Lenses falling off Canon 6D

[borderjack]

I was in Chicago last fall at a nephew's wedding. I was shooting some pictures of the wedding dance when I was bumped by another guest. Next thing you know my 24-70 lens was bouncing off the floor. I know the lens was locked in as it was functioning perfectly at the time (it just auto-focused an image and was re-focusing for another when I got bumped) My hand was nowhere near the lens release button and I cannot figure out how this may have happened. Also, if it was not locked in place, my lenses do not autofocus.

I had it repaired the lens and am using it again. I had put this out of my mind until a long-time friend an professional photographer of 40 years+ called and asked about the accident I had with the lens falling off. He had thought I was crazy when I told him the story originally. He then proceeded to tell me he just had the same thing happen with his 6D and a 100mm Macro lens.

He was shooting some high school team photos when his lens came off the camera.

I am wondering how many other 6D owners have had this happen. Is there a lock issue? 

[Waddizzle · Accepted solution]

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@diverhank wrote:

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@Waddizzle wrote:

"But pressing the release button alone isn't enough to make the lens come off. The lens must also be rotated counter-clockwise about 60º. "

Exactly.  Releasing a lens from a properly functioning lens mount requires a "double action" to release it.

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In my case the double action was: 1. accidentally touched the release button and 2. the bouncing rotated the lens. This was my 100-400L f/4.5-5.6 II and the tripod mount helped with the bouncing and gravity.

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Ow.  Ow.  Ouch.  I hope that lens wasn't a total loss.  Anything is possible, but "double action" means concurrent events, not sequential events.

[TTMartin]

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@diverhank wrote:

I too like your friend used to think it was crazy or the user had done something wrong to have a lens fell off until it also happened to me.  In my case I was lucky enough I caught it in mid-air by pinning it against my arm and my body.

What happened in my case was that I was walking around in rough terrain with considerable bouncing motion and my finger had brushed by the release button (without me knowing it) and the lens became unlocked but it did not fall out yet.  After a while, because of the bouncing motion, the lens came off.  Part of my workflow now is to occasionally twist the lens to see if it's locked.

I think it's a semi-design issue...the lens release works great normally but can come loose in some situations.  Not sure what the fix can be though...

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Was a Black Rapid Strap involved with your incident? 

[borderjack]

Not using a Black Rapid strap. I was using a sling strap that is no longer sold in the USA and forget the name. The sling fastened to the bottom camera mount and is one of the best I have found. I just recently switched to the Spyder Holster and love it. In either case, nothing there to even come close to the lens release button.

[diverhank]

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@Waddizzle wrote:

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Ow.  Ow.  Ouch.  I hope that lens wasn't a total loss.  Anything is possible, but "double action" means concurrent events, not sequential events.

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Luckily I caught the lens before it hit the ground.  I was extremely lucky so no damage there. I was simply feeling sheepish after that happened because I was one of the people who thought it could never happen to me.

@TTMartin, I wasn't wearing the Black Rapid strap...it was a Optech USA sling strap...I guess when having the camera dangling, it's doubly easy to get into this situation. But I heard of instant of it happening while people were holding their cameras also...

[TTMartin]

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@diverhank wrote:

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@Waddizzle wrote:

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Ow.  Ow.  Ouch.  I hope that lens wasn't a total loss.  Anything is possible, but "double action" means concurrent events, not sequential events.

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Luckily I caught the lens before it hit the ground.  I was extremely lucky so no damage there. I was simply feeling sheepish after that happened because I was one of the people who thought it could never happen to me.

@TTMartin, I wasn't wearing the Black Rapid strap...it was a Optech USA sling strap...I guess when having the camera dangling, it's doubly easy to get into this situation. But I heard of instant of it happening while people were holding their cameras also...

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All of the lens disconnection issues I've heard of have been with straps that attach to either the tripod mount of the camera or the tripod mount of the lens.

Where was your OpTech USA strap attached?

I have mine attached to the camera strap mounting point on the camera and battery grip.

[RobertTheFat]

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@borderjack wrote:

Not using a Black Rapid strap. I was using a sling strap that is no longer sold in the USA and forget the name. The sling fastened to the bottom camera mount and is one of the best I have found. I just recently switched to the Spyder Holster and love it. In either case, nothing there to even come close to the lens release button.

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Have you had the lens come loose since you switched to the holster?

[borderjack]

Not so far. I am much more diligent in checking to see if the lens is locked. Not just when I first take it out of the bag or change lenses, but each time I bring it up to my eye. Love the holster, I have the dual setup and carry the %d on one side and the 6 on the other.

[borderjack]

I looked at the strap today, It is a CarrySpeed. I love way the strap allowed me to get the camera up and ready, but didn't like the way the camera flopped around as it is with most straps especially when a long lens is attached.

[RobertTheFat · Accepted solution]

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@borderjack wrote:
I looked at the strap today, It is a CarrySpeed. I love way the strap allowed me to get the camera up and ready, but didn't like the way the camera flopped around as it is with most straps especially when a long lens is attached.

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Some have reported that the flopping around caused their cameras to unscrew themselves from the mount, which would be an absolute deal breaker for me.

[Waddizzle]

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@RobertTheFat wrote:

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@borderjack wrote:
I looked at the strap today, It is a CarrySpeed. I love way the strap allowed me to get the camera up and ready, but didn't like the way the camera flopped around as it is with most straps especially when a long lens is attached.

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Some have reported that the flopping around caused their cameras to unscrew themselves from the mount, which would be an absolute deal breaker for me.

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Having a big and heavy, naked camera bouncing around on my hip bone seems rather uncomfortable to me, which is why I bought a holster.  A holster is safer when I'm hiking.  It is less conspicuous when walking city streets.  It has become my "go to" bag whenever I leave the house.  Camera in the holster.  Lenses and a spare body in a messenger bag.