Camera took a knock...

  • Thread starter Thread starter Deleted member 67219
  • Start date Start date
Back from Colchester Camera Repair - as usually they're lovely and efficient with telling you what they reckon the problem is and how much it will cost to fix.

Apparently one of the boards in the top of the camera needs replacing - the DS/DL board? Something like that. Last time it was the circuit board that they repaired. £130 labour, plus parts, plus VAT is going to bring me to about £210 in total. Not cheap, but on the other hand cheaper than my insurance for the year, cheaper than buying a replacement and lots cheaper than buying a 5DMkIII...

But just over a week in the hospital. Which is marginally annoying because I'd set aside three days this week to shoot some new art prints and I don't really want to do it on my 100D. Nor do I think I can even if I wanted to, because I'm not sure it has a sync socket!
 
Not a cheap repair but yeah, definitely not as bad as it maybe could have been! My camera bag had an unfortunate falling out of a moving vehicle incident the other month with my 5D2, 100-400L, 24-105L and MacBook Pro in it , I expected pretty much everything to be written off but amazingly I managed to get away with a dent in the laptop and a 150 quid repair to the 24-105. Very cheap compared to what could have happened!
 
PMN said:
Not a cheap repair but yeah, definitely not as bad as it maybe could have been! My camera bag had an unfortunate falling out of a moving vehicle incident the other month with my 5D2, 100-400L, 24-105L and MacBook Pro in it , I expected pretty much everything to be written off but amazingly I managed to get away with a dent in the laptop and a 150 quid repair to the 24-105. Very cheap compared to what could have happened!
Click to expand...

Haha... one of my main reasons for buying MacBooks of various types is that they dent rather than shatter...

I should add really, that my 5DMkII really has been put through an awful lot. One of the reasons I've not insured it is because quite frankly, the state it's in I'm not sure I would get payout from an insurer. It's covered in scrapes and chips, gets run through the forests for 16 hours days for six long weekend events a year... gets lugged around in my handbag, thrown in the back of the car...

I genuinely said to one of my partners on Friday 'I don't think I'll ever upgrade my MkII until it breaks, it's just so good, I don't see why you'd need to...'. Fate, it seems, has a sense of humour.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
CharlotteM said:
But just over a week in the hospital. Which is marginally annoying because I'd set aside three days this week to shoot some new art prints and I don't really want to do it on my 100D. Nor do I think I can even if I wanted to, because I'm not sure it has a sync socket!
Click to expand...

If you need a sync socket and you've not got one get one of these, http://www.wexphotographic.com/buy-interfit-strobies-standard-hotshoe-adapter-sync-jack/p1031897 from Wex, order it today and it'll be here tomorrow and you'll be back in business.
 
Accidents happen! I've just recently dropped my 60D in a river! An awful feeling watching your prized possession glugging off out of sight. Although I suppose it was inevitable when you're stood in a flooded river without a strap on. What made it worse was that my darling other half stood and laughed hysterically. I did see the funny side once I knew my insurance was going to pay out! Oh well, lesson learnt.
 
  • Like
Reactions: PMN
markmullen said:
If you need a sync socket and you've not got one get one of these, http://www.wexphotographic.com/buy-interfit-strobies-standard-hotshoe-adapter-sync-jack/p1031897 from Wex, order it today and it'll be here tomorrow and you'll be back in business.
Click to expand...

The benefit of being freelance... I think I'm going to get outside and go for some long walks this week instead. As well as catching up on some university work. Perhaps this is the universe telling me to do something else this week...
 
CharlotteM said:
The benefit of being freelance... I think I'm going to get outside and go for some long walks this week instead. As well as catching up on some university work. Perhaps this is the universe telling me to do something else this week...
Click to expand...
I've got a spare i can send you if you change your mind. When going through my stuff last week found 2 still in the packets.
 
Phil V said:
I've got a spare i can send you if you change your mind. When going through my stuff last week found 2 still in the packets.
Click to expand...

Nah, I will wait for my MkII to come back. The 100D is a great little body as a second camera, for taking out and about for snaps, for shooting for web images and small prints, but I will want to print these art shots BIG and I'd rather not make the quality compromise. Thank you for the offer though, very kind.
 
Buy a 7D ... Indestructible!

http://biSPAM/LvUWAjhttp://biSPAM/LvWPwP
 
Eddzz!! said:
Buy a 7D ... Indestructible!
Click to expand...

As I said above... mine is pretty indestructible!

