Destroying cameras part 3...

[squeegee]

So I have a long tradition of destroying Olympus cameras. Everything from a C740 point & shoot to an E-410 dslr, and now... an E-P1.

So I was going out motorbiking and I wanted to take my camera with me. Unlike my previous bike (2003 R6) this new one (2007 R6) has a tiny tiny trunk... it's not big enough for my camera. As a result, I made sure I tied the camera bag down tight to my back seat. I had the velcro strap locked in and clipped in the 2 D rings on the side of the bag as well. There was pretty much no way the camera bag was coming off the seat.

So after riding around for over an hours, possibly on some quite bump and rough terrain, and possibly going a little faster than the posted speed limit and inflicting slightly above average swinging and tossing motions to the camera & camera bag.... As I come around one corner I felt and heard something that just was not right... Sure enough there was no way the camera bag was coming off my bike. The camera itself however, had made it's way out of the bag. The little E-P1 went straight while me and my bike took the corner. The guy behind me said it looked like I threw a can of pop across the road, it bounced and spun and skidded.

I went back to pick up the remains. Surprisingly enough it wasn't nearly as destoryed as the E-410 although admittedly the E-410 was run over by about 1000 cars before I was able to retrieve it - or more likely ignore the remains.





The battery cover had been ripped out and flung some where in the bushes. The battery was gone (but I have a spare), the SD card I found lying near by.

The lens had separated between all the layers and as you can see is missing the outer most ring.

So... I push the sd card back in, I put in another battery, I push the lens back together (yes highly technical and delicate lens repair). And guess what, it actually works. There actually appears to be nothing electronically wrong. So... I might just have to check ebay for some parts to try and fix the battery hook so the battery stays in - no one needs a battery cover

That does bring a bigger issue into my mind though. I love the E-P1 but, I'm not a photographer nor do I really "take pictures" I always just take snap-shots of my own moments to help explain and share with my friends. Most of the pictures I take and upload to this site is more or less just practising photography so I can get better - i.e. I have no real love or attachment to the subject being photo-ed nor the photo itself. As a matter of fact most of the photos I've uploaded here I don't even save in my personal set of pictures. In all honesty I bought my first camera to take pictures of ... my motorbike (you wouldn't understand unless you're a motorbiker) and all this practise is so I can take better motorbike and snowboarding pictures .

So... if I can't really take my m43 camera with me motorbiking... and I already know I can't take it snowboarding... and I can't take it into the water surfing nor scuba diving... then the reality is I can't take a m43 camera anywhere where I want to actually take photos.

Now if that's true... then why don't I just buy an olympus Tough 8010... which I've been eyeing for the last 4 months already... and get out of the m43 system all together. I know a lot of the answer is image quality and manual controls... but the point still is, if I can't take my m43 camera on excursions where I want to take photos...

I guess this is just me thinking out loud. We already know that the best camera is the one which you have with you - and isn't broken . It pains me to think that pragmatically speaking I have no use for a m43 camera... because I want one.

P.S. does anyone know where I can get a spare plastic hook and or battery hatch? the plastic hook is just screwed on so if I could get another that's easily replaced, the hatch is just clippped on so it's just as easy to replace too... ebay has no scrap e-p1 parts...

 

[Ulfric M Douglas]

The word is destroying. Thanks for posting your latest instalment, I enjoyed the e-410.

So I have a long tradition of destorying Olympus cameras.
...
So... if I can't really take my m43 camera with me motorbiking... and I already know I can't take it snowboarding... and I can't take it into the water surfing nor scuba diving...

e-P1 with 17mm lens is small enough to take with you, I'm sure plenty of folks do. Maybe you're taking too much. Evidence : "camera bag". Sure, if you think a camera needs to live in a camera bag but you're needlessly tripling the amount of stuff to carry ... I'd've made a pocket in your leathers especially for the camera, same for snowboarding jacket.

