At 10am or so, I was told that the go-ahead had been given to Panasonic to do the repair of my poor and lonely camera. (doubt she'll be lonely though., LOL, with handsome men bent down over her inards)
Jim, from Halls Cameras, also gave the prices to the tele converterlens, adapter and polerartic filter. ( € 189.-- €27.50, € 29.95)
Having asked another birder with a Lumix FZ18, if he had the lens, so that I could find out the weight. Although Allan did not have the lens himself yet, he was able to tell me the weight. And at 454gram, it is hefty. Not as heavy as most ordinary DSLR lenses, but still, with 360gram of the camera, it will be a lot harder already whenyou are having only the use of the one arm plus a dodgy hand on top.
While googling about, I found a very useful lot, where I will learn more I hope. Such as if the screwing on/off will be difficult, or rather "how awkward when you are having your camera on your lap in a bag. If I get the lens I think I will make a bag myself. I have a good sturdy denim bag, which I can line with very thick padding (the bag is big enough to hold camera and the equipment. And I can hang it around my neck and place it on my lap, making sure it doesn't pull at my neck.
The website I found is that of the Disabled Photographers Society and having looked at their forum, there seemed to be all kind of topics raised here, so perhaps we can find a Lumix FZ18 owner with a similar disability to mine. (I absolutely hate using the word Disabled, which is why I readlly try to avoid it, if I can at all. Simply because I am not disabled at all. I might have lost the use of my left side, use wheels to go from A-B, but my mind is in perfect order, despite 2 brain operations.
Even so, when you want to reach people or use a term to describe a large group of people with very different disabilities, it is the best word to use.
Which is why I used Disabled Birding Ireland as a byline for my other blog, Birding on Wheels. which is much more geared at providing information on accessible reserves and National Parks.
Happy to hear that the okay was given to get the camera fixed. Whoo Hooo! more pictures soon I hope.
ReplyDeleteI will post some of last year's again tomorrow. And then I hope I can post February's or March's 2009 ppictures again soon, I hope.
ReplyDeleteGot some nice Jackdaw photos from last March, coming tomorrow!Not JJ's but of one of his relatives.
My brain is so sad - I never realised the "with wheels" part at first.
ReplyDeleteI've been made more aware of the lack of good flat paths lately. I'm not in a wheelchair, but I have fibromyalgia and can only manage limited walking without a rest lately - so I need places to stop and sit. And my mom is disabled - on crutches. She's been getting very depressed as she loves getting out into nature, but that's just not happening lately. She can manage a slope if it is gentle, but not stairs or steps of any kind - too painful.
I have been meaning to check if there are areas in Scotland that are registered as "disabled friendly", but reading this experience of yours I'm wondering how trustworthy that kind of thing is. :-|
I know someone who works for the John Muir TRust in Scotland. I must ask her.