Dropped a lens

Last night as I was taking my Lowepro Computrekker AW out of the back seat of my friends car and putting it on my back, I did not realize it was partially open on one side. As I was putting it on, I hear a sickening *crunch* at my feet, just behind me.

My 75-300mm IS lens had fallen out of my backpack and landed on the pavement.

I was horrified. I've only had the lens for about 5 weeks, and here I am already destroying the damned thing. I kinda stared at it for a while, then finally bent down to pick it up (after making sure the rest of the contents of my bag were secure). It landed on the pavement near the lens mount, then bounced onto the front. The lenscap was jammed into the filter, but the filter survived. However, I cannot say the same about the autofocus and the rear element. The motor still functions (barely), as I can hear it kick in (with the IS turned off) and try to focus, but I believe a couple teeth on a gear may have sheared off and jammed the mechanism, because it refuses to move. Switching to MF mode frees it up, so I can still manual focus. However, the rear element has been knocked WAY out of alignment. (attached is a photo showing just how bad the rear element is)

I know Canon doesn't honor warranty service for damage caused by abuse, but I'm going to have to send it to them anyways and get it repaired. HOPEFULLY it won't cost me anything, but if it does I certainly hope it won't be too much.

*sigh*

HOSTED PHOTO
please log in to view hosted photos in full size.

It's a horrible, sickening feeling, isn't it?

I dropped my 100-400L, and paid the price....$300 to get it going again. (That was with no visible external damage except for a paint scuff on the tripod ring.)

I feel for ya'. Been there, done that.

Ouch that's a nightmare.

I'm not nearly as carful as i should, i've got a broken lens with my name on it if i don't start being more careful.

I once had a canon S1 that broke and the store would not replace it and actully said it looked like a user fault (pin in memory card bay broke). Said i may well have to pay for it but canon fixed it under warrenty no charge. Hope you get the same, but i can't see it if you tell them you dropped it

Been there - Done that.

Exactly the same thing happened with my bag and lens!! My 50mm 1.8 came crashing out of my Lowe Pro bag when i thought it was zipped up. The lens popped apart at the joins but luckily i just squeezed it and it popped back together. It works fine even though there is a small scuff on it.

I feel for you mate, that sound of lens hitting concrete will stay with me for a long time!

Maybe you could use it as an excuse to by a 100-400 L??

Wow, thats awful... At least with a 50mm 1.8 they are so darn cheap it doesn;t cost that much to get a new one. But with a 100-400L or a 75-300 thats no good at all.. Im definately not as caregful as I should be either. I find im worse with my XT than I was with my G1.

The sad thing about these mishaps is they are almost always avoidable, and wouldn't happen at all if we just kept our minds on what we're doing. Mine was just a total lapse. I had the lens in the back seat on the floor, and when I opened the door, it rolled out onto the ground. Shouldn't have happened.

This is not really related to camera lenses, but I have a little story...

A long, long time ago, in my very early 20s, I was working as a production assistant of the assistant of the assistant... in other words the lowest level possible, in a film crew. We were shooting movies for national TV and other large productions. Being the last wheel, I was one of those that were running aroung moving stuff. At a certain point, I was told to go and get the lens case. It was and hard case, with the usual molded foam on the inside, that was holding a whole set of 35mm (motion picture, not camera, very pro stuff, including a very long tele - can't remember the focal but was really big) that was sitting on a table.

So i go, grab the handle, and lift... without noticing that all the three hooks that were supposed to keep the darn thing closed were fully open. You can imagine the rest... a whole set of Angenieux pro lenses that falls on the pavement makes a HUGE noise. That was nothing compared to the scream of the director of photograpy, of course.

Luckily, as in all the big productions, everything was covered by insurance so from a financia point of view it was not a problem. But let me tell you that I had to pay dinner for the whole crew at least 3 times before we ended the job. And, of course, I "won" a one day drive from Venice to Rome and back (thats about 1100 km) all alone to get a new set of lens from the rental facility...



