My main camera sensor gave out right during the Perseid meteor shower peak

It happened last Saturday night, about an hour into my planned all-night shoot. The screen just went black and the camera wouldn't respond to anything. I was using my Canon EOS Ra, which I've had for three years without a single issue. I tried pulling the battery, swapping memory cards, the whole routine, but it was completely dead. On one hand, I'm gutted because I missed capturing what looked like an amazing show. On the other, maybe it's a sign to finally upgrade to that newer model I've been eyeing. Has anyone else had a major piece of gear fail at the worst possible moment, and what did you end up doing?

3 comments

3 Comments

bettyfox10d ago

That "sign to upgrade" idea is a trap. Gear fails, it happens. My old Nikon died during a once in a lifetime eclipse. I borrowed a friend's spare body instead of buying new. Fixed mine later for two hundred bucks. Using a failure as an excuse for new gear just empties your wallet.

kimr1010d ago

Betty's right, it's not just cameras. We're trained to see every little problem as a reason to spend. Phone battery dies? Time for a new model. Zipper breaks on a jacket? Toss it and buy another. Fixing things or asking for help feels like a lost skill. How did we get so scared of a simple repair?

kelly_west7410d ago

Read an article about how companies make things hard to fix on purpose. They want that "time to upgrade" feeling to kick in. Betty's spot on about it being a trap.