I’ve had my first DSLR, a Nikon D40, for over a year now or approximately 50,000 shutters clicks ago. Last January, it accidentally suffered a 3 foot drop from the table. It’s still working, much to my relief, but the traumatic incident caused a minimal blur in all the photos. The damage isn’t so bad if I was only using the photos for blogging (and I can always cover it up a bit after editing) but it bothers me since I wouldn’t want to be compromised by defects in my camera. So I’m in this dilemma on what to do …

Unfortunately, the in-store warranty has expired so the first thing I did was to have it checked out in a camera repair shop. I waited for weeks but every time I revisit the shop, they tell me that there are lot of repairs on queue and they haven’t taken a look at my camera yet. Most of the time, I wasn’t in the mood of going out of the house (even blogging) since I didn’t have my camera with me and felt a bit depressed. During my Dumaguete-Siquijor trip, I had to borrow Vince’s camera just to have something to work with.

I was so stressed out with my situation that I started to think about buying a new camera. It’s something that I really had to think about since, not only do I have to shell out a big chunk of my savings, but I have a number of trips planned this summer.

Out of frustration, I finally decided to buy a new DSLR. My first thought was to choose the Nikon D5000, which I’ve been drooling on since it was released last year. It’s the first SLR to have a vari-angle LCD that can twist 180 degrees … not only is it a step-up but it’s especially cool for me since I’m fond of taking self-portraits (a big big fan). I would have to skip quite a number of meals to afford the new toy but I think it’s so worth it. Just joking, maybe pass out on weekly night-outs, frequent taxi rides, and non-essential trips. I’m also selling my old Nikon D40 (body only) for less than half it’s original price, it has significantly dropped its value but at least it would give me more breathing space financially.

Hopefully, I’ll have the new cam next month so I can continue sharing photos of my travels. Due to some really fortunate series of events, I might be going on my second out-of-the-country trip next month thanks to an Ilonggo photographer I met in flickr. I’ll be travelling backpacker style (unlike last time with my Hong Kong and Macau Trip) and get hired to cover an international event so I’m really excited about that. I’ll be going to Manila for that too so I’m going be there for the Aliwan Fiesta 2010 and am thinking of doing an out-of-town trip somewhere in Luzon.