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It looks like you might be able to replace the camera body for $300 or less off eBay. Just check seller ratings and return policies. Use a credit card with buyer protection if you have one.

A65 on eBay

Also know about high shutter count, and the extra storage it requires, lol. I shoot mostly timelapse.

You'd lose alot by going point & shoot. The sinsor is 1/4 the size if nothing else. It's also harder to steady a tiny camera at a far zoom. It does have portability on it's side. If you decide to go that way though, look at the Panasonic Lumix ones. Ive been very hapy with my 6 year old ZS60 (?) And it has a good zoom.
 
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Malamute - i’ve stated before how stupid I am about technology. I used to think I had a grasp on it, but it change so fast and my mind is getting so slow that it passed me by like a freight train. What’s this about cookies and stuff to clear from my computer. And how do I do it? I have an iPad. I keep my laptop off the Internet to protect it and because the iPad is so much easier to charge on the 12 V system.

as to Mr. Wells, his intentions and reasons for selling the forum. I wish he was still involved but I think he’s got his plate more than full. Isn’t it funny that this man who has lived in a vehicle for 17 years has got a staff to run his business and his 501 C3. Bob Wells is one of two things; he is either the most kind and generous person who gives away what he could spend on himself and enjoy a luxurious lifestyle or he is the biggest bullshitter that is on the Internet. I happen to believe the first one. I am naïve and trusting and prefer living that way rather than negative and judgmental. If there’s ever an expose about Bob being a faker and liar I think I will drive to Key West and keep driving into the gulf. I was a part-time van dweller desiring to be full-time long before I heard a Bob Wells. Twice in the last week I’ve approached other van dwellers here in Florida. Neither of them said they knew anything about Bob Wells or CRVL. One was a young woman in an ambulance and from the looks of her rig had everything all together and the resources to do it. The other was a young man who’s van was in worse shape than mine but he’s very positive about improving it. This has happened so many times to me over the years that I think I should carry a card and hand it out for to promote CRVL.

any of you others who used to interact with me on here I sure would like to hear from you, please come out from under your rock or from behind your tree. I may have disagreed with you many times but you have been a source of fun and encouragement for a man that gets a little down from time to time. God bless the van dwellers each and everyone of them.
Good to see you NL.
 
Thanks for the pic of the spoonbill...they are my favorite. Gonna be nippy in Central Florida tonight. I covered the tiger lily plant as it will be frosty temps and tomorrow night will be freezing temps. The outdoor kitty will bunk down in the back bathroom with the electric space heater for both nights and both indoor cats will snuggle me and the heating pad on my feet. Keep warm!
 
Hey NL, good to hear you're doing OK, Where are you (generally) in S. FL? I just finished a trip to Steinhatchee w a friend and it was a blast. Nothing to do but do nothing. Really good seafood though, the best was in a place called Crabbie Dad's. Lottsa of fun and loud music, they had a MURDER (it was a COOK who did it - Lord, I didn't send any food back) about a year back. I hope you can sort out your camera issues because I really enjoy the pix you put online.

Stay safe and cheers!

J
 
Hello Sophie, gypsy Jan, Jay dub. I’m in Sarasota / Pinecraft right now. Haven’t found a permanent place to stay yet although I have some leads. Right now I’m floating between Walmart the I 75 rest stop and Cracker Barrel trying not to spend too many days in one place as to call attention to myself. Camera looks like it’s working itself out I can’t believe but a friend in Pennsylvania wants to buy me want to replace it. I hate to be a freeloader but he says he wants to do it. It’s actually my doctor, but he’s been a good friend too. I guess I can say that and get away with it so nobody knows who he is and goes to the Doctor Who buys his patience cameras. Oh well it is getting cold again at nights here. The wind was really bad it blew away some of the picnic table umbrellas at steak ‘n Shake and they hit my van. I told them I’d sue them for two burgers 🍔 and milkshake🥛 a day. they may settle out of court. I’m down to four dollars but uncle Joe Biden’s gonna send me some more on 3 February. That’s so kind of him.

after that Social Security check comes in I think I’m headed to Sanibel for at least a week. Anybody know of any places to Boon docks near there? I sort of get the feeling it’s a ritzy place where my old van don’t fit in, but that describes most of costal Florida. I fit in well in central Florida with the farms. God bless the nomads every one of us, we sure do need it.
 
I am not posting a lot because I am camping in person in Arizona with a lot of the people I chat with in the forum. This afternoon Bob Wells and Suanne Carlson were around as well at at the memorial service for High Desert Ranger. What a fantastic memorial setting Camilla..ie Camallu and John..ie Get Smart and several more people created in a public memorial garden area in Quartzsite. I am sure they will be posting photos of it in other threads. Be sure to search out the memorial garden tribute to HDR if you get to Quartzsite.
 
