10 D Bounce Test!

[Hersh]

No name calling here, please, I've done more than enough to myself. =)

Long story short, I put my 10D on the back of my car (some of you more astute readers can already see where this is headed) & was distracted so I forgot to grab my camera & put it in the car when I drove off.

When I realized my camera wasn't in the car, I thought it was back at the place where I drove off from, so I turned the car around & went back. When I reached the corner I needed to turn at, I did a fairly tight turn at anywhere from 5-10 mph, heard a scraping sound off the back of my car, looked in my side mirror, and saw the 10D hit the ground a couple times. Talk about ouch.

The LCD screen is cracked (but still viewable) and my Canon 28-105 lens had a UV filter that was dented on the side so I needed a pair of pliers to take it off later. UV filter had no cracks/scratches, btw.

Did some test shots w/ auto focus to check for internal damage with the focusing or anything else and....

Looks like the lens needs an extra couple seconds to get a lock on a subject in some cases (so sometimes a pic will be slightly out of focus if I'm not paying attention), but otherwise there's no problems!

And in case anyone is wondering why the camera didn't slide off right away - I've got a spoiler in the back.

If I had any doubts about the toughness of a 10D, it's been put to rest!

[defordphoto]

Oh man! It almost makes me cry to read that...Good to hear the damage wasn't too bad though. This is first bounce test of a 10D I have read.

[NILOLIGIST]

Hersh,

OUCH!! Thank goodness there were no serious injuries. Now that you have performed your test and the results are good, please don't try the flying test, I hear 10D's don't fly well. J/K

Very glad it all worked out.

I had a dream that my 10D got stolen, I do worry about my camera a lot. Thursday when we had the power outtage in NYC, I was in another building and when I returned to my building not know if this was a terrorist attact I was told that I could not go back up stairs to my desk.

My first and only thought was my 10D. I began to panick and spoke to everyone security guard including the supervisor until I was taken up to my desk, where I promptly retrieved my 10D and went back down to safety. I am really attached to my camera. LOL

Please no more tests!!!

NiL,

[Hersh]

Thanks, RFM. I liked your "bounce" descript better than "crash" so I renamed the thread. =)

One thing I did notice on some of my pics when I was looking them over again - in some of them the right edge of the pic is slightly out of focus compared to the rest.

I shot 88 pics today and 15 have this problem, but I had taken double pics of the same subject & refocused the second shot & it came out fine.

Not sure if it's the lens or body. I did a slight comparison test a few minutes ago, shooting some closeups with my 28-105 vs 75-300 lens and all pics came out fine.

I'd say it would have to do with the focus lock time, but why would only the right side consistently be slightly out of focus compared to the rest of the pic?

[Hersh]

Niloligist,

For my next trick, I'll be doing the "Two Story Drop Test". LOL!

Canon seems to build some pretty tough camera/lenses.

Someone had borrowed my old Elan 7 w/the same 28-105 lens, accidently dropped it from a 4 foot height, and the Elan 7 had no problems.

The 28-105 lens had several chips on the bottom of the glass lens, but still produced great shots with the Elan 7 & the 10D. Up until this thing with the car, that is.

It'd suck if I had to get the 28-105 replaced, the chips kinda gave my lens some character. ;)

[NILOLIGIST]

Hersh,

LOL!!

NiL,

[defordphoto]

You're welcome Hersh! ;) Actually the worst thing about it all is that you'll be without your camera and lens while they are being repaired. Let us know how they do and how long it takes.

[CyberDyneSystems]

RE: soft focus on one side,. it sounds like the lens,.. probably an element is misaligned.

Still,.. I mean wow. You must have been Sh&%*ng yourself! Hope it is all reparable.

[martcol]

Hersh wrote:

One thing I did notice on some of my pics when I was looking them over again - in some of them the right edge of the pic is slightly out of focus compared to the rest.


Any chance Hersh, you're being a bit more critical since the bounce Test? I know I am always paranoid about my 10D. Even if I stand too close to a mains socket I worry that something will be put out!

Isn't it an irony that you can throw yours from a moving vehicle yet a microscopic spec of dust has brought me to my knees?

I tell you, this damn camera.