 

[squeegee]

The word is destroying. Thanks for posting your latest instalment, I enjoyed the e-410.

e-P1 with 17mm lens is small enough to take with you, I'm sure plenty of folks do. Maybe you're taking too much. Evidence : "camera bag". Sure, if you think a camera needs to live in a camera bag but you're needlessly tripling the amount of stuff to carry ... I'd've made a pocket in your leathers especially for the camera, same for snowboarding jacket.

hahaha it's been one of those days, for some reason I spelt that right the first time then I distinctly remember looking at it and thinking it was wrong and switching the 2 letters. I only call it part III because part I and II were the other two cameras... I've also crushed a fuji along the way as well as possibly a few more cameras.

As for the E-p1, I have the 17mm lens. When I go out, I don't take any accessories with me, actually I have no accessories. I only have the body + 17mm lens, I don't even take a spare battery with me, that stays at home. Actually I lied, there's a clear filter mounted on the lens.

As for taking it snowboarding, the problem is the weight, the only good pockets for that are the ones near your knees. The problem then becomes it swings around too much when you move. You wouldn't want to put it anywhere on your upper body as it'll hurt you and the camera when you crash. I actually tried it, it was just way too heavy.

As for motorbiking, the "bag" I have is barely larger than the camera, it's only about 0.5cm bigger than the camera on all dimensions. It's effectively just a nylon pouch. It was required because I tried putting the camera into the trunk before without it, it's like putting the camera on a vibrating plate, it put scratches all over the back metal surface instantly and scratches all over the LCD scratch protector and started wearing divots into the plastic lens casing. I started with a neoprene pouch but the vibrations wore holes through that with in minutes. You also wouldn't want to put the camera on your upper or lower body while motorbiking as it would interfere with your control of the bike and would hurt a lot when you crash. I can barely get away with a wallet and cellphone, only if they are in different pockets. It still interferes but it's "tolerable". The best place really is in the trunk of the bike.

The other concern is the constant bumping and jolting the camera would take. There's still the physical shutter and moving parts in the lens and I'm not sure that'll take it well.

 

[PeterB666]

Pelican make a small hard case that you might find useful and then stick that into a small backpack. As for the Olympus E-P1, the chassis is tough but the outer coverings, expecially the soft aluminium top and bottom plates really suck. My E-P1 and 9-18mm lens took a tumble a couple of weeks ago when I fell over on a wet rock ledge by the sea. I was lucky as the camera missed a puddle but two remotes, one for the Olympus and the other for my Nikon wound up in the water. Both still work but I have to keep taking the battery out of the remote for the Nikon and cleaning the contacts.

I have scratches top and bottom of the E-P1 and a little snick in the lens rim but all is OK. The battery compartment hole doesn't quite match the lid due to a small distortion in the aluminium bottom plate. They made the body skin out of stainless steel, why not the top and bottom plates?

 

[squeegee]

yes I've seen the pelican cases, but that is actually too large, and a backpack would be even worst. I've done the backpack thing before it's unpleasant at best.

But back to the main point... where can I get extra parts? I noticed the plastic nib is screwed on so it's easily replaceable - if I could get one. I'm thinking if I can't get one, I could try to get a piece of plastic and file it down to the right shape. But I'd much rather just buy one even if it's slightly over priced.

 

[Vidar]

I am pretty impressed that the E-P1 survived that crash!

 

[~tc~]

My wife is hard on stuff like you are. After destroying both of our Canon P&S, she got a Panasonic TS2 and I got the GF1, which she is not allowed to touch.

The little Panny is waterproof, shockproof, dustproof. The form factor is very nice for keeping in a pocket, and it comes with a silicone sleeve to help even more.

The image quality is quite good, but there aren't much in the way of controls - everything is through a scene mode. That said, the scenes cover all the bases of what you would want to control.

 

[vtmullins]

Sorry to hear about the snafu part 3. As far as the snowboarding goes, I think a backpack is your best option. Perhaps you didn't shop around for a good one fit for the purpose? along with snacks and a camelback, a good backpack designed to be the least restrictive possible can work and is necessry for many people. There are plenty designed for this purpose. If youre doing vert stuff, I think you can forget about bringing any more than a P+S. For other situations, there are just a ton of cases out there. Just look on ebay. here is a flickr group discussion on the various cases: Flickr: Discussing Cases or bags in Olympus Pen E-P1 & E-P2
Thats too bad about the top and bottoms of the ep-1! Anyone know if the EP-2 has the same issue? I haven't dropped mine... yet.

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