A tale of woe.

[fotog]

In the last three days I have slipped and fell twice on slippery rocks, carrying my D700 with Nikkor 16-35 F4 lens attached to a Manfrotto tripod. The first occasion the tripod took most of the shock and thank God no damage done to camera, lens and cokin filter. Now 3 days later I find myself up in the air again with the sickening sound of expensive camera gear hitting solid rock. This time not so lucky, lens separated from camera leaving the mount behind in the body. It seems fixable to me, there is some broken plastic on the bayonet fitting, some orange tape hanging out and hopefully the rest of the lens will be okay. The bayonet mount seems weak for the length and weight of the lens and I think this is a common occurrence.

However the lens is a grey purchase, from what I know if I take it to Nikon for repair they will check the serial number, find out it's a grey import and refuse to repair it. Is this correct? If so is there anywhere else I can send it for repair? Possibly somebody connected with this forum?
My beautiful 16-35, so sad to see it broken (sniff). Incidentally the D700 body came through both falls with no damage, as well as the Manfrotto aside from some scratches. A lesson learned, the hard way - don't walk around with the camera mounted on the tripod, take it off and put it in the bag. That's why there is a quick release.

[hakka]

find out it's a grey import and refuse to repair it. Is this correct?

No, it just means they wont do any warranty work on it.

[Mathy]

Hey Fotog, whilst it's sad to hear about your broken gear, I'm hoping that physically you are ok, it would be sadder to hear that you had hurt yourself or even worse Marching around on slippery rocks and unbalancing yourself by carrying a tripod with camera attached is a recipe for disaster. Gear can be replaced, but valued members of AP can't be

Hakka may be right, you'll be able to get it repaired if you pay for it. And, as it was an accident (not a manufacturing type malfunction), I imagine that would be the case whether you bought it in OZ or 'grey'.

Look after yourself, and maybe check the kind of shoes that you are wearing on these expeditions as well, cheers Deb

[Puzz1e]

Sorry to hear mate

Grey or not...this won't be covered by warranty. I'm going to be getting photo insurance pretty soon for all my gear. Just a thought for the future

[fotog]

Hey Fotog, whilst it's sad to hear about your broken gear, I'm hoping that physically you are ok, it would be sadder to hear that you had hurt yourself or even worse Marching around on slippery rocks and unbalancing yourself by carrying a tripod with camera attached is a recipe for disaster. Gear can be replaced, but valued members of AP can't be

Hakka may be right, you'll be able to get it repaired if you pay for it. And, as it was an accident (not a manufacturing type malfunction), I imagine that would be the case whether you bought it in OZ or 'grey'.

Look after yourself, and maybe check the kind of shoes that you are wearing on these expeditions as well, cheers Deb

Thanks for your concern Deb, I did hurt my wrist and jar my back, but it could have been a lot worse. The first time I had bare feet, it was at a waterfall and I nearly went over an edge. An inner voice was warning me of danger but I didn't listen. Yesterday I had work boots, trod on a wet slippery rock and down I went, with a broken $1300 lens in front of my eyes. Definitely will be watching my step from now on.

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Thanks hakka and puzzle, I will take it too Nikon, hopefully it won't be too expensive. I have coverage but I think its a $300 excess so maybe it won't be worth making a claim. Still if it's beyond economical repair, I might be okay.

[Tikira]

I am sorry to hear of your accidents, and hope you recover soon.

I do worry about the weird places Wayne and my nephew end up in for "that" shot- it scares me. Photography can be dangerous, just a couple of weeks ago a man fell to his death on Ebor Falls (near Dorrigo NSW). It is thought he was trying to get a different vantage point. A photo is not worth anyones life

I hope your gear repair goes smoothly and quickly.
Di

[mikec]

That's very unfortunate to hear. Perhaps another wise investment would be some good walking shoes that have stickier rubber. I do a lot of rock scrambling and can recommend that a better pair will get you much better performance on dry and wet rock. Go to a proper outdoor store (not Rebel Sport or Amart) and have a look around they aren't that expensive.

[outstar79]

Sorry to hear that mate, I hope it all works out for you and doesn't cost too much. I agree with the above, I invested in some good walking shoes that grip really well on wet river rocks.

[Rattus79]

I heartily endorse Dunlop Volleys.

You won't see a roof worker without a pair! You can even get them with steel caps now too!

Make sure when you put your lens in for repair, to send your body in too! Although you say it's fine and suffered no damage, they are very sensitive shock, and something that may not be causing any difficulties now could turn into something major later, like say for example, the mirror array could have been partially damaged and will need a few clicks to damage properly. (Just a thought) It could make it worth while claiming that insurance.

[fotog]

[QUOTE=Tikira;1128573]I am sorry to hear of your accidents, and hope you recover soon.

I do worry about the weird places Wayne and my nephew end up in for "that" shot- it scares me. Photography can be dangerous, just a couple of weeks ago a man fell to his death on Ebor Falls (near Dorrigo NSW). It is thought he was trying to get a different vantage point. A photo is not worth anyones life

I hope your gear repair goes smoothly and quickly.
Di[/QUOTE

Thanks Di, I understand your concern but sometimes we need to move out of our comfort zone or photography would get pretty boring. No need to risk your life or expensive camera gear though. Take your time, make sure of your footing.

[outstar79]

I heartily endorse Dunlop Volleys.

You won't see a roof worker without a pair! You can even get them with steel caps now too!

Or the good ole DB's

[fotog]

That's very unfortunate to hear. Perhaps another wise investment would be some good walking shoes that have stickier rubber. I do a lot of rock scrambling and can recommend that a better pair will get you much better performance on dry and wet rock. Go to a proper outdoor store (not Rebel Sport or Amart) and have a look around they aren't that expensive.

I have a pair of Keen hiking sandals which I recommend, both times I slipped I wasn't wearing them.

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Sorry to hear that mate, I hope it all works out for you and doesn't cost too much. I agree with the above, I invested in some good walking shoes that grip really well on wet river rocks.

Thanks mate, it's a sickening sound hearing expensive photographic gear hitting rock and I never want to hear it again. As I mentioned Keen hiking sandles are very good in wet slippery conditions, I have never slipped while wearing them.

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I heartily endorse Dunlop Volleys.

You won't see a roof worker without a pair! You can even get them with steel caps now too!

Make sure when you put your lens in for repair, to send your body in too! Although you say it's fine and suffered no damage, they are very sensitive shock, and something that may not be causing any difficulties now could turn into something major later, like say for example, the mirror array could have been partially damaged and will need a few clicks to damage properly. (Just a thought) It could make it worth while claiming that insurance.

You know that's a good idea, it needs a sensor clean anyway and I have a spare body. I'll say one thing about the old d700, they made them tough. It's had a couple of good knocks and seems unaffected. I don't know how the newer models would have handled it with less metal and more plastic. I have seen reports on the net of lens mounts being ripped out of the D800's after being dropped.

[hakka]

I have a pair of Keen hiking sandals which I recommend, both times I slipped I wasn't wearing them.

I smashed a camera at trentham falls in a pair of keens

[fotog]

I smashed a camera at trentham falls in a pair of keens

Let's face it, no footwear is going to save you on slippery rocks, unless you have cleats on your shoes rock fisherman style. Injuries and expensive repairs have taught me a lesson, if it looks wet and slippery don't go there.

[mechawombat]

I heart my crocs for water/seascapes. Oh so grippy!