Who else has dropped their DSLR?

[bagend12]

Well, it finally happened. After owning 3 different DX bodies over the past 8 years, and taking them on numerous hiking, backpacking and general walk-around trips the one that I managed to drop was the expensive D800E after a little over 1 week of ownership.

I had my camera bag on the front seat of my car, and have trained myself to ALWAYS check the zippers before I pick it up...Well, today was the one time that training failed and as I went to pick up the bag, the camera slipped out and fell about 2-3 feet onto the ground (a mix of gravel and dirt is what it landed on).

It looks like it hit back first. Only visible damage were some specs of something that seemed to have worked loose and were visible in the viewfinder. It looked like some dust or something had worked loose inside the body itself. A few gentle puffs from a hurricane blower took care of those.

It seems to be working ok. I took a couple of test shots to see if the AF mechanism was affected and it seems like it may be ok.

So, is there anything else I should be looking for?? Would this warrant a trip to Nikon to get checked out?

 

[acearchie]

Very similar to you first week of having my 6D I managed to leave it on a table with the sync cable still attached, I tripped over it and pulled it right off.

No signs of issue and almost a year later it still seems to be rocking on fine!

I think just keep attentive to it whilst shooting and note if there are any focusing/sensor alignment issues.

 

[El Cabong]

Those cameras are designed to take some abuse; it's got a magnesium alloy body for a reason. If the shutter works and viewfinder is fine, so should the camera.

For further comfort, watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=FWzsXeXCwuc (showing that even consumer DSLRs still function fine following some major simulated accidents).

 

[themumu]

While I cannot recall specifically dropping any of my cameras to the ground, many did get lots of banging around, swaying way too vigorously when navigating constrained spaces. The scariest moment was when I was hiking / climbing a small mountain after a rain and banged the front of my X100S against a slab of mud. Thankfully it was all soft mud, so after a painstaking cleanup, turns out the the lens was fine. Might want to get a front filter to avoid testing my luck again.

What gets me is the water. I killed a couple of small P&S cameras and an iPhone by walking into a lake/sea with the item in my pocket, lightweight and forgotten. Thankfully in all cases I was able to retrieve the images on them. The most ridiculous loss though was my first IR camera (Nikon D60) - it succumbed to injuries after I turned over in my first kayaking attempt. I also lost a crappy cell phone in the same incident and used that as an excuse to buy myself an iPhone - which I submerged in another body of water a year later. I've learned a lot since then

I also once stuck a DSLR (sans battery) in a microwave oven (on a stupid dare), and after almost a minute it started to smell funky but still worked just fine.

I should probably stop before I incriminate myself any further

 

[Zh2]

Here is my effort...

I am into Kite Aerial Photography. Some of my early "rigs" were either crude, daft or vastly over engineered / over powered. One particular rig ( a mark III ) had a Fuji S6500 built into an aluminium frame or chassis with a remote control attached - I was really pleased with the thing and could not wait to get it all airborne.

A friend came along to assist with kites and lines etc. We managed to get some really cool images, from around 150 feet up, of some guys playing cricket. Then the wind shifted dramatically and totally collapsed the kite. The whole lot just crashed to the ground with a sickening crunch - The fuji survived almost intact - the tripod mount portion just snapped off!

The poor little camera is still used today to test later and more sophisticated rigs - I am up to a mark IX now!

Regards.

Z.

 

[Apple fanboy]

My friend dropped his D3s. Where the lens met the camera was totally twisted. He sent it to Nikon for repair but was told it was beyond saving. The lens was okay though, which was something.
I've only been shooting less than a year so fortunately I've never had an accident yet. I'm usually pretty careful with my stuff, but can imagine how bad it could feel.

 

[svenhoops]

I did. In a creek.

 

[MCAsan]

When we were on safari last time the wife managed to hit the button to release her 100-400 from her 5D3. As it all slid off the beanbag, she just managed to hold on to the 5D3. The 100-400 did a face plant on the ground 6' below. Naturally the lens was out of commission the rest of the trip. Canon repaired it by replacing some internal element mounts. Thank goodness no elements were scratched or broken.

I just glossed over it as something that can happen to anyone. After all, a happy wife is a happy life.

 

[Madmic23]

I dropped my Canon DSLR for a Sony NEX6!

Just waiting for the Sony to be delivered and for the buyer of my Canon to pick it up.

 

[OzExige]

Not a chance, I was considering it in passing only, however [and it's the coolest)

Nikon (clever dudes that they are) just brought out the D5300,
it's fantastic!

