Ok, so I must apologise because the story behind this is not nearly as exciting as the above picture may suggest, though the moral of the story, should in no way, be any lessened.
So, the above picture is of my Canon 5D with its mirror (or what's left of it) in pieces. For those of you not familiar with the mechanics of a single-lens reflex camera, the mirror is part of the system that allows the photographer to see through the camera lens. So without the mirror, you (and the camera's brain) cannot see what you are shooting. As a minor side effect (as if it matters since you cannot see..), is the loss of auto focus. So long story short: the camera is pretty much out of commission.
Backstory: Canon, Inc. issued a worldwide recall for the 5D for the following issue:
"We have discovered that, in rare instances, the main mirror of some EOS 5D Digital SLR cameras may detach due to deterioration in the strength of the adhesive. Accordingly, we would like to convey the details and our service policy concerning this phenomenon."
-Canon, Inc.
Ok, MY story now:
While on my return trip to the United States, I brought my 5D to the Canon Service Centre in Irvine, CA to get this recall service taken care of. It would take 7-10 working days to get everything taken care of. I was leaving in less than 5 days. Granted, I knew it would take some time, just not 2-3 weeks long. So given my time constraint, I had no choice but to leave the issue unattended. "It'll be fine..."
...but it wasn't.
While on a recent trip through the countryside of Qingyuan in the Guangdong Province of China, I was on a rather dilapidated raft sailing up the Beijiang River. The sound of the dying outboard motor puttering and the sharp cries of various avian species filled the air. The sun was setting behind the mountainous landscape surrounding the river. I bring myself to the bow of the "ship" and start snapping off a few frames. Now, normally when taking a photo, the viewfinder blacks out for a very brief moment when the mirror is folded upwards to expose the light to the digital sensor (or film) to record the image. Except this last frame...
The viewfinder remained black. Unsure of what to expect, I removed the lens from the body when I hear a deafening crack. I simply cannot write in words the feeling you get when you find broken shards of glass piled up in your camera; it's not a good feeling. So, I couldn't do much other than to remove the pieces of glass, one by one, and try to shake out the little pieces out. I put the camera away and inspected it closer when I got back to the hotel.
As far as I can see, there is no sensor damage from the glass. The mirror detached (as suspected) and must've detached in a crooked manner. When I removed the lens, it must've clipped the mirror and cracked through. This is confirmed when I looked at the lens' rear glass element, as it bear some marks (though luckily not scratches or permanent marks) from the glass. Furthermore, it appears the focussing screen has been scratched a number of times, confirmed by looking through the viewfinder.
So after this long story, what lesson did I learn? Always bring a back-up camera. I do have a second body, but unfortunately, I had left it at home to travel light. Fortunately though, I did have a Canon Powershot G10 with me (a very capable camera at that) and resorted to using that camera for the remainder of my trip. Had it not been for that second camera, I would have missed out on a lot of wonderful opportunities.
So, if you can, always have a back-up body/camera. You never know what may happen while out in the field. You may encounter mishaps like mine, a broken shutter, or the camera may just fail due to weather conditions. Always plan for the worst. This advice is good to live by, related to photography or not.
Michael
P.S.
The photos from this past trip will be posted soon in a new post.
