Survival of the fittest/luckiest

[Damon]

About a year ago, I (almost?) inducted myself into the photography Darwin Awards as I watched as my 20D/24-105 fly off my truck box @ ~50mph onto the road, resting finally on the middle line. It was inside my dry bag as I was headed out to do some kayaking but not padded or anything. The battery and door blew apart and a small chunk of the battery area went south as well. A small bungee later and some glue and it still works to this day. The lens worked for about another 8 months, suffering only a few missing edge plastic near the main objective. Could you share your close calls or not so close regarding mishaps/bonehead moves and the durability of your equipment so I feel better.

Damon

 

[TAF]

It's been a while since I did anything like that to my equipment. It's nice to see that modern stuff is decently rugged.

My last disaster occurred c1980. I was on the roof shooting some neighborhood shots, and had just finished when my Lake Placid F-1 (I've been a Canon user a long time...) slipped off my shoulder. In the old days (ie: the days after leather and before neoprene straps), we used guitar straps, which are rather slippery on the underside (very pretty on the top side...after this incident I added a velcro strip to the strap and to my jacket). The camera took one bounce and then fell about 10 feet to the ground.

The entire top side of the camera on the film advance lever side was stove in as far as the lever pivot, and the frame counter was smashed. But the back did not pop open, and there was no light leak. The photos were fine.

I used the camera like that for at least a month before sending it back to Canon for repair, which came to around $100 at the time (the body new was $500). I gladly paid it, and still have the camera, which works perfectly to this day (when you can get proper mercury batteries for the light meter even that works perfectly).

So I have high expectation of my 5D3 (although it is in a lot less danger these days since I am not willing or even able to get myself into as dangerous positions as when I was younger, so the camera is safer than it might have been).

I am appreciative of weather sealing...

 

[Ryan708]

my friend dropped his 40d down a set of concrete stairs and broke his 17-40L in half. Canon put it back together for $180 i think he said, and he says the lens has never been so sharp. The body didnt suffer any damage other than cosmetic.

I was taking pictures of a big block chevy on an engine stand for a friend, and I turned the engine stand around and while turning a front castor broke off the stand, and the motor fell toward me so natural instinct was to catch the falling object. My T1i was in my hand with my 17-70 on it. only got some scuffs but i smashed it into a block of cast iron pretty hard haha. Enough that I was making an ugly wincy face when I checked to make sure it was ok

 

[mdm041]

I've destroyed several lens hoods and a few UV filters but they have saved the lens everytime. Most of my stuff has been running into stuff. I once tried to spear a cyclist as I was panning to get a picture of a porsche on the road and as I turned a cyclist was riding by me on the sidewalk. I caught him right in the chest and knocked him to the ground. The lens hood of my 70-200 was split in half but the lens was fine. I keep them on even if I'm indoors because I've saved a few trips to CPS because of them.

 

[te4o]

Oh, one never forgets these seconds... It is almost like the birth or death of a child... My son opened carelessly the rear door of the car on a parking slot near Mt Kosciusko and the whole camera bag carelessly packed on top of all tents sleeping bags and virtually sitting under the roof dropped in one go on the road. 40D, 17-55 mounted, 70-200/4, 10-22, batteries and other stuff in a Lowe Pro 200 waist bag gave a sound of 4000 loss. But only the electrics of the 70-200 were broken and the rest was OK. 1000 repair and again, the lens came back sharper than before!

 

[bdunbar79]

Nothing bad happened, but a close call. Imagine getting in your car, putting your seatbelt on, and putting it in gear and looking in your driver's side mirror to discover a 5D Mark III with a 180L lens sitting on the trunk!

 

[DavidR]

My first post.

In the 1980s I used Canon AE1s (over the years I had 4 of them) and one day I was walking along a country road in Lanarkshire in Scotland. The road had lots of bends and a car came screaming round a corner and nearly hit me, getting the camera instead. I remember that it was a blue car. How do I remember it was blue ? - because the car`s blue paint stayed on the camera`s leather case for years. And the camera still worked - no problems at all.
PS just sold all 4 cameras last month to help finance another 5D2.

 

[coreyhkh]

I had my Pentax K5 and 300mm f4 fall off my car on to pavement worked fine, then I tripped and fell into a pond and it still works.

I have not knocked my 7D around yet touch wood lol.

 

[Videoshooter]

Recently I picked up my fully packed Lowepro backback and swung it onto my back, only to discover the zipper was not done up. The entire contents (2x bodies and 4 lenses) rolled out and bounced all over the place. Thank god I was on a grassed area at the time!

 

[danski0224]

I was out walking with my 1DIV and 100mm macro, and I heard the "ker-thunk" and saw the camera and lens roll on the pavement next to me. Camera fell about 3'.

No marks on the lens, a mark on the eyecup and top of camera in front of the hot shoe.

Picked it up, muttered some colored words and it all seemed to be working OK.

I don't think the strap was at fault (so I won't name names), but somehow it became unscrewed and the rest is history.

Either I didn't screw it on tight enough, or body contact loosened it. Either way, it will be receiving a bit more attention in the future.

 

[kaihp]

Had Ye Olde 10D with an on kit-lens from the even older 500N sitting on a shelf, and one of the cats knocked it over so it fell to the (wooden) floor. Maybe 1½ feet drop. The 10D had no problems, but the kitlens had a bit of the plastic bayonet broken off. It would never be really well attached to a body, even though I glued the piece back with superglue.

Morale: don't buy lenses with plastic bayonets

 

[Ewinter]

I was recently out shooting in some woods, remote flash with umbrellas on top of standard flash stands. 2 brand new 580 IIs. The model was at the top of a little hillock and so I had to rack out the stand to it's full 9".
I also forgot to sand bag it, so one tiny puff of wind later and the whole lot comes down.

