14 replies to this topic

[Thumper]

Here is a painful shot of one.

 

 

I was shooting a softball game, and I was switching lenses.   I never do this, but this one time, I set this lens on the bleachers to grab a different lens out of my bag.  A rogue pop fly foul ball comes sailing high over the fence and lands right on my lens like a meteor.  (or more appropriately, a meteorite).   The lens just exploded.   Little parts and rings went flying.   I have no idea if the actual glass internally was damaged, but I can't imagine that any sort of proper alignment is still intact.    What are the odds that the one time that I actually set my lens down that a stray ball would fly over the fence right at that moment and land in that exact spot?  

 

Needless to say, that was a painful lesson.   I have since replaced the lens (it happened a few months ago), and I no longer let any of my gear sit anywhere but in my bag or in my hands. 

[scoobymax]

Ouch! What are the chances?! I knocked one of my lenses off a table once, lucky for me it landed on a thick carpet and survived!

[GregM1]

those have to be slim odds. sorry for your loss, but thanks for sharing. i wonder what the batter's expression was.

[PrettyCranium]

Ouch, this is just painful to look at!

[Thumper]

those have to be slim odds. sorry for your loss, but thanks for sharing. i wonder what the batter's expression was.

I don't know.  I was too busy dealing with the shock and feeling sorry for myself to notice. 

[Adam]

Ouch, that's terrible luck! Good that the ball didn't hit anyone on the head, though.

I doubt that this is repairable, but you'll probably be able to sell the lens for paets.

[greenwing]

Million to one chances crop up 9 times out of ten. Hard luck, Thumper. Even if your insurance doesn't cover it, you have a tale to tell!

[Thumper]

Ouch, that's terrible luck! Good that the ball didn't hit anyone on the head, though.

I doubt that this is repairable, but you'll probably be able to sell the lens for paets.

That was pretty much what snapped me out of my pity party and shock.  One of the guys nearby said "Good thing it only hit the lens and didn't hit you!"   He had a valid point. 

 

I already called Nikon about repairing it.   It would be around $250 to fix it, if it was even repairable.   The same lens refurbished is less than that, so I wrote it off as an expensive lesson.  I hadn't actually thought about selling the parts, but that is not a bad idea.

[Nesster]

Ouch is right... but it does look interesting inside

[Thumper]

Ouch is right... but it does look interesting inside

I'll dig it back out and take some better pictures of it. 

 

While I still grieve over it, I am just glad I learned that lesson with that lens before I got my 70-200. 

[alden]

Sorry for your loss, boss. 

 

Sell the parts. I guess someone in the lens business would want them. 

[Tony892]

Seeing that broken lens gives you a sick feeling at the pit of your gut. I dropped a lens whilst on a cross channel ferry on the car deck, which had a surface that was very unforgiven. I forget how much I paid to have it repaired by Nikon, but it was not cheap.

[Thumper]

 

 

Lots of little parts.  (Quite a few that went flying are missing).

[PrettyCranium]

Interesting pictures, it's like viewing a dissection!

[smurphy880]

Looks amazing but upsetting at the same time