Broken lens

Wednesday I was in Ithaca, New York visiting my niece and we went to Taughannock Falls State Park. I set up on the wooden bridge near the falls and fired off a few shots. I was setting up for a 30 second exposure when all of a sudden my camera fell off the ball head and fell about five feet to the gorge floor. Most horrifying sound I have ever heard. The lever securing the L plate in the ball head was in the open position, no clue as to how it happened. Made my way over to where my parents and niece were and told them what happened. My niece immediately said she would climb down and look for it. Told her several times no, it was okay, but she insisted. Luckily the water was flowing on the opposite side from where my camera took a header. I guided my niece over to the small cluster of vegetation where I think it fell. After a minute of looking she found it. At this point all I cared about was the memory card figured the camera was toast. Helped my niece up the bank, gave her a big hug, and took my camera over to a bench to look at it. The only damage I could see was the lens (RF 24-105 F4 L) was separated some from the lens mount and one corner of the L plate was damaged. My niece turned it off before climbing back up. Back LCD was fine, no cracks or scratches. The hood would not come off, the front glass was fine. There was a little bit of water on the lens and camera body, but not near where the lens was separated. Removed the battery as a precaution and ejected the memory card. Card looked fine. Packed it up, left the park for some dinner. The next day I set about seeing if I could remove the lens and if it would accept another lens and turn on without throwing any errors. Lens came off no problem, contacts weren't bent, no debris where the sensor is. I have my R5 set to protect the sensor when turned off. I didn't hear anything rattling inside the camera and the body did not have any scratches, dings or cracks. Got my spare battery, spare card and another lens. Got everything ready and turned it on, it worked, no errors. Took a few shots and some video and everything was fine. Put the original card in and downloaded the pictures to my laptop with no issue. So happy I don't have to get a new camera and lens. Went out shooting at my local park today and had no issues.

Looked into getting a Canon CarePak but I didn't realize I had 90 days after purchasing the lens to get one. Lesson learned. I don't know if it can be repaired, and I have no clue where to take/send it. I prefer a place that is authorized to repair Canon gear but I'm not having any luck finding anyplace online. Maybe I need to word my search differently. Anyway, sorry for being longwinded, thanks for reading. Attaching a link to a picture I took after retrieving the camera

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/a05su...=q8gv67va&dl=0

Phew! That was a tense read. At first I was sure it was a disaster. Then I was worried for your niece. Then a bit of hope. Then, about as good as you could hope for!

Something similar has happened to me twice. Once I didn’t fully pull out a tripod leg so the unbalanced camera fell on rocks. I dove for it also landing on rocks. Did more damage to myself than the camera. The front lens filter was destroyed, the top window on the camera cracked. But a new filter/lens hood and a relatively inexpensive repair and I was on my bruised way.

Second time, I slipped and fell on rocks. The front of my first EF 24-70 snapped off the base and bounced into the creek. Insurance covered it and I got a surprising amount for the destroyed lens on eBay (I was clear what had happened).

Good times. [emoji15]

Glad the R5 is in good shape.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That's definitely nerve wracking! I had something similar happen, with a 5D series camera and my 24-70 f/2.8. It flew out of a bag and landed hard on the ground. The lens broke in the same manner that you described for your incident. Canon repair in Canada was able to fix it. The camera itself was fine. So now we both have more things to double check: Quick release levers on tripods, and closure locks on camera bags :rolleyes:.

Yikes! Could have been much worse. I’ve been lucky, I’ve only ever dropped one lens, my EF 70-200/2.8 II. Ironically, that happened as I was taking pics of the lens to list it for sale. I hadn’t securely clamped the infinity board to the table, and it popped loose and rolled up, knocking the lens off the table where it bounced off the bench and hit the tile floor. The lens was fine other than a crack in the distance window, so I took a close-up of the crack, dropped my planned price by $100, and it sold quickly anyway.

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Originally Posted by Kayaker72

Phew! That was a tense read. At first I was sure it was a disaster. Then I was worried for your niece. Then a bit of hope. Then, about as good as you could hope for!

Something similar has happened to me twice. Once I didn’t fully pull out a tripod leg so the unbalanced camera fell on rocks. I dove for it also landing on rocks. Did more damage to myself than the camera. The front lens filter was destroyed, the top window on the camera cracked. But a new filter/lens hood and a relatively inexpensive repair and I was on my bruised way.

Second time, I slipped and fell on rocks. The front of my first EF 24-70 snapped off the base and bounced into the creek. Insurance covered it and I got a surprising amount for the destroyed lens on eBay (I was clear what had happened).

