Snap Shots: New or second-hand?

by Harry Flashman

When looking for a new camera, should you take the risk and get a second hand one? I always say to go for second hand. My Scottish heritage comes to the fore when buying anything, so if you can save 50 percent of the price of a new one, and get the same performance, it’s a no-brainer as far as I am concerned. However, there are a few items to consider before plunging into your wallet and forking out for a camera.

In my professional photographer days, I have bought many expensive cameras, including Hasselblads, Nikons, Canons and Cambos. The ‘Blads alone were worth several hundreds of thousands of baht (one lens alone was worth over 30,000 baht), but all of them were second hand! A few years back I also had to buy some cameras here (after a robbery - are yours insured?) and they too were second hand. I follow my own advice!

Like buying anything, the first problem is not ascertaining the condition, it is just making sure that you do not need asbestos gloves to handle the merchandise. In other words, make sure it isn’t “hot”. (In particular, one of my stolen cameras!)

If you are buying from a recognised camera shop then you are probably OK, but from Shady Sam’s it is ‘caveat emptor’ - let the buyer beware. If you are buying from a private owner, then look for some proof of ownership - a receipt from their initial purchase, or at worst, some insurance documentation. Most robbers don’t bother insuring the loot!

Now let’s go through what you have to do to make sure you have bought a good one - and we’ll deal with the camera body first. Just like looking at a second hand car, how many bumps and scrapes are there on the case? Turn it over and look at the top, front, back, sides and bottom. Look particularly for small dents in the case. With good cameras you have to use a lot of force to actually dent the casing, so it probably means the camera has been dropped. You do not want a dropped camera - they are more trouble than they are worth, no matter how cheaply it is being offered.

Note “wear” marks on the edges. Nice smooth wear areas generally means the camera spent most of its life in a camera case. In other words, it has had half a chance of being looked after properly. Also look at the swivels for the camera strap. Excessive wear here also shows a camera that has been well used.

Now open up the camera back and look inside. Wear marks on the pressure plate on the cover means that it has had lots of film put through it. This is not such a bad thing, but remember that everything will wear out eventually. Look particularly at the shutter. Titanium shutters as used in Nikons are very fragile (and expensive) and should be completely flat. Look for corrosion around the light seal edges of the camera back and the grooves it fits into on the body. This may be a sign of water damage. Look into the body at the front and make sure the mirror is clean and works properly when the shutter is depressed.

Next look at the lens, dismounted from the camera. Check the bayonet or screw fitting and hold the lens up to the light. Look for “spider web” traces on the glass elements which may mean fungus. This does not mean the lens is ruined - it just means it will need service soon. Now look through the lens while closing the aperture down and make sure it closes OK.

You have only one more check to do. Run a roll of film through and check all the shutter speeds, apertures and functions. With a private seller or photo-shop, run a check film through before money actually changes hands. It is a perfectly reasonable and legitimate request. With a camera shop, you should also get a guarantee. Buy carefully and laugh all the way to the bank.

by Dr. Iain Corness, Consultant

We have all experienced some psychological trauma, loss or grief. Just as death is the end result of living, we will meet many traumatic experiences in our lives. Every day we hear about atrocities, suicide bombings, genocide, innocent children caught up in sectarian violence - it all seems endless. And we watch graphic TV footage of people left to grieve.

However, this is not a new phenomenon. Mankind has been inflicting psychological trauma on itself for countless thousands of years. A brief perusal of world history will soon reveal the war-like nature of mankind and the countless millions who have perished in these conflicts. And all those who died left mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, family and friends to grieve over their losses. The only difference between today’s horrors and the Spanish Inquisition, the Crusades or World Wars I and II is the fact that the grief was not shown all over the world via the electronic media.

Grief is the outcome of loss, but that loss does not need to be just from unexpected trauma. Grief from loss can also be experienced by children of divorcing parents, adults whose elderly parents have died or parents whose children have died after long illnesses. Even losing a job or a girlfriend/boyfriend can produce the emotion we call grief.

The ways we handle grief are almost as many as the causes of grief, but drug and alcohol abuse and suicide threats rank highly as manifestations of poor adaptation to a new situation that is causing the loss and grief.

Since grief is an emotion we all have had, in one way or another, it is one of life’s ‘normal’ emotional states. The usual expressions of ‘normal’ grief includes tears, poor sleep and a decreased appetite. The stages of grieving include a numbness that lasts between a few hours to several days, followed by ‘pining’ where the person swings between separation distress and anxiety.

These are then followed by a period of disorganization and despair, where the memory of the event or person is in the forefront of consciousness. This results in the continuing personal questioning of “What if...?” and “Why?” The grieving person feels that the person being grieved over is still around and they will ‘see’ the person while out in public. Finally there is a phase of reorganization and integration of the loss into the ‘normal’ thoughts of the individual.

While these phases can take varying times, there will be set-backs, such as birthdays and anniversaries like Xmas and New Year, to push the person back into the grieving process. However, this is all very normal.

Grief, like many of our emotions, only becomes ‘abnormal’ when it results in a long period of lack of coping with the situation that has produced the grief. It is normal for a mother to grieve for a lost child, but abnormal for that person to be unable to consider having further off-spring, because of that one disaster. It is normal for a teenager to feel that they will never love again after a broken romance. It is only abnormal when they do not allow themselves to become involved again.

To allow the grief cycle to go forwards, sometimes it is necessary for counselling, but for most people just having supportive, non-judgmental family and friends is one of the most important factors.

Learning to let go of the past is important too. Constantly going over the past robs you of the present and stops your progress into the future.