While I was on a scouting trip around northern Colorado last week, I managed to let my 5D drop about 5 feet onto the pavement. Fortunately, it landed directly onto the front of the lens hood, which saved the camera AND lens. This is not the first time a lens hood has saved my bacon and is a very good reason you should always buy one. Unfortunately, the shock pressed the hood so far onto the lens that it couldn't be removed and it ended up canted, which rendered the camera (with that lens) useless - a good reason to carry backup bodies and lenses - especially after reading Don Grall's adventures in Iceland!
And finally, the hood after cutting it off carefully with a Dremel Tool! Yes, I've ordered a new one!
Neither lens nor body was scratched!
Ken
Posted by CarlGandolfo on July 31, 2009 at 4:00 PM
That's too bad....too bad it wasn't a tilt shift lens 'cause that hood looked like it could have worked well.
Good testimony for wearing protection!
Posted by Jack Garrett on July 31, 2009 at 4:14 PM
I was just thinking the same thing...looks more like a t/s lens. Glad you didn't suffer major damage.
Posted by Brent Murphy on July 31, 2009 at 4:31 PM
I've done the exact same thing, twice, and the lens hood saved me. Currently the filter threads on the lens are a little out of whack, but not so much as to be unusable. After those incidents, I always make sure I use a lens hood. (Except for my 18-200, whose lens hood is now lost in the Wyoming wilderness after disappearing on a snowmobile trip. Haven't replaced that yet, but I need to.)
I dropped a 300mm f4 lens on the garage floor and it landed on the hood, cracked the hood and didn't do any damage at all to the lens! It had to be sent in to have a new lens hood fitted but nothing compared to having to buy a new lens.
Posted by Fred Stearns on July 31, 2009 at 7:19 PM
Last Fall I dropped my 100-400 with the lens hood attached and the lens attached to a 40D onto the pavement in Yellowstone from about 4 feet. The lens hood got scratched up, but all three components are still working great. The hood and camera both got new scratches. I had locked the lens to 100mm or the story might have been very different!
I wish you guys would quit with these horror stories. One slip, and I will not be a photographer any more, due to the cost to replace anything.
Posted by Tim Visser on August 1, 2009 at 12:47 AM
I was on the Nikonians web site a few months ago and they were talking about insurance and who gets it and who does not. I did get personal property insurance through State Farm and it is real inexpensive. I have all of my bodies and lenses on this policy. It saved me, I was up at Mt. Evans early July this year and slipped and had major damage to my D300 where none of the controls worked anymore. I sent it into Nikon to get fixed and if cost me a little over $300 with shipping. I submitted a claim to my agent and received a check for the full amount. I too had a lens hood on and it saved my 24-70.
Discussion
10 repliesKen
Neither lens nor body was scratched!
Ken
Good testimony for wearing protection!