My adventure travel this week was a day trip from Quartzsite to Los Algadones. Typical medical tourist stuff, teeth cleaned, eye exam and new eyeglasses. Visit to the pharmacy and liquor store.

Found a great cafe for lunch, La Parilla. Great food and not even one pesky vendor around to bug us while we were eating lunch. I did buy a warmer, hooded poncho from a vendor later. The perfect thing for wearing to campfires in the evenings. Long line to wait in for the US customs so I got water and Mexican style Coconut candy from the vendors who hawk to the people in line.
 
Hey NL, are you still in one place or on the move? If you're headed to Sanibel be careful. It really is pretty ritzy but the beaches are beautiful. The way it's located in the tidal currents means a LOT of gorgeous shells wash up on the beach. You'll probably be able to find a memento or two...

Stay safe!

J
 
J Dub. I’m pretty much stuck in Sarasota now until uncle Joe Biden sends my Social Security check, if his check doesn’t bounce I am going to Sanabel mainly to shoot one bird, the reddish egret. If I find more that’ll be great. Also like to see the seashell museum. I’m not looking forward to spending $10 to cross the causeway to get back to the mainland to find a place to sleep. There is a very close rest up on I 75. But $10 to cross the bridge ouch. I have hundreds of seashells in my nature collection (with lots of other nature stuff) which I’m paying too much to store in two sheds in Pennsylvania
 
Well hopefully it isn't going to bounce! :eek: 10 bucks is pretty dang steep! Remember those 24 hour boat launch ramp sites when you're looking for a spot to park. People are coming and going all the time day and night so they're not going to home in on someone parked for a night there. Hope you find your bird.

Stay safe

J
 
Wow nature lover, your on the move... I’d say to bad you couldn’t be in Arizona with the great boondocking spots. But birds and such are not near as plentiful. As a Minnesotan I’m sorta missing the water and wildlife. Wildlife here are those that stay up past eight. Haha! Later this week is Vanaid... hope to make myself useful for a couple days. Seeing a few people kinda struggling. It’s not always roses this life of ours. I hope you can continue to keep busy. Seems to be a key... been in the restless mode... can’t sleep a d the whole internal clock thing is outta whack, haha.
Camped near someone who is having a transmission replaced. So being available in case of ride needs. I hope when I move I can sleep better... sounds like you need the sun to shine... hang in there. God bless nature lover... miles away from us here. But a click away on the internet.
 
Well another famous Pennsylvanian, (almost as famous as nature lover the van dweller), Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow this am. which predicts that nature lover Will be spending at least six more weeks in Florida. I hope he’s right, I hope to spend more than six weeks here. But I plan to move north if the alligator sees my shadow.

and today is the day they announce the sweepstakes winners from HOWA. Sorry you guys but I won it all. But thanks for buying the tickets and supporting HOWA. I will try to remain The lovable and humble nature lover, even after I win all Prizes. I don’t need the refrigerator so I’m willing to sell it for an extremely high price to help pay the taxes on the others.

God bless The Nomads wherever they are including those who lost The sweepstakes.
 
I've got my fingers crossed for you NL!
 
Very strong winds today in Quartzsite 45 to 50 mph gust. But I suspect itthere are actually 65 mph gust out here this afternoon. So if ye in need of some sand blasting come on out! The air is now so full of dust that I can no longer see the mountain ranges in any direction. The only people going outside are the dog owners. A full shield face mask and respirator might be needed!

Plus this is not just wind but also an artic cold front. I will be needing heat tonight as there is a freeze warning as well as the high wind warning. With my trailer parked for solar panel optimization the wind could potentially cause a backdraft situation into the exhaust port on my diesel heater. Easy enough to prevent that by parking my tow vehicle as a wind diverter. I do have a sheet metal wind diverter on the exhaust outlet which helps diredct wind but sometimes cross winds can also create the back pressure. So its "circle the wagons" time today.

Just saw Abnorm open his door and wave at me. B & C invited me over to his van this morning for a pecan cinnamon roll he brought back when he went to Tuscon. I will go over to his van later to watch some Westerns movies.

Tommorow after the storm is over I will drive to the Plumosa Rd BLM site where the Van Aid event is happening and decide if I want to move over there for a while. My friends are also going there. I do have several projects on my to do list that I might need "man power" assistance with if my own hand strength is not up to the task. Or "woman power" meaning a not too tall or large person who also has patience for fiddly detail work. Plus getting time on a table saw would be a real time saver for cutting cabinet drawer parts.

