I borrowed a colleague's Leica Super-Elmar-R 15/3.5 lens on a trip to Antelope Canyon .... and it rolled out of my backpack when I picked it up, as I had left it unzipped. It must have scraped a stone or something, as there was some scuffing on the aperture ring - but otherwise there was no damage that I could see. I didn't think it was fair to return the lens to him with the scuffs on the aperture ring - as surely this will reduce the value of the lens by a couple of hundred bucks at least, so I offered to get the aperture ring replaced. Well, turns out that Leica USA has to send the lens to Germany, and Leica Germany has to ship the lens to Zeiss for the aperture ring replacement. Long story short and about 8-10 months later, the lens came back with a whopping $2,000+ bill! Yes, Ouch!
Picked up my 5DII when I thought my 50 1.4 was connected. It wasn't. Tumbled from about 5ft onto a tiled kitchen floor.
Still to this day don't know how it survived ok. Just shot a wedding with it and it looks as sharp and error free as ever! I think it hit on the edge of the lens cap and that when the lens cap pinged off it absorbed some of the shock, kind of like a crumple zone in a car, but without the crumple!
Had my 5D with a lens attached slip out of my camera bag from my car and fall onto the concrete floor. Approx. 3 ft drop. I just about died (1st drop onto something hard). Thought everything was okay upon initial review, but later found out that the 5D's hotshoe was slightly bent and the focus on the lens was getting stuck. Fixed the hotshoe myself and sent the lens in for services.
My 5D with 24-105L attached fell off a hotel table onto the carpeted floor last weekend. My wife gasped. I just shrugged and said "should be OK", and it was.
I haven't had any significant drops yet of my own. One of the kids dropped an older canon PnS into the lake. It was grabbed before it hit the bottom and began operating normally after a couple days of drying out.
More importantly, I have learned from this thread today that I should be careful when putting on my Fong. Perhaps better not do that out in public.
A buddy was in a helicopter when he was changing lenses and dropped a 600/4 VR. Landed on a honda accord. Totaled the lens and shattered the windshield on the accord. Insurance covered everything.
Shot a high school prom a few weeks back...thought I had my 5d with 28-70 2.8L and pocketwizard attached securely moved the ball head and bam! everything hit the floor. Lense came apart in 3 pieces at the mount. 5D is scuffed but works perfectly fine...pocket wizard works on remote lights for now, just can't attach to hotshoe that is completely toast.
In process of getting everthing fixed...luckily it was right BEFORE the kids arrived and not DURING. Didn't skip a beat, but was super upset afterwards...lol...that 28-70 is my bread and butter...luckily my studio mate has one I am able to borrow.
50mm 1.8, dropped 2 feet onto the ground, split in two lengthways. Repair was half the cost of the lens and still not much more than pocket change! Did I mention that it was borrowed? I bought a new one and gave it to my friend, when I got the repaired one I sold it on ebay with the canon repair warranty, I think the repair ended up costing me £15 after everything.
Dropped a 5D mid wedding, the 24-70L snapped off at it's lens collar. Can't remember how much the repair was.
Dropped a 5D 4 feet, the 24-70L took the fall on it's face, dented the filter ring and the zoom mechanism jammed almost, needed serious force to move it. Managed to get by for the last hour of the wedding. I'd sprained my ankle 4 hours earlier and it was already midnight, not my best night, cost a fortune to repair.
I have the world record in 580ex mkI foot replacements!
I have two very knackered AB800's including one which a friend attached a new power slider on the outside of the box as I'd snapped the board with a fall. The other one has a cracked case. The umbrella reflectors are dented almost out of recognition. I use sandbags these days.
Beni wrote:
Dropped a 5D 4 feet, the 24-70L took the fall on it's face, dented the filter ring and the zoom mechanism jammed almost, needed serious force to move it. Managed to get by for the last hour of the wedding. I'd sprained my ankle 4 hours earlier and it was already midnight, not my best night, cost a fortune to repair.
And THIS is why the photographer shouldn't drink at weddings...
ChrisDM wrote:
This just happened a few weeks ago: In a Lowepro Classic Trekker bag I had the 24-70 attached to my 1D3. When I opened the back seat of my Jeep Cherokee, the bag rolled out onto the pavement. When I opened the bag, the lens was still attached to the mount, but bent on it, and stuck. 2 weeks and $500 later Canon got them both back to me good as new.
Chris Miller
www.imagineimagery.com
And this is EXACTLY why I never travel with the lens attached to the body in the bag.
My dog knocked over my tripod which had my wife's 40D and 60mm macro mounted on it. Camera landed squarely on its' side onto a concrete garage floor. Dog got a good shouting at but the camera and lens were fine and appear to have sustained no damage. Looks like the 40D is built rugged!
In addition to my previous contribution to this thread: I was in a client's house with my on-location studio shooting baby photos. I was sitting on a chair with my FujiFilm S2 Pro and a 28-105 lens on a tripod in front of me, all my lighting gear surrounding me (small house). My client wanted to see a few of the shots just taken of her baby so I released the quick-release so I could show her the back of the camera. I swear there was an instantaneous breeze because that camera FLEW off the tripod! It hit the wood floor HARD and snapped the lens clean in half at the zoom. "Uh, we'll call it a day."
Dropped my 16-35, almost 400 euro in damage (of which 150 will be covered by insurance). That was a week after it got a brand new USM motor, because it mysteriously wouldn't focus anymore (and I didn't drop it that time).
But, the USM motor isn't broken this time. So I guess I'll basically have a brand new 16-35 when I get it back, apart from the cosmetical damage. I'd rather have spent all those euro's on upgrading to a Mk II though, which I won't be doing for a while now..
Oh and I probably have to get a new B+W UV filter too, which was stuck on the lens. But maybe I'm lucky and I'll get it back in one piece
One from recent memory was hiking back up a rocky slope and letting my assistant/girlfriend carry a body with 70-200 2.8 IS attached. She tripped and dropped it (hood first) onto a rocky path. I don't know what dropped faster, my stomach or the lens. In any case it's still working perfectly in daily use. Scared the crap out of me though. Oh yeah, she was ok too, hahaha.
This "leaving the backpack unzipped" happened to me twice actually. The 2nd time around I was a lot luckier. My Canon 17-40 flew off my backpack and landed on the asphalt in Yosemite. Smashed my Hoya UV filter to smithereens (landed on its rim) but there was no "injury" to the lens whatsoever.
This is a rather depressing thread ....
Seth Tower wrote:
Well, hey, look on the bright side: at least you've got one more!
