight week, she gasped her last shutter. The power button had worn completely out.

She might have become jealous as I, her faithful camera hand, had become seduced by another. A Nikon.

Now I had been a Canon guy for all of my life. Her older and yet still functional sister, a Canon AE1 which I have had since 1981, still accompanies me on special occasions. The elder Canon was with me during my brief assignment in Bosnia in 1996. She had been kidnapped (stolen from the front seat of my car, but returned unharmed) , a guest of honour at my sister's wedding, recorded both of my children's first cries and first smiles. But in this digital age even the elder Canon knows the end is near. Both the Canon sisters have served me well, and owe me nothing.

Now for the time being, I am camera-less. Perhaps it is too soon to get another. For perhaps I should wait. But when the courtship for a new replacement begins, miss Nikon D-80 looks mighty fine.

I just hope that I can afford her.