How fragile are Cameras

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Keep seeing words like "plasticky" associated with so called entry level cameras.
Also read and hear of how you must have at least a magnesium body otherwise if you believe the hype the body will fall apart

Just wondered how many people have had one of these "toy" cameras disintegrate in their hands or after an impact.
Seems to be an awful lot of these older models about such as Canon 300D onwards and various other brands of a similar ilk

Two or three years back I bought a Canon 720 compact despite the usual negative words about its plastic body
Its been a damn fine camera and used for work taking pictures of the various telephone exchanges I survey.
Been dropped and carried about in a rucksack, only signs of wear are a few scratches and the corners becoming tarnished

So are they really that fragile or is it more rumour and urban myth
 
Well I think the magnesium cameras are certianly tough, I've dropped my 1D II down a few rocks by a small brook, bashed it into a tree, slid down a slope with me, unintenionally banged against the odd lampost ect. ect. - no marks but a small bit of stuck mud on the grip and the odd scratch on the rear screen. I'm not sure if I'd have done any of that with a rebel the camera would've survived.

However, in everyday use the build won't really factor in, unless your someone who just likes the feel of the expensive cameras.

I know I like the sleeker, tougher feel of the higher end cameras, but it's no make or break. To be honest, if it's your first DSLR is a rebel you probably won't notice the light-weight and general plastic build of the entry level cameras.
 
Some of the entry level DSLR cameras really are fragile. I noticed a big difference between a Panasonic L-10 (very plasticky) and an Olympus E-410 (feels very solid). The little switches on the Panasonic had a tendency to break off. I've heard of a 350D disintegrating too after a very small fall. My E-1 would probably break what it dropped on...
 
If you are using a camera for work - and it's being thrown around all day - all weathers - then a strong body is very useful.

If you are having a little wander into town once a week, or a walk up the mountain once in a while, to capture some images for yourself as a hobby, then it doesn't really matter so much...
 
I think there are relative levels of robustness, though - I wouldn't expect an entry level camera to stand up to pro abuse, but some don't cope with light domestic use either!
 
I have a 400D and have had a 40D and a 1D in my hands. The sheer weight of the latter two means they are not suitable for my needs.

Mine is no doubt lighter as it has less metal in it's manufacture. Having said that it has survived many an accidental knock and a major bounce on the cobbles of Brussels streets. So you pays your money and takes your choice :wave:.
 
I didn't have a problem at all with my 400D, I'm all for spending more on heavy/solid stuff as I'm in the plant & equipment hire game, as well as being an engineer so I know about tough gear! Whilst it was a plastic body it was only half the weight of the pro cameras- so it doesn't have to be as strong. I think you're a lot more likely to break a lens than a body. Modern plastics are very strong and I doubt you have much to worry about.
 
I dont abuse my gear, but they are working cameras and get left on the passenger seat, knocked against each other etc... its part of their life unfortunately. I have had two XXd bodies and they have been fine. Only gripe is that it would be nice if the eye pieces were properly connected more like the pro series. I've lost of a few of them. Also the card door is a bit cheap, but i've never broken it, but i could see it happening.
 
Go on, admit it - that's not for work, you're in the worlds Top Ten Anoraks (TM) and you just catalogue them for fun!
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My secrets out then, unfortunately they are some of the most unattractive buildings known to man
Mainly due to the fact that during the sixties they weren't governed by planning permission laws and could be of almost any functional design

I do have a fine picture collection of these buildings mainly in Cambs and Beds, some of the smaller ones are the more pleasing to the eye

Not sure how the Official Secrets Act covers them so probably not best to share on here
 
... make a note of who NOT to buy a camera from in the future :thinking:
 
I slipped and fell on my arse in the ice earlier this year and my 1000D took a wallop as it was slung over my shoulder at the time.....it lived (I had a cracking bruise though). My new (to me) 40D does feel a lot more solid though.
 
I fell over on a footbridge and smacked my E-3, 300/2.8 and my metz 48 against the hand rail. The metz snapped off the hot-shoe, ended up in the pond the bridge was over. The E-3 and the 300 (the very expensive bit) were fine. The Metz was not...
 
My two (issued) D3 bodies look rough as hell after six months in a sandy-place.
In the past I've been issued with D2x bodies and D1x bodies - all of which were seriously put through their paces.
There's an inner comfort to be had knowing your kit won't fall apart rather than just hoping it wont. Even if you never have to put it to the test.
I'm fervently hoping my personal camera collection (which I'm cobbling together as we speak, due to the 'free lunch' coming to an end in September) to have a much easier life than my work cameras have endured in the past, but I'm still purchasing the same kit - I know it and trust it.
If I'm expecting to earn a crust doing this, I cannot afford to be worrying about kit when I'm shooting.
 
Well, I've never dropped a body or lens so far, but I've had a D100 with Nikon 75-300mm f/4-5.6 (Yup, I got those focal lengths right, big old beast, mostly metal, metal mount, way better then the plastic 70-300 jobby that replaced it) splashed by sea water in Florida (it fared better than I did, I was completely drenched), and by freshwater in a river in Yorkshire (I slipped, and again was completely drenched to my neck, with arm outstretched holding a D100 & 300mm f/4 AF-S aloft). No such luck with the D200 or D300s... yet. ;)

Those were two different D100 bodies. The original D100 sponge I sold about a year after the event mentioned above. It seemed to have no ill effects.
 
My 50D is certainly more solid (heavier) than my 400D, but I've taken my 400D to about a dozen countries in the last 3 years, including a whistlestop tour round the world. It's been dropped on numerous occassions, I've fallen down river banks with it. I'm about as clumsy as you get with a camera, and it's still working fine.

I would suggest getting some camera armour, it's not that expensive and it will protect your camera from most knocks and scrapes, keeping it in mint condition. It was the first thing I bought for my 50D!
 
I dropped a D80 once onto a hard floor, it's flexible plastic body just bounced on impact and there didn't seem to be any damage at all. I'm careful not to drop my S5 Pro though, somehow that doesn't feel like it would bounce as well...
 
weiran said:
I dropped a D80 once onto a hard floor, it's flexible plastic body just bounced on impact and there didn't seem to be any damage at all. I'm careful not to drop my S5 Pro though, somehow that doesn't feel like it would bounce as well...
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It might break the floor though :D
 
weiran said:
I'm careful not to drop my S5 Pro though, somehow that doesn't feel like it would bounce as well...
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They don't. A mate of mine accidentally had his S5 Pro dropped onto a concrete floor by his wife with (I believe) Sigma 70-200 f/2.8 attached.

It received a few battle scars, although I believe lens & body are still both working.
 
I tend to drop my cameras facing lens downwards - I've gone through a few skylights and CPLs!
 
my K20d with 17-70 fell off a tripod (yeah ok, so i didn't screw it on properly)

One dent in wooden decking. I cracked lens hood. I small scuff. All fine, bit of superglue on the lenshood and as good as new!
 
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