Accidental Lens Release

[michaelgirman]

  My 24-105L just fell off my 5D mkIII and rolled into the Seine.  The lens release button is way too sensitive and it is so easy to accidentally unlock without realizing it.  I went to twist the zoom ring and the lens rotated and dropped off.  Blogs are full of compaints of this occurance on mkii's.  

  This is definitely a design flaw.  It's not user error.  The button should be relocated or made to require more force to release  or have a detent position.  

  It's a shame that you have to gaffer tape a $2300 lens to a $2000 camera.  Be forewarned.  

[ebiggs1]

Ron2

"I would ask another question.  Is this lens specific or does it happen with any lens?"

Thanx, you have answered my question and I see how that is possible. It seems as it is one of those if the Sun and Moon and stars have to be aligned in a certain way, it can happen.  Even your example requires the lens to be zoomed in just one direction?  

But now the question is, you know that can happen so why are you or folks causing that specific situation to occur?  The answer seems simple.  Don't do that.  

I am truly sorry if you have lost a fine lens that way.  I know that crunch when a lens hits the ground.  Not a forgettable sound!

[RobertTheFat]

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@ebiggs1 wrote:

Ron2

"I would ask another question.  Is this lens specific or does it happen with any lens?"

Thanx, you have answered my question and I see how that is possible. It seems as it is one of those if the Sun and Moon and stars have to be aligned in a certain way, it can happen.  Even your example requires the lens to be zoomed in just one direction?  

But now the question is, you know that can happen so why are you or folks causing that specific situation to occur?  The answer seems simple.  Don't do that.  

I am truly sorry if you have lost a fine lens that way.  I know that crunch when a lens hits the ground.  Not a forgettable sound!

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Actually, I tried Ron's experiment last night and found that the weight of the camera and the 24-70 lens was not sufficient to depress the button enough to release the lock. So maybe hardware variation does play a role and some 5D3's have springs that are stronger than others.

[Waddizzle]

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@RobertTheFat wrote:

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@ebiggs1 wrote:

Ron2

"I would ask another question.  Is this lens specific or does it happen with any lens?"

Thanx, you have answered my question and I see how that is possible. It seems as it is one of those if the Sun and Moon and stars have to be aligned in a certain way, it can happen.  Even your example requires the lens to be zoomed in just one direction?  

But now the question is, you know that can happen so why are you or folks causing that specific situation to occur?  The answer seems simple.  Don't do that.  

I am truly sorry if you have lost a fine lens that way.  I know that crunch when a lens hits the ground.  Not a forgettable sound!

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Actually, I tried Ron's experiment last night and found that the weight of the camera and the 24-70 lens was not sufficient to depress the button enough to release the lock. So maybe hardware variation does play a role and some 5D3's have springs that are stronger than others.

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Boil off the fat, and you still have a moment of inattentiveness.  I don't want to sound callous, but that's the hard, cold truth.

[ebiggs1]

"Boil off the fat, and you still have a moment of inattentiveness."

" I don't want to sound callous, but that's the hard, cold truth."

As Dr. Seuss said.  I must agree with Thing #1 and Thing #2!  (Or nearly said!)

[TheRogue]

Yeah, and even with that accidental button depress the lens still gotta do its own version of the cha cha WHILST the button is accidentally depressed.  I'm struggling to be honest and I'm probably tempting fate to say that.....

[Waddizzle]

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@TheRogue wrote:

Yeah, and even with that accidental button depress the lens still gotta do its own version of the cha cha WHILST the button is accidentally depressed.  I'm struggling to be honest and I'm probably tempting fate to say that.....

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...which is surprisingly easy to do when you're rotating a tripod mounted camera, with a big super telephoto lens, from landscape to portrait mode.  You grab both sides of the camera, rotate the camera body like a steering wheel, and twist the camera right off of the lens.  The only saving grace is that camera should wind up in your hands, provided you don't let go too qucikly.

[RobertTheFat]

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@Waddizzle wrote:

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@TheRogue wrote:

Yeah, and even with that accidental button depress the lens still gotta do its own version of the cha cha WHILST the button is accidentally depressed.  I'm struggling to be honest and I'm probably tempting fate to say that.....

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...which is surprisingly easy to do when you're rotating a tripod mounted camera, with a big super telephoto lens, from landscape to portrait mode.  You grab both sides of the camera, rotate the camera body like a steering wheel, and twist the camera right off of the lens.  The only saving grace is that camera should wind up in your hands, provided you don't let go too qucikly.

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That should happen only if you forgot to loosen the tripod mounting ring.

[Waddizzle]

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@RobertTheFat wrote:

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@Waddizzle wrote:

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@TheRogue wrote:

Yeah, and even with that accidental button depress the lens still gotta do its own version of the cha cha WHILST the button is accidentally depressed.  I'm struggling to be honest and I'm probably tempting fate to say that.....

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...which is surprisingly easy to do when you're rotating a tripod mounted camera, with a big super telephoto lens, from landscape to portrait mode.  You grab both sides of the camera, rotate the camera body like a steering wheel, and twist the camera right off of the lens.  The only saving grace is that camera should wind up in your hands, provided you don't let go too qucikly.

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That should happen only if you forgot to loosen the tripod mounting ring.

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Yup.  Some mounting rings have more friction than what the lens mount may have, though.  Sometimes you do not loosen it up enough, either.  That was my mistake that day.  The mounting ring was tighter than the lens mount.

[Ron2]

It happened only with the 24-70mm lens as the focus ring is close to the camera body, which gets your hand right up next to the lens release button.

It only happened once, after that I jumped on the web and found this site. It was easy to work out what and why it happened and so avoided the situation again. But I was not happy to drop an expensive lens and my thoughts at the time was as it happened supprisinlgy easely, it must have happened to others as well.

Focusing one way?

Not really because as I recal there was no focus. This is the reality because uknown to me the whole lens was turning and not to focus ring. So looking through the eye piece, the clue something was wrong was that there was no focus while trying to focus manually.

With this I think I tried any movement of the focus ring and obviosely moved it in the direction it would move, (if it does not move one I think it normal to immediately the move the other way). I think I even moved it in both directions trying to get focus.

It happened quick before I could even think through it, the lens was off and out of my hands on the ground

Regarding camera weight on the hand. It is not just the weight. It is also the big nuckle as it turns over the lens release button it depresses the button as well.

My situation was camera weight I think, but I can also reproduce it with the knuckle passing over the button while rotating the focus ring. Because the knuckle is bigger than the hand and the hand is firmly grasping the lens. The knuckle will depress the lens release button as the hand rotates

[RobertTheFat]

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@Ron2 wrote:

It happened only with the 24-70mm lens as the focus ring is close to the camera body, which gets your hand right up next to the lens release button. ...

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FWIW, on the 24-70 it's the zoom ring that's closest to the camera body.