wow, lens scare!! at DVinfo.net

Ian Planchon · February 26th, 2009, 08:14 AM

Got off the plane with the ex3, I guess I bumped the lens ring that locks the lens in place, cause next thing I know I heard a crash and the lens hit the floor. LUCKILY, my matte box hit fist, and saved the lens from any damage. The matte box is fine too. I really dodged a bullet as this is the beginning of my trip to AK to cover the iditarod with this thing.

Andy Tejral · February 26th, 2009, 08:46 AM

Zowie!

Who are you working for?

Any chance I can get you to go to the Bush Co and say hello to everyone for me?

Mitchell Lewis · February 26th, 2009, 08:59 AM

Scary that that could actually happen. I'll have to keep an eye on that in the future. Thanks! (good luck with your shoot)

Ian Planchon · February 26th, 2009, 09:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andy Tejral

Zowie!

Who are you working for?

2, Workin with shirley on the trail.

David Issko · February 26th, 2009, 02:17 PM

Ian,

My XS lens came off my EX3 for no 'apparent' reason not too long ago. Thankfully I was holding both the lens and camera when it happened.

I was shooting a doco for a number of consecutive days. Camera in and out of the bag a few times per day can easily unseat the locking ring. However, the lens locking switch on the side was in the lock position.

Nothing broke, I just held up a public presentation of scholarships to university students in front of about 60 people for about 2 minutes (well i told the speaker to hold off for a moment till I gave him the OK). I sat down sat a table and calmly (maybe a little bit of nervousness) assembled the camera & lens together, checked a rough back focus and I have never encountered this problem again - and my camera was in and out of the bag just as often for the remainder of the shoot.

I now check the lens/camera assembly as part of my camera preparation routine.

Glad to read that all is OK with your lens.

Dan Chung · February 26th, 2009, 05:21 PM

Actually the same thing happened to me too. I was walking around the BIRTV trade show a few months back and my Canon KH-20 lens fell off the front of my EX-3 in the way you describe. Luckily I was able to take it over to the Canon booth for a quick test. It was a bit scuffed but seems OK.

Dan

Alister Chapman · February 27th, 2009, 03:08 PM

I had this happen many years ago with a UVW100 BetaSP. The lens was a total loss. Ever since then I have been careful to check lens bayonets. Its not such a big deal with 2/3" lenses as the cable stops the lens dropping to the floor. You could attach a thin wire or rope from the lens strap to the cameras front shoulder strap loop if you feel that your lens might come free.

David C. Williams · February 27th, 2009, 04:03 PM

You all may know this, but there is a lock for native lenses on the lower right side, half hidden by the grip. My EX3 arrived in the box with the lock off and the rotating lock almost completely open. I was lucky to notice it before a disaster happened.

Ian Planchon · February 27th, 2009, 08:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by David C. Williams

You all may know this, but there is a lock for native lenses on the lower right side, half hidden by the grip. My EX3 arrived in the box with the lock off and the rotating lock almost completely open. I was lucky to notice it before a disaster happened.

I am not aware of this, there is a lock OTHER than the ring that locks it onto the camera?

David C. Williams · February 27th, 2009, 09:17 PM

The ring lock on the left side is the mechanical device that holds the lens secure, on the right behind the handgrip you have a small switch which locks the ring lock. A safety a it were.

Vincent Oliver · February 28th, 2009, 02:16 AM

The so called lock behind the hand grip is not a lock, it just wedges a small brake against the locking collar, you can still rotate the collar but it will have some resistance.

