I was careless while shooting on a river and managed to knock my Z7ii + Z 24-70 f/4 lens out of my camera bag into the river. The lens hood took the brunt of the impact, and I scooped it out of the water in a panic as it started to get pushed away by the current and immediately removed the battery, both SD cards, and kept the doors open in the sun in hopes the heat would bake out some of the moisture. Since the hardware store was closed I didn't manage to get dessicant on it for about 36 hours. I assumed at that point I had $3600 worth of junk until it could get in Nikon's hands for an out of warranty repair.
Miraculously, despite the aperture/shutter speed knobs not working after 2 days in the dessicant, a full week drying brought the Z7 ii back to full operation! *whew*.
I'm concerned the lens might be decentered after the impact, but I haven't tested it yet...we'll have to see if I need to send it in for repair. Fortunately the weather sealing seems to have prevented permanent damage somehow despite the bath. The camera was fully immersed in quickly moving water, if only for a short period of time.
After this experience, I am NOT going to be messing around with an over-the-shoulder camera bag as secondary storage when I've already got one camera on a strap. Both cameras on over-the-shoulder straps or nothing. And I put in an order for reusable dessicant bags so I don't have to be panicking waiting for the hardware store to open.
What's the worst that you've done to your equipment? Did it survive? What if anything would you do differently?
This simple tale involves a WeakDesign Everyday backpack and an addled owner, who shall remain nameless.
1. Drive to trailhead.
2. Open bag, pull out camera, select and install lens.
3. Put camera back in bag.
4. Get out of truck, grab bag and swing into position on back.
5. Watch as aforementioned camera and lens exit unzipped side of bag and reach apogee.
6. Pick up broken camera AND broken lens.
7. Get back in truck, drive home.
8. Pay dearly for repairs
Fortunately none of my many instances have been fatal, but I've picked up my improperly zipped bag too many times to count, spilling various things, though usually from not to great a height or onto soft surfaces. And I also almost dropped camera and lens into the pond, but fortunately only hit the mud and just had to clean some mud off. Some of the mud got underneath the mode selector and it became hard to switch exposure and shutter modes for a while, and I thought it might be bent from the impact, a real nuisance when trying to go from A to M as I do rather often, but after a while it magically recovered.
I did, however, once drop my very exotic and expensive 85/2.8 Micro tilt-shift lens onto the pavement taking it out of the car. It bent something in the focusing mechanism, and I thought I was up the creek, but fortunately my local camera repair guy was able to fix it. A close call, though!
And though it wasn't a camera, thankfully, I once forgot that my tripod was leaning against the back of the car, and backed over it. The tripod, a hugely robust old Manfrotto, suffered no damage, but it broke the top of the head that attaches to the camera plate. I replaced the top of the head but my Kirk ball head will carry forever the gouges to remind me of my carelessness.
Not much I'd do differently except to pay more attention, but that 85 mm. lens no longer travels in its wimpy little bag, but in a padded case.
I've picked up my improperly zipped bag too many times to count, spilling various things,
Hahahaha who would be dumb enough to do that? Oh, wait.....🤨
Welp, that 24-70 has some kind of internal damage, perhaps due to the elements clashing together hard enough to scratch their respective coatings. Still usable, but not good if I'm going to be shooting into the sun. Secure your camera folks!
Now to decide what I want to replace it with.
Every camera I've broken, it was on a tripod.
Split my Z9 on the top deck, first job, tripod 8 feet up, didn't secure it enough, fell right onto concrete.
Split a D700 in half taking photos in a wind storm, blew over, smashed asphault.
Split a D800E in half when I was walking by, caught the strap, smashed right onto concrete
I split a 16-35/4G in half on a job. I've busted my 14-24 2.8Z, 50 1.8Z, 35 1.8Z.. Trying to think what else...
When you shoot for a living, repairs are just a cost of doing business.
