The loss of a good travel companion
People often ask if I am nervous traveling to places like Afghanistan and Pakistan and other far places on the earth. My regular response is that I have the same chance of being injured in the shower in my house or on the DC beltway as traveling. Well it looks like the same type of
"it’s gonna happen wherever you are" happened to one of my more traveled Canon camera bodies. As poor luck would have it, my workhorse 1D Mark II flash shoe had become loose and was not firing the speedlight. So while I was back in the US, I sent it off to Canon for a tune up and repair of the flash shoe. Now fully encased in bubble wrap, and a pristine box, it just came back from the CPS Canon repair center in NJ with a large crack on the magnesium frame. The crack is on top of the camera where the camera shoe had been replaced. I’m guessing during the repair that the technician put a little too much tension when he was replacing the flash shoe. CPS was very professional and immediately sent me a FedEx return label, but I am tight for time to return from Montana to Ethiopia. Luckily I have a 5D Mark II as my extra body so I’m not out of a camera while in Montana.
To my surprise, I found myself far more upset about the sentimental value of the camera. It has traveled to the harshest sides of the world, is heavily worn, and has become the solid companion I trust. Due to the large frame crack, I am guessing that Canon will have to replace the entire magnesium frame, leaving little of the nostalgic paint-free rub marks, and duress marks that proved it was not the camera of a fashion photographer or one that sat on a shelf. Like a good set of jeans, I am very upset to have to get a new one. I also find it ironic that its final days were at the Canon repair center and carefully transported in a large box surrounded by bubble wrap and not on some mountain in Nepal being crushed by a run away yak. Well, with a sad heart I placed it in the same box it arrived in to go back to Canon. I will ask Canon if I can have the frame back for sentimental reasons. Will hope they honor the request because the camera has become more than a tool, but a solid travel companion.
Field Charging EOS 1D Mark II
As my ph
otographic trips started to take me further and further from civilization, I soon realized my need for power. Now that I have converted to full digital, I travel with a Panasonic Toughbook and an Archos to backup photos on the road. I have found this setup works well for almost any trip; however it has me very dependent on electricity. I wanted a system that I could recharge my camera and laptop in the field. I soon discovered that Canon does not make a DC charger for the EOS 1D Mark II or EOS 1DS Mark II NP-E3 battery. It puzzled me that there were not enough professional photographers requiring field power. However, I guess the amount
of photographers that will be away from any power for days on end will be very limited. ImageI finally found a solution for my battery charging needs. The MAHA MH-C777PlusII Smart Battery Charger ended up fitting all my charging needs. It even comes with a cigarette adapter that can charge the NP-E2 and NP-E3 batteries. I also purchased a AA and AAA pack to charge batteries for my flash, gps etc.
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