E-1: How tough is tough? [Archive] - Digital Photographer Philippines

jay_alonzo

05-19-2006, 06:54 AM

Bert and Jon,

To say the E-1 is tough is an understatement. True...it is weatherproof...used it under a rain and its electronics and lens remained unperturbed and undamaged. Shot it under dusty conditions and I only had to blow the dust off the front lens element with a blow brush. No dust marks were seen in the images that i took, an indication that no dirt clung to the sensor. Take note that the sensor itself is self-cleaning.

Finally, for your question, how far my E-1 went through?

I was in Pahiyas in Lucban in 2004. We just had lunch at Buddy's - the town's most popular restaurant. It was packed with people and you can hardly move around. Just outside the glass doors is a hungry and angry crowd waiting for their chance to come in, being barred by the security because the establishment is already packed with "next diners" inside, guarding "all" the tables so that once the customer finished their meal, they'd be the one to use the spot next. You could just imagine the chaos and the noise and the heat produced by people, kitchen and the sizzling foods they ordered. It's even hard to hear each other talking.

When we were about to leave, I got up and walked slowly towards the door. I forgot that the E-1's strap hung precariously on my left shoulder. I remember there was a point my shoulder drooped a little because I had to slip my right hand into my right trouser pocket then, and the next thing I heard was a loud, loud, loud crash.

The whole restaurant became quiet and were looking at me like I'm such a clumsy stupid bastard who doesn't know how to hold a camera - they heard that crash can you believe it?

On the floor I saw the E-1 body separated from its lens, which have been mounted together fit and tight a second earlier. They've become two separate objects. More than that, I saw the mount of the rear lens element end and two screws of the mount lying on the floor as well, next to the lens. How it got loose when you need a screwdriver, I never knew. That was when I remembered I had the E-1 on my shoulder!

My workshop organizer and a student were dumbfounded and just stood there not believing it just happened. Even the guard forgot all about the door and came to us perhaps to watch what will we do next.

We picked up the pieces and with a trembling hand I scrutinized the camera for visible damages. The magnesium alloy body bore no crack of any sort. I checked the lens and got the same findings. Only the mount got "unscrewed" and fortunately we were able to find the two small screws that fastened it at the rear end of the lens barrel with a utility knife.

I mounted the lens and turned on the power of the camera...an ERROR warning flashed at the top LCD display. I began to sweat profusely and my fingers began to shake. I turned it off and unmounted the lens, then mounted it back again. Crossed fingers, I turned on the power once more...and the E-1 just worked as it was pre-fall. No more errors and no part of its operation was hampered. I'm sure the first to touch the floor was the front lens end and the "connectivity" side of the camera body.

That camera hasn't displayed any trouble till now and has never seen the light of a technician's lamp. Sadly thou, the camera has already been surpassed by others in terms of speed and pixel count. But one thing remained and for sure, and that is this is one of the sturdiest digital camera around if not the sturdiest.

Hey thanks for that info Bert! :)
What has been your E-1 through so far? :D