We are going on a backpacker-ish trip to Thailand next week and the question apart from where to go and stay is what camera to take. Pickpockets are an issue, as well as other things, and the last thing you want to do on your holiday is worrying about stuff like cameras. So I did an impulse purchase on Yahoo! auctions for this nice Yashica Electro GX (I made the picture a little more colourful to emphasise the happiness of the seventies, when this camera was produced. Don’t think I am just another superficial foreign photographer in Japan). Turns out it is a rather rare camera, according to one source not even listed in the “Japanese Camera Collectable” guide books. But that was a coincidence, because if it is valuable, then I am back to my original problem, aren’t I?

Anyway, I realised that the camera is not in such great shape after all. With the rather humid Japanese climate, the lens of this camera fell victim to the dreaded kabi (fungus) on the front and second lens element [pics]. I will try to take off the front element according to some repair instructions and clean the second element. Although if that turns out not to be possible, then that’s fine too. At the moment the camera is sunbathing on the balcony to let the sun’s UV rays kill the nasty spores.

I have been meaning to mention how great using Yahoo! auctions is. It must be one of those aspects of Japanese culture where one can feel safe and trust the people, but maybe that is just my illusion and wishful thinking. Anyway, I have made 3 transactions in the last 2 months and with a little Japanese language skills you can go a long way in buying and selling some nice things. The best part is the delivery. We have all seen the Kuroneko vans cruising the streets, but the home delivery network in this country is just a marvel. You can drop off your package in any convenience store and it arrives the next day for a not too high a charge, and most of the time it is best to send it chakubarai, where the receiver pays for the postage. No excessive quoting and calculating payments. It is a pure joy. This comes at the same time as my first bad eBay experience.