But very little will stop the internal circuitry packing up when it's decided it's had enough!
 
CharlotteM said:
As I said above... mine is pretty indestructible!

But very little will stop the internal circuitry packing up when it's decided it's had enough!
Click to expand...

Might sound a little obvious... But check you haven't got a dud battery! Especially if it's an aftermarket brand. There's also the little memory battery on the inside of the battery door, try popping that out and back in again. Electronics can do crazy things, so you never know.
 
Eddzz!! said:
Might sound a little obvious... But check you haven't got a dud battery! Especially if it's an aftermarket brand. There's also the little memory battery on the inside of the battery door, try popping that out and back in again. Electronics can do crazy things, so you never know.
Click to expand...

The battery is fine. It's been running just fine for several years. The camera was still turning on and 'working' but not showing any display or taking pictures.

As I said above, I took it to the repair shop, it's in for a week and it needs a circuit board or something replacing.
 
CharlotteM said:
The battery is fine. It's been running just fine for several years. The camera was still turning on and 'working' but not showing any display or taking pictures.

As I said above, I took it to the repair shop, it's in for a week and it needs a circuit board or something replacing.
Click to expand...

Look at you, expecting me to actually read threads before I post :rolleyes:

:runaway:
 
I have to admit my first thoughts were along the lines of the others with regards to insurance. (do note though that it would easily be claimable as a valid expense, and thus would be pre-tax )

But that is a choice you have taken for a reason.


Does the camera need to be a 5d mk II?
I just did a quick search, can't vouch for the site, but: http://www.preloved.co.uk/adverts/list/3369/cameras.html?keyword=canon 5d used
Ok, so it might be more than 1 years insurance, but, you couldf think of a second body as being an insurnce product itself. And it 'should' last more than 2 years. In theory, you could leave it at home, in a cupboard, and only call on it when necessary. If nothing else, it would remove some of the stress you had when you first saw that the camera wasn't working.

Anyway, glad it sounds like it should be repairable.
 
Last edited:
coldpenguin said:
I have to admit my first thoughts were along the lines of the others with regards to insurance.

But that is a choice you have taken for a reason.


Does the camera need to be a 5d mk II?
I just did a quick search, can't vouch for the site, but: http://www.preloved.co.uk/adverts/list/3369/cameras.html?keyword=canon 5d used
Ok, so it might be more than 1 years insurance, but, you couldf think of a second body as being an insurnce product itself. And it 'should' last more than 2 years. In theory, you could leave it at home, in a cupboard, and only call on it when necessary. If nothing else, it would remove some of the stress you had when you first saw that the camera wasn't working.

Anyway, glad it sounds like it should be repairable.
Click to expand...

I actually sold my 5D last summer in order to upgrade it to a 100D. I do have a backup camera, but it's not good enough to be a main camera.

The fact is, I took a gamble on gear insurance because my gear collectively had become less expensive than it previously was (it's old) and I now do an awful lot less 'pure' photography work for a living. The insurance for my core gear simply wasn't worth it, gambling against the cost of repair. My insurance quote was somewhere around £350+ for this year, and this repair is going to cost me £210 roughly, so I'm quids in. If that makes sense. A four year old digital camera is doing well anyway and I'm happy to take the gamble because I know to be honest, it's getting close to 'replacement time' anyway.
 
CharlotteM said:
The fact is, I took a gamble on gear insurance because my gear collectively had become less expensive than it previously was (it's old) and I now do an awful lot less 'pure' photography work for a living. The insurance for my core gear simply wasn't worth it, gambling against the cost of repair. My insurance quote was somewhere around £350+ for this year, and this repair is going to cost me £210 roughly, so I'm quids in. If that makes sense.
Click to expand...

It kind of makes sense and it kind of doesn't. If it is a faulty circuit board then it would be classed as a fault or mechanical wear - you wouldn't get an insurance payout on that anyway.

Stolen yes, dropped and smashed yes - worn out/faulty no or at least very very unlikely unless you could prove it was due to accidental damage - notwithstanding any excess you would have had to pay.

Most of my minor damage claims due to drops have been done outside of insurance - excess makes it too close to call, and the risk of an increased premium. Well worth it though if you lose £15k+ of kit in one chunk through theft or a smash - tough to recover from that, and certainly quickly if you need the kit pronto for your next paid job.
 
In all
meonshore said:
It kind of makes sense and it kind of doesn't. If it is a faulty circuit board then it would be classed as a fault or mechanical wear - you wouldn't get an insurance payout on that anyway.