Oh well enough with procrastinating by writing a posting. I have kits to cut foday while the sun shines. I did get my generator running nicely again, so I can work in the evenings and on cloudy days if I want to. of course I really wanted it fixed so that I can top up my battery before quiet time starts to enable me to stay up late and watch movies on my lap top. :)
 
My new camera arrived today. It is a point and shoot so it’s not the quality I had before but it is pretty high-quality camera. And as the technology keeps growing these cheaper cameras have a lot of the same features my old one had, and that’s 10 years old. This actually came as a gift from a friend I can’t believe how much people do for me, I don’t deserve it, but I must be well loved. I didn’t beg for it he just said God prompted him to get me a Camera when he heard that I was having trouble with mine. So here I sit humbled and looking forward to taking pictures. Unfortunately it takes 2 1/2 hours to charge the battery and it’ll be dark by the time that happens. But some big guy is going to get his big butt out of bed early tomorrow. By the way Its groundhogs day today. Did you eat any ground hog today? I did. Sausage is hog that has been ground. Therefore it’s groundhog.

God bless all the nomads and groundhogs.
 
My new camera arrived today. It is a point and shoot so it’s not the quality I had before but it is pretty high-quality camera. And as the technology keeps growing these cheaper cameras have a lot of the same features my old one had, and that’s 10 years old. This actually came as a gift from a friend I can’t believe how much people do for me, I don’t deserve it, but I must be well loved. I didn’t beg for it he just said God prompted him to get me a Camera when he heard that I was having trouble with mine. So here I sit humbled and looking forward to taking pictures. Unfortunately it takes 2 1/2 hours to charge the battery and it’ll be dark by the time that happens. But some big guy is going to get his big butt out of bed early tomorrow. By the way Its groundhogs day today. Did you eat any ground hog today? I did. Sausage is hog that has been ground. Therefore it’s groundhog.

God bless all the nomads and groundhogs.
Didn't you hear NL? The groundhog DIED! No Kidding! What does THAT say about how much winter is left? Glad to hear you have a camera again and look forward as always to seeing more pix. When are you getting on the road?

Cheers.

J
 
Contrary to popular believe the famous and original Punxsutawney Phil Did not die. It was a rodent from New Jersey that died and if I lived in New Jersey I’d probably die too.

now for my reaction to HOWAS drawling. I was supposed to win!! what the heck happened?💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩
I claim a foul!!!! it must’ve been the poor Internet service that screwed it up. I believe if it had better service we would’ve heard my name instead of someone from Oregon. I should’ve at least got the blueetti 💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩
 
Very strong winds today in Quartzsite 45 to 50 mph gust. But I suspect itthere are actually 65 mph gust out here this afternoon. So if ye in need of some sand blasting come on out! The air is now so full of dust that I can no longer see the mountain ranges in any direction. The only people going outside are the dog owners. A full shield face mask and respirator might be needed!

Plus this is not just wind but also an artic cold front. I will be needing heat tonight as there is a freeze warning as well as the high wind warning. With my trailer parked for solar panel optimization the wind could potentially cause a backdraft situation into the exhaust port on my diesel heater. Easy enough to prevent that by parking my tow vehicle as a wind diverter. I do have a sheet metal wind diverter on the exhaust outlet which helps diredct wind but sometimes cross winds can also create the back pressure. So its "circle the wagons" time today.

Just saw Abnorm open his door and wave at me. B & C invited me over to his van this morning for a pecan cinnamon roll he brought back when he went to Tuscon. I will go over to his van later to watch some Westerns movies.

Tommorow after the storm is over I will drive to the Plumosa Rd BLM site where the Van Aid event is happening and decide if I want to move over there for a while. My friends are also going there. I do have several projects on my to do list that I might need "man power" assistance with if my own hand strength is not up to the task. Or "woman power" meaning a not too tall or large person who also has patience for fiddly detail work. Plus getting time on a table saw would be a real time saver for cutting cabinet drawer parts.

Oh well enough with procrastinating by writing a posting. I have kits to cut foday while the sun shines. I did get my generator running nicely again, so I can work in the evenings and on cloudy days if I want to. of course I really wanted it fixed so that I can top up my battery before quiet time starts to enable me to stay up late and watch movies on my lap top. :)
Well, at least I know we didn't make a mistake by coming to Joshua Tree, instead of staying at Quartzite, to find ourselves freezing our noogies off in 27° temps and high winds that make it feel like we are visiting the Arctic. The palm trees are confusing the hell out of us.

Sounds like we are all suffering.
 
Now don't go badmouthing NJ, NL. This PA transplant likes the NJ pine barrens so much that I fashioned my username after them.

Not all of NJ is grave-inducing... some is, but not all. 😋
 

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