I dropped my lens. A question!

[Harry S.]

Yes, It happened.

The lens in question is a Zeiss Biogon 28mm. I pulled my light meter from my bag (at waist height) and it's strap snagged my lens and ripped it out of the bag. It bounced on the concrete. Time stood still. I was helpless.

Now, the lens has a few added bits of character (scratches) on the black finish, and a big dent on the hood bayonet mount where the filter threads are. Other than that the glass is fine and the aperture is working smoothly and Im hoping the damage is just superficial. Ive shaken the lens close to my ear and nothing sounds loose inside.

Im wondering, what are the chances of internal damage, and would you recommend this lens be sent away to be inspected?

Thanks for the help and I pray this never happens to anyone. I didnt breathe for a few seconds. :-)

Harry

[M. Valdemar]

If the pictures look fine, forget about it.

Don't obsess. Things happen to mechanical objects and it's anal to worry about keeping them pristine.

[Avotius]

I just got a 28 biogon so I share your pain! Its my opinion that the zeiss lens may be ok, the only way is to test it out on a tripod with a flat surface like a (gasp!!!!!!!) brick wall. Check for even sharpness and resolution and all that stuff.

I hope one of the elements didn't get jarred out of place or anything, it only takes a little movement to have a problem with decentering! I think the 28 is a tough little lens but you never know eh?

Good luck from one 28 biogon owner to another!

[Roger Hicks]

Dear Harry,

It's almost certainly fine. I've dropped a fair number of lenses over the years and had very few problems. If it's working OK now, and the pics look OK (shoot a test chart or some newspaper if you're worried) , then you've very unlikely to have done ant significant damage.

It's true that you can be unlucky, but if you are, it'll soon become evident (focusing mount working loose). Even then, it's not expensive to fix.

With a decent quality lens like this, I'd not worry too much about the risk of decentering.

Cheers,

Roger

[spyder2000]

I'm with others - shoot some film and see. I've dropped more than one lens in my lifetime and the only lens that needed service was a Hasse Distagon. It was obvious too because the helicoid was damaged there was no focus action. The optical bridge was fine even after a 40+ foot drop into the hold of a ship and landing on a steel deck.

[feenej]

There is a website that ranks Zuiko lens performance someplace. I noticed that sometimes the beat-up lenses perform worse than the ones in better shape, so I wonder what drops do to a lens. Btw, I just ordered 2 UG grade Zuiko lenses from Keh, so I'm not too worried about it.

Straps cause drops with me too. The irony.

[M. Valdemar]

It might have been a little decentered before, and now you knocked it back into place. Consider yourself lucky.

[ferider]

First of all, sorry for the accident.

I go counter stream here and recommend to have it checked. The ZM Biogons have very high resolution - If you wouldn't want that you probably would have bought a different lens. An impact that bends the hood bayonet mount might very well have impacted the optics.

Roland.

[Roberto]

I dropped my CV 21/f4 some times ago, sharing my fear with the forum here.. well it's working perfectly, no issues..

[LChanyungco]

i'm taking note of all the names of you lens droppers in case any of your lenses come up for sale

[hans voralberg]

If you want to be absolutely sure, have it checked. I've dropped quite a few lens, but have never had any problem.

[Silva Lining]

A couple of weeks back I dropped my Eos 20d on the concrete outside Horseguards parade ground, It bounced 4 times across the concrete. Time slowed as I tried in vain to catch it... fearing the worst I picked it up and fired a couple of frames - no problem - cosmetically it now just has a bit more 'character'