Dropped 6D

ketan · May 18, 2014

Dropped 6D + 24-105 lens from a height of chair (2 1/2 ft) ... (so irresponsible)..

Apparently it works same except I have got a scratch at the bottom.

How can I find out that everything is ok and not affected?

Plz reply soon...

Ketan

TheFantasticG · May 18, 2014

Go through all the functions available and verify they work properly versus known good functioning models. Or maybe Canon has a diagnostic test they could do...? Not sure from that PoV.

ruggedshutter · May 18, 2014

I dropped a Canon 20D years ago from waist height. It went lens first into brick walkway. It broke the lens mount tab on the lens. It was at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC giftshop. I held the lens to the body so I could keep taking photos. I was at the edge of a pond, adjusting my polarizing filter and dropped the lens. It rolled right into the pond...lol

minicoop1985 · May 18, 2014

If the 6D is anything like the 7D in terms of construction (magnesium frame, etc), it's probably fine, but you can send it to Canon for a check up. If it's out of warranty, though, you may be out of luck. My 7D was dropped before I bought it and was sent back, given a clean bill of health.

lambertpix · May 18, 2014

I've been amazed at how durable my Canons have been over the years -- I've had a 30D, 40D (which I still own), and a 7D, and they've handled hot, cold, dust, mist, and plenty of bumps. I (luckily) haven't dropped any of them, but I've had a couple lenses take minor tumbles with no visible affect on performance. I'd guess that if your 6D appears to be working ok, it's very likely just fine. Thanks, Canon.

Derrel · May 18, 2014

If you've never dropped a camera, you're not a real photo enthusiast!!!! Welcome to the club!

Well, to check it out: take some photos, and check the center of the frame and ALL four corners, to see if the lens might have become decentered...if one of the corners is bad, or one edge is fuzzy, you've got a problem. The BEST thing though is that the body is polycarbonate, and the drop was not "all that high". You are **probably** gonna be A-OKAY. I know it's emotionally kind of wrenching, but...you're probably gonna come out of this okay.

KmH · May 18, 2014

minicoop1985 said:
If the 6D is anything like the 7D in terms of construction (magnesium frame, etc),

No, the 6D is not the same - what Canon says about the 6D.

Canon U.S.A. : Consumer & Home Office : EOS 6D
With an aluminum alloy and polycarbonate chassis and a magnesium polycarbonate resin exterior,,

But for the 7D:

Canon U.S.A. : Consumer & Home Office : EOS 7D
the chassis is built of lightweight and rigid magnesium,

Derrel · May 18, 2014

The chassis has very little to do with how well a camera survives a drop or a simple impact or glancing blow; the CRITICAL part is the outer shell. Metal dents. Polycarbonate does not. Old, heavy, metal top-plate and metal baseplate cameras often suffered when they were dropped or impacted..."cheaper" cameras with polycarbonate top decks and bottom plates flex a bit, and you dust them off and say, "Whew...it's okay!" This is what I learned working at a camera store, from the experiences of hundreds of our customers. BIG, heavy "solid" rigs often fared the worst. Cheaper, lighter, "polycarbonate" amateur stuff usually fared okay.

It's a lot like the way we transitioned from solid, steel car bumpers to soft, polycarbonate, foam-filled bumpers...bumpers that actually PROTECT, rather than transmit every iota of force that they receive in impacts. The chassis is protected hugely by the outer shell. If a drop or impact is strong enough to rip out the mount's mounting screws, then you might be hosed, but short of that, the chassis's material is more about marketing and hype and price justification than ANYTHING. Cameras have been made of wood; plastic; aluminum; brass; steel; magnesium alloys of multiple varieties; titanium; polycarbonate; and many,many mixes of all of the aforementioned materials. The chassis is of minor importance in drop damage; other factors really are the critical ones.

Which will fare better: A magnesium-alloy chassis "professional" camera dropped 25 feet and onto asphalt, with a 70-200 f/2.8 annnnnnnd a tripod mounted to said lens? Or...a polycarbonate Canon Rebel that drops 22 inches with a six-ounce, all-polycarbonate, 18-55mm kit zoom mounted onto a vinyl dining room floor?

My money is on the cheapie rig faring better. Farrrrrrr better, in like 99% of instances.

KmH · May 18, 2014

The 2 major purposes of having a metal chassis are: 1. RF (Radio Frequency) interference shielding. 2. Heat dissipation.

Magnesium performs both functions better than aluminum does.

Steve5D · May 18, 2014

Canons are pretty are a pretty robust breed.

I dropped my G12 onto the sidewalk from waist height in Montreal once. It works perfectly.

As has already been mentioned, run it through all of its modes. I got a buck that says it's fine...

TCampbell · May 18, 2014

I dropped my G1 X once. These things are not as delicate as you might guess. While I try to avoid banging my cameras into things, I know that it actually can take a bit of a beating.

Twist the focus ring and zoom collars to make sure you get full range of both with no jamming, etc. Take some shots wide-open and also stopped down completely on aperture to make sure that is working.

If the lens took a hard knock then you may want to do some focus testing... mount the camera to a tripod, take a photo of a plain FLAT stationary object (such as newsprint taped to the wall -- although a focus test chart is even better.) Manually run the focus all the way IN and have it auto-focus and shoot. Repeat this a half dozen times or more. Then manually run the focus all the way OUT and have it auto-focus and shoot. Repeat several times. You are trying to determine if anything has loosened up inside. It's possible, for example, that if the motor is running the focus IN it can focus correctly... but if focus was already in and it had to run the focus OUT it might miss focus -- that sort of thing.

ketan · May 19, 2014

Thank you very much, friends. I feel better. When it happened at Istanbul airport, I was sweating as if I got a heart attack..I tried all function checks and guess that everything works fine..outer body towards bottom has though a scratch and the shinny metal is showing. I feel that I will paint it with black paint carefully so I can forget it..