[RichardtheSane]

My two words

photographic insurance

Never leave the home without it. At the end of the day your camera is a tool and I find that I am much more likely to put my self in a less safe position to get 'the shot' now I am insured against accidental damage :)

[defordphoto]

Good advice Richard. When I boguth ny D60 that was one of the first things I did was to call my homeowners inusrance agent and add a special rider that covers virtually any accident, loss, theft of my camera equipment, no questions asked.

[photography By Evangelos]

RMF sports how did you add such a policy? And are you a working pro? Or dose it matter? Also what insurance company do you have? I have Liberty Mutual for my home owners policy. Thanks RMF

[photography By Evangelos]

RFMSports wrote:
Good advice Richard. When I boguth ny D60 that was one of the first things I did was to call my homeowners inusrance agent and add a special rider that covers virtually any accident, loss, theft of my camera equipment, no questions asked.


RMF sports how did you add such a policy? And are you a working pro? Or dose it matter? Also what insurance company do you have? I have Liberty Mutual for my home owners policy. Thanks RMF

[Hersh]

CyberDyneSystems wrote:
RE: soft focus on one side,. it sounds like the lens,.. probably an element is misaligned.
Yup, I think that's it. When I'm zooming the lens out, it tends to "stick" somewhat when I'm halfway through a full extension.

Better a lens problem than with the camera itself. Ugh. =P

[Hersh]

martcol wrote:

Any chance Hersh, you're being a bit more critical since the bounce Test?
Nope, there's definitely a difference in the sharpness of some of the pics compared to other outdoors shots I've done.

Isn't it an irony that you can throw yours from a moving vehicle yet a microscopic spec of dust has brought me to my knees?

I tell you, this damn camera.
Ain't technology grand? ;)

[BCdives]

What a great thread, Hersh, it took a lot of guts to even admit that.

I think if it had been me I would have just gone ahead and run over it, so that I would iliminate any anxiety or anticipation as to wheather is was going to work or not.

Like my dad used to say, if you're gonna cry, I'll give ya something to cry about.

I recently had a close call, I was mounting the 10D and a 100-400 L Glass on the Tripod in the dark, set up on concreate, I thought it was all locked in so I let go, the next thing you know the camera and the lens punched me in the stomach......Thank God, I still had strap around my neck, whewwww!

Lets pool our experiences and come up with a new TV show, "Photography...when gravity goes bad"

[Hersh]

bcdives wrote:
What a great thread, Hersh, it took a lot of guts to even admit that.

Heh. I told a couple people this story and they said won't let me borrow their cameras or lenses after this.

Not sure why. ;)

[defordphoto]

Evangelos: I just called my agent. I am not a working pro and they never asked. I have Allstate homeowners insurance.

[toddb]

I was paranoid as well with my equipment when I went out. I too went with the extra insurance. I went through my car/renter insurance (State Farm) and put extra coverage on the camera. It works out to be about a $1 per $1000 worth of equipment...well worth the piece of mind that I don't have to pay any deductible. Also, I think renters is only if it get stolen in your home, not if your out and about...maybe. But when you do a drop test I think allot won't cover that without the extra insurance. Anyway, I don't worry about it anymore. :-)

[lightandlife]

RMF sports how did you add such a policy? And are you a working pro? Or dose it matter? Also what insurance company do you have? I have Liberty Mutual for my home owners policy. Thanks RMF


Self-insurance is probably best. Just set aside the amount of money you would have paid to insure against damage or loss. The value of 10D will go down quickly over time, probably to about $500 two years from now, but you would be paying automatically the same amount for insurance each year. The net benefit from such insurance is probably less than 10% of what you actually pay.

In the 80s I bought a camcorder for $1500, and maintenance (a sort of insurance) for $250. It was a total loss!

The camera is still working, except I cannot find a replacement battery. Had I saved $250 then, it may have grown to $1000 now. I can almost afford a 10D with that money.

In the event the camera breaks down or is stolen in a year, you will be glad you can buy a better camera for less.

[toddb]

lightandlife wrote:


Self-insurance is probably best. Just set aside the amount of money you would have paid to insure against damage or loss.

In the 80s I bought a camcorder for $1500, and maintenance (a sort of insurance) for $250. It was a total loss!




