And two places where I take a lot of pictures are at concerts (low light, lotsa movement) and conventions (low light, lotsa movement), so I'd like to get another camera that's suited for those sorts of situations since I love going to cons and I know Teres will be making plans for the upcoming Bon Jovi tour. However, there are some restrictions.

- It's got to be in my price range, which means under $150 at the most and at that I'll be selling some stuff on eBay first. (Although if an expensive camera is otherwise perfect, I can always look for a used one.)
- It needs to perform well in low-light, fast-moving situations. Sharp zooms would be nice.
- It needs to be fixed-lens, since most big concert venues frown (and may confiscate) pro-looking cameras or cameras with detachable lenses.
- The faster the shutter response time from the second I push the button, the better.

However, this camera doesn't have to be good at anything else. My Canon works very well for most things I use it for. I just need something for specific conditions where my current camera is weak. So basically I need a cheap pocket camera that takes amazing concert photos. How tough could that be?

Ideally the new camera would also use AA batteries and SD cards to match my current one, but that's optional. I want a concert camera.

Any suggestions?

From his increasingly frantic tweets:

It's a Maxtor drive, w/ both USB and FireWire inputs. It's making a sound like a ticking wristwatch (both in terms of rhythm and volume)

One possible issue: Power requirement is 12V / 3A, but the supply that's connected is 12V / 2.5A. Could this be a contributing factor?

The sound doesn't change at all, regardless of whether I'm using the USB or the FireWire, or if neither is plugged in.

Finally, it's not making any sort of winding-up, spinning or whooshing noises I usually associate with a working hard drive.

HALP?

He's tried most of the urban legend fixes — freezing, etc — but he could really use the help or extremely discounted services of an experienced data-retrieval techie. Any fans out there with suggestions? Contact him or me if you can help out. Thanks!