Pic from the Int'l Motorcycle Show....

[SCJJR65]

Well, wouldn't you know it.... Lady Luck bit me on the ass!  My digital camera refused to download the photos taken at the big bike show this past weekend (probably due to it being dropped in the parking lot).  My buddy Chris, who went along with another friend, did have his high-powered, high-dollar Canon EOS 10-D digital SLR with him and took a bunch of pics (oddly enough, none were taken at the BMW booth, sad to report).  He took this one of me sitting on the Moto Guzzi Breva 750, daydreaming away.    This bike is soooooo close to that of a R65, in size, weight, etc.  I will have one of these, someday....

[Rob Valdez 79 R65]

So I take it the memory card is not a removable one.  

Perhaps a camera shop can dump them onto a CD for you?  Or will you just wait and have the camera repaired?

There is a good Minolta guy a couple of miles from me if you want his name.  I don't know what other brands he works on, but he has been doing it a long time.  He has a cute little shop out behind his house in the trees.  He even has the proverbial "two cats in the yard"!  [smiley=thumbsup.gif]

[SCJJR65]

Well, I'm going to see what the folks at HP say before I do anything.  I've been in email contact with them since Sunday, and there was a voice mail message from them this evening that said the camera would need to be shipped to them for replacement.  I'm going to call them and ask if that means "free" replacement, or at a cost.  If they want some big bucks, I'm leaning toward saying "forget it" and shopping for another camera.  There were a few things I discovered about this HP camera that I didn't like, once I started using it a lot.  But if they replace it for free, well, I guess I could learn to love it!  

[Rob Valdez 79 R65]

The pictures can still be saved, more than likely!

[SCJJR65]

OK, Rob.....Good news and bad news.... The good news is I had completely forgotten about the SD card we had purchased for the camera that was still inside it.  I was so PO'd about dropping the camera that it just escaped me until I was looking at the camera's sales receipt and noticed I had also purchased a 512mb card for the camera.  I got the card out and took it to CVS and made a CD with the pics from the show!  (yay!)  The bad news is I talked to someone from HP yesterday, and since according to them, my camera's "out of warranty" (purchased 9/16/06), if I want a replacement camera, I can send it back to them plus $89.95.  (groan....)  I told them thanks, but no thanks.  I wasn't that thrilled with the camera anyways.  Guess I'll start looking for another camera!  (sigh...)  

[Rob Valdez 79 R65]

Get one with a neck strap, this time.

(glad it had a removable card!  they practically all do, now.  If it is important to you, make sure your new one uses a SD card, also.  if not, I'll be happy to buy that 512 from you.)

[NC Steve]

That's great news, John! Hope you'll be posting lots of pics from the show soon!

When you go camera shopping again, you might want to consider giving up some compactness and a giant LCD screen for better optics and lots of zoom. You also don't need anything beyond 4 or 5 megapixels unless you're planning to print poster-sized pics.
My Olympus is larger than the super slim-n-thins, but I've also got 12X optical zoom with macro, and can focus clearly down to about 1.2 inches. It's great for closeups on bikes and parts, or pics like closeups at bike shows. [smiley=thumbsup.gif]
Now if I only knew how to use it better...

[SCJJR65]

Yeah, Rob, that HP M245 I dropped used an SD card.  I'll try to find another camera that also uses an SD card.  The camera I killed was a 5 megapixel model, certainly more than enough for what I needed.  It also had a telephoto feature as well.  Actually, the biggest complaint I had with the camera was the power button, which was a tiny little thin strip that you had to push with your damn fingernail to turn the camera on or off!  Oh well....

Steve, I might post another pic or two from the show, especially that awesome Vincent and the sweet red R69US that we saw!   Those were two of the best looking bikes at the show!  

[SCJJR65]

Since I mentioned the "Beautiful Beemer" and the "Voluptuous Vincent", I thought I might as well post the photos of them....  Here's the Vincent...

[SCJJR65]

And here is the Beemer....