What happens when you drop your camera from a tripod?

Well, I have found out the answer last night in Paris :-((((

There I was, trying to take one last shot at 1AM before retiring for the night. I was truly exhausted and not concentrating at all. The camera, a 40D + BG with two batteries plus a EF 50mm f1.8 was mounted in the portrait stand on the Manfrotto hydro ball head 468. So instead of turning the hydro button to recompose the camera, I have pulled the clutch which releases the camera. In slow motion right before my eyes, it fell down the 1.8 meters to the concrete pavement below. After that, parts of the lens, the BG, 2 batteries and the camera body have all flown in different directions, scattering accross a diameter of some 5 meters. End result; the lens was broken into 3 distinct pieces and some small fragments, the BG was cracked and the pins holding the battery broken, the lens itself which was still on the body was sutck to the camera and had to be removed using brute force. The camera appeared to function at first, but refuses to communicate with any other lens I mount on it, a couple of the pins making contact seem to have been puched too deep and refuse to come out. I am afraid that there shall be some damage to the mirror and/or the sensor as well. I won't know the real damage until it can be handled by the Canon repair center. In the worst case, it will be a write off. Considering that I only bought it two months ago, it is a big bummer.

The "good" news is that I had changed from using my EF 70-200mm f2.8 to the cheap 50mm just two minutes before the incident. Otherwise, the damages could have been worse.

So I had to cancel the second day of my photography trip to Paris and took the first train back home this morning. That meant buying extra tickets since I was travelling with photography club members, who stayed behind to continue their shooting today.

All in all, I am totally shocked and I have this nagging feeling of unbelief how I could do something stupid like this!

Thanks for listening to this rant.

Cem_Usakligil said:

In the worst case, it will be a write off. Considering that I only bought it two months ago, it is a big bummer......
All in all, I am totally shocked and I have this nagging feeling of unbelief how I could do something stupid like this!

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Oh dear Cem what a ******!! It's one of those flippin' things that could happen to any of us, so sorry it happened to you....

I hope you're insured for accidental damage, let us know what happens with Canon....

janet Smith said:

...I hope you're insured for accidental damage, let us know what happens with Canon....

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Hi Jan,

Thanks for the sentiments, it really helps

I am insured generally against accidents during travel, but I am afraid not against stupidity caused by myself. I'll find out in the coming days, I don't have any hopes at all.

Cheers,

Hi Cem
It happened almost the same twice in the past with 2 different cameras (though not in the same context)... I was fortunate enough that both time only fear and horror filled my brain, but I can understand your feeling and really feel your pain…
Keep in mind that even if it were to cost you quite a lot of money, it's only gear after all…

It was Nature's way of telling you that the world has reached its limit of Paris photos for this century, Cem. Of course it might simultaneously have been a good excuse to switch to medium format and pick up that upcoming Phase One P60. (My wife has accused me of creating convenient "accidents" when I'm ready for a "But I hafta" upgrade.

Seriously, though, I feel your pain. I've certainly had my share of Oops moments and the instant-sweat-storms that follow. Glad it was not more serious. Cameras come and go but good lenses are forever.

I dropped an Olympus XA3 in Brussels - it never worked the same again

These days, when I mount anything on a tripod, I wrap the neckstrap around the tripod or around my hand.

Day for Klutzes

Well, Cem,

I too had own accident - I dropped the 700-200 2.8 is while shooting a wedding yesterday. It was attached to my husband's 20d. It fell about 20 inches. Phew - the floor was grass so I heaved a sigh of relief. The d would have only been a mindor loss since we're replacing it when the new 5d comes out.

The bad news is that the 40d for you crossed the Atlantic a few times by messenger. If you need any assistance you have friends with good exchange rates.

Thanks everybody ))

Nicolas Claris said:

Hi Cem
It happened almost the same twice in the past with 2 different cameras (though not in the same context)... I was fortunate enough that both time only fear and horror filled my brain, but I can understand your feeling and really feel your pain…
Keep in mind that even if it were to cost you quite a lot of money, it's only gear after all…

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Hi Nicolas,

Thanks for sharing this with me, it really helps . Please don't ever drop one of those Sinars. Or maybe you should, in order to keep it to yourself as a damaged property ;-)

Ken Tanaka said:

It was Nature's way of telling you that the world has reached its limit of Paris photos for this century, Cem. Of course it might simultaneously have been a good excuse to switch to medium format and pick up that upcoming Phase One P60. (My wife has accused me of creating convenient "accidents" when I'm ready for a "But I hafta" upgrade.

Seriously, though, I feel your pain. I've certainly had my share of Oops moments and the instant-sweat-storms that follow. Glad it was not more serious. Cameras come and go but good lenses are forever.

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Ken, my thoughts exactly. Even before I went to Paris I was thinking to myself what I should really be doing there since everything which can be photographed has been done so before, and much better than I can ;-). I am even not half happy that I now can look forward towards buying a 5D Mk II instead, although I thought I would have been. It seems that I really liked this nifty 40D. But luckily, my lenses are safe indeed.

Rhys Sage said:

I dropped an Olympus XA3 in Brussels - it never worked the same again

These days, when I mount anything on a tripod, I wrap the neckstrap around the tripod or around my hand.

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Hi Rhys,

As a matter of fact, there is a securiy pin on the Manfrotto 468 ball head, which locks the release lever. I always set it on as the first thing when I mount the camera on it. This must have been the only time I forgot to do so. I cannot use the strap trick since my camera has only a hand strap attached.

Kathy Rappaport said:

Well, Cem,

I too had own accident - I dropped the 700-200 2.8 is while shooting a wedding yesterday. It was attached to my husband's 20d. It fell about 20 inches. Phew - the floor was grass so I heaved a sigh of relief. The d would have only been a mindor loss since we're replacing it when the new 5d comes out.

The bad news is that the 40d for you crossed the Atlantic a few times by messenger. If you need any assistance you have friends with good exchange rates.

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Hi Kathy,

What an unfortunate coincidence. But the good old 70-200 should easily survive a fall like the one you had yesterday.How was the shoot, I hope al went well?

Cheers,

Cem_Usakligil said:

In slow motion right before my eyes, it fell down the 1.8 meters to the concrete pavement below. After that, parts of the lens, the BG, 2 batteries and the camera body have all flown in different directions, scattering accross a diameter of some 5 meters.

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Man, that sounds horrific! It's something we all dread, and hope it never happens. I can only imagine the shock you must have been in, just when you were getting fully accustomed to the new camera. You were so 'lucky' having the 50mm on instead of the 70-200mm.

Now Canon is obligated to release a 5D successor soon, as a consolation!

Bart

Bart_van_der_Wolf said:

Man, that sounds horrific! It's something we all dread, and hope it never happens. I can only imagine the shock you must have been in, just when you were getting fully accustomed to the new camera. You were so 'lucky' having the 50mm on instead of the 70-200mm.

Now Canon is obligated to release a 5D successor soon, as a consolation!

Bart

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Hi Bart,

It was indeed horrific, I was totally numb. There were a lot of drunken tourists around and they had a huge laugh salvo when this has happened :-(.

I hope that none of you experience something like this ever. OTOH, it is only materials, as Nicolas said. Let's have consolation in that.

Cheers,

This is an accurate depiction of my state of mind

Taken in Paris earlier yesterday:

Oh so sorry to hear that Cem. I know everyone is saying it's only gear, and that is true, but it still has to be a most horrible feeling nonetheless. I will be calling my insurance agent tomorrow to see what I need to do for coverage in a situation like that. I could never afford to just buy another camera. I hope it all works out. Perhaps it is not as bad as first thought. I have heard about some pretty awful sounding accidents that eventually turned out not to be so bad and the equipment was able to be repaired. I hope that is the case here. Get that bird off of your head and put some pants on. Then maybe you will feel a little better
James

Fortunately my business insurance covers me up to $5,000 of dropped gear!

James Newman said:

Oh so sorry to hear that Cem. I know everyone is saying it's only gear, and that is true, but it still has to be a most horrible feeling nonetheless. I will be calling my insurance agent tomorrow to see what I need to do for coverage in a situation like that. I could never afford to just buy another camera. I hope it all works out. Perhaps it is not as bad as first thought. I have heard about some pretty awful sounding accidents that eventually turned out not to be so bad and the equipment was able to be repaired. I hope that is the case here. Get that bird off of your head and put some pants on. Then maybe you will feel a little better
James

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Thanks James, you really made me LoL ))

Cheers,

Rhys Sage said:

Fortunately my business insurance covers me up to $5,000 of dropped gear!

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This is interesting news, I think it is prudent to look into this; especially if one is a (semi)pro.