Good times. [emoji15]

Glad the R5 is in good shape.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Sorry for the delay with a reply, work is crazy. Glad you came out okay in both instances. Will be looking into insurance in the near future. Still trying to find someplace that can look at the lens and maybe fix it. I accidently hit the shutter button as I was looking the camera over and it took a picture, a bit out of focus but it took one. Not hearing any unwanted noises from the camera, I tried again but it took two additional tries to take another one. Need to buy another one or rent one for my trip in early October. Thanks for sharing your stories and concern!

Trent

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Originally Posted by Jonathan Huyer

That's definitely nerve wracking! I had something similar happen, with a 5D series camera and my 24-70 f/2.8. It flew out of a bag and landed hard on the ground. The lens broke in the same manner that you described for your incident. Canon repair in Canada was able to fix it. The camera itself was fine. So now we both have more things to double check: Quick release levers on tripods, and closure locks on camera bags :rolleyes:.

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Wow, you got lucky also. I've been looking at new ball heads, ones that have a screw type closure, so hopefully that won't happen again. Thanks for reading and your story!

Trent

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Originally Posted by neuroanatomist

Yikes! Could have been much worse. I’ve been lucky, I’ve only ever dropped one lens, my EF 70-200/2.8 II. Ironically, that happened as I was taking pics of the lens to list it for sale. I hadn’t securely clamped the infinity board to the table, and it popped loose and rolled up, knocking the lens off the table where it bounced off the bench and hit the tile floor. The lens was fine other than a crack in the distance window, so I took a close-up of the crack, dropped my planned price by $100, and it sold quickly anyway.

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As soon as I heard it hit the gorge floor, I resigned myself to having to buy a new lens and camera. Limestone may be a soft rock to water but not to a camera. Camera Gods or whatever you want to call them, were definitely looking out for the both of us. I would have had a heart attack if it had been my 70-200. Not going to lie, I wanted to cry but managed to hold back the tears. Glad you came out okay and thanks for reading and sharing!

Trent

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Originally Posted by Rogue

I've been looking at new ball heads, ones that have a screw type closure, so hopefully that won't happen again.

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Hi Trent! Not sure what brand you’re currently using, but RRS lever clamps have two positions, 90° open and 180° open. At 90°, a plate can be slid forward and back in the clamp, but if the plate has the safety screws on the bottom (RRS plates feature that), it cannot slide out of the clamp. Opening it fully to 180° is required to remove the plate.

I use their lever clamps on tripods (my bigger one has two, one on the leveling base to let me rapidly switch from ballhead to gimbal head, the other on the head itself). I’ve never had a scare with them. I do use a screw clamp in my monopod head, because I frequently carry that on my shoulder with a lens mounted, and there’s a reasonable risk of a lever catching on a backpack strap and getting pulled fully open. But otherwise, I prefer the ease and speed of a level clamp.

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Originally Posted by neuroanatomist

Hi Trent! Not sure what brand you’re currently using, but RRS lever clamps have two positions, 90° open and 180° open. At 90°, a plate can be slid forward and back in the clamp, but if the plate has the safety screws on the bottom (RRS plates feature that), it cannot slide out of the clamp. Opening it fully to 180° is required to remove the plate.

I use their lever clamps on tripods (my bigger one has two, one on the leveling base to let me rapidly switch from ballhead to gimbal head, the other on the head itself). I’ve never had a scare with them. I do use a screw clamp in my monopod head, because I frequently carry that on my shoulder with a lens mounted, and there’s a reasonable risk of a lever catching on a backpack strap and getting pulled fully open. But otherwise, I prefer the ease and speed of a level clamp.

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Thanks for the recommendation of RRS. Still doing homework, so it could be a while before I make my decision. I use the Acratech GP-s Ballhead. Love it, except for what happened. I've had it since 2018 and it has served me well. L bracket doesn't have a safety screw on the bottom so I may also look for a plate that does. Appreciate the advice.

I wasn't having any luck finding a repair place near me, so I got on the Canon USA site and put in a request for repair. They should have it this Tuesday, so fingers crossed. Hoping that they can repair it because there are two lenses I'm looking at now and trying to decide which one to get. If they can't, guess my new purchase will go on the backburner for a bit.

Not long ago I bought a used Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II in great condition off of eBay (it was pristine). For kicks, I took it outside to the street in front of my house and took some pictures of the moon. When I was finished, I hoisted the tripod, head, gimbal mount, and lens on my shoulder to take into the house where I have to traverse about 5 concrete steps and a concrete landing/front porch that lead up to my front door. As I stepping up to the 3rd step, I could hear the lens foot slowly but surely slipping out of the gimbal mount -- I had forgotten to tighten it fully after balancing the combination. I cringed and waited for the inevitable sound of my most expensive lens bouncing off the concrete steps after a 6' drop.

