erik_skipit Posted November 4, 2008 Share Posted November 4, 2008 So your out shooting and this happens...Your gear bites it...Share some stories folks SPECIALLY ones of your gear surviving showing how tough Pentax is.....And be sure to say WHAT GEAR it was lol.... I wonder how they durabliliy test the cameras.... I was shooting at night with Jordan and her friend Jason...It was going on 1am...I was using available light,no speed light or strobes....Shooting with my reliable Pentax *ist and the 18-55 lens on a tripos as the shutter speed was pretty slow....I had to adjust my tripod to be a bit lower for this shot....I got lazy and tried to do one leg at a time right where the tripod was,not picking it up an doing each leg that way....So with the tripod in place,standing i adjust one leg,when i do so the tripod gets off babalnce and the leg spins in my hand and the camera goes right down to the side walk..... I said a few bad words lol....It went lens first into the side walk...Good thing i ALWAYS cap my lens right away...However it jammed the lens...Its a $100 lens i was not too concerned aout that and i had a backup...Put the back up on and tested the camera...Worked fine from everything i could tell...The lens is sitting here on my desk i dont know if they can be fixed..... My heart stopped when the tripod went down though...Stupid,Stupid,Stupid thing to do....As careful as i am with my gear one stupid mistake almost cost me my camera....The *ist is built pretty tough though... Attached Image Jordan and her friend Jason shot on a tripod with the *ist just after the fall it took....My camera for some reason that night had a head ache lol......<div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrewg_ny Posted November 4, 2008 Share Posted November 4, 2008 I will try to remember this story each time I am tempted (frequently) to do the same. Was the lens hood mounted? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pj_vesterback Posted November 4, 2008 Share Posted November 4, 2008 The first day I had my DA* 300, I was shooting at a ballgame. Decided to put the lens on the camera, pulled it out of the bag and put it on the warning track... front element down. That when I realized the lens cap wasn't on. Picked it up instantly. Blew it off... luckily not a mark. I just shook my head and kicked my self... now am extremely careful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael_elenko Posted November 4, 2008 Share Posted November 4, 2008 What a great excuse to upgrade your lens! ME Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
personalphotos Posted November 4, 2008 Share Posted November 4, 2008 This is an old one. Pentax LX (the toughest of them all) with an AF400T flash, Power Winder, Tokina 28-85 zoom. So a fairly heavy kit. I had the flash attached to a power pack and it was on my waist belt. I put the camera down on a church pew to adjust the tripod and forgot to disconnect the flash to waist belt battery cord. So I'm connected to the camera. About 10 feet away was the camera bag with the QR plate I needed. Without thinking (and at this point everything becomes slow motion) I walked toward the camera bag and pulled the camera off the pew and watched it helplessly as it crashed on a nice hard, marble, Catholic church floor. Under my breath I said a few non Catholic words. Checked out the kit and except for totally destroying the hood on the lens (a screw thread Tak lens - all metal) Everything was fine. It landed lens down first and I was expecting the lens to be shattered and permanently jammed on the body. That camera and it's identical twin, took a kicking from me over the years and never gave me a bit of trouble. Today must be disaster story day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erik_skipit Posted November 4, 2008 Author Share Posted November 4, 2008 @Andrew....Well at least i have made one good thread =) I think the lens hood was backwards mounted,I was just setting up...Once i finish a set i instanly put on the lens cap and reverse the hood.. @Patrick...Yeah its amazing ya know all of us being sensable careful people but we do these basic stupid blunders...I wont be so quick to laugh at someone else or think what a idiot because in reality it could of been anyone of us making a dumb blunder.... @Michael....I had the second lens because that was the cheap $100 18 to 55,i had broken the hood,the hood was almost as espensive as the lens...The hood was something like $60.00..I just bought a new lens rather then a new hood... @Peter...Thats a great story lol...And i love how you mention the slow motion of it all cause yeah when my tripod came down it was the same way man...Theres that slow motion nooooooo.....And Jordas standing there watching with this Jason who i had just met and at this point i'm not looking all too smooth....Least nothing like that happened when the cops rolled up on us at 1:30...And mine landed lens first...The sound it made hitting the concrete side walk omg....I can do without hearing that again any time soon.