Fast, blazingly fast with a 80m/sec SDXC, AND
GPS
AND
WiFi

$AU795.00 Black (body only)

 

[blanka]

I did a few times. My D700 is a tank. I only have some screw-in threads bumped on my mostly AIS lenses. I also borrow a D800 some times, but it does not feel as sturdy. Lot lighter though.

 

[elixe.]

I dropped my Canon T3 before after the strap broke. The body was fine but the lens got a little dent, other than that no issue.

 

[Kaelynlock]

I didn't drop mine per se, I slipped on some sea front steps and fell backwards whilst changing a lens on my dslr (I know, great timing right?) fortunately my body took the brunt of the impact but the lens took a knock on the floor straight down onto its mount, fortunately it seemed fine afterwards. At least my instinct told me not to let go of my expensive gear to protect myself, I wore my bruises with pride

 

[Redneck1089]

Chances are if your body only hit the ground you will be okay so long as the shutter and viewfinder are still intact.

If you drop the camera with a lens attached the only way to know for sure if any damage has been done is to check the calibration of your camera's and lens's auto focusing system with something like Reikan FoCal. Even if you have an L grade lens, small drops and bumps can do some internal damage by dealigning the elements, thus affecting autofocus performance and sharpness.

 

[acearchie]

Seemed quite appropriate!

Cut in to about 3:35 to see what I mean!

 

[Melizard]

Oh yeah. I don't remember how, but the only thing that broke was the filter. It probably saved my lens.

 

[Indydenny]

Dropped Mine

On a trip through Europe last year, we stopped in Verona, and while walking, I reached down to pick up an item on the sidewalk. I still don't know what exactly happened or why, by my camera strap slid down my arm and the camera landed hard on the concrete.

I heard a chilling sound, and found that my 18-200 lens had broken internally. I was sick. Fortunately, a friend had an extra 18-55 lens that I was able to borrow for the rest of the trip. Learned a good lesson. Sent the lens back to Nikon and they repaired it for about $125.

I have since purchased the Black Rapid strap and always wear it across my chest.

<sigh> It hurts to even tell the story now!!

 

[Badrottie]

My friend in Republic of Georgia dropped his T2i and he told me the image stabilization is not working but anything else seems OK.

 

[compuwar]

Bookmarks list of people to not buy equipment from...

 

[aerok]

My friend in Republic of Georgia dropped his T2i and he told me the image stabilization is not working but anything else seems OK.

Image stabilization is on the lens only, so his lens must be the thing that broke.

 

[TheReef]

Seemed quite appropriate!

Cut in to about 3:35 to see what I mean!

YouTube: video

That is so hard to watch!!

I've banged my favourite lens against a rock after I slipped, bent the barrel and misaligned the elements. Ended up buying another exactly the same a few years after.

 

[RHVC59]

I dropped my old D80 down while hiking the the trail up Mount Sentinel to the M in Missoula a couple of years ago. It damaged the mode selection dial on the top of the camera. It was a heart breaking experience watching my little friend tumble down the path... I made due for a few years until I got my new D7100 last fall.

Now I am a strong believer in the Black Rapid camera strap.

 

[Cliff3]

I have never dropped a body, but my 24-70/2.8 got away from me one day and hit the ground. I sent it off to Nikon where they replaced the mount, front element, and adjusted the lens back to spec. That was a $200+ slip.

 

[Flash SWT]

A bunch of times! I baby my gear compared to a lot of my colleagues so I always get super annoyed when something happens that I should have prevented. But that said, I try to remind myself it is just equipment that can always be replaced, so I try not to stress about it too much.

Here are a few incidents I can remember off-hand.

1. Canon EOS 1D Mark IIN with 400mm f/2.8 IS. I was covering a SWAT standoff inside an apartment complex and decided to drive around to the other side for a different angle. Stupidly I just set my gear inside the back of my SUV and made the quick drive. I'm assuming the speed bumps jostled everything around because when I opened the tailgate the 400 setup came crashing out on the concrete. It cracked the last section of the lens about 75% of the way around, it was still connected on the bottom, and was still functioning. I shot the rest of the standoff with the camera rotated upside down to keep the pressure off the piece still holding it together. The repair was only like $400 so not bad!

2. Canon EOS 1D Mark IIN with 70-200mm f/2.8. The bottom side grip and top side material of the original Canon strap had started to separate but lazily I hadn't swapped it out yet. I was walking down the seawall the week before Hurricane Ike hit and the strap slipped off my shoulder. Instead of tucking my arm in tight which would have caught the strap in my elbow, I instinctively shot my arm out trying to get my arm high enough to stop the fall. Unfortunately this just launched it about five feet where it landed and skidded/rolled at least 10 feet away from me. It had some scratches and cracked the lens distance scale window but it kept on working just fine.