*click*

I opened my eyes and looked over my shoulder. The lens was still there. It had been stopped from falling by the set screws on the bottom of the lens foot. I've never been so thankful for a $0.10 piece of gear...


And another story... I typically shoot the championships for a local recreational sports club. In addition to being paid, I also get to play in the league for free. On a couple of occasions, my team has made it to the championship game, making photographing the game especially challenging. One one occasion, I handed my camera and EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II lens to a fellow player (who wasn't playing in the game), gave him a 5 minute rundown on how to shoot the game (I set the exposure controls and locked them but showed him how to place the AF point over a player, half-press, track and shoot).

At the end of the game, I was in the dugout (with a concrete floor) and he handed me the camera and lens. I set it down on the bench and he left while I packed up my things. When I picked up the camera and lens, the lens separated itself from the camera. In an instant, I had a choice -- do I prevent the camera from hitting the ground or the lens? I instinctively chose the lens and caught it, but my R6 hit the ground pretty hard. Thankfully, it was functionally ok, but it did get a few battles scars from the drop. I have no idea why the player chose to push the lens release button, but he must have been curious about it. The lens was decoupled but still attached; something I never would have thought to check.

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Originally Posted by Sean Setters

Not long ago I bought a used Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II in great condition off of eBay (it was pristine). For kicks, I took it outside to the street in front of my house and took some pictures of the moon. When I was finished, I hoisted the tripod, head, gimbal mount, and lens on my shoulder to take into the house where I have to traverse about 5 concrete steps and a concrete landing/front porch that lead up to my front door. As I stepping up to the 3rd step, I could hear the lens foot slowly but surely slipping out of the gimbal mount -- I had forgotten to tighten it fully after balancing the combination. I cringed and waited for the inevitable sound of my most expensive lens bouncing off the concrete steps after a 6' drop.

*click*

I opened my eyes and looked over my shoulder. The lens was still there. It had been stopped from falling by the set screws on the bottom of the lens foot. I've never been so thankful for a $0.10 piece of gear...


And another story... I typically shoot the championships for a local recreational sports club. In addition to being paid, I also get to play in the league for free. On a couple of occasions, my team has made it to the championship game, making photographing the game especially challenging. One one occasion, I handed my camera and EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II lens to a fellow player (who wasn't playing in the game), gave him a 5 minute rundown on how to shoot the game (I set the exposure controls and locked them but showed him how to place the AF point over a player, half-press, track and shoot).

At the end of the game, I was in the dugout (with a concrete floor) and he handed me the camera and lens. I set it down on the bench and he left while I packed up my things. When I picked up the camera and lens, the lens separated itself from the camera. In an instant, I had a choice -- do I prevent the camera from hitting the ground or the lens? I instinctively chose the lens and caught it, but my R6 hit the ground pretty hard. Thankfully, it was functionally ok, but it did get a few battles scars from the drop. I have no idea why the player chose to push the lens release button, but he must have been curious about it. The lens was decoupled but still attached; something I never would have thought to check.

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Phew, you were lucky in both stories! I will be looking into ways to secure my camera in the ballhead better and what happened to you in the second story is one of the reasons I rarely let anyone use my gear. Thanks for sharing!

Trent

Final update on my lens for those interested: Canon got the lens Tuesday (8/27) and Wednesday afternoon I got an email from them saying it was shipped out. Delivered today (8/30) and other than a scuff mark on the lens hood, it looks like the day I got it. Took a quick couple shots and no issues. They ended up replacing the fixed barrel assembly and the lens assembly with USM. They cleaned and tested it. So happy I sent it in, worth every penny it cost me. Will think about CPS, I do qualify for the Gold Membership. Next new lens will have a CarePAK with it.

That is the type of update I really like!

Excellent news.

Great outcome!

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Originally Posted by Kayaker72

That is the type of update I really like!

Excellent news.

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Thank you. Huge relief on my part. Just need to decide which new lens to get.

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Originally Posted by neuroanatomist

Great outcome!

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Thank you. I was slightly concerned with the one day turn around but it's Canon so I put it out of my mind. That and I didn't get an email saying more was wrong with it.

Based on comments from Roger Cicala (owner emeritus of LensRentals), repairing a lens doesn’t take too long regardless of the degree of damage. What takes time is waiting in the queue of other lenses awaiting repair, and perhaps waiting for parts if what’s needed isn’t available. So if the repair center isn’t busy, a quick turnaround time makes sense.

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Originally Posted by neuroanatomist

Based on comments from Roger Cicala (owner emeritus of LensRentals), repairing a lens doesn’t take too long regardless of the degree of damage. What takes time is waiting in the queue of other lenses awaiting repair, and perhaps waiting for parts if what’s needed isn’t available. So if the repair center isn’t busy, a quick turnaround time makes sense.

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Thank for the info, clears things up a bit.