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Rental camera gear destroyed by the 2017 eclipse

lensrentals.com

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Re: Rental camera gear destroyed by the 2017 eclipse

#31

Post by ryanwaggoner »

justin66 wrote: post #26

The amusing bit is at the end, where the author tacitly admits that their add-on camera insurance is somewhat crap. Someone who damaged a rental camera by pointing it at the eclipse would, ironically, have been better off if they then proceeded to "accidentally" drop the camera from a height onto concrete: Unfortunately, these types of damage are considered neglect, as warnings were given out to customers before the…

Intentionally using gear inappropriately in ways that are highly likely to result in damage isn't what insurance is for. Reasonable guidelines around what insurance will cover keeps it cheaper for everyone.

Re: Rental camera gear destroyed by the 2017 eclipse

#32

Post by sw00pur »

praneshp wrote: post #19
jdavis703 wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

FWIW me and my coworkers looked at the eclipse with no protection (it was too foggy to use our pinhole cameras). I didn't develop any vision issues, and I don't think the others did either.

Watch out over the next couple of months, and don't rub your eyes if you think they feel like they have sand in them, just go to the doctor. There was a reddit thread about people who damaged eyes after looking at an eclipse, and several of them showed effects later.

It's funny that after hearing dozens of warnings about how looking at the sun will permanently hurt your eyesight, people GO and actually LOOK at the sun without protection. I suppose stupidity has no limits?

Re: Rental camera gear destroyed by the 2017 eclipse

#34

Post by tedunangst »

justin66 wrote: post #26

The amusing bit is at the end, where the author tacitly admits that their add-on camera insurance is somewhat crap. Someone who damaged a rental camera by pointing it at the eclipse would, ironically, have been better off if they then proceeded to "accidentally" drop the camera from a height onto concrete: Unfortunately, these types of damage are considered neglect, as warnings were given out to customers before the…

Landing on concrete isn't likely to melt the sensor though.

Re: Rental camera gear destroyed by the 2017 eclipse

#35

Post by patcheudor »

jonknee wrote: post #30
patcheudor wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yup, it all came down to how long the camera was pointed at the sun. I took a bunch of photos of the eclipse including this HDR shot with a Leica 280mm lens and Sony A7R with no filter whatsoever & without any damage to my lens or camera. The thing is, it took seconds to take and I made sure the camera was only pointed at the sun for brief moments: https://www.flickr.com/photos/patcheudor/35886777354/ I'm assuming th…

You can torch your sensor in seconds: https://youtu.be/2TO_yZDxryQ

Yeah, if you use a super-telephoto lens, then take your camera body off and change the focal point so that you are using your lens as a magnifying glass like they did in the video. No doubt. For the rest of the sane world; however, it's not quite that risky. For reference, that Leica I used in my shot is a one of a kind as it was the first lens to roll off the line when Leitz branding was changed to Leica & estimated to be worth between $12,000 to $22,000. I wouldn't have risked it if there was any risk whatsoever.

Re: Rental camera gear destroyed by the 2017 eclipse

#36

Post by mindslight »

justin66 wrote: post #26

The amusing bit is at the end, where the author tacitly admits that their add-on camera insurance is somewhat crap. Someone who damaged a rental camera by pointing it at the eclipse would, ironically, have been better off if they then proceeded to "accidentally" drop the camera from a height onto concrete: Unfortunately, these types of damage are considered neglect, as warnings were given out to customers before the…

A camera is repairable, so it's not like they throw out the entire "broken" item. Dropping the camera would have just created a second problem.

It's an interesting line, between accident and neglect. Reading the article, my initial reaction was that it is ridiculous for their insurance to not cover this damage. But yet in general I do enjoy the non-diligent actually retaining some moral hazard. This "absent agency" problem is usually addressed with a deductible, but that still doesn't fully price in the cost of easily-prevented damage.

Recently renting a box truck and not wanting to be on the hook for a $150k piece of capital equipment, I got the damage waiver. But I had wished for a cheaper policy that would have excluded damage from low drive-throughs and parking garages, which presumably makes up the majority of their claims. Alas.

Re: Rental camera gear destroyed by the 2017 eclipse

#37

Post by tedunangst »

csomar wrote: post #9
dingaling wrote: post #6

It's a shame that Lens Rentals had to suffer such material loss, but that report is absolute gold-plated first-hand evidence for my perennial debates with other photographers who insist that they don't need Solar protection for eclipses. "But I took a landscape shot at midday with the Sun in frame and it didn't melt my sensor". The difference being the length of exposure and the concentrations of energy.

> And of the things returned, we were equally impressed with our customer-base, and their guilt and owning up to the damage. I thought the renters would be paying for it?

They still probably lose out on some revenue until a replacement is in stock. Having a working lens is always better for business than getting reimbursed to buy a replacement lens. (That's the nature of the business, though.)

Re: Rental camera gear destroyed by the 2017 eclipse

#38

Post by romanhn »

patcheudor wrote: post #22
dingaling wrote: post #6

It's a shame that Lens Rentals had to suffer such material loss, but that report is absolute gold-plated first-hand evidence for my perennial debates with other photographers who insist that they don't need Solar protection for eclipses. "But I took a landscape shot at midday with the Sun in frame and it didn't melt my sensor". The difference being the length of exposure and the concentrations of energy.

Yup, it all came down to how long the camera was pointed at the sun. I took a bunch of photos of the eclipse including this HDR shot with a Leica 280mm lens and Sony A7R with no filter whatsoever & without any damage to my lens or camera. The thing is, it took seconds to take and I made sure the camera was only pointed at the sun for brief moments: https://www.flickr.com/photos/patcheudor/35886777354/ I'm assuming th…

Off topic, but I think here's another image of the same airplane, also taken in Idaho: https://www.reddit.com/r/aviation/comments/6v62nl/plane_cros...

Re: Rental camera gear destroyed by the 2017 eclipse

#39

Post by kuschku »

tedunangst wrote: post #34
justin66 wrote: post #26

The amusing bit is at the end, where the author tacitly admits that their add-on camera insurance is somewhat crap. Someone who damaged a rental camera by pointing it at the eclipse would, ironically, have been better off if they then proceeded to "accidentally" drop the camera from a height onto concrete: Unfortunately, these types of damage are considered neglect, as warnings were given out to customers before the…

Landing on concrete isn't likely to melt the sensor though.

"Oops, dropped it from the building from which I was shooting the eclipse, it fell 200m on concrete" – hands in pile of plastic.

(Although this would be a very unfair move)

Re: Rental camera gear destroyed by the 2017 eclipse

#40

Post by noja »

justin66 wrote: post #26

The amusing bit is at the end, where the author tacitly admits that their add-on camera insurance is somewhat crap. Someone who damaged a rental camera by pointing it at the eclipse would, ironically, have been better off if they then proceeded to "accidentally" drop the camera from a height onto concrete: Unfortunately, these types of damage are considered neglect, as warnings were given out to customers before the…

Upvoting just for the phrase "wiggle words".
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