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xpiotiavos Posted November 5, 2008 Share Posted November 5, 2008 when i'm hiking/backpacking, i keep my camera (an *ist DL at the time of this story) tucked into the outer sort-of-elastic pocket of my Osprey pack, which buckles tight and keeps my camera from moving around as i'm bumbling over the trails.<P> late this summer i was coming back from a hiking trip and reached into my trunk, slung my pack around my shoulder to walk into the house and froze at the unmistakable sound of something plastic slamming into asphalt. it was at that moment that i realized that, when i put my pack in my trunk to drive home, i had just laid my camera on top of my pack instead of securing it like usual. so when i slung my pack on my shoulder, i sent my DL careening through the air, only to be stopped by the hot, rather unforgiving asphalt.<P> but this isn't a horror story. in fact, it's almost advertisement worthy. because after being literally <i>thrown</i>, my trusty DL had naught by a small scratch next to the shutter button to show for it. the lens (18-55) didn't have a scratch, and i continued to use the camera for a couple more months before eventually selling it for the K10D.<P> so, to whoever's in charge of the structural integrity of pentax DSLRs: well done, sir. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xpiotiavos Posted November 5, 2008 Share Posted November 5, 2008 oh and i also once picked up my camera bag (that i thought was zipped up), only to find out that it was open and thus my K1000 was now tumbling across a concrete floor. But not to worry, the venerable K1000 is still kickin'. God bless those metal bodies... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xpiotiavos Posted November 5, 2008 Share Posted November 5, 2008 i promise i intended to put these stories together instead of dominating the thread... sorry.<P> but one last story: i was shooting an airshow last spring, on a VERY windy day. i managed to get my equipment through the day unharmed, but my, ahem..., <i>face</i> was not so lucky. <P> i was shooting with my DL + Sigma 70-300 mounted on my tripod. at one point in took my hands off my setup and turned away just as a gust of wind came up. without looking, i reached for my tripod to steady it only to grasp the air, i turned to look just in time to have my camera, backed by a 40-knot gust of wind, come crashing into my face. the rig was unharmed, but i spent the next couple days nursing a bruised cheek bone!<P> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xpiotiavos Posted November 5, 2008 Share Posted November 5, 2008 Doug, please rescue me from my own incompetence... this is what the post SHOULD look like<P>i promise i intended to put these stories together instead of dominating the thread... sorry.<P> but one last story: i was shooting an airshow last spring, on a VERY windy day. i managed to get my equipment through the day unharmed, but my, ahem..., <i>face</i> was not so lucky. <P> i was shooting with my DL + Sigma 70-300 mounted on my tripod. at one point in took my hands off my setup and turned away just as a gust of wind came up. without looking, i reached for my tripod to steady it only to grasp the air, i turned to look just in time to have my camera, backed by a 40-knot gust of wind, come crashing into my face. the rig was unharmed, but i spent the next couple days nursing a bruised cheek bone!<P> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
etienne_poisson Posted November 5, 2008 Share Posted November 5, 2008 Similar story happened to me. I was taking my boots off, my K10+16-50 slipped out of my hand and it fell three steps. Broke the lens hood and jammed the lens. Cost: 350$ to repair the lens, some supper glue for the lens hood, and a shot to my ego. Now I used the strap all the time. Just like my mom suggested I do a few weeks before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dorus Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 here's my personal drama, and a very recent one. Just got me a new lens, and very happy about it. Made not even 50 clicks with it. <br> ....Then my camera-strap got hooked, and the camera fell on the (tiled) floor. It really freaked me out... <br> It hit the ground with the lens first, which saved the K10, but the focussing ring got tilted and jammed >> goodbye forever. I tyried to pry it loose, to no avail. <br> So if anyone could use a good bit of glass, you're welcome to it. <br> <br> <img src="http://static.zoom.nl/CA35D048E9B0B1CED2F0013ED1057162.jpg"> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xpiotiavos Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 heck, how much would is cost to ship it to me? i'd LOVE an excuse to take one of those things apart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dorus Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 I'll ask at the postoffice, tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erik_skipit Posted November 6, 2008 Author Share Posted November 6, 2008 Wow...I only had one story to tell...Adam has the makings of a book with who knows how many he did not tell us about... Now i'll have to think on this if theres not a story i didnt miss possibly.... It only takes once your camera hitting the ground though and you never forget it.