Most photographers who spend a significant amount of time in the field end up putting their cameras through some abuse, though it’s usually accidental. I’ve certainly dropped cameras and lenses; my second Sigma 70-210 f/2.8 broke in half when dropped on a concrete floor in 1996, and my Tokina 28-70 f/2.8 (of the same vintage) lost its autofocus when I jumped from the peak of a sand dune, not realizing that the rain and wind had hardened the far side of the dune into something like concrete. Plenty of light-stands have fallen over… but one of them fell over into the Cache la Poudre River (the Nikon SB-24 survived unscathed).
But I’ve never done anything like this. Parts were almost painful to watch.
Now, those of you who own Canon 7Ds, or who are thinking about getting them, can relax a bit when your camera is jostled in the streets. It will probably survive, though I don’t suspect that even “L” lenses would be able to take this kind of abuse. Of course, those of you with Canon 5D Mark IIIs, or any of the 1D series cameras, or Nikon’s D800 and D4 can expect similarly bulletproof performance.
[Turns out that DigitalRev actually has a pretty good price on the 7D, $1309, but I believe they’re grey market (ie, no USA warranty)]
