INTENTIONAL OBSOLESCENCE

I tried to snap a picture of my pretty porch lights at night, and of the living room with all the lights out but for my tiny little tree, but I just couldn't get it to work with this new camera. There was a button on my old one, for turning off the flash. That came in real handy when you wanted to take close-ups of food, or perhaps capture the effect of twinkle lights in a dark room. There was also a menu of settings you could scroll through, which covered pretty much every possible scenario.

Of course, I didn't learn how to use all that until I'd had the camera for several years. Unlike my husband, who devours a new instruction manual the way most women devour a juicy romance novel, I have to absorb stuff like that slowly, over time. Once I finally figured it all out though, I was getting some darn good photos out of that little point & shoot. So, of course, John replaced it.

This new camera is so smart, you don't have to make any decisions at all. Just aim it at your subject, and it will choose all the settings for you! Which is pretty cool most of the time...until you actually want to take a photo of a darkened room, but it decides you need more light. The manual that came with it was surprisingly small. That's because it just covers the barest basics, and for everything else, you're directed to a website. I suppose I'll wade through and absorb all that information eventually. Then I'll need a year or two to practice and get up to speed. But by then, there will be another little box under the tree, and...