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? 

[TTMartin · Accepted solution]

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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. 

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So far it seems that straps that attach to the tripod mount seem to be a common factor with the camera and lens coming detached. This could hardly be considered a Canon design flaw as Canon doesn't design their lenses or cameras to have the straps attached that way. 

As designed by Canon the camera has strap attachment points, and lenses that are too large to hang from the camera's mount unsupported have their own strap attachment points.

As seen in this photo from the-digital-picture.com

Those that want to second guess Canon engineers and attach their straps to the tripod mount which they aren't designed for are suddenly surprised that the camera and lens don't performed as designed. 

[borderjack]

Hi Bob,

I attended WPPI this year and this is where I was introduced to the Spyder Pro holster. (https://spiderholster.com/spider-pro)  A lot of the well known professionals were carrying thier cameras that way and I was real curious as I was still looking for the perfect solution.

I didn't like that the fact that the bracket was attached to the mounting hole on the bottom of the camera. Most slings and holsters use a ball-joint pin for this and it makes for a more time consuming swap when I use my tripod. This system was more like my CarrySpeed in design as the mounting bracket is flat  and has threaded mounting holes on the bottom of the mounting platefor the tripod quick release plate. 

Still being skeptical, I went and visited the booth and tried one out. I walked away with theSpyder Pro version and carried my camera that way during the rest of the show. I love it.

The camera(s) are always at the ready in a great position with this holster. It is hard to describe how they are carried, but they slide into the holster bracket and the camera is rotated so that the lens is pointed backwards. The camera and lens are very stable in this position and on top of that, there is a seperate lock if you really want to be safe. The lock can be operated and camera removed from the holster in one fluid motion and you are ready to shoot. There is no flopping of the camera unless you decide to take off at a trot or full gallop. I just walk or a slight jog when carrying camera gear anyway and running is not an option, unless I am being chased by something big and mean.

All of the weight is on the hips instead of the neck and shoulder which is really nice. I have the two camera system and with both cameras and long / heavy lenses, it does tend to find a place low on the hips. I am looking for a set of suspenders for those time I am carrying both. 

They also have some nice accessory pieces like lens and data card holders that fasten to the belt. Being somewhat or a large person, I have a little more real estate to mount accessory pieces. 

[Rileywyna]

Well, just had my new cannon 100 to 400 ii detach from my new 7d march ii . I have ptsd from this . It occurred aboot 20 feet above a cement pool deck . Some how as the lens dropped it landed in my hand .
I chalked it up to a user error - but I now know it’s occurred twice, with the same set up, with a birder in my community . Now reading these many occurances as well .
So WTH, Cannon !
Have you checked this out ?
This has never occurred in my life . I hadn’t even imagining something this ridiculous and catastrophic was possible.

[TTMartin · Accepted solution]

Were you using a Black Rapid Strap?

[wq9nsc · Accepted solution]

The locking mechanism itself is very simple as Tcampbell pointed out in a post in this thread almost a year ago.  This same basic locking pin system has been used not only for EOS lenses but countless other mechanical mounting systems for years.  There has to be a balance between ease of lens change and avoidance of accidental unlocking and for the vast majority of users Canon has hit the sweet spot in this balance.  My first EOS body was a film EOS 650 about the time the EOS line came out and I currently have 1D Mark ii and 1DX Mark ii bodies althought they are rarely both with me so I often change lenses on the fly and I wouldn't want the release to be any more difficult or awkward as it is a quick and simple act as it is currently configured.  A repair shop could fit a higher tension spring to the mechanism requiring much more force to overcome but if Canon made that as a production change I doubt if it would be popular with most users.  The current mechanism has a nicely engineered and solid feel.

These discussions bring to mind complaints on the forum of my other expensive hobby, my Corvette.  Corvette coupes have a removable "targa" roof panel that locks with a latch in the back and two in the front.  It is a very simple and secure system as long as you remember to latch them when putting the roof back into place but some owners do not and become members of the "flying roof club".  Every product has potential for issues if the owner behaves in a manner not anticipated by the designer.

 And fortunately camera lenses aren't regulated like automotive safety standards or we would end up with goofy recalls like the one I had for my Cadillac ATS where a new trim ring was required around the sunroof control buttons because they weren't sufficiently recessed to meet some obscure joint Canadian/U.S. standard.  I suppose someone could retrofit a similar trim ring to their Canon DSLR to make the release button harder to access.

[borderjack]

My 6D is no longer in my camera bag. It was sold over a year ago when I bought my first 5DM4. I loved the 5D so much that I now have two of them. I have not had a problem with the lenses coming off as I did with the 6D. I also use the Spider system on both cameras and have dual pins on each mount. This has grown to be my preferred way of shooting.

When the lens fell off the 6D I was using another sling system, no longer sold in the U.S., that may have contributed to the problem. I was not a fan of using the tripod mount for carrying my camera on a sling in the first place and was skeptical of the Spider system. After trying the Spider Pro holster I have not had a problem and my back, hips and legs thank me everytime I spend the day with two cameras hanging on my body.  

I now hear from others that the bigestproblem with the 6D is that the function dial plate falls off. Mine did too. Just use a little more that one spot of contact cement to repair.

Thanks everyone for your replies.

[Rileywyna]

Well it just occured with me too and I have found too much of this type of thing on the last two days for this only to be user error .
It occurred with my new 7dii and the new 100 to 400 ii.
Luckily I caught it as it fell off and headed for concrete 20 feet away . I mean what if this occurs up in the stands at a football game .
This is something that should have a zero probability.

I’ve been playing with my set up . The lens is not tight . There is some play in it even when locked . Something is really fishy here and it’s not acceptable for this to be occurring with an item with this level of expense and quality.

[Rileywyna]

Your reply is filled with assumptions , fallacy and bias.
Your car analogy assumes all manufacture issues are user error .

[wq9nsc]

Of course there is play in it because there has to be a little allowance for tolerance between the pin interface and the rest of the EOS lens mount.  My 1DX M2 and 1D M2 both have the same amount of play as does my original EOS film camera from 1988.  But NONE of them will release the lens without the lens release button being depressed.

If your camera will release a mounted lens without the release button being depressed then something is broken and it needs to be repaired.  But if the release button is being depressed when it shouldn't be that isn't due to a defective camera.