At this point the umbrella took all the damage; I replaced it and this time sandbagged. That would have been great if the ground was even. Next thing I know, the stand's going over backwards. The flash follows a perfect arc at it's full height and lands smack on a big rock (the only one around)
The flash looked battered but it was mostly rock dust. It's got a few tiny scratches and is completely intact.
The rock wasn't so lucky. I'm quite impressed by the build quality of those things

 

[keithfullermusic]

I was recently out shooting in some woods, remote flash with umbrellas on top of standard flash stands. 2 brand new 580 IIs. The model was at the top of a little hillock and so I had to rack out the stand to it's full 9".
I also forgot to sand bag it, so one tiny puff of wind later and the whole lot comes down.

At this point the umbrella took all the damage; I replaced it and this time sandbagged. That would have been great if the ground was even. Next thing I know, the stand's going over backwards. The flash follows a perfect arc at it's full height and lands smack on a big rock (the only one around)
The flash looked battered but it was mostly rock dust. It's got a few tiny scratches and is completely intact.
The rock wasn't so lucky. I'm quite impressed by the build quality of those things

for a $600 flashlight, it better withstand a few bangs. it drives me nuts that these things are all snappable plastic. for as much money as they charge for these flashes, why not charge a little more and just make the bodies aluminum or something that can take a beating. the problem with strobes is that they are going to be dropped during their lives, so make them able to withstand it consistently. many times people are lucky - as in your case - but most of the time they aren't.

 

[Ewinter]

for a $600 flashlight, it better withstand a few bangs. it drives me nuts that these things are all snappable plastic. for as much money as they charge for these flashes, why not charge a little more and just make the bodies aluminum or something that can take a beating. the problem with strobes is that they are going to be dropped during their lives, so make them able to withstand it consistently. many times people are lucky - as in your case - but most of the time they aren't.

True, but I'd imagine it boils down to weight. the 580 is not heavy, but it's none too light either. a 7d with grip and 85L is heavy without the flash.
Also, the most vulnerable part isn't the plastic body- that's replaceable easily enough. From what I can gather the tube would be the weakest link

 

[felubra]

Two weeks after I've bought the 18-135 IS last year, I was preparing to do a self portrait with my Canon XSi, that lens and a 580EX II. The set was on a tripod, but I forgot the safety lock and... it fell down almost 2 meters... to the ceramic floor.

Fortunately, the plastic plate of the tripod absorved most of the impact, but the lens broke in the mount area. The camera LCD got white marks, but it still usable, and the 580II was intact.

I was able, by myself, to reassemble the lens, using glue and soldering. But the IS was gone, the AF was gone and the lens screws needs tightening every time I use.

Big disaster.

This is my first post.

 

[keithfullermusic]

for a $600 flashlight, it better withstand a few bangs. it drives me nuts that these things are all snappable plastic. for as much money as they charge for these flashes, why not charge a little more and just make the bodies aluminum or something that can take a beating. the problem with strobes is that they are going to be dropped during their lives, so make them able to withstand it consistently. many times people are lucky - as in your case - but most of the time they aren't.

True, but I'd imagine it boils down to weight. the 580 is not heavy, but it's none too light either. a 7d with grip and 85L is heavy without the flash.
Also, the most vulnerable part isn't the plastic body- that's replaceable easily enough. From what I can gather the tube would be the weakest link

I agree that weight is an issue, but most people using big boy flashes have them on stands and not on their camera, so weight isn't an issue in most applications.

 

[Ewinter]

for a $600 flashlight, it better withstand a few bangs. it drives me nuts that these things are all snappable plastic. for as much money as they charge for these flashes, why not charge a little more and just make the bodies aluminum or something that can take a beating. the problem with strobes is that they are going to be dropped during their lives, so make them able to withstand it consistently. many times people are lucky - as in your case - but most of the time they aren't.

True, but I'd imagine it boils down to weight. the 580 is not heavy, but it's none too light either. a 7d with grip and 85L is heavy without the flash.
Also, the most vulnerable part isn't the plastic body- that's replaceable easily enough. From what I can gather the tube would be the weakest link

I agree that weight is an issue, but most people using big boy flashes have them on stands and not on their camera, so weight isn't an issue in most applications.

I'd have to disagree with that one, in all fairness. My 580s spend about 90% of their time on camera, the bounce features alone make it better for on camera use than the 430.
They're great on stands, but if they made them heavier I wouldn't appreciate it.

 

[MKIIIphotographer]

Loading the kids in the car... Blackrapid strapped 7D with 50L came apart at the swivel. I here an odd rattle/metal clink and look down to see my whole rig bouncing on the concrete driveway. I immediatley reached down to pick it up like that would prevent any damage. Test, test, test... fortunatley no damage to either the lens or camera. Only a bit of paint scuff :-\

 

[zim]

In the 1980’s I was whamming down a windy country road in Lanarkshire Scotland and this guy whacked his camera against my blue car, huge dent in the car, boy they knew how to make cameras in those days!

 

[Bosman]

I was out walking with my 1DIV and 100mm macro, and I heard the "ker-thunk" and saw the camera and lens roll on the pavement next to me. Camera fell about 3'.

No marks on the lens, a mark on the eyecup and top of camera in front of the hot shoe.

Picked it up, muttered some colored words and it all seemed to be working OK.

I don't think the strap was at fault (so I won't name names), but somehow it became unscrewed and the rest is history.

Either I didn't screw it on tight enough, or body contact loosened it. Either way, it will be receiving a bit more attention in the future.

Rapid strap. Happened to me, never used it once i got the spiderpro holster.