So today during a very long wedding, I've managed to not properly velcro in one of my think tank pouches. Dropped a 24-70 on cement...Then managed to towards the end of the day, not attach my strap to my vest, so it slipped off and my 1dsIII took a nasty fall with a 35L attached to it. It took a licking, and kept a ticking albeit with some nasty battle scars. Am I the only one that abuses their gear like that? Gonna take it to CPS to triple check all the components, and I'm really glad these cameras are built pretty sturdy. I guess If I keep this up, I should invest in rubber wraps!
I look at my stuff as tools. I try my hardest to keep them in great functional working order, but I dont really care (beyond the resale value) if they get bumped, nicked or scuffed.
I am horrible on my flashes...they take the most abuse. I have only ever dropped one lens (a 24L), and I had to send it into cps right away...it was totally buggered.
been there.. done that! few yrs. ago dropped 2 1D2 bodies on concrete @ one wedding - had back-ups and CPS. Toasted a bunch of Hassies back in the day too. GL. ED K.
heh, yeah the bumps, nicks and scuffs are just par for the course. But drops are the worse because you just don't know what's going on internally, or if it just jarred lens elements inside.
Sometime last year, I had a complete optech strap fail (more like user failure) as I didn't click it in all the way. Dropped the 1dsII along with a 35L. Snapped the mount, and dented the front ring. That lens is surprisingly on the weak side. CPS to the rescue!
I used to cry over this stuff. Now, I just hear it hit the deck, hope and pray it still works, and if it does, chock the scuffs, scrapes and scratches up to red badges of courage, and carry on.
Also, I use filters on almost all of my lenses. And I'm happy I do.
had my tokina 11-16 fall out of my belt pouch, about 6" (inches, not feet) to the ground, busted the filter, which was stuck in place.....same wedding my 24mm 2.8 fell out of my pouch and rolled under the car....not a scratch...then i had an sb-28 take a spill at a wedding off a 7ft light stand....no matter how well you place them, someone will still trip over it......broke the foot off......yeah, it sucks, i just try and be as careful as possible with my stuff....
I always change lenses over my camera bag, if one gets dropped it is a 6" fall onto soft stuff. Not much of an effort since the next lens will be in the bag anyway.
I have had a mamiya RB67 lens roll down a sand dune and fill up with sand but that is another story. Still made £50 on ebay!
years ago (I mean YEARS ago) had a buddy shooting from the balcony during a wedding at our local Catholic Cathedral and his RB 67 slid off the tripod and fell 40' the the tile floor. Totally dusted the body/back/lens. Stopped the ceremony. His most embarassing moment... Ed K.
24-70 hit concrete front element down. repair was like $350 came back with zoom ring barely mowing. Sent back at n/c repair. Finally came back, is still more stiff as it was but focusing is sharper..
We lost radio triggers off open belt and 85 hitting soft soil/grassy walk with no visible damage.
I developed a phobia of holding my equipment over balconies at the Church thinking if it goes down most likely there will be somebody sitting there underneath.
my 1ds2 slipped off my shoulder with a 35L. it hit the sidewalk hood first, and split into two pieces only held together by a few wires. remarkably, cps (gold) fixed it for $135! the 1ds2 never missed a beat. i don't get attached to gear anymore, but the repair costs have added up over the years!
I've done it. Dropped my 50mm 1.4 numerous times and it's still fine - astonishingly robust lens - and last season dropped my 135L. It basically stopped focusing properly, but a quick visit to CPS sorted that for me thank god. Also, early in my career had a strap detach itself and slide a 5DII plus 135L down my body to the ground. That wasn't fun, but it was all ok aside from a few nicks.
Rolled a 16-35 F4 VR down a hill attached to a D700 once. Dusted it off, took a test shot, worked fine. A 24-70 slid off the roof of my stationary car, again dusted it off and it worked fine.
Nikon stuff seems more robust than my old Canon gear. I wrote off two 17-55s, numerous repairs to 40D cameras and a 7D, constant calibration to try to get them to focus. Nikon stuff Just Works for me.
