Like Losing a Friend

In my last post, I mentioned that I attended Game 3 of the Utah Jazz- Golden State Warriors series last Friday. It was an absolute blast! I have been to hundreds of sporting events in my day and this one definitely ranks in the top ten (I’ll write a post that breaks down the actual list. Off the top of my head, 1995 Final Four Championship, 2002 World Cup- US v. Mexico, 2006 NCAA Sweet 16- UCLA v. Gonzaga, the list goes on and on).

This post though is not about the game, but the effect that the game had on one of my dear traveling companions, my Tamron 28mm-200mm camera lens. I had been having troubles with the lens in recent months, but the lens finally went into “completely screwed mode” midway through the first quarter. Here is a picture of one of my last good photos.

Here is my camera's last picture:

Tragic. The zoom action on the lens was having problems moving in and out and I may have forced it a bit in my exuberance, but the result is what you see above. The horror!

I brought it into to a camera store to see if there was any way to resuscitate the Tamron, but the guy suggested that I’m better off getting a new lens. He also mentioned that it looked like it was dropped. This lens has traveled with me all over the world and I do not recall dropping it. The only difference is that I now attach the lens to a digital camera body that I received for Christmas. I feel like the problems began with this switch but I cannot be sure.

Like any good father or friend, I decided to get a second opinion and took the lens to Adolph Gasser Inc, widely known as the premier camera store in all of San Francisco. Now the lens remains at the store awaiting the results of a $15 estimate. I may have just dropped $15 to hear them tell me that the lens is screwed, but a new lens of this magnitude costs around $300, so I figure the $15 is worth finding out a proper diagnosis.

Keep your fingers crossed!