With the fear that my four year old camera has been gracing the shelf of some antique market, I broke down and got a new one.
My old camera was perfect for what it was, but it was starting to get on my nerves that the batteries died almost instantly, that I had to edit every single picture for it to even begin to be a decent shot, and that everyone made fun of it. Ok, the last part was simply because I wanted a list of three. I don't really care how people view my camera...
I really wanted a camera that can do different effects. Like focusing on the subject. That was important since my old camera only had digital (i.e. crappy) zoom. In other words, my photos were almost never in focus.
And I really wanted a camera NOW because the flowers are beginning to bloom in China, and it's pretty much gorgeous. There is a tree that seems to have been planted by a little bird because there is no reason for it to be there that is currently EXPLODING with blossoms. I wanted to capture it before the Beijing weather conditions decided it's not important.
It took three trips to Wal-Mart to decide which one to get. Once by myself to check out the wares. Once with Ilan, a vertitable camera expert in my eyes, to tell me the differences between the choices. And once more by myself to actually purchase the thing.
In between I read many reviews online to determine which gave me the most bang for my buck...I mean kuai.
In the end, I decided on the Sony Cybershot, and my two hours or so of use have been just dandy. Now, I'll be able to take multiple photos of the same thing to get a good one without worrying about my batteries (or lack thereof). I'll be able to edit my photos in camera. I'll be able to do just about anything that I'm capable of figuring out with just a push of a button.
I'm starting to sound like a commercial.
Because of the rather large amount of cash I shelled out, the cashier recommended that I actually get a receipt for it. In China, even Wal-Mart rarely gives official receipts. Most people are spending in the neighborhood of $20 at any given moment, so I guess they figure it's futile to provide the proof of purchase.
Receipts are called "fa piao" in China. We learned about them when we were in Cheng Du. You explained very patiently that we should ask for fa piao in restaurants because that's how the restaurants pay taxes. If you don't ask for them, the restaurant keeps them and isn't required to pay taxes on your purchase. Also, in Sichuan (the province Cheng Du is in), it's sort of a lottery. They give you the receipts/tickets based on how much money you spend. So if you spend Y10, then you generally get one fa piao. It has a little scratch off part (not unlike scratch off lottery tickets). When you scratch it off, it generally says "Glory" in Chinese. But occasionally, it will have an amount of money. And this is how much you get off your meal. If it's a large amount of money, then you have to go to some government office to be reimbursed.
Ilan took this to heart and asks for receipts every where we go. But in no place but Sichuan has the lottery option of fa piao presented itself. Leading us to draw the conclusion that it's only in Sichuan. Oh well...
