Stronger body?

[Macadameane]

For those worried about how much a body can hold up, or just want a good laugh (or a cry), I've posted the videos below.  When he started using the cameras for shoes, I thought it couldn't get any worse... but it did.

D70 vs 400D durability test:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1tTBncIsm8
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Shots with the camera's post-damage:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWzsXeXCwuc
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Despite the broken front lens on the Canon, the picture quality is still a champ.

[DuLt]

For those worried about how much a body can hold up, or just want a good laugh (or a cry), I've posted the videos below.  When he started using the cameras for shoes, I thought it couldn't get any worse... but it did.

D70 vs 400D durability test:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1tTBncIsm8

Shots with the camera's post-damage:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWzsXeXCwuc

Despite the broken front lens on the Canon, the picture quality is still a champ.

It's cause of this that I'm not a bit worried about rugness.

I take good care of my cameras, they can take allot of abuse.

Maybe a rugged camera would take more of a beating or survive a harsher accident, but prevention is the best ruggedness.

[WarStreet]

Great post, this was fun to watch !

[HughHowey]

Unbelievable. Can't get my mind around the fact that they still work and take such awesome pictures.

[Rocky]

It's cause of this that I'm not a bit worried about rugness.

I take good care of my cameras, they can take allot of abuse.

Maybe a rugged camera would take more of a beating or survive a harsher accident, but prevention is the best ruggedness.

How do we prevent the shutter release button failure?? It is a commonly failure item before anything elses in the 20D,30D 40D 50D etc. They all have rugged metal body, but the shutter button failure will cost US$250 to be fixed. I do no think that I will spend that kind of money on a 3 years old DSLR.

[gmrza]

It's cause of this that I'm not a bit worried about rugness.

I take good care of my cameras, they can take allot of abuse.

Maybe a rugged camera would take more of a beating or survive a harsher accident, but prevention is the best ruggedness.

In real life, the punishment cameras are more likely to experience day in day out include:
- cold
- rain + water splashes
- dust
- beach sand and salt spray

The last point is probably the worst - the beach is one of the worst possible environments for a camera.  How a camera holds up to frequent exposure to grit and salt can be a big factor.

Some photographers do abuse their cameras though.  My wife has shot some weddings with a photographer who just dumps his 1DsIII in the boot of the car between locations.  Not only does it roll around during the drive, but it is exposed to all the dirt you normally find in a car's boot.  He is also a spirited driver!  (The punishment the camera gets is visible on the body.)  He also leaves lenses on the floor of his studio without either front or rear dust caps.

[Macadameane]

How do we prevent the shutter release button failure?? It is a commonly failure item before anything elses in the 20D,30D 40D 50D etc. They all have rugged metal body, but the shutter button failure will cost US$250 to be fixed. I do no think that I will spend that kind of money on a 3 years old DSLR.

This has been brought up before.  It's at your own risk of course, but there are tutorials online on how to either dissemble the camera and clean the contacts, or very carefully tilt the camera the right way and pour pure alcohol up the battery compartment (alcohol cannot have water or components can rust).  I haven't ever done either, but the logic is solid.  Can't say that I would do it though.  I'll have to decide when I run into that problem.

[Rocky]

This has been brought up before.  It's at your own risk of course, but there are tutorials online on how to either dissemble the camera and clean the contacts, or very carefully tilt the camera the right way and pour pure alcohol up the battery compartment (alcohol cannot have water or components can rust).  I haven't ever done either, but the logic is solid.  Can't say that I would do it though.  I'll have to decide when I run into that problem.

I see how to fix it (at you own risk) in You tube. My point is if the shutter release burtton fails the rugged metal body becomes aboat anchore. So why there is a lot of people on this site insist on metal boby or nothing??

[bvukich]

My wife has shot some weddings with a photographer who just dumps his 1DsIII in the boot of the car between locations.  Not only does it roll around during the drive, but it is exposed to all the dirt you normally find in a car's boot.  He is also a spirited driver!  (The punishment the camera gets is visible on the body.)  He also leaves lenses on the floor of his studio without either front or rear dust caps.

To many, tools of the trade are just that, tools.  That being said, I wouldn't hire a carpenter that abused his tools.

[branden]

I have gotten both my 5D2 and 300D soaking wet (not on purpose), and neither camera seemed to even notice. Even the lenses didn't care much. Shooting in the rain is great fun.

[ronderick]

Yeah, the 5D2 is very dependable, but I prefer not to push my luck.

About a year ago I was shooting some shots in a mountain town but was caught by a sudden torrential rain. Despite the fact I didn't bring a rain coat for my camera, I kept shooting in the rain - trusting the camera to hold its grounds.

Even though nothing major went wrong, there was a problem with the joystick on the back side; there's no response when you push the joystick to the left, and the problem seems to be from the water-drenched gaps between the camera and joystick pad. Fortunately, sticking the camera back in the dehumidifier storage for a day.

Again, even though the body is dependable, I rather not push my luck and would stick an extra camera raincoat in my gear pack if possible.

[tomscott]

Check out my troubles with button failure on my 40D

http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php/topic,584.msg8485.html#msg8485

I went on safari, didnt clean it thoroughly (dust etc) then went out on the lake when it was like throwing it down. Few days later the button failed to work. In the end i got some ISOPROPYL ALCOHOL put the camera on a tripod and pored it down the battery compartment and it worked a treat, although not for the feint of hearted check the vid below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tB_gSqyidI0
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But now it works better than ever.

[gmrza]

My wife has shot some weddings with a photographer who just dumps his 1DsIII in the boot of the car between locations.  Not only does it roll around during the drive, but it is exposed to all the dirt you normally find in a car's boot.  He is also a spirited driver!  (The punishment the camera gets is visible on the body.)  He also leaves lenses on the floor of his studio without either front or rear dust caps.

To many, tools of the trade are just that, tools.  That being said, I wouldn't hire a carpenter that abused his tools.

I'm totally with you on that.  There is no way you can avoid shooting weddings where you get rained on, get covered in spray at the beach or have smoke from a bonfire pour into a reception venue.  Your gear has to deal with that. There is absolutely no excuse, on the other hand, for abusing your gear.  My wife's gear gets the same tender treatment she gives a newborn baby... (probably a reason why we have had relatively few "quality" problems with camera gear.)

[adamdoesmovies]

It's cause of this that I'm not a bit worried about rugness.

I take good care of my cameras, they can take allot of abuse.

Maybe a rugged camera would take more of a beating or survive a harsher accident, but prevention is the best ruggedness.

How do we prevent the shutter release button failure?? It is a commonly failure item before anything elses in the 20D,30D 40D 50D etc. They all have rugged metal body, but the shutter button failure will cost US$250 to be fixed. I do no think that I will spend that kind of money on a 3 years old DSLR.

To grossly summarize: Pour alcohol down the battery hole. The catch is that it needs to be absolutely pure >99% isopropyl, and you have to have the camera positioned just right or else you'll get these weird (but actually kinda cool looking) splotchy patterns in the top display when you turn on the light. If this does happen, it's not the end of the world as you can still clearly read all of the numbers. Make sure to research this before you do it, but it saved my 30D.  EDIT: Tomscott posted a youtube video up there:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tB_gSqyidI0
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