3. Canon EOS 1D Mark IIN with 70-200mm f/2.8. Was shooting a basketball game (sitting on the baseline) and had set this combo in front of me standing up tall on the lens hood while I shot with a second body. I bumped it and it fell over, about 8 inches (the length of the lens). Nothing compared to the concrete incident I initially thought. But I was wrong, the shutter had exploded.

4. Canon EOS 1D (Mark IV or X, can't remember) with 400 f/2.8 IS. A colleague of mine had a health issue and collapsed on the football sideline this past season. (They did CPR, used an AED, etc. and thankfully he was back to shooting just a little over a month later.) He was carrying this combo at the time and landed on it when he passed out. The gear was a wreck. The pocket wizard ripped the hot shoe and the metal around it right off the top, there was an 1x1 inch hole in the body. The lens mount was also ripped right out of the camera and still attached to the 400 with lots of electronics dangling from it. I'm pretty sure the back of the lens was damaged as well. I never heard what the bill was but CPS had it back in working order pretty quickly!

 

[nateo200]

A bunch of times! I baby my gear compared to a lot of my colleagues so I always get super annoyed when something happens that I should have prevented. But that said, I try to remind myself it is just equipment that can always be replaced, so I try not to stress about it too much.

Here are a few incidents I can remember off-hand.

1. Canon EOS 1D Mark IIN with 400mm f/2.8 IS. I was covering a SWAT standoff inside an apartment complex and decided to drive around to the other side for a different angle. Stupidly I just set my gear inside the back of my SUV and made the quick drive. I'm assuming the speed bumps jostled everything around because when I opened the tailgate the 400 setup came crashing out on the concrete. It cracked the last section of the lens about 75% of the way around, it was still connected on the bottom, and was still functioning. I shot the rest of the standoff with the camera rotated upside down to keep the pressure off the piece still holding it together. The repair was only like $400 so not bad!

2. Canon EOS 1D Mark IIN with 70-200mm f/2.8. The bottom side grip and top side material of the original Canon strap had started to separate but lazily I hadn't swapped it out yet. I was walking down the seawall the week before Hurricane Ike hit and the strap slipped off my shoulder. Instead of tucking my arm in tight which would have caught the strap in my elbow, I instinctively shot my arm out trying to get my arm high enough to stop the fall. Unfortunately this just launched it about five feet where it landed and skidded/rolled at least 10 feet away from me. It had some scratches and cracked the lens distance scale window but it kept on working just fine.

3. Canon EOS 1D Mark IIN with 70-200mm f/2.8. Was shooting a basketball game (sitting on the baseline) and had set this combo in front of me standing up tall on the lens hood while I shot with a second body. I bumped it and it fell over, about 8 inches (the length of the lens). Nothing compared to the concrete incident I initially thought. But I was wrong, the shutter had exploded.

4. Canon EOS 1D (Mark IV or X, can't remember) with 400 f/2.8 IS. A colleague of mine had a health issue and collapsed on the football sideline this past season. (They did CPR, used an AED, etc. and thankfully he was back to shooting just a little over a month later.) He was carrying this combo at the time and landed on it when he passed out. The gear was a wreck. The pocket wizard ripped the hot shoe and the metal around it right off the top, there was an 1x1 inch hole in the body. The lens mount was also ripped right out of the camera and still attached to the 400 with lots of electronics dangling from it. I'm pretty sure the back of the lens was damaged as well. I never heard what the bill was but CPS had it back in working order pretty quickly!

You must be a professional! I always say if you camera has damage your a professional photog! I read a blog where I saw some of the ugliest, most beat to hell, 1Ds's and 1D's and those were more impressive than any unscratched camera! I dropped my DSLR a few times from short distances, never worried about the body since thats cheap and replacable but the glass is ALWAYS what I check first! The time to turning the camera back on and checking the autofocus, focus ring in manual, etc. is like holding your breath!. Side note: I dropped my buddies 480EX flash today :O He had those battery boxes stack to levels and handed it to me to put on my camera, well suddenly the second battery box just gives out and sends everything flying! I was so calm about it but really confused how that happened with me when he was using it the entire time! Everything turned out fine except one of the battery box trigger thingy mo-bobbers battery door lost a tab so he had to tape it.