From that day, I always check if whatever I'm picking up is closed or not

I've heard of that same thing happening to several people with camera backpacks--myself included. I was fortunate that I was standing in a foot of soft, cushy snow. Since then I've tried to make it a rule to unzip the pack only long enough to remove/replace equipment and immediately zip it closed.

Rob612 wrote:
This is not really related to camera lenses, but I have a little story...

A long, long time ago, in my very early 20s, I was working as a production assistant of the assistant of the assistant... in other words the lowest level possible, in a film crew. We were shooting movies for national TV and other large productions. Being the last wheel, I was one of those that were running aroung moving stuff. At a certain point, I was told to go and get the lens case. It was and hard case, with the usual molded foam on the inside, that was holding a whole set of 35mm (motion picture, not camera, very pro stuff, including a very long tele - can't remember the focal but was really big) that was sitting on a table.

So i go, grab the handle, and lift... without noticing that all the three hooks that were supposed to keep the darn thing closed were fully open. You can imagine the rest... a whole set of Angenieux pro lenses that falls on the pavement makes a HUGE noise. That was nothing compared to the scream of the director of photograpy, of course.

Luckily, as in all the big productions, everything was covered by insurance so from a financia point of view it was not a problem. But let me tell you that I had to pay dinner for the whole crew at least 3 times before we ended the job. And, of course, I "won" a one day drive from Venice to Rome and back (thats about 1100 km) all alone to get a new set of lens from the rental facility...



From that day, I always check if whatever I'm picking up is closed or not

you live and learn...more often than not the very hard way!!

My Lowepro stays closed as long as the buckle is snap, even if it is unzippered. I'll frequented leave it unzippered and just buckled. I would flip if I ever dropped my 70-200mm.

The day I bought my Lowepro, I had settled it down to fill it. I then had to move to a more comfortable spot and I lifted it ony to to see me holding just the flap and the bag flipped wide open!!

A valuable warning that has stayed with me for the little time I have used it. Hope this thread comes up everytime we open the bag....

Yes ... you live and learn.

To me it happened when I was taking handheld night shots and wanted to change the lens, casually dropping my 20D with 50/1.8 MKI mounted, assuming that I (as always) had my camera strap around my neck. You get the picture...

Luckily, I was kneeling down at this time to get another lens out of the lens bag, so that the camera and lens only dropped about a little less than a meter to the cobblestone floor ... with a rather sickening sound. To add to my luck, the camera and rubber lens hood obviously took the brunt of the fall and everything that came out of it were 2 minor scratches in the magnesium alloy body that are nearly invisible. The lens and everything else were fine, but the scratches will remind me to verify if my neck strap is *really* around my neck (and, of course, never again to just drop the camera relying on the neck strap).

Best regards,
Andy

I did this just the other day!

Was clambering around at a place called Brimham Rocks in Yorkshire (think rock formations that are full of attractively placed ledges, hand holds etc), swapping lens to get a good panaroma...got the camera in one hand, taking off the kit lens with the other...and for some reason I pulled the lens of so fast that the damn thing flew off!

Of course I had to be standing up at the time, so it fell a fair distance to start with. Hits the rock. Bounces up and falls away from me. Hits the rock again. Bounces again and heads for another rock that is even further away. Hits that rock and rolls down a gap between it and the one I'm standing on.

All this time, I'm just standing there agog. No attempt to move, no call out to people in the way...nothing!

Anyhoo, thankfully a friend with long skinny arms managed to retract my battered lens from the gap. I whip it on the camera, and it still works! The lens cap didn't want to come off initially, and a few scuff marks...but still, not bad considering what it went through.

The moral of this story? If you are going to (literally) throw a lens away, make sure the end caps are still on and its a cheap plastic build - seems to bounce better!

We need to invent a mechanism that makes your lense deploy a parachute in case it's dropped.

I haven't dropped a lense yet and hopefully I never do. D:

It's funny when people say "Man, this 70-200 sure is built tough!" but if you were to drop it...it would be destroyed. If you were to drop the cheap lenses like the kit lense or 50mm 1.8 they'd survive. (Like the two in this thread)

Oh, well, gravity has its laws and there is no way to escape