My first Digital Camera – Pick up from Post Office

When I was young, I was gifted a camera which makes use of rolls. I have used it a lot of times and I have taken quite some shots with it. At that time we needed to be really careful whatever picture we take since once taken it cannot be erased. The roll was quite expensive and it was also expensive when we had to develop the photos. However I really enjoyed taking photos with that camera. After a couple of years, the camera went in the drawer and since then it stayed there.

I was looking to buy a digital camera since quite some time, apart from me there is also my fiancee who is more interested in photography. So I thought why not buy a camera which is Semi-Professional, and I came across the Panasonic Lumix FZ200.

There were other options such as the Nikon Coolpix P510 or another new version the Nikon Coolpix P520 and also Canon SX50.

After taking a look at the reviews and the different features, I decided to go for the Panasonic Lumix FZ200. The only resisting factor was the price which is USD 518. It was quite high for a mid range camera. My friends who have a good knowledge of cameras, suggested me to go for a DSLR at that price and they are right.

I had a look at several YouTube reviews and articles. Even other people who used it shared their experiences and I was really attracted towards the Panasonic Lumix FZ200. Personally I do not know how to handle a DLSR and it might be a hassle for my fiancee as well. In the end, I chose to buy the Lumix FZ200 itself. So I went on ebay and passed my order.

A small story

Last Wednesday I received my letter from the Post office notifying me to come and fetch my parcel at Port Louis. I instantly knew what it was. So I decided that I will go and fetch my parcel the following Saturday, since it is only during weekends that I am free. I had never expected that I would get my camera on Friday itself. This is how it all happened:

Friday morning, I left home for work at around 07:10 in the morning. It was raining heavily that day. I was listening to the radio waiting for any news about Port Louis which would help me decide whether I would be able to go to work or I will have to turn back. There was a heavy traffic jam from the north to Port Louis. When I was about to reach Port Louis, I heard in the radio that the region of Pailles was heavily flooded and cars had to take a diversion through the new ring road.

When I reached near Riche Terre, I came to a stop due to the huge traffic jam. I remembered that I had my letter from the post inside my bag. I just took it out and I noticed that the post office opens at 8:15 am. It was already 7:40 am and I had not reached Port Louis yet. The traffic was moving very slowly. At around 8 I was in front of the Bus Immigration Square (La gare du nord) and also close to the post office. I said to myself, it is already 8, if I wait some more I can get the package today itself. So I just turned right, parked my car in the granary, took the letter and headed to the post office

I was the second person waiting there. I sat there waiting for around 20 minutes seeing the staff reaching office, most of them drenched in the rain. I was finally called to hand over my pink card along with my National ID card, went back to sit and wait for my name to be called.

After a few minutes the person behind the desk called me and there he was holding a box. I was asked by the officer what am I expecting in the box. I thought for a few moments whether there might be other things that needed to be fetched from the post office and then said, it must be the camera itself. So the box was opened and I was asked to check if everything is fine.

I was asked for my receipt to confirm the price of the product and to calculate the payment I had to make to the post office. It cost me around Rs 2186 with the tax and the handling services. I made the payment at the cashier, took my parcel and went to my car thinking whether I should be returning home or going to work. Luckily within those 30 minutes at the post office, I got the information that the Pailles region was now OK for cars to move on and therefore I decided to head to work, and to my delight, the traffic was not as congested as it was 30 minutes earlier I reached Ebene at nine. Even 30 minutes late, I was still on time

My next post will be about the unboxing of the new camera.