MORE CAMERA ISSUES
Well, mark down another failure in the shitty camera quest. I bought this keychain camera and it’s fantastic yellowed packaging for $15. The camera itself beeps and even has a low res mode (very exciting) but just like the Yahoo! Camera the problems start when trying to actually get the pictures off of the thing. Unlike the Yahoo! Camera the cord for this one actually does seem to work, and it’s USB so no need for an adapter. My computer detects the thing when it’s plugged in but the camera’s included software keeps throwing up a driver error both on my regular Windows OS and when I run it in a Windows XP VM. The disk claims to be installing the proper drivers but just keep getting “missing driver” and given this is a cheap novelty camera cira. 2004 there’s not exactly legacy support or even a functioning website. I may try to snoop through the WayBackMachine but it’s a long shot that may ultimately be pointless.
I tried to run a few third party programs to rip files directly from the camera but they all came up empty handed which suggests to me that the camera isn’t even taking photos. It may be that it’s itty bitty on board memory has simply died. Novelty cameras from the 2000s may just be a bust. At least novelty cameras from brands you’ve never heard of either then or since.
Anyway, I have the next steps in the adventure planned out. I have already ordered an aging Kodak Easyshare zd710 off of ebay for $18. Its base resolution is 640x480 or 320x240 for video clips. That’s pretty small! Not as truly bad as I want but we have to make sacrifices. I expect a Kodak with an included USB will be more reliable when it comes to actually getting the pictures onto a PC. At the very least there’s more resources to help troubleshoot.
The last ditch, and most expensive, resort for me is going to be the Kenko TOY camera. They put out a line of incredibly small cameras in the 2010s that took very small and compressed photos. They got awful reviews but they were able to make a quick buck by putting Sanrio branding on them. Now these are very cute but they also will run fairly expensive, which may be more than I’m willing to spend, but ya know. The camera takes microSD which means a reliable file transfer.
Anyway, I’ll include a brief life update at the end here. I am exactly four days away from being done with my Master’s completely. I already had a bit of a spiral about it but I’ve come around. I’m looking forward to feeling free. I still have one more assignment to turn in though so we’re not celebrating just yet. I’m also going to get to go on my first actual vacation in like 11 years. It’ll be the biggest distance I’ve ever traveled and my first time on a plane (it’s just a 2 hour flight but still) ! I’m very excited to be out of grad school and unburdened and I have something to look forward to! 