BTW. Many of you may have heard of my unfortunate accident with my new EX3 camera, the whole lot hit the ground and the lens snapped in two. The inner construction of the lens leaves a lot to be desired, so many plastic parts which just fell appart on the fall. I did manage to buy a replacement lens (£1050) which fortunately my home insurance company paid for. I was fortunate with my insurance on this occaision but was advised to take out a professional equipment policy, which I have now done. My advice here is to make sure you have a professional equipment insurance policy that covers all your equipment and of course public liability.

http://www.photo-i.co.uk/aa/RIPex3.html

Check your equipment for lens tightness and make sure all the locks on your tripod are seccure. The tripod socket on the EX3/EX1 is not the most robust, my camera survived the fall without a scratch because I had the DM shoulder mount on it, without it I am 95% sure that the tripod socket would have been ripped out of the camera.

Have fun.

John Stakes · April 29th, 2009, 08:43 AM

Glad everything is safe! The beautiful things about protecting your lenses is that most of the "protecting devices" are items you should probably have anyway...such as the matte box, UV filter, etc. I'm even getting a UV filter for my wide angle. Easier to clean too.

JS

Mike Chandler · May 1st, 2009, 08:56 AM

I had the same thing happen as with David and Dan, and I think it's because the "lock" is not really a lock at all but just a wedge, as Vincent says. I'd thought it was from friction from the sides of the bag, but I'd been shooting for quite a while before the lens just plunked off: luckily my hand was right under it at the time. Unluckily, unlike David, I didn't immediately re-do flange focus and lost some shots to out of focus.

Mark Twittey · May 1st, 2009, 11:42 AM

I took out my EX3 from it's hard case after a flight and when I fired it up it "felt" odd, when I looked my lens locking ring was open.
But because I have a Matte box with Bars conected to the camera itself the lens could not move forward and fall off.
Lucky as I was standing on concrete about to start a shoot!

February 26th, 2009, 08:14 AM	#1
Ian Planchon Major Player Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: an Alaskan living in Des Moines, Iowa Posts: 513	wow, lens scare!! Got off the plane with the ex3, I guess I bumped the lens ring that locks the lens in place, cause next thing I know I heard a crash and the lens hit the floor. LUCKILY, my matte box hit fist, and saved the lens from any damage. The matte box is fine too. I really dodged a bullet as this is the beginning of my trip to AK to cover the iditarod with this thing.

February 26th, 2009, 08:46 AM	#2
Andy Tejral Major Player Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: New York City Posts: 523	Zowie! Who are you working for? Any chance I can get you to go to the Bush Co and say hello to everyone for me? __________________ Andy Tejral Railroad Videographer

February 26th, 2009, 08:59 AM	#3
Mitchell Lewis Trustee Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Kennewick, WA Posts: 1,124	Scary that that could actually happen. I'll have to keep an eye on that in the future. Thanks! (good luck with your shoot) __________________ Sony EX3, Canon 5D MkII, Chrosziel Matte Box, Sachtler tripod, Steadicam Flyer, Mac Pro, Apple/Adobe software - 20 years as a local videographer/editor

February 26th, 2009, 02:17 PM	#5
David Issko Major Player Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 393	Ian, My XS lens came off my EX3 for no 'apparent' reason not too long ago. Thankfully I was holding both the lens and camera when it happened. I was shooting a doco for a number of consecutive days. Camera in and out of the bag a few times per day can easily unseat the locking ring. However, the lens locking switch on the side was in the lock position. Nothing broke, I just held up a public presentation of scholarships to university students in front of about 60 people for about 2 minutes (well i told the speaker to hold off for a moment till I gave him the OK). I sat down sat a table and calmly (maybe a little bit of nervousness) assembled the camera & lens together, checked a rough back focus and I have never encountered this problem again - and my camera was in and out of the bag just as often for the remainder of the shoot. I now check the lens/camera assembly as part of my camera preparation routine. Glad to read that all is OK with your lens. __________________ David Issko Edit 1 Video Productions

