Don't drop your camera

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rickryan.com

rickryan.com

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Dec 9, 2009
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Oh man, this hurts. A couple of weeks ago, we were walking across a bridge after an engagement shoot. We use shoulder harnesses to hold our cameras and one of the clips came loose. It dumped a Canon 6d with an 85mm, 1.2 lense. This is roughly $4k of camera that went bouncing onto the concrete. Just got word back today from Canon. $400 repair on the camera body and $1657 on the lens. I almost choked. Wifey was completely torn up when it bounced and I couldn't console her that it wasn't her fault. Now I gotta tell her that her prize 1.2 is no more..................serenity now, serenity now, serenity now..............
 
rickryan.com said:
Oh man, this hurts. A couple of weeks ago, we were walking across a bridge after an engagement shoot. We use shoulder harnesses to hold our cameras and one of the clips came loose. It dumped a Canon 6d with an 85mm, 1.2 lense. This is roughly $4k of camera that went bouncing onto the concrete. Just got word back today from Canon. $400 repair on the camera body and $1657 on the lens. I almost choked. Wifey was completely torn up when it bounced and I couldn't console her that it wasn't her fault. Now I gotta tell her that her prize 1.2 is no more..................serenity now, serenity now, serenity now..............
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My insurance policy would cover this kind of damage. There's a deductible and rates may increase if I filed a claim, but it would be my decision.
 
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Sorry about that. A quick check on the 85mm 1.2 has them going for $1900 new, while refurbs (with full warranty) are around $1700, so a $1657 repair seems to make little sense. Good glass is expensive - and it's usually heavy, causes the camera to hang lens down, and is therefore usually the first thing to hit. I do not know if you had one on, but sometimes a lens hood helps to cushion the blow.
 
Handinon said:
Sorry about that. A quick check on the 85mm 1.2 has them going for $1900 new, while refurbs (with full warranty) are around $1700, so a $1657 repair seems to make little sense. Good glass is expensive - and it's usually heavy, causes camera to hang lens down, and is therefore usually the first thing to hit. I do not know if you had one on, but sometimes a lens hood helps to cushion the blow.
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I'm actually questioning the diagnosis, a lot. Unless I'm badly mistaken, I did test the lens out after the drop and the auto-focus worked and there were no cracks in the glass. The only thing that I saw was the manual focus ring was really loose and the little meter on the lens wasn't adjusting. I went ahead and approved the $400 repair on the body, even though it appeared to be working fine. I've asked them to just send it back. We can certainly go back to shooting without an 85mm, seeing we've only had this glass for a couple of months. In hindsight, yes, insurance would have been cheaper but once you file a claim, everything I've heard is you're tagged and will be dropped. Incidentally, I did buy a new double-strap and they had some plastic clips which go over the safety link (to keep it locked). Hopefully, we've learned a lesson.
 
rickryan.com said:
In hindsight, yes, insurance would have been cheaper but once you file a claim, everything I've heard is you're tagged and will be dropped.
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That's sometimes true. Other times, the cost of your policy goes up. That's why you decide whether it's better to file a claim or just eat the damages. You can always get insured somewhere else in the event that your current company drops your policy.

Different scenario: What if her entire camera bag was stolen, or was dropped into the water? You'd be looking at a lot more than $2057 in repairs.
 
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B-Sharp said:
That's sometimes true. Other times, the cost of your policy goes up. That's why you decide whether it's better to file a claim or just eat the damages. You can always get insured somewhere else in the event that your current company drops your policy.

Different scenario: What if her entire camera bag was stolen, or was dropped into the water? You'd be looking at a lot more than $2057 in repairs.
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Yes, I know. I'm already looking into coverage (as I should have done previously). BTW, I just noticed that our newest camera bag actually has a tether and combination lock, built-in. In addition, I also have TILE (tracking locators) hidden inside my bags. Should someone take off with a bag, I will leave and track them down and will be happy to do some jail time while they recuperate.

BTW, regarding the lens. I told Canon to send it back. I've found a few other shops who also do repairs. I'm interested to see if it ends up that Canon is being truthful or if they're simply trying to con me into buying yet another Canon lens.
 
rickryan.com said:
BTW, regarding the lens. I told Canon to send it back. I've found a few other shops who also do repairs.
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Put this company on your list: Midstate Camera Repair. These guys are probably the best in New England and are trusted by just about every photographer I know. They're super-honest and have repaired many things that Canon has said were too expensive to repair vs the cost of buying a new replacement. Well worth a phone call, or sending your gear in for review.
 
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Also, join Canon Professional Services (CPS) .. Canon Professional Services - About CPS

I'm at a Gold Level ($100/yr) .. get 5 cleaning/adjustments per year, discounts on service, rapid turnaround, etc. Worth it for a Canon photographer.
 
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rickryan.com said:
Yes, I know. I'm already looking into coverage (as I should have done previously). BTW, I just noticed that our newest camera bag actually has a tether and combination lock, built-in. In addition, I also have TILE (tracking locators) hidden inside my bags. Should someone take off with a bag, I will leave and track them down and will be happy to do some jail time while they recuperate.

BTW, regarding the lens. I told Canon to send it back. I've found a few other shops who also do repairs. I'm interested to see if it ends up that Canon is being truthful or if they're simply trying to con me into buying yet another Canon lens.
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Out of curiosity, Tile appears to be bluetooth. If you're outside of bluetooth range, and no one is running the Tile App where the device is located, I don't think you'll find it. I'm not sure if there are other ideas, plans or alternatives. Just informing about what I read.

Certainly a better idea than doing nothing. Based on your post, I thought it was a GPS locater of sorts, which is why I looked it up.
 
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ittigger said:
Out of curiosity, Tile appears to be bluetooth. If you're outside of bluetooth range, and no one is running the Tile App where the device is located, I don't think you'll find it. I'm not sure if there are other ideas, plans or alternatives. Just informing about what I read.

Certainly a better idea than doing nothing. Based on your post, I thought it was a GPS locater of sorts, which is why I looked it up.
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Thanks, Tig. Guess I need to find a better locator.
 
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B-Sharp said:
Put this company on your list: Midstate Camera Repair. These guys are probably the best in New England and are trusted by just about every photographer I know. They're super-honest and have repaired many things that Canon has said were too expensive to repair vs the cost of buying a new replacement. Well worth a phone call, or sending your gear in for review.
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Thanks Brendan. I'd already found a couple of places but will check these guys out. I'm sorry, but I'm calling B.S. on that estimate. The glass is fine, just the gearing got dinged. Logic would lead me to believe it shouldn't be more than a hundred or so in repairs. I'm also highly skeptical of the $400 on the camera. I tested it out and didn't feel anything loose but sent it in, just to tweak alignment. I may be getting taken on that repair as well.
 
Well without paying for cell coverage for a GPS device, I'm curious how you thought they communicated if not bluetooth? :laugh:
 
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many years ago I was in a week long PPA school on weddings, michele celentano was the intstructor. She's a canon explorer of light and as such canon gives them the new toys to play with first, before they go on sale. They in turn can review them, supply sample shots, etc.

Well, class started sunday night and michele had a wedding saturday...where she had the 85 1.2 on a 1Dmk whatever was new then plus the new 580 flash..there were only 3 of the bodies in the entire united states..and it was on a tripod and got knocked over...exploding on the ground upon impact. Broke the body at the mirror/hotshoe area, the flash and the lens (it was her lens).

She was in class when the canon folks called on tuesday and she had to, umm, explain it to them, while 20 students watched.

And you think you had a bad day? LOL

I use op/tech straps..never had a failure.
 
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