I had a little accident…as you can see. I was in a park trying to shoot some early morning exercise, which is so common in China. In this park, on this day, you had a choice of dancing, aerobics, chess (definitely an anaerobic sport), or badminton.
I was keeping my eye on a couple of badminton folks, trying to slowly move into a decent photo position, when they hit their birdie (or shuttlecock if you so choose) into a small tree. It was not too high up, and I thought my extra height might help. So, I decided to do my good deed for the day.
I certainly was not going to jump up and down with a camera strapped around me, so I looked around for a place to put it. There was a bicycle nearby, and I decided to hang the camera on the handlebars.
Now, this is not any ordinary bicycle! This was what I call the “Commie Special”, ubiquitous across China and Russia, and the main “transport truck” of the Vietcong. Not only does it have the normal kick stand (normal, by my standards, at least), but also comes with a heavy duty stand to keep the bike vertical, in case it is holding a pig or something on the back…like the dual stands on motorcycles. These bikes are made to not tip over, you see.
Well, tip it did. And my Nikon D100 took a short, arching dive, lens first, into the concrete. By the way, my first camera, a cheap Vivitar, lost its kit lens in a similar way. The Vivitar would still take photos, but the lens was jammed and focusing meant walking to or fro the subject. So, having that experience in my background, I feared the worst for my Nikon. I thought my Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 had just gone out in glory.
Nope! The camera and lens still worked just fine. My UV lens cover (to protect the lens element), however, was not only destroyed, as you see in the photo, but wedged into the end of the lens. It took a pair of pliars to bend it enough to take off. I was planning on bending it back a little and unscrewing it, but in the process of bending, it just popped off, taking a few threads from the lens with it. No worries, though, the same day, I bought a new UV filter and was able to screw it on without much trouble.
My D100 lenses have really taken a beating and continued to perform fine, but my accessories seem to be dropping like flies. Many moons ago, I lost the rubber eyepiece that fit around the viewfinder. Just a couple weeks ago, I cracked the LCD display cover, only to completely lose it a week or so afterward. Now, the UV filter went to camera heaven. I do not really have any other accessories, and from the looks of it, maybe I need to keep them to a minimum!
I am very, very glad I listened to my dad’s advice to always put a sunlight or UV filter on my lenses. If not, more of that damage would have been to my trusty little 50mm Nikkor. And that would have been sad indeed.
hmmm… maybe I should consider investing in a UV filter!
Once upon a time, I remember my dad encouraging me to buy a “sunlight” filter. Now, though, I usually see folks using UV filters instead. I have a Hoya UV(O) on my 85mm lens and my replacement for the fallen filter was a Kenko Super Multi-Coated L37 UV Super Pro. Fancy schmancy, huh?
Well, the multi-coated part helps cut down on flare from bright objects in your photos&mdashthe vast majority of lens elements are coated as well. But not all UV filters are created equal. Some allow more light through or, said another way, have a high degree of light transmission. Basically, you want all the light you can get, and do not want some filter, which is permanently parked on your lens, cutting your light if you can avoid it.