February 27th, 2009, 03:08 PM	#7
Alister Chapman Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Bracknell, Berkshire, UK Posts: 4,957	I had this happen many years ago with a UVW100 BetaSP. The lens was a total loss. Ever since then I have been careful to check lens bayonets. Its not such a big deal with 2/3" lenses as the cable stops the lens dropping to the floor. You could attach a thin wire or rope from the lens strap to the cameras front shoulder strap loop if you feel that your lens might come free. __________________ Alister Chapman, Film-Maker/Stormchaser http://www.xdcam-user.com/alisters-blog/ My XDCAM site and blog. http://www.hurricane-rig.com

February 26th, 2009, 05:21 PM	#6
Dan Chung Major Player Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Beijing Posts: 665	Actually the same thing happened to me too. I was walking around the BIRTV trade show a few months back and my Canon KH-20 lens fell off the front of my EX-3 in the way you describe. Luckily I was able to take it over to the Canon booth for a quick test. It was a bit scuffed but seems OK. Dan

February 27th, 2009, 04:03 PM	#8
David C. Williams Major Player Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: melb.vic.au Posts: 447	You all may know this, but there is a lock for native lenses on the lower right side, half hidden by the grip. My EX3 arrived in the box with the lock off and the rotating lock almost completely open. I was lucky to notice it before a disaster happened. __________________ www.davidwilliams.com.au

February 27th, 2009, 09:17 PM	#10
David C. Williams Major Player Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: melb.vic.au Posts: 447	The ring lock on the left side is the mechanical device that holds the lens secure, on the right behind the handgrip you have a small switch which locks the ring lock. A safety a it were. __________________ www.davidwilliams.com.au

February 28th, 2009, 02:16 AM	#11
Vincent Oliver Trustee Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Chislehurst, London Posts: 1,724	The so called lock behind the hand grip is not a lock, it just wedges a small brake against the locking collar, you can still rotate the collar but it will have some resistance. BTW. Many of you may have heard of my unfortunate accident with my new EX3 camera, the whole lot hit the ground and the lens snapped in two. The inner construction of the lens leaves a lot to be desired, so many plastic parts which just fell appart on the fall. I did manage to buy a replacement lens (£1050) which fortunately my home insurance company paid for. I was fortunate with my insurance on this occaision but was advised to take out a professional equipment policy, which I have now done. My advice here is to make sure you have a professional equipment insurance policy that covers all your equipment and of course public liability. http://www.photo-i.co.uk/aa/RIPex3.html Check your equipment for lens tightness and make sure all the locks on your tripod are seccure. The tripod socket on the EX3/EX1 is not the most robust, my camera survived the fall without a scratch because I had the DM shoulder mount on it, without it I am 95% sure that the tripod socket would have been ripped out of the camera. Have fun. __________________ Eyes are a deaf man’s ears. Ears are a blind man’s eyes

April 29th, 2009, 08:43 AM	#12
John Stakes Major Player Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 558	Glad everything is safe! The beautiful things about protecting your lenses is that most of the "protecting devices" are items you should probably have anyway...such as the matte box, UV filter, etc. I'm even getting a UV filter for my wide angle. Easier to clean too. JS

May 1st, 2009, 08:56 AM	#13
Mike Chandler Major Player Join Date: May 2008 Location: Moab, UT Posts: 264	I had the same thing happen as with David and Dan, and I think it's because the "lock" is not really a lock at all but just a wedge, as Vincent says. I'd thought it was from friction from the sides of the bag, but I'd been shooting for quite a while before the lens just plunked off: luckily my hand was right under it at the time. Unluckily, unlike David, I didn't immediately re-do flange focus and lost some shots to out of focus. __________________ www.packcreekproductions.com EX3, Mac Pro, FCP

May 1st, 2009, 11:42 AM	#14
Mark Twittey Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Denbury, Devon Posts: 63	I took out my EX3 from it's hard case after a flight and when I fired it up it "felt" odd, when I looked my lens locking ring was open. But because I have a Matte box with Bars conected to the camera itself the lens could not move forward and fall off. Lucky as I was standing on concrete about to start a shoot!