[Wired]

I was getting my gear out of the car today after my trip around the city, it seems as though I forgot to buckle my bag when I put it in the back seat and my DA* 16-50, M200, and M135 all rolled out onto the hard cold concrete.

After getting home and running some frames through each lens and checking movement on all the barrels I'm happy to report no damage was done.


But in searching, I found that what I believed to a be a sensor stain in all my shots is actually a speck of dust inside one of the inner elements of my 16-50. I guess it goes to the shop tomorrow for a cleaning.

[Mike Cash]

It only takes spilling the contents of your bag ONCE before you become very diligent about making sure you closed it.

When my bag lid is unsecured, I make sure it is flopped over into a fully open position. If I flip the top back to a closed position I always secure it. Don't care to dump the contents out in the ground anymore....

[philbaum]

I was getting my gear out of the car today after my trip around the city, it seems as though I forgot to buckle my bag when I put it in the back seat and my DA* 16-50, M200, and M135 all rolled out onto the hard cold concrete.

After getting home and running some frames through each lens and checking movement on all the barrels I'm happy to report no damage was done.


But in searching, I found that what I believed to a be a sensor stain in all my shots is actually a speck of dust inside one of the inner elements of my 16-50. I guess it goes to the shop tomorrow for a cleaning.

Thats an easy accident to happen. I did roll my camera bag out of the back of my van the other day onto the concrete while loading a tree into the van. But no damage.

Are you sure that that the dust isn't on the sensor, thats the most common problem. If its on the sensor, should show up with all the lenses while shot against a clear sky or similar.

[Wired]

i think its actually in both because there is a very noticeable spot in some of my fisheye and m50 shots as well.

i confirmed the DA* speck by visually inspecting it

[RioRico]

I practice extreme paranoia with my gear. I never assume that anything is immune to gravity nor clumsiness. My Ameribag is always zipped shut except when I'm accessing lenses and stuff. I always check where the camera strap is so it can't get snagged. As a result, my last fockop damage was in 2004, when I left a light camera on a light tripod in a strong wind. (Expensive camera too; totally ruined; bother.)

My last cat was constantly testing gravity. If anything was on an elevated surface, Petrushka would nudge it towards and over an edge and observe the fall. Yup, gravity still works! She died before I started accumulating lenses. Oh, she would have a GREAT time in my office now! And I would need to have every loose item stashed away, safe from her scientific curiosity.

Just assume that invisible cats and children and poltergeists are around. Take precautions. Nurture a healthy sense of paranoia. Remember, even paranoids have enemies.

[reeftool]

I had a lens get trashed last year when it fell out of my backpack, also because I had one side partially unzipped. It's a tough way to learn a lesson.

[Clavius]

I practice extreme paranoia with my gear.

Same here! The K20d which I sold, with ~98.000 shutter counts was still in pristine condition.

My last cat was constantly testing gravity. If anything was on an elevated surface, Petrushka would nudge it towards and over an edge and observe the fall.

It's a cat-thing, mine did that too. Remote controls, cellphones, fully loaded plates containing dinner, you name it... It did train me well. Maybe people should borrow a cat for a few weeks before getting expensive gadgets?

[lytrytyr]

my DA* 16-50, M200, and M135 all rolled out onto the hard cold concrete.

After getting home and running some frames through each lens and checking movement on all the barrels I'm happy to report no damage was done.

Did you check for cracks in the concrete where the M200 fell on it?

[JinDesu]

I once left my bag unlatched in a room with my friends. I came back to a very somber looking group who said my camera dropped out. I asked them how did it drop out, it was sitting on the sofa. They said they grabbed my bag and pretended to lift it up and shake it, at which point it dropped to everyone's surprise.

From that point on, I became uber diligent about keeping my backs latched/zipped up at all times.

Also - the k-x and the DA35 F2.4 are tough mofos. Dropping from a height of 6' and surviving damn well!

[Wired]

This is another reason why I need to curb my LBA and buy a proper bag. (I got a reporter style Pentax bag) Its only a latch to close it, when I was coming into the house, my wife bumped the bag and my DA40mm limited popped out the side. I caught it.

Make a mental note: buy a new bag before taking ALL my gear with me on another photo trip.

[Mike Cash]

I once left my bag unlatched in a room with my friends. I came back to a very somber looking group who said my camera dropped out. I asked them how did it drop out, it was sitting on the sofa. They said they grabbed my bag and pretended to lift it up and shake it, at which point it dropped to everyone's surprise.

Other people are why if I leave a bag unfastened I also leave the top conspicuously OPEN, so nobody will try to pick it up, thinking it is closed and secured. It also protects against my own forgetfulness/stupidity, both of which I have in increasing abundance with each passing year.

[RonHendriks1966]

It only takes spilling the contents of your bag ONCE before you become very diligent about making sure you closed it.

I once forgot to put in back the battery in the camera, so'I keep checking those things ten times. Well tumbling cameragear isn't the best thing to happen.

[Lloydy]

I placed a camera bag on the roof of my old Range Rover many years ago, got distracted, drove off and heard a bang. Stopped, hit reverse to park again and parked on the bag!

That was a wrecked EOS 600, two AE1P's, and at least 7 lenses and 2 flashes. Isn't insurance a wonderful thing.

[Marc Sabatella]

i think its actually in both because there is a very noticeable spot in some of my fisheye and m50 shots as well.

i confirmed the DA* speck by visually inspecting it

The chances of a dist spot inside a lens being visible in a picture are very slim - anything on the lens would normally end up so out of focus you'd never be able to see it. The fact that you also see the spot in shots from other lenses should be all the proof you need that it is not the lens but the sensor that needs cleaning. But there is no particular reason to suspect a "stain" - a simple dust spot is more likely. Google "dslr sensor dust" if you're not familiar, but it's just a act of life with a DSLR. The spots will be visible only at small apertures, whoch can fool you into thinking it's more sporadic than it is. But no need to send anything in cleaning. That would be like taking your car in for professional service every time you need to put gas in the tank. Cleaning the sensor periodically is a normal part of DSLR ownership.

[MegaPower]

test your dust with F22, 5sec on your 16-50 and a random lens.
Most likely it is some kind of dust on the sensor.