Camera & Lens issues (nikon and canon cameras)

[The Stigenator]

My coworker and I shoot together, today we went to this lovely place in the antelope valley to shoot a wedding, needless to say both of us had issues.

First I dropped my EF 50 f1.4 (fell about 5 feet onto hard concrete) both lens caps were on, I checked it, looked okay though front cap came off after impact. I put it on, it looks like its taking proper pictures. But I'll have to import the pictures to verify. Any suggestions how to test to make sure its okay, obviously I'll have to send it to canon to check it out (its less than a year old).

Second> My coworker dropped (or lost control) of her Nikon with a 50mm lens on it. The camera runs fine (impact was on the lens) the Nikon 50mm is fine too. However now when you look through the view finder you find this 'metal' piece sticking in the view finder, the mirror is fine.

I am thinking there was a bezel (where the camera shows the fstop and shutter speed and what not in the view finder) that came off (it looks like it), question is how easy is it to fix and how much would that run?

 

[slashbinslashbash]

For your 50mm, I guess there are a few things you can check. Most of which involve focus accuracy. You want to test the AF to both limits of its travel.... focus on something close (I think 1.4ft for the 50mm.... whatever's marked in the focus window) and something at infinity, go back and forth and make sure it autofocuses all the way to both ends quickly and accurately. I got a bit of sand in my 50/1.4 and sometimes the focusing hangs up a bit around 2-3ft. Not the end of the world, but kind of annoying.

Also check the focus accuracy.... you may know about this from just general lens testing. Keep the lens at f/1.4 and set up a row of objects to focus on. Set up dominoes on a table, or pickets in a fence, or whatever. Pick one, focus on it, snap a photo and then examine the photo carefully on a big monitor. Make sure the lens is not front or back focusing. You want the object you focused on to be in focus, not the one behind or in front of it. Try the same test stepped down to f/8 as well. You might also want to try this in the close range (3-5ft) and medium-far range (5-20ft) just to be sure everything's as it should be.

As for your friend's camera, I don't really know. Depending on the model, I would guess $100-$200 to get it fixed?

 

[snoturtle]

Sounds like the focus screen came out of the Nikon

Take the lens off and look up at the top of the mirror box
Should see what looks like a frosted piece of glass
If its gone it will look clear and the arm that holds it in place will be flopping about

 

[jpeyton]

Second> My coworker dropped (or lost control) of her Nikon with a 50mm lens on it. The camera runs fine (impact was on the lens) the Nikon 50mm is fine too. However now when you look through the view finder you find this 'metal' piece sticking in the view finder, the mirror is fine.

I am thinking there was a bezel (where the camera shows the fstop and shutter speed and what not in the view finder) that came off (it looks like it), question is how easy is it to fix and how much would that run?

That could be an easy fix. Take the lens off the camera, look above the mirror at the focusing screen. There is a clip that you can unhook to remove the focusing screen and underneath it may be the bezel that you are looking for.

 

[corkyg]

I dropped my EF 50mm f/1.4 on a carpeted floor, and it totally messed up the autofocus. So, I sent it in to Canon - it was $125 to fix. Lesson learned - I now always change lenses in my lap or in the camera bag, and whenever the camera is out for use, the next strap is around my neck.

Sorry for your drops. Looks like the Nikon is fixable by reinserting the focus screen.

You may get off lucky with your 50mm.

 

[slashbinslashbash]

That's true, it could be the focusing screen and/or the thing that holds it in place. However, if it were out of place by much, then it should be obvious when looking through the viewfinder (all or part of the viewfinder image would be out of focus) or when looking up above the mirror box. If you shake the camera lightly, can you hear a rattling/tinking sound?

 

[The Stigenator]

I had my gf's dad who is a pro photographer (oscars, ms. universe etc) check the nikon, he says a bezel is out, its a trim ring around the viewfinder's numbers on the bottom of the view finder. We almost got it in, however it needs a pro to work on it. He has given me the place where he takes his cameras in to get it fixed.

THe Canon 50mm lens seems fine but he says to take it in, since he is seeing a slight softness.

 

[jpeyton]

THe Canon 50mm lens seems fine but he says to take it in, since he is seeing a slight softness.

How did he test that? I had a Canon 50/1.4 and it wasn't the sharpest thing to begin with.

 

[Cattykit]

For your Canon lens, test to see if alignment is off. Even if it focuses okay in certain spots, other spots may not be so.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

as others said, check the focusing screen of the nikon..... or you're right it could be the lens. try another lens?

 

[The Stigenator]

I went to the repair shop today, My EF 50 lens is fine. He popped it into his machine, and he said it came back fine with alignment.

The Nikon, he said its a easy fix, will cost me 60 bucks and a day or two of time. He will check the Nikkor 50 for alignment issues as it was on the camera when it hit the ground.

The guy looked at the camera and said 'you dropped it didnt you'...

good guy, honest, easy going. Specializes in old film cameras but also does digital ones.

this is where I went:
http://walterscamerarepairs.com/

http://www.yelp.com/biz/walters-camera-video-and-digital-repairs-los-angeles