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cymen_vig Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 You should send it in to Pentax. It's worth seeing if they'll do something for you -- doesn't hurt to get a repair quote. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fww56 Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 I was involved in a situation back in the beginning of July. I shoot stock cars at dirt tracks in the region and expose both my equipment as well as myself to some rather extreme conditions on a good day, and even worse conditions on a bad one. Following are a couple of posts documenting my experience.as posted on another message board. Top this! I wonder if some of us are too easy on our cameras and equipment? I must admit that I do try to take care of what I have, however my passion for action photography puts me in some pretty hostile environments. As a result I subject my stuff to some very extreme conditions. Several times per week I'm out with one of my sons shooting stock cars at dirt tracks. For those not familiar with this here you will find extreme dust, sometimes heat or cold with possible rain, vibration and in general very harsh conditions. This past weekend found us at a remote race track in central Pa. I posted myself at a vantage point on a mound just inside the first turn where I've gotten some very good captures in the past. On this particular night a spin and resultant crash sent an out of control car in mine and my sons direction. These cars where traveling somewhere approaching 90 to 100 mph range when the incident occurred. While shooting these events one of the first things that you learn is to keep one eye open on the traffic coming into the turn. In this case we saw the incident unfold and had plenty of time to react. The major glitch was that there was no real point of "egress". My son and one of the firemen went to the right off the bank and I went to the left. Fortunately nobody was injured however with all of the rain lately there was a moat surrounding this mound that provided such a good vantage point. My son and the fireman went through the aforementioned moat and each of them lost one shoe. The fireman was lucky that he had his boots on which made it easy to find and retrieve his footwear my son was not so lucky and lost forever one of his new shoes. I however didn't fair so well. In my hasty retreat I attempted to jump over the "moat" and something happened. Being on the other side of 50 I must come to grips that I cannot run as fast, jump as high and in general accept the fact that I'm not in my 20's any longer (I guess I should start acting my age). Anyhow, I ended up face first in the "moat" clutching my Pentax k100d, Metz 60CT4, my hotshoe flash in my hip pocket and all of the attendant accessories, Wein Safe-Sinc etc. The result was not pretty. http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e75/fww56/2008%20Clearfield%20Yankee%20Doodle%2007-03-08/INTHEMUD.jpg (photo by Jim Balentine) Here is a shot of the car after it came to rest. We were standing just about where the rear end of the car is now. In the background my son can be seen with the grey shirt holding his camera with a Metz and if you look closely you can see what appears to be the "swamp thing" amidst the crowd. That would be me. http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e75/fww56/2008%20Clearfield%20Yankee%20Doodle%2007-03-08/fpjuly8X-1.jpg (photo by Jim Balentine) To be continued....... FRANK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fww56 Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 I'm a bit rusty on my HTML so let me try these again, <p> <img src="http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e75/fww56/2008%20Clearfield%20Yankee%20Doodle%2007-03-08/INTHEMUD.jpg"> <p> and <p> <img src="http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e75/fww56/2008%20Clearfield%20Yankee%20Doodle%2007-03-08/fpjuly8X-1.jpg"> <p> That's better, <p> FRANK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fww56 Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 Although there were no physical injuries I did loose my glasses and watch. My watch is gone forever and somehow somebody managed to find my broken glasses and retrieved a small amount of my pride too. <p> On to the subject of the title of this thread. <p> As I stated in the title I think that sometimes we are a bit anal about our prized possessions and although I believe that respect for the equipment and due care should be exercised, I also believe that you should get all that you