Yikes! 20D doesn't bounce so well ...

[jimtfoto]

We were just wrapping up shooting some nesting barn swallows last night in a gazebo with a concrete floor. Wife thought she had left her tripod with legs fully out and stable. Turned to put some gear away, bumped tripod and tipped the whole shooting match.
Result: 550EX flash busted at base ... we checked her 100-400 L on another body and it appears to have survived unscathed ... 20D took a bash on the side (opposite grip) and aperture is now stuck at 00. That appears to be the only problem right now.
Before I call my camera repair guy (and probably Canon Canada right after that), has anyone else's camera been through a similar experience. I'm just wondering whether it is going to be worth repairing the diaphragm, or am I looking at buying another body?

cheers,
jim

[yellow_belly]

If your home insurance covers accidental damage then I would ask your insurance company :)
Terry

[jimtfoto]

Emailed them last night ... counting the minutes until they open this a.m.
The strange thing was I was just talking to them last week to get extra coverage on camera equipment. Sheesh ....

cheers,
jim

[dsze]

...precisely why ALL of my gear is covered with a personal articles policy. Might be worth looking into, accidents happen. For $100/yr, I've got about $8500 worth of coverage.
Good luck with your 20D though...Its no fun having to live without a camera for awhile if you have to send it in. I know that feeling. :(

-daniel

[CoolToolGuy]

I was setting up my 20D on my tripod with the 24-70 L mounted, and I stepped away for a minute to get something. The camera was not locked all the way into the Quick Release, and I turned to watch the camera fall off the tripod onto a concrete floor. With the hood mounted on the lens it bounced a couple of times. After a few seconds of silent swearing (I was in a school auditorium) I picked it up and looked it over. Physically not bad, but it would not operate. I quickly switched to the Drebel. The lens was okay, probably saved by the hood.

The 20D was still in the warranty period, but the store where I got it said Canon can detect impact damage and it might not be covered. I sent it anyway, and Canon fixed it under warranty.

Good luck.

Have Fun,

[MDJAK]

My sympathies. That plain stinks.

That said, I digress: Putting in claims with insurance companies is not a good idea, especially when the damages are small, as in less than a thousand dollars.

Every claim that is made goes against your record, no matter how small or large, and in the long run increases your rates and everyone elses' too.

I fully realize that you (and me) are paying premiums just for that purpose. I'm just sounding a cautionary note here. An example:

About ten years ago during particularly bad weather here in the northeast, I had water penetration in parts of my house. It came in through some window frames, etc, damaging some sheetrock and paint along the window moldings.
A gentleman at work told me to make a claim. When I said it was minor, he said: They are so overburdened these days, they won't even send an adjuster, as long as it's under $1500.

Well, I called and send an adjuster, they did. Next thing I know, I get a check in the mail for over $4,000 to repair and replace sheetrock, window moldings, etc. I thought I hit Lotto.

Long story short: My homeowner's rates went from $900 per year to $1500 per year, overnight, and now stand around $1900, never having made a claim again.

When I called the insurance company they swore it had nothing to do with the claim, that it's not like auto insurance, and it was as a result of their experience over the course of the year with multiple claims based on the weather.

True? Maybe.

I told them to cancel my policy, I would go with another company. They warned me, politely, not to be too hasty. I said, okay. I hung up, called another insurer. The very first question they asked me, even before asking for my name, was: Have you made any claims? Well, being an honest person, and knowing they have a database they can check, I said yes, but a minor one. The person on the other end said: Then All*&*&$ won't insure you, and hung up on me.

Moral: Beware of making claims except when the monetary value is above and beyond your means to take care of yourself.

[smasraum]

Yowza, made my testes run and hide. That's like getting kicked in the crotch. Good luck. I feel for you mate. I had the strap break on my old EOS 630 years ago, but I got lucky, nothing broke.

[Scottes]

A friend had a sliding door damaged in a storm, and called the insurance company to check into it. They reminded him about his $500 deductible, and he figured that is was only another $200 over that to get it fixed, so he didn't bother making the claim. His insurance went up, and 2 years later something else happened. His deductible was now $1000, more than the fix, so again he didn't make the claim but rather paid for it himself. 2 weeks later the insurance company called him and canceled his policy because he made too many claims. He never actually made a claim, and certainly never received a penny, yet somehow he made too many claims.

2 years later a salesman from this same insurance company called him asking him to by a policy.... Boy, did that sales guy get an earful!

[MDJAK]

That was exactly my point. Just the mere call to the insurance company is a claim, whether they pay or not.

insured: beware.

[booggerg]

Does it say 00 for all lenses?

There goes that myth of that mag-alloy body.. :roll:

I've also noticed today that the pivoting halve of built-in flash unit on my 20D doesn't line up with the bottom half exactly.. it's a tiny defect, but something that is definitely detectable by sight and touch hmpff..

[Metalphotographer]

I had my 20D take a nasty spill six feet to a concrete floor at a concert. The foot of my 580 EX broke and a got a couple of scars on the back side of the body but other than that there was no damage. I got a new foot for the flash from Canon and repaired it myself, total cost around 20 dollars. I am very glad the body is not made of plastic!

[jimtfoto]

Does it say 00 for all lenses?

There goes that myth of that mag-alloy body.. :roll:

I've also noticed today that the pivoting halve of built-in flash unit on my 20D doesn't line up with the bottom half exactly.. it's a tiny defect, but something that is definitely detectable by sight and touch hmpff..

We only checked with the 100-400 since that was the lens that was involved in the crash. I'll check it on other lenses tonight when I get home. Never thought about that. Thanks.

cheers,
jim

[zacker]

wow! that has to suck! sorry to hear that.

