What to do with this machine?
 

So I let my A1 fall of the tripod the other week - don't ask.

Anyway, It fell about 5 feet and hit the ground on the lens hood.

The hood is a little dented but other than that it seems to be perfect.

I've done 6 weddings since, all perfect.

But I have this nagging voice in my head saying-

" quick, buy another, relegate this camera to back-up, now, you'll regret it etc etc etc."

What do you guys think? If it was going to produce a problem as a result of this fall would it have shown up by now?

What would you do?

I had a similar fall last year at Bike Week in Daytona -Not from a tripod - broken strap instead - from 5 feet right on the lens hood. It's still working perfectly today.

I'd say "forget about it" don't look back and keep on shooting.

I had this happen to a Sony HC1 though it was about 7 feet and hit gravels on the lens hood (aftermarket) and at a slight angle. I saw it happen in slow motion. ;) Works perfectly ever since and that was 3 years ago. Though I'd have a heart attack if that happened to my A1. If it works fine, I'd say you are ok.

Tape a few newspaper pages to a wall and take some photographs of it with your A1 at various zoom steps and full aperture. Look if the print is sharper on one side or the other.

This is a simple test to know if your lens is out of center. If it is, check if the direction of the off-center is linked to the position of the lens (roughly).

If you answer no to any of the two question, consider your camera in order. In practice, the hood acts as a bumper and absorbs the shocks relatively well.

If you're really worried, you could give it to me. (grin)

If it works and all is well and everything's sharp, it's OK. Hitting on the lens hood probably helped the fall by flexing a bit.

I would not worry about it either, it's a Canon. Fortunately I have not dropped my A1, but have dropped a few Sonys and never had a problem. However a DVX would have disintegrated on impact.

I think it's completely ruined. It isn't even worth trying to fix.
You might as well just send it to me so I can use it as a prop *cough*.
I'll even pay the postage.

I've opened an A1 and it's just an HV20 inside, which you can replace like a battery :)

But seriously, when offloading footage with a firewire cable, it's a good idea to keep the camera as low as possible, like on the floor. It's easy to snag a firewire cable and send the camera crashing to the floor!

Amen to that

Yea she's a sturdy machine.
I must do the newspaper test out of curiosity.
Thanks for the reassurance.

But seriously, im in love with Canon after this experience.