Stolen yes, dropped and smashed yes - worn out/faulty no or at least very very unlikely unless you could prove it was due to accidental damage - notwithstanding any excess you would have had to pay.

Most of my minor damage claims due to drops have been done outside of insurance - excess makes it too close to call, and the risk of an increased premium. Well worth it though if you lose £15k+ of kit in one chunk through theft or a smash - tough to recover from that, and certainly quickly if you need the kit pronto for your next paid job.
Click to expand...

In all honesty, if all my kit got nicked in one go (unlikely, it's never all in the same place) then I'd just rebut the bare minimum, ditch the less lucrative jobs and rent for any jobs I really wanted to do. It makes far more business sense to do so - I'm just a bit sentimental about getting rid of kit. I like stuff.
 
twhite87 said:
Accidents happen! I've just recently dropped my 60D in a river! An awful feeling watching your prized possession glugging off out of sight. Although I suppose it was inevitable when you're stood in a flooded river without a strap on. What made it worse was that my darling other half stood and laughed hysterically. I did see the funny side once I knew my insurance was going to pay out! Oh well, lesson learnt.
Click to expand...
Wow. I don't want to drag the conversation off topic, but that's remarkably generous on behalf of your insurers. Mine have a requirement to "take all reasonable precautions to avoid loss or damage", and their view is that standing in a river without using a camera strap is not compliant. I guess it shows the importance of reading the small print.
 
Depends if "accidental cover including immersion" is included or not, I can add it to two items with my policy (so I covered my 7D and fisheye). The little illustration in the terms and conditions booklet shows a chatty lady dropping an iphone in a toilet. Everything else is just covered for theft if other criteria are met (not left on the back seat of an unattended car in full view, not left unattended or in a railway station locker etc etc). I don't think its covered for falling out of a moving vehicle, but it is all covered against being legitimately dropped or damaged by a third party.
 
StewartR said:
Wow. I don't want to drag the conversation off topic, but that's remarkably generous on behalf of your insurers. Mine have a requirement to "take all reasonable precautions to avoid loss or damage", and their view is that standing in a river without using a camera strap is not compliant. I guess it shows the importance of reading the small print.
Click to expand...

I was thinking the same :rolleyes:
 
"Take all reasonable precautions to avoid loss or damage" is a standard clause/condition in many insurance contracts. It's quite subjective - unlike the defined inclusions and exclusions - and gives insurers grounds for repudiation if they feel that you were reckless or grossly negligent, but it's controversial and there's a fair amount of variance in how it's applied.
 
MartynK said:
"Take all reasonable precautions to avoid loss or damage" is a standard clause/condition in many insurance contracts. It's quite subjective - unlike the defined inclusions and exclusions - and gives insurers grounds for repudiation if they feel that you were reckless or grossly negligent, but it's controversial and there's a fair amount of variance in how it's applied.
Click to expand...
I was thinking the same thing. I think that an insurer would be hard-pressed to prove you were negligent; you don't have a strap on a phone or table when you hold it, so why should it be a requirement to have one on a camera? Common sense, yes; compulsory, no.

I feel that if anyone had a claim turned don for this reason and subsequently complained to the Ombudsman, the insurer would lose
 
Goody13 said:
I was thinking the same thing. I think that an insurer would be hard-pressed to prove you were negligent; you don't have a strap on a phone or table when you hold it, so why should it be a requirement to have one on a camera? Common sense, yes; compulsory, no.

I feel that if anyone had a claim turned don for this reason and subsequently complained to the Ombudsman, the insurer would lose
Click to expand...

Phones and tablets are rarely supplied with a strap, nor do they have anywhere to mount them. It's perfectly reasonable to expect people to use a strap, it's just common sense.
 
I agree it's common sense, but not necessarily reckless to not have the strap fitted.
 
Goody13 said:
I agree it's common sense, but not necessarily reckless to not have the strap fitted.
Click to expand...

Quite. Many who work out of studios would not fit a strap - they get in the way. My cameras don't have straps fitted for when I'm indoors, they just have a black rapid anchor point for when I'm doing work that relies on carrying it around.
 
so if you were going to stand in a river would you put the strap on?
 
cw318is said:
so if you were going to stand in a river would you put the strap on?
Click to expand...

Probably not, because I'd probably want to hand the camera back to an assistant on the bank. Getting it on and off of the strap is the bit where I'm most likely to drop it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top