A new classic.

To ad insult to injury, during our adventure we discovered that BB's little IXUS packed in with what looks like a terminal injury. The screen went black and it stopped recording any images so it looks like the chip has packed it. Four years old and it'll have to be replaced. Sure, it was beautifully designed and did it's job but you really do expect it to last a bit longer.

This got me thinking about my first decent camera, my Olympus OM1. It still works, it has never let me down and it has some of the best optics available. I got it as a present 30 years ago I've bumped it around the world and it's still going strong and to top it all I've only replaced the exposure meter batteries once.

In design terms it set a new standard for SLR cameras which was never really equalled and is being touted as a classic waiting to be discovered.

The camera was sold as a lifetime choice not a lifestyle choice and Olympus have kept up with their side of the bargain.

Do I still want to use it ?- probably not but it does feel damn fine.