First ever busted gear....

[NorthernFocus]

Well sooner or later the law of averages manifests itself. Though I've had some accidents with equipment in the past, somehow it has always avoided damage. But not today

My bride and I flew down for the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival in WA state. I was also hoping to sneak in a bit of bird photography. It was here in 2008 that my interest in bird photography was first kindled during a visit to the tulip fields. On that trip we stumbled onto a flock of snow geese and I've been hooked shooting birds in flight ever since.

Anyhow, since I was continuing on to a business trip next week, I traveled light and brought minimal photography kit with no spare camera body. We got in a bit of flower shooting yesterday afternoon after our flight down from AK. Then while getting my kit together this morning to go out and look for a bird or two, I dropped my D7100 onto the carpeted floor in the hotel room. I've dropped gear onto much harsher surfaces before without damage. But not so this time. So without a spare body the rest of the trip is pretty much a bust as far as photography goes. And I had a flock of geese all scoped out. Plus as if to mock me, right in the parking lot of the hotel an eagle flew over with a fish in its talons

I'll go through the motions and send the body in to see if it is reparable. But I'm not hopeful. It is visibly out of kilter

Well I guess that's the end of the love/hate relationship with the D7100. Loved the IQ but hated the minimal buffer capacity of that body. Hopefully I'm mature enough to walk away from such a relationship and move on...

[RichardTaylor]

Sorry to hear of your loss, Dan.

[Rita]

That is terrible. Hope it all works out for you somehow.

[NorthernFocus]

Thanks guys. I'm fairly confident that the sun will rise again tomorrow morning. Though I won't be able to capture the moment other than in my mind's eye

[FootLoose]

Sorry to hear, Dan, but as they say the best revenge is living well. So, replace it with a superior body.

BTW what / where is WA?

[John 2]

Sorry to hear about that Dan. It's always sickening when something like that happens. On the bright side, it gives you an excuse to move on a generation. The D7200 is due out soon.

[IzzieK]

Oh Dan...I am so sorry....both for your photography failed and your camera. I'd be annoyed too -- the carpet must be concreted underneath or it dropped at a bad angle. Look at it this way -- you and your wife are both well and being looked after by the gods of health. Maybe there is a lesson there to be learned like maybe you are supposed to be enjoying your trip with your wife without a camera for a change? I sincerely hope you did.

Happy Easter!

[JR1]

All hail new for old camera insurance, never leave home without it.

[NorthernFocus]

Thanks, for the thoughts, folks. Izzie you make a good point. My bride now has my undevided attention.

Happy Easter, everyone.

...BTW what / where is WA?

It's not Western Australia. If we'd traveled that far I'd be out buying a new body That's our abbreviation for the state of Washington in the Pacific Northwest of the continental USA.

[loosecanon]

Amazed that a small drop onto carpet would make it unusable. Dropped my Canon 7D the other day onto hard ground, made a dent in the earth path, nothing else , no damage apparent. As the top corner hit ground even the lens survived.

[Mike Buckley]

I'm also surprised that a drop on carpet, regardless of the installation method, messed up the camera.

If you have home owner's insurance, it might cover the cost of repair or replacement.

[terrib]

A disappointment for sure but you seem to have a good attitude about the whole thing.

[NorthernFocus]

We do have insurance but unfortunately the deductible is about the same as the value of the camera.

The only way I can account for the damage is 1) the camera must have landed on one of the bottom corners. 2) it's not a pro body therefore not very durable.

I my old D300 took several dives and came up none the worse for wear. As I said, the law of averages had to catch up sooner or later. As long as no (human)body parts get lost, equipment can be replaced. It was a bummer not having a camera to finish up the trip. A cold front blew through last night and there was some beautiful light this morning.

It's that darn Sigma lens jinxed me. This weekend was the first time shooting anything other than a Nikon lens for several years...

[Mike Buckley]

It's that darn Sigma lens jinxed me. This weekend was the first time shooting anything other than a Nikon lens for several years...

You have such a healthy sense of humor. Good for you!

[Bobobird]

It is a sickening feeling whenever we drop anything. An expensive kit makes it worse.
Sorry for your loss. But on the bright side you have ample excuse to go to the D4S ?

[IzzieK]

It is a sickening feeling whenever we drop anything. An expensive kit makes it worse.
Sorry for your loss. But on the bright side you have ample excuse to go to the D4S ?

Bobo ... I think Dan said he did not carry another body for this trip, so that means he is just camera-less for this one...

[NorthernFocus]

It is a sickening feeling whenever we drop anything. An expensive kit makes it worse.
Sorry for your loss. But on the bright side you have ample excuse to go to the D4S ?

Not quite. But if they finally see fit to come out with a DX format pro body this fall as rumored, I'll be all in.

[saea501]

I guess it just doesn't take much to irreparably damage some of this stuff. Hard to imagine it sustaining that much damage falling onto a carpeted surface.

I just trashed mine last month too. Course mine hit the pavement going about 50. Man....they really come apart fast under those conditions.

[rtbaum]

I dropped my D90 a couple years ago in a parking lot, I was sick. I was also very lucky, I brought to the local brick and mortar, they sent it to Nikon, it was repairable and returned better than new. Have your had it evaluated yet?

[kaneohebud]

Dan:
Sorry, man. But, it's a great excuse to upgrade.