Hey, it dont matter if the body is steel, mag-alloy, resin. plastic or Hi Impact Plastic.. the plain truth of the matter is... its not going to keep the insides from being jumbled all to he**! I have read quite a few posts of cameras faLLING AND GUESS WHAT? FROM THE CHEAPEST p&s TO a 20D to a 350D or a 1ds... not one person has mentioned body breakage except for some times hotshoe mounts fly off, knobs bounce away but not a one has ever broke the body! it is allways some internal componant that gets damaged.So. in conclusion, no matter what the body is made of, DONT DROP IT! Hopefully canon will replace/repair your 20D in a timley manner and dont forget to tell them to send back any parts they have to replace! this way you can see what was broken and what they had to fix!
-zacker-

[jimtfoto]

wow! that has to suck! sorry to hear that.

Hopefully canon will replace/repair your 20D in a timley manner and dont forget to tell them to send back any parts they have to replace! this way you can see what was broken and what they had to fix!
-zacker-

Zacker:
Good advice.
cheers,
jim

[Curtis N]

I am very glad the body is not made of plastic!Why?
Would you also prefer a motorcycle helmet made out of metal?

[kenyc]

Yowza, made my testes run and hide. That's like getting kicked in the crotch. Good luck. I feel for you mate. I had the strap break on my old EOS 630 years ago, but I got lucky, nothing broke.

<rant mode on>
Insurance is a scam. It is worthless anymore other than for catastrophic issues yet we still pay premiums and set deductibles like it matters.....
</rant mode off>

KAC

[Metalphotographer]

Why?
Would you also prefer a motorcycle helmet made out of metal?

The added durability is worth the extra weight to me. I figure a plastic body would have cracked, just like my motorctycle helmet did when I got in a wreck some years back :)

A metal helet would be way too hard on my neck :)

[smasraum]

Actually, since the 20D is heavier, 770g, than the 350D, 540g, it's going to land much harder than the 350D. Remember that old saying, "the bigger they are the harder they fall"

I bet a 350D will handle a drop as well or better than a 20D, but I wouldn't want to gamble my 350D or anyone else's 20D on a drop test.

[MDJAK]

The added durability is worth the extra weight to me. I figure a plastic body would have cracked, just like my motorctycle helmet did when I got in a wreck some years back :)

A metal helet would be way too hard on my neck :)

A helmet is supposed to crack, thus absorbing the impact , i.e., crumple zones on cars. If they were made of steel, as in the old days, it sure hurt more.

[Tapeman]

I busted one of my 550EX's the same way. The 1vHS it was on was OK.

[Belmondo]

I've never dropped a body (yet), but I did allow my 100-400L to roll out the car door onto a parking lot. Visibly, the only damage was a minor paint scuff on the tripod ring, but there was internal damage. It would autofocus, but I couldn't focus manually.

I hand carried it to the Canon repair facility in Irvine, and they put it back together for $300.00.

[Tapeman]

I dropped my 1vHs another time with no lens on it but it had my Canon 2x on it. It landed on the converter and that hd to be repaired. ($55 bucks)

1 series bodies are tough!

[Mitcon]

OUCH !! sorry to hear about your misfortune. I'm not so certain about the arguement of the metal or alloy bodies being "tougher". My 350D/XT had a fall sadly from a hight of 2 meters and landed against metal. I'm lucky as the camera was fine, no damage to even be seen. That said it did damage the metal of what it hit lightly taking a small chunk out.

This type of equipment isn't meant to be banged about regardless and should be looked after best as one can. But as you and I have found out accidents do happen. But it does make me think and also the motorcycle helmet topic as well, ABS plastics would be far more forgiving than alloy. Aren't alloys normally quite brittle ? A plastic cup will normally out last a metal one lol.

I hope your insurance does cover it though as my home contents does cover mine, if not maybe for future gear invested in you could buy some sort of cover for them. Hope all works out well and in your favour.

[SR071]

Oooo - this is not a nice thread....

A colleague of mine had a 600mm F4 which he was using at the footy (Australian Rules - none of that prissy American full body armour rubbish...)

We were on the front row, and he's got the tripod set up, panning along nicely, change from 70-200 to the 600 - oops...

600 does not lock into tripod properly....falls 4 feet to a concrete gutter.

Jump over fence and retrieve lens, everyone is now watching colleague - not the game...

Colleague attached body to lens, looks through viewfinder….

We heard more swear words that day than any other – including a few new words created specially for the occasion. Here in Australia, that one lens represented about 1/3 of his total annual wage – I was so close to tears….he was absolutely distraught – no insurance….game was quickly forgotten and we went home early...


Took it to canon and they wanted $8,000AUD to fix, as glass was cracked in the fall. $8000AUD is about $6.1K US

Half the cost of the lens……

Lesson to all – MAKE SURE THE LENS IS SOLID ON THE TRIPOD BEFORE DOING ANYTHING ELSE!!!!!!!!!!

[Belmondo]

Lesson to all – MAKE SURE THE LENS IS SOLID ON THE TRIPOD BEFORE DOING ANYTHING ELSE!!!!!!!!!!

Oh lord, I can see that happening. I don't have a lens quite that large, but I do have a 500 f/4. Whenever I'm handling it or even the 300 f/2.8, I'm borderline paranoid. I check, double-check, triple-check the clamp ad nauseum all the time the lens is on the tripod. When it's not on the tripod, I cradle it like a baby until it's safely back in its box.

Hmmmm. Think I'll call my insurance guy just to see what would happen if -------

Ugh. I don't even want to think about it.