Cheers,

Commiserations Cem, it must have been horrendous. I suppose at least it wasn't a 1DsMkIII.

I was President of the Canberra Photographic Society for six years in the 80s and in my first end-of-year speech I referred to the current year receding "like a lens dropped out of a helicopter". The next year I received the opportunity to photograph lighthouses round Australia. At one point I was in a helicopter hundreds of feet over the sea near Maatsuyker island, strapped in but with no helicopter door. I was changing a lens and I dropped it. I watched helplessly as the lens dropped onto the (open) door frame of the helicopter - and then rolled back inside the helicopter apparently none the worse for the experience. You can be lucky sometimes.

Regards,
Murray

Hi Murray,

What a story! As if "fate" was taking the mickey out of you ;-).

BTW, this has triggered another suppressed memory at the back of my mind.
Some 10 years ago, I was taking pictures from the top floor of the Eiffel Tower and was trying to turn the Circ. Pol. filter to its optimum position. Apparently, it had been almost unscrewed so when I turned one more time, it fell off the lens which was pointed downwards. So it fell some 50 meters till it got stuck at some metal construction. I'd forgotten all about it by now.

So coincidentally, the two incidents I can remember having with my cameras have both taken place in Paris. Guess what, I'll stay away for a while ;-)

Cheers,

We all have clumsy days I was forever dropping food in my lap yesterday.

Cem,

Maybe you should get a little rock climbing instruction and then go back and get the circular polariser! (Or maybe I shouldn't suggest things like that , perhaps you might really do it).

Murray

Hi Cem,

I too am sorry for your misfortune. However, it just happens. This morning my power supply for my studio slipped away from the power pack and fell just 4 feet and just hit a corner which flexed the case enough to break the pins that hold the thing together and to my horror it decomposed before my eyes!

I pushed everything back sort of together and it works but I'd not trust it now. So that is just another thing destroyed. It happens to all of us.

The real thing I'm scared of is being totally absorbed in a shoot and forgetting that I'm on a ledge, 60 feet above the rocks and I move the tripod forward into empty space. How I could do the same thing twice baffles me! What amazed me more is that I was concerned with not losing my lenses as much as saving myself!

We have to become more dispassionate about these things!

Still, your new Canon camera was special in that you went to a great deal of effort to get it. Think about that and the trouble you had with your lens from the USA too! Hope you have better luck from now on!

Asher

Asher Kelman said:

The real thing I'm scared of is being totally absorbed in a shoot and forgetting that I'm on a ledge, 60 feet above the rocks and I move the tripod forward into empty space. How I could do the same thing twice baffles me! What amazed me more is that I was concerned with not losing my lenses as much as saving myself!

We have to become more dispassionate about these things!

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I wrote that yesterday not knowing that a close friend in Maine did miss his step two days ago and is now paralyzed from the neck down. He fell two days ago. He has had pain sensation return to to both arms and one leg but zero movement. So this reinforces my own priorities. Life is the most precious miracle and it cannot be simply replaced, however much money we earn!

Sorry to get so serious, but this does put things in better perspective to me, at least, on a personal level. Did we all hug our family today and do some senseless act of kindness? That perhaps adds some good karma to the mix!

Asher

Sorry to hear that

Asher Kelman said:

I wrote that yesterday not knowing that a close friend in Maine did miss his step two days ago and is now paralyzed from the neck down. He fell two days ago. He has had pain sensation return to to both arms and one leg but zero movement. So this reinforces my own priorities. Life is the most precious miracle and it cannot be simply replaced, however much money we earn!

Sorry to get so serious, but this does put things in better perspective to me, at least, on a personal level. Did we all hug our family today and do some senseless act of kindness? That perhaps adds some good karma to the mix!

Asher

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Hi Asher,

This is horrible news, so sorry to hear that. My best wishes for your friend to yet recover, at least partially.

Off to hug my beloved ones

Cheers,

Asher Kelman said:

Hi Cem,

I too am sorry for your misfortune. However, it just happens. This morning my power supply for my studio slipped away from the power pack and fell just 4 feet and just hit a corner which flexed the case enough to break the pins that hold the thing together and to my horror it decomposed before my eyes!

I pushed everything back sort of together and it works but I'd not trust it now. So that is just another thing destroyed. It happens to all of us.

The real thing I'm scared of is being totally absorbed in a shoot and forgetting that I'm on a ledge, 60 feet above the rocks and I move the tripod forward into empty space. How I could do the same thing twice baffles me! What amazed me more is that I was concerned with not losing my lenses as much as saving myself!

