“Rain on Elizabeth” — a photo from 2006 which I still like. Shot with a 5MP P&S.
The Sony Service Centre finally called me back to give me a quote for fixing my camera. Unfortunately it’s too expensive. Surprisingly so. All it needs is a small motor replacement and a sensor clean and yet the price was 40% of a Sony A65. For a camera that is almost 5 years old, it doesn’t seem worth it. Still, it feels like a waste to me. It feels like we’re just paying lip service to all that talk of environment friendliness, recycling, saving our precious resources and the rest. I’ve heard all the reasons why it’s cheaper and better to make things disposable but it doesn’t make sense to me. It all seems rather short sighted. After all, this disposability, who is it better for? The future generations? The planet? Or just our insatiable greed?
Anyway, I will be getting my camera back. Still broken but nonetheless usable. At least for now. Sometime next year I might have to look into a new camera. Seems like a waste to me. It might be the 21st December 2012 today but it’s not the end of the world. At least not yet.
Sorry to hear the prognosis on the camera. A few years ago I did an installation of a test fixture and test program for some small PC boards in a manufacturing facility in Mexico. They would build the boards then test them with our fixture and program. If the board failed it was thrown away rather than repaired. What a waste of resources but economically it was cheaper to rebuild the PC board than repair it.
At the present time I have a daughter and two teenage grandchildren living with me. I am amazed at the tenfold increase in trash due to their lifestyle of throwing everything away. Very different than how I live. And, no it’s not the end of the world.
I can see why you like this image!
I get the logic when we’re talking base components but how did we get to the point where even basic repair costs makes it cheaper to buy new. I still remember taking a toaster to a local guy who would repair it for a fraction of the cost of a new one. I recently took a 2 month old gerni pressure cleaner back to a shop because there was a fault with it. I asked if they would mind repairing it for me. They said they could give me a new one since it was under warranty but I declined. They then said it would take a few weeks to get it fixed and I said I could wait. A few weeks later I came back to pick it up but instead of getting mine back I was given a brand new one. When I questioned it they said the manufacturer did not do repairs. All it needed was a new hose attachment. I’m sure I’m fixating too much on this but I am fairly confident that we have the ability to build products that are repairable, even upgradable I would think but I guess it’s just doesn’t make economical sense for creatures whose life expectancy is so short.
Well, if Australia survived, I guess I can sleep easily tonight. It’s not the end of the world! :)
About waste and such, yes, we’ve become a disposable society and the pressure to keep the economy growing just increases and the only way to do that is to keep making and throwing away more stuff over and over again. It’s unfortunate. In the short game, cheaper, but I’m not so sure about the in the long run.
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I don’t think this will last much longer, anyhow, just because of this, our hunger for development and fast tracks to success. It might be possible to get a used one to a better price than it costs to repair it. Happy Christmas, Cedric!
Cedric…I dropped in to wish you a Merry Christmas and a very happy and productive 2013. I look forward to many more interesting post here at “Plop.” :-)
Merry Christmas, Cedric. I will be looking forward to your posts next year.
It’s always about money, when it comes to these companies. Everything takes a back seat to the bottom line.
I love this image! I wish I’d taken it!