You might find it amusing that I’m writing about my team of photographic tools that I use. You’d think differently though if I’d tell you this is just the first time they’ve been together, all four of them.

The 400D without–a–name that I sometimes jokingly call “Unlucky” is now back after four and a half months in Canon service. It was almost like an eternity but Canon did well and reworked all the repairs they did around April of last year, to the extent of actually replacing the shutter assembly and the mirror box they replaced (and I paid for) before. When it failed at that time, we were shooting Mervin & Bebbet’s prenup photos and just died in the middle of the shoot. It was repaired but would just fail after some light use. This led to several months of round trips to Canon’s Makati office, each time ending up with a camera that just wouldn’t want to do serious work. Until Canon finally decided to redo everything, albeit in 4.5 months of waiting.

The 40D came exactly a few days after the 400D’s tragic failure on location, borne out of necessity. I’ve been looking at the 40D several months before that and was very impressed; however Karl’s sad story with his 40D had me thinking twice about getting one. But when tragedy struck and I was left without a working camera, I knew a 40D was waiting for me. And it has been perfect since day one, never failing to please. And that’s why I call him “Lucky.”

Perhaps you’ve heard of “Lex,” the Lumix LX3. This is the camera I carry with me everyday. Each time I snap a photo with it, I couldn’t believe it is just a small point and shoot camera and not an SLR. It scares me with what it can do. It is scary in the way it mesmerizes people — not just a few have tried it and ended up buying one just a few days after. Lex spawns clones I sometimes wonder if he casts a whispered spell when someone else clicks on his shutter.

Betsy is the D60 who’s had her glory days not too long ago. She was the primary (and for a time, the only) camera responsible for Mimi & Karl’s startup years. It broke down last year while Hana was playing with it; it simply just died and wouldn’t power up. I sent it to Canon for repairs that took months because the replacement parts had to be shipped from Japan. When they told me the bill was going to be around 12,000 pesos, I had to think hard since I could actually buy a better second–hand SLR body for just a bit more; nostalgia got the best of me though and I went on with the repairs. Now it works like a charm that sometimes I take it out just to have a glimpse at its grainy cold images that’s undoubtedly unique.

And yes, it’s been just few days that they’ve been together in one happy place.