That Sick Feeling One never Wants to Experienc Again

[leon]

Hi There All, I will make this horrible story short.

Early this morning around 3am I was out side under shelter trying to catch a lightning strike, set up the tripod, attached the Canon 5D turn around to do something else, and then this sicking thud went through me.

In the dark i had obviously not slid the camera in the tripod mounting properly, and it promptly fell off the tripod, with my Canon 200mm F/2.8L Lens attached, and hit the concrete floor, with that sickening thud.

My heart stopped for a second and i figured that was the end of my lightning photography, or any photography for that matter while up here in Darwin.

I picked it up, looked it over and there was a decent dent in the top corner of the camera, other than that it all looked OK as did the lens, but will it work.

I switched it on and all functions were good and the lens works fine and has no damage either, so I have to say someone was surly looking after me that time.

All I can say is Canon must build some quality products, as the combined weight of the camera and lens is about 3 kilograms, and that is a lot of glass to bounce on a concrete floor.

Leon Sorry the story didn't end up as short as i thought it would

[astroron (Ron)]

Glad to hear that the damage was only cosmetic,Leon.
Cheers

[Ric]

A lucky escape Leon, glad everything is ok.

[Kunama]

Hopefully the lens elements are still well aligned...... Sounds like you got off lightly!
( and to think I was worried when my 18mth old granddaughter emerged from my study carrying my Nikon D3 with an 85mm F1.4 attached )

[leon]

Yes I was lucky indeed, and all works fine, i have had a close inspection and the lens performs as it should.
I wasn't to concerned about the Camera Body, as i do have a spare 5D, and a secondhand one is not that expensive these days.


Leon

[Dennis]

Phew, close call Leon. I guess that’s why the L lenses are expensive, built to handle the abuse of journalists, press photographers, rock climbers, etc.

Hope the damage is just cosmetic and doesn’t affect the image quality or other functions such as AF, etc.

Cheers

Dennis

[blink138 (Pat)]

lucky there leon mate, did it slide off backwards on the dslr or front lens first?
pat

[leon]

Pat, It came off backwards, and landed on the camera first, I think, which took most of the impact and then i reckon the big lens hood absorbed some of the fall as well, as it is quite flexible, well that is my theory.

Leon

[PhilTas (Phil)]

Gday Leon,

Good news for your gear. If the lens plays up I've got a Canon 70-300 IS that you could use while you are in Darwin. It's not an L series but would get you out of trouble.

I had a similar experience a couple of years ago where I picked up my photo backpack without checking that the camera compartment was zipped closed.
Lenses and camera body came tumbling out onto the tile floor. Not a good feeling. Lucky no damage was done.

Cheers Phil

[jenchris (Jennifer)]

I feel the sickness with you. Been there, also no damage.
It fell on the open lid of my eyepiece box!

[leon]

Thanks Phil, for the offer but all is well with the gear, appreciated.
So you have been there too Jennifer, it is not a nice feeling and comes on instantly, yes, luck was on my side that evening.

Leon

[el_draco (Rom)]

Yeah, I can understand that feeling. Let my then 15 year old son take some photos using my brand new canon DSLR on board a new frigate when it visited Hobart some time back. Of course, he slings it over his shoulder, sans case, and collects a steel bulkhead full force... Alas, my story ended differently to yours....

[jenchris (Jennifer)]

I were on ships when men were steel and the ships were wood..... now it's t'other way round.