What are the odds? My a55 died just a day after I ordered my a99.

So I am expecting a new a99 to arrive on Tuesday (in time for Halloween) but I was out shooting with my a55 yesterday. My 2-year-old daughter was playing on Asilomar State Beach in the late afternoon, I was getting a lot of great shots, when my a55 just suddenly stopped. Black. I hadn't seen warnings about a weak battery or anything, but I just guessed that somehow the battery had died (even though a full charge has always been enough for a day's outing like this.)

Anyway, I get home with my dead-as-a-brick a55, I try a new battery: Nothing. I try cleaning the three contacts in the battery port, first with a pencil eraser, then with a q-tip with residual oil remover, letting it sit without batteries for a while, then putting in a freshly charged battery: Nothing. I took the card out and loaded the shots into Lightroom, and the 973 shots I had taken that day all came out great, no sign of any problems in the images, until it stopped dead without warning. Now, in a few days, I'm expecting a new a99. The a55 was probably going to be sold, along with the kit lens that came with it.

Sony offers to fix an a55 for a flat rate of $248. I guess I could get it fixed, so I could sell it in working order. But that price is most of the resale value already. I don't think there's anything else to try, other than sending it off for repair. Is there? I know this was a coincidence, but I wish I hadn't talked about the a99 while the a55 was around to hear me...

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Jeremy Birn