Make It Last: Point and Shoot Camera

I acquired a brand new digital camera in 2005 for free, using rewards points. It was worth about $200.00 at the time.

The camera was 4.0 mega pixels, and I took thousands of photos with it over the years. 

Talk about making it last. That was a bargain, I would say.

This Fall my beaten and battered camera started doing strange things like turning on and off by itself. 

I implemented my simple repair protocol commensurate with my limited skills when it comes to electronics:

1. Turn camera on and off. If that doesn't work,

2. Take out batteries, recharge and replace. Repeat number 1. If that doesn't work,

3. Take camera apart and poke around inside. Put camera back together. Repeat number 1.

I got to step three of my protocol and it still didn't work, so my camera, after almost 20 years of faithful service, is near the end of its picture taking days.

Since I acquired my camera, new cameras went from 4 MP like mine, up to 61 MP for a high MP camera today.

But 4 MP was, and still is, enough for me. 

Obviously I didn't get caught up by upgrades over the years, although I might upgrade now. 

Perhaps a 10 MP! 

Ideally, I can get something for free again. That is my preferred price to pay for anything.

Update: I tried one more time before going for my last hike, and the camera started working again. 

But who knows for how long? A new camera may be in my future. 

Strange, and somewhat comforting, to think that it could be the last camera I ever need to buy.