Can airline travel damage camera electronics?

NBEast wrote in post #16321930
My 30 years old hard-shell Samsonite bag may be tough, but a drop like that would surely leave a dent or scratch.

You wouldn't necessarily need a huge drop to break a weak solder link, just a few feet would be enough.

NBEast wrote in post #16321930
Strong electro-magnets would have this exact effect.

Nope.


However, it's obvious that you're never going to believe that it was caused by being dropped, so I'll unsubscribe from the thread and let you believe whatever nonsense you wish.

joeblack2022 wrote in post #16322181
There is also the possibility that it had nothing to do with the flight... unlucky coincidence? Maybe.

Oh, you mean when I left it in the SUV in direct Hawaiian sunlight for 6 hours?

Haha. Kidding. It was in the hotel room safe and sound.

Coincidence? Surely it's a cause-n-effect rather than just spontaneous failure after years of good service.

hollis_f wrote in post #16322212
However, it's obvious that you're never going to believe that it was caused by being dropped, so I'll unsubscribe from the thread and let you believe whatever nonsense you wish.

Clearly; a solution not proposed by you is nonsense. Electromagnets ... how silly is that?

Apologies for being dismissive. Yes; it could have been a drop. Frankly; the way that was packed I'd find it really surprising. Who knows; Canon might just come back with "a solder link was jarred". But if its an entire circuit board "zapped", then my bet's on magnets.

This thread is killing me lol....I need to stop flying because of my newly developed fears of getting zapped.

Post hoc ergo propter hoc.

NBEast wrote in post #16322521
...

Coincidence? Surely it's a cause-n-effect rather than just spontaneous failure after years of good service.
...

I'd say the most likely thing to "suspect" is how the check-in baggage is handled, as others have suggested. That's one reason why it's "smart" to carry on your important devices (cameras, flashes, phones and laptops especially).

I've used check-in for "hard" stuff, like putting a tripod and a monopod in a "case", no problems!

Electromagnetic fields are seldom projected. Most times, the designers of the equipment wants to use as little power as possible to do a task. So they design the magnetic cores to direct the magnetic fields as well as possible. And remaining stray magnetic fields will diminish very quickly with distance.

I guess some one didn't notice that Magneto was flying that day.....

But he doesn't need an airliner - he is happy to get some metal to stand on.

rent wrote in post #16322631
Post hoc ergo propter hoc.

Beat me to it!

It is indeed entirely possible, probable even, that this is simply a coincidence.

onona wrote in post #16323550
Beat me to it!

It is indeed entirely possible, probable even, that this is simply a coincidence.

Had to look this one up lol:

Post hoc ergo propter hoc, Latin for "after this, therefore because of this", is a logical fallacy (of the questionable cause variety) that states "Since Y event followed X event, Y event must have been caused by X event." It is often shortened to simply post hoc. It is subtly different from the fallacy cum hoc ergo propter hoc, in which two things or events occur simultaneously or the chronological ordering is insignificant or unknown, also referred to as false cause, coincidental correlation, or correlation not causation.

NBEast wrote in post #16322521
Clearly; a solution not proposed by you is nonsense. Electromagnets ... how silly is that?

On a scale of 1-10? I'd say 9.999

Oh, and I spent most of my career working in spectrometry - using some high-strength magnets, including super-conducting magnets. The only time I've heard of one damaging a camera was when somebody was taking photographs of a brand-new NMR spectrometer. Unfortunately the photographer didn't believe the warnings he was given. He was quite surpised when his tripod started walking across the floor all on its own, streadily picking up speed, then slamming into the magnets with a massive 'Clang'.

So this guy was working next to a magnet that was strong enough to drag a tripod and camera across a room. But the magnetic field didn't do any damage to cameras that he kept hold of, nor any other electronics nearby. I've used an NMR magnet to check its effect on a CF card. Even rubbing the card on the outside of the magnet had no effect on the stored data.

hollis_f wrote in post #16323812
On a scale of 1-10? I'd say 9.999

Oh, and I spent most of my career working in spectrometry - using some high-strength magnets, including super-conducting magnets. The only time I've heard of one damaging a camera was when somebody was taking photographs of a brand-new NMR spectrometer. Unfortunately the photographer didn't believe the warnings he was given. He was quite surpised when his tripod started walking across the floor all on its own, streadily picking up speed, then slamming into the magnets with a massive 'Clang'.

So this guy was working next to a magnet that was strong enough to drag a tripod and camera across a room. But the magnetic field didn't do any damage to cameras that he kept hold of, nor any other electronics nearby. I've used an NMR magnet to check its effect on a CF card. Even rubbing the card on the outside of the magnet had no effect on the stored data.

I spent many years testing NMR samples in a very small room where you couldnt get more than a few feet away from the magnet. None of the electronic devices in the room ever had an issue though a few visitors did leave with less than accurate mechanical watches

Static magnetic fields are very nice since they don't induce any electric currents in electronics.

If they did, we would have perpetum mobiles driven by permanent magnets.

It takes a varying magnetic field to induce current. And as I said earlier - projecting strong magnetic fields represents loss of efficiency in electromagnetic gear so designers doesn't want the field liens to be strong far from the equipment unless the main goal is to produce magnetic fields.

But an electric motor have very weak magnetic fieelds leaking out, and that leaking magnetic field is quicky losing strength with distance.

A normal home have loudspeakers and hard drives - objects that makes use of very strong magnetic fields. But still safe to surrounding electronics because of how fast the magnetic field dies off. Some cheap PC speakers could represent a danger to old floppies - floppies are hurt by both static and dynamic magnetic fields and a PC loudspeaker can have the magnet just on the other side of 1mm of plastic.

Shake N Vac wrote in post #16323834
I spent many years testing NMR samples in a very small room where you couldnt get more than a few feet away from the magnet. None of the electronic devices in the room ever had an issue though a few visitors did leave with less than accurate mechanical watches

You know that the field strength is significant when the keys stand straight out - but sideways following the field lines just like iron filings did during the physics lessons

pwm2 wrote in post #16323959
You know that the field strength is significant when the keys stand straight out - but sideways following the field lines just like iron filings did during the physics lessons

Huge magnet plus big box of iron filings was always fun though it was the ferrofluids that used to make the really interesting shapes. Sadly I had no camera then and don't work there now otherwise I could get some really interesting photos. I also suspect if I did work there things are probably a little more professional these days and mucking about with the huge magnet would be frowned on. The best thing about NMR was that it needed helium and liquid nitrogen by the bucket load though which are always fun to play with