I am paranoid....

[shutter_blitz]

....when it comes to handling my camera equipment. Atleast thats what my family says. I am ever dreadful of that one slip when I might knock over my camera/lens.
Has anyone of you ever knocked over/ dropped your precious camera/lens? Did it cost you dearly, or was your equipment resilient enough to recover?

Please share.

[Doug Pardee]

First, my camera and lens aren't "precious" to me. They're tools. I bought them to use for photography, not to put on a spotlit pedestal to admire.

That said, they won't do the job that I bought them for if they're broken. So I keep them in a camera bag when I'm not using them, and I have a neck strap for when I am using them. I also keep a rigid lens hood on my lens.

Over many decades of photography, I've never broken a camera or lens through carelessness.

[notapro]

I've bumped my camera countless times--so far it's okay. I did break the shoe off of a flash once by dropping the camera, which apparently is an easy fix on a good flash, but on my cheapie it wasn't fixable. I keep the hood on my 70-200 for the most part too because I'm clumsy and it's a little more prone to bumpage than the shorter lenses I have.

I used to baby the equipment a bit, and I still properly care for it, but I don't let keeping it safe get in the way of anything. Gear was made to be used.

[20droger]

I am paranoid....
Yes, you are. It's just stuff. Use it. Enjoy it. Take out insurance on it. But don't obsess over it.

And remember, just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're NOT out to get you. Especially family!

[SkipD]

First, my camera and lens aren't "precious" to me. They're tools. I bought them to use for photography, not to put on a spotlit pedestal to admire.

That said, they won't do the job that I bought them for if they're broken. So I keep them in a camera bag when I'm not using them, and I have a neck strap for when I am using them. I also keep a rigid lens hood on my lens.

Over many decades of photography, I've never broken a camera or lens through carelessness.I'm in 100% agreement with the above.

Even though I dropped one of my Nikon F cameras four feet to a sidewalk in 1968, the lens hood (a rigid metal Nikon hood) saved the rig. There's a ding in the body, but neither the lens nor the body required any repair work. They still work fine today. I did replace the hood for aesthetic reasons.

My cameras will all eventually show wear from use and the occasional impact with the world around me. That is not a problem.

I don't put my equipment where others are likely to knock it to the floor. If I don't have my camera in my hands (usually with the strap around my neck or over my shoulder), it's in the camera bag. If the bag is not in my direct posession, I usually keep it low - as on the floor - and out of the way of people. I don't need somebody pushing it off a table or counter top.

Obviously, if there's any risk of theft I don't let the equipment get out of my reach or at least out of sight.

[shutter_blitz]

I would like to clarify my use of the adjective 'precious':

pre·cious /ˈprɛʃəs/ Pronunciation Key -
-adjective
1. of high price or great value; very valuable or costly: precious metals.

That is the sense I meant to use it in and it is an apt description of DSLRs/SLRs and lenses thereof.

I appreciate everyone's input so far.

precious. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Retrieved November 27, 2007, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/precious

[20droger]

I would like to clarify my use of the adjective 'precious':

pre·cious /ˈprɛʃəs/ Pronunciation Key -
-adjective
1. of high price or great value; very valuable or costly: precious metals.

That is the sense I meant to use it in and it is an apt description of DSLRs/SLRs and lenses thereof.

I appreciate everyone's input so far.

precious. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Retrieved November 27, 2007, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/precious
So, you don't really hate Bagginses?

[hitmanh]

I've killed my 20d by knocking it off a table onto a concrete floor... owch. The insurance paid for that. I have anything I can't afford to replace insured, then I don't have to worry about it or treat it like an antique crystal vase or something.

Matt

[hitmanh]

So, you don't really hate Bagginses?

:lol::lol: