The other day the kids were playing a funny game – asking each other increasingly hilarious questions. (Stop reading now if you’re eating…) Stuff like:
- Would you rather drink wee or eat bogies?
- Would you eat poo for a million pounds?
Then the subject matter turned to losing stuff and my daughter’s face was stricken with terror: ‘Don’t talk about Teddy’. Because Teddy is special
And then it was my turn. They know me so well. They hit me right where it hurts: ‘Would you rather lose your phone or your camera?’ That’s almost as bad as asking me if I’d like to use my eldest or my younger son.
Anyone who knows me will know I am almost surgically attached to my iPhone. It’s so useful. I tweet on it, blog on it, use it for Facebook (OK, not that often – it’s a bit slow), I text with it, it wakes me up in the morning, I listen to music on it. SOMETIMES I even make phone calls with it (not in my own house though, I have no reception). Whenever we are out my kids point out to me all the pubs and coffee shops with WiFi. Just in case I ‘need’ it.
But my CAMERA. My camera is something else. I am an obsessive photo taker and have been since my teens, before Facebook, before digital cameras, before the rest of the world caught up and also became obsessive photo takers.
I take photos of people, my children’s laughing faces. Everywhere we go, every little achievement, even every new outfit is lovingly recorded by Mummy’s camera. I’ve tried taking photos of landscapes, but they turn out a bit crap. My heart just isn’t in it. Because to me the landscapes would look so much better with my daughter in a new dress standing there smiling. Then I would want to zoom in on my daughter and next thing I know the landscape would be lost. I’ve dabbled in nature close-ups and I’m a bit better at that, but really, people is where it’s at.
My camera is good, but it’s not amazing. It’s a Canon digital SLR. It has a standard zoom lens, so I can’t do anything too spectacular. I only converted to digital three years ago (seriously), because I refused to go from an SLR to a point and shoot thing for the sake of going digital. I would only switch when I could afford a decent camera.
So there’s the dilemma – camera v phone.
There’s another factor to take into account – the replacement issue. If I lost or broke my phone, I would need a new one. No questions asked. I would have a new one almost instantly, probably even an iPhone (a 4, not a 5 – I’m currently on a 3). But a camera isn’t a necessity. If I lost it I would have to wait until my birthday or Christmas to replace it – and there’d be no Superdry clothes for me if that happened. My kids would lend me their cameras, but it just WOULDN’T BE THE SAME.
My conclusion – if all my photos were downloaded onto the computer, I’d let the camera go, but if there were 200 holiday photos on there, I would chuck my phone in the sea and hang onto the camera.
My husband says this is the wrong answer – BECAUSE THE iPHONE TAKES PHOTOS TOO. Yes, it’s a decent back-up and I have taken some good pics with it in the past, but being quite old it doesn’t zoom and it doesn’t have a flash – fine for close-ups in bright sunshine, but not for a lot else.
Thanks to Suzanne over at 3childrenandit for challenging me to think about what I couldn’t live without. And particular thanks to her for describing me as ‘funny, articulate and brilliant all rolled into one’. That’s a lot of pressure and I hope I’ve delivered!
Now I need to challenge some more funny and brilliant bloggers to think about what’s indispensible to them.
Over to you:
- Stressy Mummy
- Trouble Doubled
- Cup of Tea and a Blog
September 13, 2012
This is fab!!!!
September 13, 2012
What can I say to that? Other than – THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!! 🙂
September 13, 2012
Am convinced I left a message here earlier….where’s it gone?? Thanks for indulging me 🙂 PS who wouldn’t eat poo for a million pounds?! X
September 13, 2012
Hahaha poo for a million pounds. It keeps being funny.
September 13, 2012
Well, now, on the poo question – my Boxer just ate a whole field of sheep poo!
I couldn’t live without my MacBook 🙂
September 13, 2012
No problem, Suzanne! I enjoyed it. I think that particular discussion then went onto the consistency of the poo in question – certain types may be easier to face than others! Bleugh!
Fair play to your boxer, Lesley! To be fair I reckon sheep poo may be less offensive than human, in the same way horse is preferable to dog. Making myself feel sick now…
I like the sound of a MacBook! Reckon if I had one of those I might struggle to live without it too.
Thank you all for commenting as ever, I really appreciate it.
September 14, 2012
Love it – love your nature close up, that is amazing, and aso ove this idea. I’d struggle to choose between these too – I LOVE photos!! But my phone is almost surgically attached. Maybe in the future they will find a way of sewing the phone into your forearm – yuk, sorry for that thought!!
September 14, 2012
Gross, but could be useful – until you need an upgrade! Thanks very much for your comment, Steph, really appreciate it.
September 14, 2012
I think……eat bogies. Oh, I see. Erm, great post. Thanks for the tag. x
September 15, 2012
Would love a decent camera. Keep putting off getting one as would only be able to ask for a cheapish one for a birthday/Christmas & I’d like something a bit better (no idea how I’m expecting to get that though).
September 15, 2012
Thanks for tagging me Sarah! I’ll have a bit of a think.. I reckon mine might be quite similar to yours 🙂
September 15, 2012
My camera was dropped at Christmas and temporarily stopped working. I felt physically ill and just wanted to cry. I love it!
September 15, 2012
I think it would depend on the quanities involved, TD – one bogey v full cup of wee – the bogey would win it, but lots of bogies?!
Enjoy it, TD and Catherine!
Erica – you have the same dilemma I had – you want a decent one, but you don’t like to ask or spend the money! It’s so worth it if you can do it.
Mine got very intermittent for a while, Bree, and I hated it. The lens wasn’t compatible and there was talk of sending it away for eight weeks to repair it – made me feel sick! In the end a £20 secondhand lens sorted it!
Thank you all for your comments, really appreciate them.
September 15, 2012
If I had choice of camera or phone – phone would win easily. My phone takes better photos than my camera (LOVE my amazing phone!)
Poo for a Million pounds…? I’ll get back to you one that one!!! xx
September 16, 2012
I love my phone too, but the photos from my camera are priceless. The poo thing is a tough call, isn’t it? Thanks very much for commenting, I really appreciate it.
September 17, 2012
Whoo I love my phone and my camera too eek…thanks for linking up with us at welcome to the weekend hop 🙂
September 17, 2012
OK! Always a pleasure to join in. Thanks for commenting 🙂