I don't know, I'd rather just pay $36 a year in insurance (total cost, no deductible, $3000 insured) then wait a year or more before I saved my "self-insurance" up enough to buy another camera. Even if I saved for a year, that means I would have to put away $250 a month for the next 12 months (of course the price of that camera will come down, but the lens probably won't by much). So I'll take the $3 over $250 per month and not worry about it.

Just my two cents. I wish I could afford to lose a camera and not care, but if I didn't have this insurance, it probably wouldn't leave my home.

[lightandlife]

Proof is in the pudding, not in promises.

Insurance companies are not perfect. There are many exclusions and a lot of paper work to do, should something happen. In my case (automobile), I ended up spending a lot of time, filling out forms and making extra trips to the insurance company, but eventually no coverage. The clerk had made a mistake, insuring a wrong car, but I did not know about it.

Did I contest their decision? No, it was not worth my time. I would rather spend time with pleasant people, like those in this list, talking about interesting subjects.

Anyway, if you are happy with the insurance, that is great!

[Erin]

Hersh wrote:
Thanks, RFM. I liked your "bounce" descript better than "crash" so I renamed the thread. =)

One thing I did notice on some of my pics when I was looking them over again - in some of them the right edge of the pic is slightly out of focus compared to the rest.

I shot 88 pics today and 15 have this problem, but I had taken double pics of the same subject & refocused the second shot & it came out fine.

Not sure if it's the lens or body. I did a slight comparison test a few minutes ago, shooting some closeups with my 28-105 vs 75-300 lens and all pics came out fine.

I'd say it would have to do with the focus lock time, but why would only the right side consistently be slightly out of focus compared to the rest of the pic?









Could be that the sensor in the camera is misaligned,or the camera chassiss warped.

That would be a very severe shock when the camera hit the ground.

Don't laugh with relief too much yet, send the len's and camera in to be checked over by Canon technical staff.

It could still cost you a packet for your irresponsible moment!

Bet you won't do that again!

Erin

[Karp]

That hurts! I did the same thing with my old G3 back in May, but it didnt survive at all! It stayed on top of my car until I hit 60mph, I herd a strange noise and didnt think much of it, then the next morning when i couldnt find my camera, I relized what that sound was :(
I feel your pain, thank god, your 10D survived

[Hersh]

Erin wrote:
Could be that the sensor in the camera is misaligned,or the camera chassiss warped.


Probably both. I did a few more shots last night and the soft focus on the right side of the pic has disappeared.

Now, however, there's a soft focus issue with my telephoto pics. Any distance shot I take with my 75-300mm, the entire pic comes out just a bit on the soft side so I'd say it has to do more with the sensor. Close up and medium range shots are fine, though. Wonder why the switch in focus problems?

Anyhoo, the Canon rep said it'd take about 7-10 days to fix the camera & lens.

Anyone else reading this - the Canon rep said the NJ repair center is running a few days behind their regular schedule, so if you need something fixed faster, send it to the CA center.


Bet you won't do that again!


Yeah, next time I'll make sure my coffee the morning of a shoot is caffeinated. ;)

[Belmondo]

Decaffeinated coffee will be the downfall of civilization. Avoid it at all costs.

The list of people who've sent condolences continues to grow, and I'd like to add my name as well.

As bad as you might feel, however, there are always people around doing things far worse. I recently heard tell of a person who forget her laptop that she'd left sitting in the driveway, and she backed over it. The display was destroyed, but she was still able to use it with an external monitor.

What does this have to do with Canon digital photography? Not a darned thing. I just want you to feel better.

Thos.

[Hersh]

belmondo wrote:
The list of people who've sent condolences continues to grow, and I'd like to add my name as well.


Thanks for the thought.

An interesting contest would be to see who's done the dumbest thing with their cameras/lenses.

What would a grand prize be? A 1 gig CF card? Free film? Hmmmm....

[kush]

Not nearly the dumbest...just to share - dropped my 10D from about 5 feet. Lands right on top of the lens (28-135). Cracked the glass the UV filter and dented where I had to use pliers as well. Didn't miss a beat. Focus, everything as good as on the day it was born. Solid.

Kush