Trying to keep it short: I sold my first DSLR (Rebel XT) to my buddy from Florida who happens to be a skydive instructor. He used it mounted on his helmet to shoot skydivers in a free fall. The mounting plate detached when he opened his chute and both cameras (photo + video) took a fall from approximately 3000 ft. Amazingly, the Rebel survived the fall and my friend is still using it to this very day. It has a crack in the plastic body and the kit lens is a little jerky when zooming, but functional. I'd like to know if there is a similar story or something close to this but I doubt. It might me a world record indeed (for the height of a camera drop which survived). Kudos to canon!

PS: New development of the story: it seems that we might be lucky and get to see the video scene too. The guy has the tape somewhere in his files, you can see the moment when it got detached from the helmet and the free fall all the way down to the moment it hit the ground and got smashed. The cameras got separated when he opened the parachute, there was nothing to soften the impact for the Rebel. Estimated velocity: 100-110 mph. Ground was pretty soft but even so, the impact was massive.

PS. I'm surprised to see the interest my post generated. It got covered by CNET, Endgadget, Canon Rumors and others. For the non believers claiming that it is impossible to jump with a camera attached on a helmet, watch these videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rpy1c5xlTso&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TF-kZ0EBDCc&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtQiWziDIgU&feature=related

This is the norm, this is how it's done.

Stay tuned for the coming video on my blog:

http://cielphoto.blogspot.com/

Video posted!

More

this just made me laugh...thanks! great story

Rebels, they feel so cheap...

Good story.

Great story - reminds me of the old Timex stories.

takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin'

So much for a body feeling cheap because of the plastic...

That's some magic right there.

The lens stayed mounted after the fall?!

Love the picture on the LCD.

This would make a cool Canon ad... much better than Ashton K. for Nikon.

Agreed, great story! The pic of the camera after the fall nails it.

Wow, if you or he would report it to Canon, they may put that into the record book and if they induct that particular body to the "hall of fame" for what it went through. His name may be put under that and they may give him two, three new bodies and maybe even a few lenses. It will be good for their image/reputation. You will never know...

What is the terminal velocity of a Rebel? Canon didn't put that info in their white paper.

I wonder, had there been an L lens mounted, would its superior build quality leave it unscathed (as opposed to the kit lens), or would the extra weight have doomed the combination? I think a test is in order. Who would like to volunteer their 24-70/2.8L? Any takers?

Judging from the debris, it looks like it hit relatively soft ground/soil, which helped its chances. It probably would not have survived had it hit, say, concrete.

Absolutely no doubt about that!

great story. notice the handycam next to it didn't do so well.

Talk about a camera "dropping in value..."

A good story for the next time someone complains about the bad build quality of the plastic kit lens!

wickerprints wrote:
What is the terminal velocity of a Rebel? Canon didn't put that info in their white paper.


I think what might have happened is that the mounting plate acted like a leaf, spinning quickly around but dropping relatively slowly to the ground.

As the two cameras most certainly have a different weight but not that much different, the system is not in balance and hence one side of the plate would turn down and that would put the whole system spinning. Also, the plate would absorb most of the force when hitting ground.

In any case, quite a lucky hit!

it was the protective filter that saved it. long live protective filters!

astrolucida wrote:
A good story for the next time someone complains about the bad build quality of the plastic kit lens!

wickerprints wrote:
What is the terminal velocity of a Rebel? Canon didn't put that info in their white paper.


I think what might have happened is that the mounting plate acted like a leaf, spinning quickly around but dropping relatively slowly to the ground.

As the two cameras most certainly have a different weight but not that much different, the system is not in balance and hence one side of the plate would turn down and that would put the whole system spinning. Also, the plate would absorb most of the force when hitting ground.

In any case, quite a lucky hit!


I don't think the relative mass makes any difference at all. Gravity acts equally on all bodies irrespective of mass which is why a brick and a penny dropped from the same height will hit the ground simultaneously.

Really lucky there was no one down there looking up!

Mass won't change acceleration when falling under the force of gravity alone... but shape will outside a vacuum.

That's why in earth's atmosphere a brick and a feather dropped from the same height DON'T hit the ground simultaneously (or a penny and a brick, most likely), whereas in a vacuum the two will hit the ground simultaneously.

AMAZING STORY!!!