We have to become more dispassionate about these things!

Still, your new Canon camera was special in that you went to a great deal of effort to get it. Think about that and the trouble you had with your lens from the USA too! Hope you have better luck from now on!

Asher

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Hi Asher,

You are truly right, we should not be passionate about material possessions. Luckily, my horror was more caused about my momentary lapse of sanity than the damage to the camera.

Cheers,

Murray Foote said:

Cem,

Maybe you should get a little rock climbing instruction and then go back and get the circular polariser! (Or maybe I shouldn't suggest things like that , perhaps you might really do it).

Murray

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Don't worry, I won't! LOL

Cheers,

I can relate

A couple weeks ago I had a shoot that required getting up at 3:15 and shooting till 9 pm. The next day I had another shoot, not as long, but involving coordinating people and space, which I haven't done too often, but turned out to be a lot of fun.

Last week I was loading my car for a shoot and couldn't find my tripod. It's not like it's something that can be easily overlooked. I looked everywhere, but I found nothing. The only thing I can imagine having happened was perhaps after the second day of shooting that I put the tripod on top of my trunk and then drove off. I asked the businesses around the area if they had found it but no one saw anything.

Today I received a new tripod and geared head in the mail. It's very sleek and sexy, but it cost me a pretty penny.

The lost tripod was a bit funky after I set it up in the ocean, so I guess in the end it all works out... one way or another.

JJ

Photography is a dangerous sport! Beware

Asher,

I am sorry for your friend. That has to be a horrible feeling;


Last year I took a Wedding Class in San Diego (Nik took the class with me) and while visualizing my shots of the ceremony while looking around and setting up, I walked backwards, wearing a dress, right off the steps of the altar. All I could think, of going down, was my camera and giving the other photographers an unscheduled boidior session and so I held the camera in the air instead of trying to save the photographer (me!) from injury. Most of the others were visualizing things elsewhere, but all that was damaged was my pride, although I sat stunned on the ground with my leg bent backward underneath my gluteous maximus, unable to move for 5 minutes.

It really taught me that my camera can survive or be replaced and I cannot fare that easily. I will be really happy when the B&H catalogue has a set of eyes to see where we are headced when we step backward.

Pardon me Asher, I hadn't read your post until I came across Kathy's reference. I'm sorry to hear about your friend's misfortune.

Material mishaps are indeed grains of sand.

JJ

Another option, Cem: If the lens mount of the 5D is cactus but you are able to glue an extension tube to it, maybe you could convert it to a digital back for 5x4 (or 6x9 for that matter): http://www.northlight-images.co.uk/article_pages/canon-view-camera.html

Regards,
Murray

Murray Foote said:

Another option, Cem: If the lens mount of the 5D is cactus but you are able to glue an extension tube to it, maybe you could convert it to a digital back for 5x4 (or 6x9 for that matter): http://www.northlight-images.co.uk/article_pages/canon-view-camera.html

Regards,
Murray

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Hi Murray,

This is an excellent read, the link you've given. It is a very interesting read though most of it goes way above my head, I'd never go into that territory myself ;-).

The camera has gone to the Canon Service Center today, I hope they will be able to repair it fully. I know they can, but there is a break-even point wrt the cost of the reparation vs the actual market value. The insurance will also chime in a bit although they limit their payments to a max amount per incident.

I will keep you updated when I know more.

Cheers,

Jeremy Jachym said:

A couple weeks ago I had a shoot that required getting up at 3:15 and shooting till 9 pm. The next day I had another shoot, not as long, but involving coordinating people and space, which I haven't done too often, but turned out to be a lot of fun.

Last week I was loading my car for a shoot and couldn't find my tripod. It's not like it's something that can be easily overlooked. I looked everywhere, but I found nothing. The only thing I can imagine having happened was perhaps after the second day of shooting that I put the tripod on top of my trunk and then drove off. I asked the businesses around the area if they had found it but no one saw anything.

Today I received a new tripod and geared head in the mail. It's very sleek and sexy, but it cost me a pretty penny.

The lost tripod was a bit funky after I set it up in the ocean, so I guess in the end it all works out... one way or another.

JJ

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Hi Jeremy,

Thanks for sympathizing and I am equally sorry to read about your tripod. So which new tripod and head did you buy?

Cheers,