Thou Shall Not Covet

1) Kodak EasyShare C360 digital camera, 5.0 megapixel, 3x optical zoom, 2.0 inch LCD display, 32 MB internal memory, 4 inch x 2.1 inch x 1.5 inch in size, 286 grams in weight.

2) 1 GB SD card (PenDrive brand).
3) 2 rechargeable Hähnel AA batteries (Ni-MH, 2000 mAh) with Hähnel battery charger.
4) Kodak lithium CRV3 battery.
5) DigiPro camera case.
6) Sakure digital tripod (1060 mm maximum extended height) with carrying bag.
7) Kodak camera dock.
8) 20 Lam Loong vouchers. Free 20 copies of 4R digital photo printing for every voucher.

Guess how much…

RM599 only! So hebat, hor… Bought it at PC Fair on Friday. A convo gift from my mum.

My thanks to the following people for making this purchase possible:
a) Sadat Foster – Tech Advisor I.
b) Yuen Thern – Tech Advisor II (He could’ve been tripod stand financier also, but he dowan. He said he’d rather buy me roses for convo).
c) Dan Fadalini – Tech Advisor III. Brief input just before purchase, but good enough for me to make the final call.
d) Samuel Chong – Financier. Couldn’t have bought it without his credit card (He almost sent my car to hell on the same day too! Hehehe…)
e) Tien Ern – Escort.
f) Chee Yoong – Poser. To help test picture quality.

It takes a committee to buy a camera! This is my first camera. I never owned one my entire life! I’m so glad I finally got one, and at a good deal too!

Of course I feel like a jinjang. I don’t even know how to use a camera… What more to “test” it. Good thing my Tech Advisors did all the testing for me.

The Lam Loong man took a test picture of Sadat, Chee Yoong and me, and printed it out. The picture quality is so clear… I can see the holes in my face! I didn’t know whether to be happy or sad. Good for the camera, but bad for me! Hehehe… (Sadat’s complexion is so smooth! Chee Yoong looks so grinny and young! And I look so… Ummm… weathered and old. Sigh…)

When I came home, I put all the stuff on my bed, and stared at them, still unopened in their boxes. I didn’t know how to proceed, or what to do with them. Technology can be scary, huh...

Therefore, I made it my resolution to attack the manual. Every morning, the camera manual became my reading material at the export throne. I think I did pretty well. In 2 days’ time, I could start snapping away, experiment with its functions, and upload pictures and videos into my laptop. I’m so glad of myself! Hehehe…

I brought it to church on Sunday and told Edwin Tan, a church member about it. He went to PC Fair right after church, and bought it. He got the LAST unit! Talk about word of mouth advertisement. It works...

I told my students about it also. My Lower 6 class monitor went to the fair on Sunday. But my camera was sold out (Lucky Edwin). He bought an Olympus camera, with the same specifications as mine, but with less external memory (256 MB xD card). The price was slashed from RM599 to RM499! There were only 2 units left when he got it.

Another student told me he saw a 6.0 megapixel camera for only RM399! The brand is called Genius. Wahlau. What a name...

Suddenly I felt “insecure.” Have I been too hasty in buying my Kodak EasyShare C360? I bought within 2 hours in PC Fair. There were limited units only. So, I didn’t want to regret delaying the purchase for too long, in case I finally decide to buy it and there are none left. Also, I didn’t want to come back another time to the fair. It’s quite hassle to find parking space and fight your way through a jam-packed crowd. And anyway, all my advisors were there with me at that time. That was why I thought it was reasonable to buy on the spot that day.

To add more into the “insecurities”: Did I fool myself into paying more for the camera, when it could’ve been even cheaper? I forgot to haggle for the price before making the purchase. Could the price have been slashed if I bought it on the last day, instead of the first day?

Ah, in the end, I managed to assure myself. I’m glad I didn’t delay my purchase. The Kodak EasyShare C360 was sold out by Sunday afternoon. And the fact that it was sold out before the Olympus says something, doesn’t it? Besides, the Olympus comes with an xD card – uncommon and expensive. As for the Genius camera… People who buy it will think they are genius. But in the end, they will find out that they are dumb :)

Anyway, I’m really happy with my camera. Thou shall not covet. It takes away any kind of joy you may have with what you have.

Oh, I dropped by at Kodak Purple Red Studio at Sungai Dua today. I checked the price of my Kodak Easyshare C360. The camera alone is… RM1080! Wow…