can out of it as well. And believe me I do! <p> Below are photos of my equipment once I got home and began the process of trying to salvage what I could of it, even if it was only the cords. <p> It didn't look very promising. <p> <img src="http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e75/fww56/2008%20Clearfield%20Yankee%20Doodle%2007-03-08/IMGP2871.jpg"> <p> <img src="http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e75/fww56/2008%20Clearfield%20Yankee%20Doodle%2007-03-08/IMGP2868.jpg"> <p> <img src="http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e75/fww56/2008%20Clearfield%20Yankee%20Doodle%2007-03-08/IMGP2870-2.jpg"> <p> <img src="http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e75/fww56/2008%20Clearfield%20Yankee%20Doodle%2007-03-08/IMGP2867.jpg"> <p> <img src="http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e75/fww56/2008%20Clearfield%20Yankee%20Doodle%2007-03-08/IMGP2866.jpg"> <p> After fashioning an oven from the refrigerator in my shop by unplugging it and placing a 100 watt light bulb in it, I proceeded to disassemble the components and remove all batteries and place all parts into my makeshift oven. <p> After leaving all of this alone for about 16 hours I gave it a go. The oven idea appeared to work with all of the mud dried and crumpling off at this point. I began by taking a thin piece of wood and gently scraping the bulk of the mud from all of the parts beginning with the Metz battery pack. Once the bulk of the mud was removed I began brushing with auto detailing brushes, compressed air and window cleaner. As I finished each part I tentatively tested each and amazingly everything worked. <p> After nine hours of cleaning it appeared that I was in business again. <p> To be continued............. <p> FRANK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fww56 Posted November 8, 2008 Share Posted November 8, 2008 Now for the true test. I had another event to cover in Pgh on Saturday. I shoot as a freelance photographer and submit the shots to many of the racing publications as well as the larger web based services. 500+ images later it appears that the operation was a success. Time will tell but the camera at least was due for it's semi-annual cleanup at the local shop and with somewhere in the neighborhood of 20,000 shutter clicks on that body I've had my eye out for it's replacement for a while now. <p> After seeing thow well the Pentax and Metz have held up after such extreme conditions, I most definately have to look within their respective catalogs for my next replacement / upgrade. <p> the following shots are of the same equipment after their first venture out of the bag since the incedent. <p> <img src="http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e75/fww56/2008%20Clearfield%20Yankee%20Doodle%2007-03-08/09-IMGP3426.jpg"> <p> <img src="http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e75/fww56/2008%20Clearfield%20Yankee%20Doodle%2007-03-08/IMGP3431.jpg"> <p> <img src="http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e75/fww56/2008%20Clearfield%20Yankee%20Doodle%2007-03-08/07-IMGP3424.jpg"> <p> <img src="http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e75/fww56/2008%20Clearfield%20Yankee%20Doodle%2007-03-08/13-IMGP3435.jpg"> <p> I hope you've gotten some entertainment from my misfortune just kidding <p> FRANK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fww56 Posted November 8, 2008 Share Posted November 8, 2008 Just one more post. <p> The posts above show what can happen when things go bad.....VERY bad. <p> Below are some examples of how good it gets when things go good. <p> Click any photo to see many more <p> Paul McMahan driving the Tony Stewart Bass Pro Shops sprint car at Lernerville Speedway World of Outlaws 07-17-07 <a href="http://s37.photobucket.com/albums/e75/fww56/"><img src="http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e75/fww56/Lernerville%2007-17-07/Lernerville07-17-070014.jpg"width="600"></a> <p> World of Outlaw champion Donnie Schatz at Lernerville Speedway World of Outlaws 07-18-07 <a href="http://s37.photobucket.com/albums/e75/fww56/"><img src="http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e75/fww56/Lernerville%2007-18-07/IMGP2313x.jpg"width="600"></a> <p> "Hot" Rod Conley dives into turn one during qualifying. This was shot from the billboard in turn three at Lernerville Speedway 06-06-08 <p> <a href="http://s37.photobucket.com/albums/e75/fww56/"><img src="http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e75/fww56/Lernerville%2008-31-07%20MACS%20-%20All%20Stars/Lennerville08-31-07MACS-AllStars036.jpg"width="600"></a> <p> and one last example<p> <a href="http://s37.photobucket.com/albums/e75/fww56/"><img src="http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e75/fww56/2008%20Lernerville%2006-06-08/Lernerville06-06-080038.jpg"width="600"></a> <p> FRANK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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